Rob Dale
@robdale.bsky.social
Historian of Russia and the Soviet Union. Cyclist, marathon runner, train traveller. Based in Newcastle and York.
Bit mean on photocopies, if you ask me. Photocopies are a pretty useful technology.
Your universe is a photocopy of a photocopy of a…
on.ft.com/4ahkNKa
on.ft.com/4ahkNKa
November 28, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Bit mean on photocopies, if you ask me. Photocopies are a pretty useful technology.
AI does look to be built on a huge mountain of debt, which it is not clear to me how that debt can be repaid.
on.ft.com/3XUA2RS
on.ft.com/3XUA2RS
OpenAI partners amass $100bn debt pile to fund its ambitions
Cloud companies and developers rely on lossmaking start-up to repay huge loans
on.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:20 AM
AI does look to be built on a huge mountain of debt, which it is not clear to me how that debt can be repaid.
on.ft.com/3XUA2RS
on.ft.com/3XUA2RS
The history teacher managed to get a dig in at geographers at parents evening. I almost wanted to ask about his views on historical geography, urban history, spatial approaches to the past, but I could see my son giving me a hard stare, and I thought better of it.
The budget and parents' evening all on one day!
November 26, 2025 at 9:21 PM
The history teacher managed to get a dig in at geographers at parents evening. I almost wanted to ask about his views on historical geography, urban history, spatial approaches to the past, but I could see my son giving me a hard stare, and I thought better of it.
Addendum to the budget: When motorists shout abuse at me as a cyclist - "You don't pay any road tax". EV drivers are going to be right aren't they? My riposte that we don't have road tax but "vehicle excise duty" and that road tax was abolished in 1937 might now be wrong. @peterwalker99.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Addendum to the budget: When motorists shout abuse at me as a cyclist - "You don't pay any road tax". EV drivers are going to be right aren't they? My riposte that we don't have road tax but "vehicle excise duty" and that road tax was abolished in 1937 might now be wrong. @peterwalker99.bsky.social
The budget and parents' evening all on one day!
November 26, 2025 at 2:18 PM
The budget and parents' evening all on one day!
Am I correct this is being readvertised.
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP284/e...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP284/e...
Eleanor Rathbone Professorship of Contemporary European History at University of Oxford
Apply now for the Eleanor Rathbone Professorship of Contemporary European History role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Am I correct this is being readvertised.
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP284/e...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP284/e...
I really don't think people understand how train fares work. I can't remember the last time I bought a regulated fare. If you are buying a season ticket you are over paying!.
inews.co.uk/news/passeng...
inews.co.uk/news/passeng...
Passengers face rail fare hikes despite freeze - as LNER 'off-peak' rises by £93
Train companies looking to plug a financial black hole will look to increase 'unregulated' fares, such as advance singles, experts believe
inews.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 10:00 PM
I really don't think people understand how train fares work. I can't remember the last time I bought a regulated fare. If you are buying a season ticket you are over paying!.
inews.co.uk/news/passeng...
inews.co.uk/news/passeng...
I look at the UKHE news in horror. I wish I could communicate to people what has been and is being lost. But, I can't seem to land my message with the powers that be. I find the whole thing so depressing. I fear I am going to have to tune out for a couple of weeks.
November 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I look at the UKHE news in horror. I wish I could communicate to people what has been and is being lost. But, I can't seem to land my message with the powers that be. I find the whole thing so depressing. I fear I am going to have to tune out for a couple of weeks.
My word for the day is "cheeseparing". It has come in handy a number of times today.
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
My word for the day is "cheeseparing". It has come in handy a number of times today.
Manuscript coming together!
November 23, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Manuscript coming together!
Watch advance fares go up, which is what most people buy!
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
Relief for rail passengers as fare freeze in England announced for 2026
Chancellor will confirm the measure, intended to help commuters on expensive routes, in her budget speech
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Watch advance fares go up, which is what most people buy!
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
Adding to my long list of slides on the rhetorical use of the word "she'll shock".
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/n...
‘Shellshocked’ Stokes urges England to move on from mauling in first Ashes Test
Ben Stokes told the England players not to wallow in the pain of defeat after they were thrashed inside two days by Australia in the opening Ashes Test
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Adding to my long list of slides on the rhetorical use of the word "she'll shock".
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/n...
A remarkable read, sometimes startling, sometimes frightening, sometimes depressing. Surprising that anyone would do this interview, and allow it to be printed.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘America is British’. Heaven is ‘a socialist state’. David Attenborough is ‘anti-human’ – the startling theories of Reform MP Danny Kruger
He was a Conservative party big-hitter who wrote speeches for David Cameron and worked with Boris Johnson before he suddenly jumped ship. He talks family, flags and why Nigel Farage is ‘top dog’
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A remarkable read, sometimes startling, sometimes frightening, sometimes depressing. Surprising that anyone would do this interview, and allow it to be printed.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
There is reason one of my friends always calls him Steve Dumbkopf.
November 21, 2025 at 4:57 PM
There is reason one of my friends always calls him Steve Dumbkopf.
Despite wrapping myself in blankets, I just can't get warm this evening. Hope I'm not coming down with something.
November 20, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Despite wrapping myself in blankets, I just can't get warm this evening. Hope I'm not coming down with something.
Just in case anyone is interested Yantar means amber.
November 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Just in case anyone is interested Yantar means amber.
In a rather hilarious development you have the opportunity to sponsor me as an Osbaldwick Cricket Club 🏏 player in 2026! I'm sure University Presses and publishers are queuing up for the exposure.
November 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
In a rather hilarious development you have the opportunity to sponsor me as an Osbaldwick Cricket Club 🏏 player in 2026! I'm sure University Presses and publishers are queuing up for the exposure.
I just don't understand why people want to use AI to write or research. Those tasks are ones that could be done without it. I love writing. It is hard, a challenge, but it can be done. It often feels like the foundations of the intellectual landscape I thought I inhabited are being ripped up.
November 18, 2025 at 8:44 AM
I just don't understand why people want to use AI to write or research. Those tasks are ones that could be done without it. I love writing. It is hard, a challenge, but it can be done. It often feels like the foundations of the intellectual landscape I thought I inhabited are being ripped up.
I've been thinking lots about the "lessons of history" recently. I'm struck by how much the "lessons" of history are now routinely ignored left, right, and centre. I don't know what professional historians should do with this.
November 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I've been thinking lots about the "lessons of history" recently. I'm struck by how much the "lessons" of history are now routinely ignored left, right, and centre. I don't know what professional historians should do with this.
I really don't understand how the UK and its government has lost its mind over immigration.
November 17, 2025 at 8:40 AM
I really don't understand how the UK and its government has lost its mind over immigration.
Can't help thinking Trump is going to have kittens when he discovers the Strictly results show on a Sunday is recorded on Saturday, and is produced to make it look like it is on Sunday.
November 16, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Can't help thinking Trump is going to have kittens when he discovers the Strictly results show on a Sunday is recorded on Saturday, and is produced to make it look like it is on Sunday.