Author | Lightnews

Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · 7d

Looking forward to @luxmuralis.bsky.social *Lost worlds* Sarum Lights @salisburycathedral.bsky.social next month.

Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · 7d

Rain clouds cleared & @salisburycathedral.bsky.social bathed in late afternoon #autumn sunshine.

#stormhour #autumncolours

Salisbury Cathedral bathed in late afternoon sunshine, with autumnal trees and grass in foreground & row of trees with orange brown leaves in mid ground.

View of Salisbury Cathedral's west end bathed in late afternoon sunshine. Shadows cast across the grassy foreground. Background of blue sky with fluffy white grey clouds.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · 26d

Wiltshire #bigsky at its best on my drive home with #moonrise over Roundway Down & #sunset over Bromham. Beautiful.

#Wiltshire #fullmoon

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · 26d

Most enjoyable day prepping & then working with these enthusiastic young people at the start of their #media course at Wiltshire College.

#mediastudies #heritageeducation

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre @heritagewshc.bsky.social · 26d

A great afternoon with #media students from #WiltshireCollege (Chippenham campus) and their tutor Kate Samways. The young film makers were learning about research methods & using the many #localstudies, #archive & #ephemera resources available at the History Centre.

#archives #ExploreYourArchive

Four students - two partially hidden - filming with digital cameras on tripods, looking at newspaper pages on microfilm readers. Watched by their tutor, foreground right. In the background are rolling stacks - shelves - of the Performing Arts Library.

Close-up image on the left of a student's hands adjusting a digital camera to film a microfilm reader showing the front page of The Wiltshire Times newspaper. From the right is the hand and arm of another student adjusting the microfilm reader.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Sep 23

A much needed day off. A spot of #mindful wandering around my happy space - the Cathedral Close @salisburycathedral.bsky.social Popped into @salisburymuseum.bsky.social for another look at the #ElizabethFrink exhibition. Still time to catch the last few days.
#wellbeing #salisbury

View of Salisbury Cathedral from the north including north porch, north transept with spire towering above. Deep blue sky. In the foreground green grass, lamppost & solitary jackdaw.

Foreground of white building eaves with chimneys on rooftops. Silver Street, Salisbury. St Thomas's Church tower in the background showing south and east sides of the tower, including the clock at 1pm. Wind vane atop the tower with a St George's flag flying from flagstaff.

Elizabeth Frink bronze sculpture of a head and shoulders. Background deliberately blurred. Sculpture part of the Frink exhibition at The Salisbury Museum.

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Reposted by Ruth Butler

Malcolm Sinclair 💀✍️ @historymalc.bsky.social · Sep 21

Parking attendant today at my third talk of the week, this one at Dauntsey under the glorious Doom there. Previous talks in Malmesbury for the museum on the Reformation and then on Last Judgement Art. Similar talk planned in November for Sarum Chronicle annual lecture.
We’re DOOMED!

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Sep 19

As well as great #archives on display, we have our pop-up Heritage Café plus experts galore to chat about archives, #househistory, #familyhistory, #archaeology & conservation. Join us tomorrow 20th from 10am.

#exploreyourarchive

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre @heritagewshc.bsky.social · Sep 19

Sir Christopher Wren, Arts & Crafts #architect Detmar Blow, Augustus Pugin & James Wyatt - aka 'Wyatt the Destroyer' - all feature in our displays for #HeritageOpenDay tomorrow Saturday 20th @heritagewshc.bsky.social Join us from 10am to celebrate all things #architectural

#architecture #archives

Poster for the free open day at Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre which runs from 10am to 4pm Saturday 20th September. Conservation Labs also open from 10am to 1pm. Other attractions include displays of architectural themed items from the archive & local studies collections. There is also a pop-up Heritage Cafe.

A photo of St Paul's Cathedral in London showing the dome and the south side of the building.

A photograph of the west end of Salisbury Cathedral on a sunny day with a cloudless blue sky in the background and shadows on the grass in the foreground from trees.

Postcard showing Stonehenge from the early 1900s when it was undergoing repairs. Some of the stones are propped up and there are people standing around the stones.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Sep 16

Definitely worth a visit across Salisbury Plain to check out the treasures at this year's #HeritageOpenDay @heritagewshc.bsky.social

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre @heritagewshc.bsky.social · Sep 16

Join us this Saturday 20th for our annual #heritageopenday this year celebrating all things architectural from our #archives & #localstudies collections. Meet the experts on #househistory & #familyhistory and why not drop in for a cuppa at our pop-up Heritage Café. See poster for more details.👇

Poster for Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre’s “Architecture in the Archives” Open Day on 20 September, 10am–4pm. Includes event details: archive displays, behind-the-scenes tours, conservation lab visits (10am–1pm), and a pop-up café. Poster includes photo of the History Centre plus logos for Wiltshire Council, Heritage Open Days, and Swindon Borough Council. A pink banner reads “FREE TO EXPLORE.”

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Sep 3

🤷‍♀️...🤦‍♀️
Wordle 1,537 6/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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Reposted by Ruth Butler

Corinne Fowler @corinnefowler.bsky.social · Sep 1

3 project reports now available for our Leverhulme-funded Rural Racism project. A film below reflecs just 3 of our 135 in-depth interviews. These supplement statistics, gaining insights into the human experience of racism in the countryside, where only 4% of the population is from a minoritised gp

Corinne Fowler @corinnefowler.bsky.social · Sep 1

youtu.be/mz0MRL2CCH4?...

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 29

Step back and take it in: the US is entering full authoritarian mode | Jonathan Freedland www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Step back and take it in: the US is entering full authoritarian mode | Jonathan Freedland

Trump’s dictator-like behaviour is so brazen, so blatant, that paradoxically, we discount it. But now it’s time to call it what it is, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Ruth Butler

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · Aug 28

A courteous but very impressive rebuke to Nigel Farage from the Bishop of Oxford.

"I heard no compassion in what you said...".

"I disagree profoundly with your attempts to ... increase fear of the stranger in our communities".

Do read.
blogs.oxford.anglican.org/an-open-lett...

An open letter to Nigel Farage - Bishop Steven's Blog

Bishop Steven writes an open letter in response to Nigel Farage MP's immigration policy which was launched in Oxford this week.

blogs.oxford.anglican.org

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 26

A lovely looking sky earlier this evening (Tuesday), but wispy #cirrus #clouds a sure sign rain is on its way. How much rain is another matter.

#stormhour #cloudscape #summer #weather

Evening sky showing blue sky and high, wispy cirrus clouds.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 26

I wonder if Paddington might find himself deported from later editions of @telegraphnews.bsky.social front page... 🤔

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 18

"pro-pedestrian"
I knew it...🤦‍♀️ Hoist on my own pedantic petard! That's what happens when you don't have a sub (editor) to catch your typos.

Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 18

Don't be alarmed dear reader @telegraphnews.bsky.social but pro-pedstrian Wilts Council was Tory-led when it received a Tory Govt grant for the Fisherton Gateway improvement scheme.
P.S @salisburyjournal.bsky.social stop with the "killer kerb". I know it's the silly season, but please...
#Salisbury

James Ward @jamesward81.bsky.social · Aug 18

Forget coffee. I'm starting my day drinking the salty tears of drivers in Salisbury who are shocked - SHOCKED! - to learn that the consequences of their bad driving are in fact theirs to pay for. #motonormativity

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08...

‘Killer kerb’ that wrecks cars installed by pro-pedestrian council

Furious motorists complain over 13-inch high construction introduced by Lib Dem-led local authority

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 8

And discerning. Identifying a dark chocolate Tunnock's caramel wafer...

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 7

Love the print. And the idea of a wine market. Definitely think we need more appreciation of all things #casks #barrels #coopers #coopering

#barrel #cask #tradeguilds #cityliveries #heritage #heritagecrafts

John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · Aug 7

Autumn: the #wine market in #Strasbourg, Wenceslaus Hollar, 1628-29. That would have been a very nice place to be. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 5

Read my latest blog for @heritagewshc.bsky.social
I'm so privileged to work at the History Centre & to be a #volunteer guide @salisburycathedral.bsky.social so I can share my enthusiasm for #medieval #history

#magnacarta

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre @heritagewshc.bsky.social · Aug 5

Read our latest blog to discover why this is the year of #MagnaCarta - the definitive charter issued by Henry III, confirmed by his son Edward I. And the contemporary copies that can be seen @heritagewshc.bsky.social

#medieval #history #lacock

wshc.org.uk/the-year-of-...

The year of Magna Carta - Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

Exploring the Magna Carta documents held at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre with work experience students

wshc.org.uk

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Reposted by Ruth Butler

Richard C. Keller, PhD @richardckeller.bsky.social · Aug 5

AI will never locate a new archive. It will never uncover a new source. It will never find a small, privately held collection of papers that can upend what we think we know about the past. It can never work with undigitized sources. It can never do real oral history or ethnography.

Joanna Kenty @jokenty.bsky.social · Aug 5

AI can only replace historians in the sense that it can spit out mediocre, plagiarized narrative that vaguely resembles history. It will never replace *good* historians. Unfortunately, many university presidents and CEOs don’t seem to care about the quality of work being done, only the quantity- 1/2

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · Aug 4

Just a reminder this list is drawn from a piece written by four researchers for MICROSOFT (data scientists, CS people, economists) who have never stepped foot in an archive/never taken an oral history/studied material culture, by their CVs.
Unlike them, I do my research, and don't talk out my ass.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Aug 1

Great 'in conversation' event with @alanlester.bsky.social & @sathnam.bsky.social @salisburycathedral.bsky.social Every day a learning day & so relevant to my day job with #archives & as a #volunteer guide at the Cathedral.

Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Jul 27

Go England. What a result. Amazing team effort. And congrats to Michelle Agyemang on being named Young Player of the tournament.
#lionesses #kcl #reggie #kingscollegelondon

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Jul 13

Also popped by to say hello to the Salisbury Giant & Hobnob @salisburymuseum.bsky.social He was a mascot for the #medieval Tailors' Guild in #Salisbury. Pageant giants / figures were once a common sight in parades involving livery companies & trade guilds in cities across the country.
#citylivery

Pageant figure the Salisbury Giant with his hobby horse companion Hobnob. The giant is clothed in a long red cloak with a sash.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Jul 13

Running a few errands in town but had time to pop into @salisburymuseum.bsky.social to see the Frink #exhibition (for the third time). Lovely to just sit, look & contemplate.
#elizabethfrink @wessexmuseums.bsky.social

Foreground shows a sculpted head called Tribute III. In the background is a large photo of sculptor Elizabeth Frink working on one of her large scale figures.

Background shows image of Elizabeth Frink with three prints. Front right is Tribute III - a large sculpted head. Background right, a smaller sculpted head.

View of Elizabeth Frink exhibition gallery including prints on the walls plus six sculptures on plinths. A horse & dog on the right; a group of figures and a large head on the left; another head plus a cockerel centre back..

Photo of Salisbury Cathedral from Salisbury Museum. Gravel footpath in the foreground with border of flowers. Behind are umbrellas & tables. Cathedral in the background.

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Ruth Butler @ruthdotbutler.bsky.social · Jul 12

An afternoon indoors in the cool @salisburycathedral.bsky.social

#volunteering #volunteers #heatwave #summersun

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