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philistella.bsky.social
Research Fellow @ies-sas.bsky.social, Bougie London Literary Woman, cat concierge. Book on 18th-century women's letters forthcoming from Chatto & Windus. natashasimonova.com
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The Bedford Zizzi: truly my own personal Medium Place.

submitted 1 hour ago • 0 comments

guy next to me in the café was quite dramatically sitting with his head in his hands so I glanced at his screen to see what he was working on, and it was a doc with "IDEAS:" written at the top and absolutely nothing else my brother I hear you, I feel you, we are as one

submitted 3 hours ago • 2 comments

The sheer indignity of being at St Pancras far too early in the morning but instead of Paris you get to go to Bedford.

submitted 5 hours ago • 0 comments

Trying to explain academic admin structures to a normal person: - So ___ is Head of Department... - Ah, and that's good for them? - No, unless you're a sociopath it's very bad. - But at least they can control the money and hire new people if the department needs them? - Again, extremely no.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

My History Today article is currently free online www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Weird they're showing Swan Lake on Fox right now

submitted 3 days ago • 233 comments

Breaking my usual no-AI-nonsense rule because this genuinely delights me - this is how I feel every time a therapist or whatever presents me with one of these feelings wheels. This is what the inside of my head is like when I try to identify an emotion.

submitted 3 days ago • 9 comments

If we're really going to do the same 'why DO women read romance novels??' article every single year from 1980 to the end of time (the latest in the WSJ), would a bit of originality and specificity be too much to ask?

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

I just did a ""morning aqua aerobics class"", a statement so out of character that you might as well call the emergency services, but...can't beat the view.

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

It's drained what has not only felt like but has in fact BEEN years of my life. Time, Alex! So drained! And yet, no thank you.

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

dont measure your self-worth in accordance with your productivity or "success" everyone's journey is different and your time will come except for me. i have to be really hard on myself otherwise im a waste of time, space, and energy.

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Same, girl

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Love this lad. He’s got a real scheming eunuch look about him that I enjoy

submitted 12 days ago • 15 comments

He was a young poet and he realised that before him in all probability stretched endlessly thousands of mornings. On every one of which he’d have to get up and bathe.

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

Made an Actual Garment that fits me, please clap.

submitted 12 days ago • 2 comments

Penny (who could be the third cat) is convinced that this is the endgame of my evil 'having mirrors around the house' plan.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

This is funny on how Churchill mixed up Isaiah and Irving Berlin on.ft.com/4kd56pI

submitted 15 days ago • 7 comments

Excited to report that I have discovered the first ever piece of writing by the diarist, poet, literary critic and anonymous political author Amabel Grey (aka Yorke/Hume-Campbell/Polwarth/Lucas), 1751-1833, who forms the subject of my work. The author was nearly 9 months old.

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

Thank you for your order, we have made 1 substitution You ordered: 1x 500ml washing up liquid We sent: 1x cargo shipping boat (large)

submitted 18 days ago • 12 comments

I write all of my book reviews the traditional way: in the dead of night, while having a full-bore nervous breakdown.

submitted 17 days ago • 3 comments

In Elisha Coles's "An English Dictionary" (1676), "typographer" & "typography" immediately precede "tyrannicide" & "tyrant," and that's the energy I bring to letterpress printing these days

submitted 18 days ago • 4 comments

This is Romantic criticism

submitted 18 days ago • 2 comments