Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Francis Young

@drfrancisyoung.bsky.social

20K followers 3.6K following 4.8K posts

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 7d

I’m pleased to say you can now pre-order my next book, ‘Fairies: A History’ (out in February 2026) from
@politybooks.bsky.social. Thank you to Jeremy Harte, Simon Young, Jo Hickey-Hall and Owen Davies for such generous endorsements! 🌿📚 www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

13 55 270

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 7h

My book ‘A History of Anglican Exorcism’ has been added to
@bloomsburyacad.bsky.social's digital collections: www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...

3 25

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 9h

The trashy ads recorded along with the films and TV shows on old VHS tapes now feel like the most precious archival record of all

1 6

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 9h

I don't remember the make but it was very like this one (so perhaps not 20s but 30s): www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29349702...

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 10h

And for most of my childhood my parents had an actual *1920s* vacuum cleaners. **1920s**

5 31

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 10h

In fairness, my mind was blown the first time I saw a cordless phone with buttons (even tho I think they already existed when I was born) because my parents refused to update the ancient Bakelite dial phone they found in the house when they bought it in the 70s

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 11h

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

13 61

Reposted by Dr Francis Young

Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 10h

Completely enamoured with this collection of C17th Welsh & English county maps, particularly the inclusion of county town plans in the corner of each. Intrigued by a Welsh county/town I'm not familiar with: Radnorshire/Radnor - now New Randor - which remains remarkably intact today. #MapMonday

Map extract showing the western edge of the county of Radnorshire and plan of the county town, Radnor from John Speed's 'Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine', map 15/18.

Summer satellite imagery of the village of New Radnor, Powys (north at top). Clearly showing remains of the original grid layout of medieval street, castle baille, just to the north of the village, and the outer wall around it's western edge (image accessed via Edina Digimaps).

3 23

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 11h

This reminds me of the time I encountered the largest Edmontosaurus ever discovered in Northern Ireland, which seemed an unnecessarily specific claim

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 14h

I was reading recently that accidentally falling off roofs with NKVD assistance was more common in Moscow in the 30s and 40s, so I think you may be right

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 14h

Totally untrue, defenestrations happen in russia all the time, not unique to Czech culture

2 21

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 18h

Be warned, the essays about obscure aspects of Lithuanian culture will continue until morale improves

1 32

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 18h

I'm thrilled - and honoured - to have more than 2k subscribers now on Substack 🙏

2 39

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 18h

Over on Substack I wrote about Lithuania's literary tradition of magical realism: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Discovering the Lithuanian fantastic

Tracing a literary and artistic tradition

substack.com

6 22

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 20h

I can't comment

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 20h

‘Silence of the Gods’ is now a top 10 bestseller in Amazon’s ‘Indigenous Practices’ category – I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I’ll take it

1 2 49

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

‘Stonehenge, in a very real sense Wiltshire’s Stonehenge…’

The Megalithic Portal Ancient Sites & Stones @megalithic.bsky.social · 1d

“Cornwall's Stonehenge?” in the Guardian. Seriously?
Altogether now: AAAAARRRGGH!!!
It’s in quotes but surely this didn’t come from the archaeologists? @olafbayer.bsky.social @cornwallarch.bsky.social /1

1 1 31

Reposted by Dr Francis Young

Daniel Carpenter @dancarpenter.bsky.social · 1d

A reminder that E. Nesbit wrote the greatest opening to a ghost story ever.

THIS is not an artistically rounded off ghost story and nothing is explained in it; and there seems to be no reason why any of it should have happened. But that is no reason why it should not be told. You must have noticed that all the real ghost stories you ever come close to are like this in these respects: no explanation, no logical coherence. Here is the story.

6 16 92

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

The only half-decent Lithuanian food I've had was on a plane once. But maybe I've just never been properly introduced to the good stuff

1 3

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Even if ordinands were informed that they will need to learn all these things on the job it would be a start. At the moment it's as if clergy are starting as junior doctors and not even being told they'll have to teach themselves surgery

1 4

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

If ordination training were truly vocational then it would cover canon law, safeguarding legislation, planning legislation, charities law, events management, fundraising, health and social care... I could go on

1 4

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

I am the Secretary of the British-Lithuanian Society and the country's leading promoter on social media in the UK, and even I would not go so far as to suggest that Lithuanian food is something you should actually eat.

1 1 5

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

I love that today's top news story on LRT English is a Lithuanian restaurant in Haverhill winning an award - the perfect synthesis of Lithuanian and Suffolk news!

4 2 31

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry, I don't know

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Digitised from old photocopies

3 1 69

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Archival photography not permitted

2 1 75

Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Only available on microfilm

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 1d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 1d

"The chancellor approved it"

11 26 210