Doc Sarah Lonsdale
@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
Mostly books, history & nature. Politics, 48%. Writer, Lecturer, History of journalism City University, London. New book, Wildly Different, about women and the wild is out in the wild!
Financial Times "Best Books" Summer 2025
Wrestling another one
Financial Times "Best Books" Summer 2025
Wrestling another one
Pinned
Women's History Month - Evelyn Cheesman - Manchester University Press
To mark Women’s History Month and the publication of her new book Wildly different, we asked historian Sarah Lonsdale to profile the five pioneering women she focuses on, bringing their fascinating st...
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Who wants to read about the first woman keeper of insects at London Zoo, and how she cut her way out of a giant spider's web with her nail file? Evelyn Cheesman, the second of the five women in my book:
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2025/03...
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2025/03...
I was lucky to see much art in 2025. My 2 favourite paintings were both Spanish, separated by 100 years: 'On the Terrace' by Cecile Pla y Gallardo, c.1900, and 'Insomnia at Dawn' by Soledad Sevilla, 2000. I love that calm yet joyous sun-drenched terrace, and, sadly the Sevilla speaks directly to me
December 15, 2025 at 9:52 AM
I was lucky to see much art in 2025. My 2 favourite paintings were both Spanish, separated by 100 years: 'On the Terrace' by Cecile Pla y Gallardo, c.1900, and 'Insomnia at Dawn' by Soledad Sevilla, 2000. I love that calm yet joyous sun-drenched terrace, and, sadly the Sevilla speaks directly to me
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
It’s a sad indictment of Britain’s ignorance of nature that Sycamore Gap petitions - for a tree that mattered to humans but not nature - received tens of thousands of signatures but a petition to protect entire peatland habitats is stuck at 1,500 actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...
Sign the petition to end peat sales!
No more delays: Let's get peat out of gardens once and for all. The time for uncertainty has ended.
actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk
December 15, 2025 at 8:15 AM
It’s a sad indictment of Britain’s ignorance of nature that Sycamore Gap petitions - for a tree that mattered to humans but not nature - received tens of thousands of signatures but a petition to protect entire peatland habitats is stuck at 1,500 actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Highest rate of increase among children of the better-off because they can afford to have private diagnoses, instead of waiting for years to be seen in the NHS. Not because there is any difference between rates of child/adolescent mental health problems/neurodiversity between different social groups
Brave deep-dive on the rise of special needs, by @jburnmurdoch.ft.com.
Increasing across the advanced economies and highest rate of increase among children of the better-off.
www.ft.com/content/8252...
Increasing across the advanced economies and highest rate of increase among children of the better-off.
www.ft.com/content/8252...
How redefining special needs rocked education
Broadened criteria are benefiting the better-off, harming those facing greatest difficulty and straining the system
www.ft.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Highest rate of increase among children of the better-off because they can afford to have private diagnoses, instead of waiting for years to be seen in the NHS. Not because there is any difference between rates of child/adolescent mental health problems/neurodiversity between different social groups
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Time for Keir Starmer to act for access @ramblers.org.uk @openspacessociety.bsky.social campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/12/14/s...
Starmer loves to walk. Now he should act for access
On 7 December The Observer reported that the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, loves to go walking on his own. Keir told Rachel Sylvester that ‘the thing he misses most as prime minister is takin…
campaignerkate.wordpress.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Time for Keir Starmer to act for access @ramblers.org.uk @openspacessociety.bsky.social campaignerkate.wordpress.com/2025/12/14/s...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Sharing this @lrb.co.uk article on the modern interpretation history of the beautiful Fayum portraits from ancient Roman Egypt www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Elisabeth R. O’Connell · In Her Green Necklace: Mummy Portraits
The mummy portraits are stunning. Their production began around 30-40 ce, sixty or so years after the defeat of Antony...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Sharing this @lrb.co.uk article on the modern interpretation history of the beautiful Fayum portraits from ancient Roman Egypt www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
November 12, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the first National Park in the UK, the Peak District, and a recognition that the moors should be enjoyed by the many, not a few grouse-shooting dukes. But for one woman, it may never have happened. For a bargain £12 read.. 1/2
share.google/X3y1wiiIfwLe...
share.google/X3y1wiiIfwLe...
December 14, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the first National Park in the UK, the Peak District, and a recognition that the moors should be enjoyed by the many, not a few grouse-shooting dukes. But for one woman, it may never have happened. For a bargain £12 read.. 1/2
share.google/X3y1wiiIfwLe...
share.google/X3y1wiiIfwLe...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
You can read more in my latest book Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.
Songs of Seven Dials is currently available for £12 in the MUP Christmas 2025 sale. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181954/
Songs of Seven Dials is currently available for £12 in the MUP Christmas 2025 sale. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181954/
Manchester University Press - Songs of Seven Dials
Songs of Seven Dials - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of Songs of Seven Dials by Matt Houlbrook
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
December 14, 2025 at 8:19 AM
You can read more in my latest book Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.
Songs of Seven Dials is currently available for £12 in the MUP Christmas 2025 sale. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181954/
Songs of Seven Dials is currently available for £12 in the MUP Christmas 2025 sale. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181954/
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Postcards from 1920s and 1930s Seven Dials 1
Before there was Monmouth Coffee, there was Jim and Emily Kitten’s café in Great White Lion Street.
#London #SevenDials #CoventGarden #History #20s30s
Before there was Monmouth Coffee, there was Jim and Emily Kitten’s café in Great White Lion Street.
#London #SevenDials #CoventGarden #History #20s30s
December 8, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Postcards from 1920s and 1930s Seven Dials 1
Before there was Monmouth Coffee, there was Jim and Emily Kitten’s café in Great White Lion Street.
#London #SevenDials #CoventGarden #History #20s30s
Before there was Monmouth Coffee, there was Jim and Emily Kitten’s café in Great White Lion Street.
#London #SevenDials #CoventGarden #History #20s30s
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Teared up at this bit “an extraordinary, ordinary man whose decency and kindness on January 20 2023 prevented an atrocity in the maternity wing of a major British hospital”
Two men meet in the carpark of a Leeds hospital. They sit on a bench and start chatting. One of them has a bomb in their backpack and the other must talk them out of using it. A mindblowing and entirely true story that reads like a thriller. as.ft.com/r/13756c02-0...
‘It’s just a bomb’
[FREE TO READ] The true story of two strangers and an extraordinary act of courage
as.ft.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Teared up at this bit “an extraordinary, ordinary man whose decency and kindness on January 20 2023 prevented an atrocity in the maternity wing of a major British hospital”
Oslo street, December 1911 by Oskar Sohlberg.
December 13, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Oslo street, December 1911 by Oskar Sohlberg.
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
my last (probably final) copywriting client hired me because they weren’t happy with ChatGPT because “it didn’t sound human enough.” then they stopped using me because I “sounded too human”
When the AI boom began, copywriters were singled out as one of the jobs most vulnerable to AI. Now, three years later, I wanted to hear from workers on the frontlines of the industry, to hear what had actually taken place on the ground.
For many, it was even worse than they'd feared.
For many, it was even worse than they'd feared.
"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry
Copywriters were one of the first to have their jobs targeted by AI firms. These are their stories, three years into the AI era.
www.bloodinthemachine.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:11 PM
my last (probably final) copywriting client hired me because they weren’t happy with ChatGPT because “it didn’t sound human enough.” then they stopped using me because I “sounded too human”
Even if those men including Branson and Gates were not actually doing criminal acts, the image of powerful men and underage girls or 'on the younger side' women at these parties is nauseating and goes to the heart of patriarchy and misogyny
Garcia: "Some of the other photos that we did not put out today are incredibly disturbing"
December 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Even if those men including Branson and Gates were not actually doing criminal acts, the image of powerful men and underage girls or 'on the younger side' women at these parties is nauseating and goes to the heart of patriarchy and misogyny
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
"Trumpian populism may be the story of our age but I'm increasingly convinced that we're underplaying the tech-authoritarian elephant in the room." My Swamp Notes newsletter. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/199e371f-8...
Big tech’s ‘elite victim complex’
[FREE TO READ] Acolytes of the broligarchs have a grip on key nodes of Washington’s power ministries
as.ft.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:16 PM
"Trumpian populism may be the story of our age but I'm increasingly convinced that we're underplaying the tech-authoritarian elephant in the room." My Swamp Notes newsletter. Free to read. as.ft.com/r/199e371f-8...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
Read the latest in our Long Overdue project, an In Memoriam for C. L. R. James by Gerald Horne. 🗃️
In #AHAPerspectives, read a Long Overdue tribute to C. L. R. James, journalist and historian, who died in 1989. 🗃️
C. L. R. James (1901–89) – AHA
This Long Overdue tribute honors C. L. R. James, journalist and historian, who died in 1989.
www.historians.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Read the latest in our Long Overdue project, an In Memoriam for C. L. R. James by Gerald Horne. 🗃️
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
🎁 Give the gift that challenges inequality.
A Fawcett membership funds feminist change and connects people to action.
Order by 18 Dec for Christmas delivery👉 bit.ly/3KFCyIU
#GiftOfChange #NotAnotherPairOfSocks
A Fawcett membership funds feminist change and connects people to action.
Order by 18 Dec for Christmas delivery👉 bit.ly/3KFCyIU
#GiftOfChange #NotAnotherPairOfSocks
December 11, 2025 at 2:06 PM
🎁 Give the gift that challenges inequality.
A Fawcett membership funds feminist change and connects people to action.
Order by 18 Dec for Christmas delivery👉 bit.ly/3KFCyIU
#GiftOfChange #NotAnotherPairOfSocks
A Fawcett membership funds feminist change and connects people to action.
Order by 18 Dec for Christmas delivery👉 bit.ly/3KFCyIU
#GiftOfChange #NotAnotherPairOfSocks
Fascinating little volume this, about the BBC during the Cold War, by Hugh Greene, former D-G and brother to the more famous Graham. Like his brother's themes, every decision is nuanced, every motivation questioned and every broadcast across the Iron Curtain a chance to encourage espionage.
December 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Fascinating little volume this, about the BBC during the Cold War, by Hugh Greene, former D-G and brother to the more famous Graham. Like his brother's themes, every decision is nuanced, every motivation questioned and every broadcast across the Iron Curtain a chance to encourage espionage.
Why are 99% of Christmas movies so terribly bad? Spoiler: Tinsel Town is awful
December 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Why are 99% of Christmas movies so terribly bad? Spoiler: Tinsel Town is awful
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
A perfect gift for any explorer, whether it's the streets of 1920s London, or the Northumbrian coast, or further afield. These brilliant books are all 40% OFF until December 23rd on our website.
@jakecampbell88.bsky.social
@tricksterprince.bsky.social
@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
#giftideas #booksky
@jakecampbell88.bsky.social
@tricksterprince.bsky.social
@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
#giftideas #booksky
December 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
A perfect gift for any explorer, whether it's the streets of 1920s London, or the Northumbrian coast, or further afield. These brilliant books are all 40% OFF until December 23rd on our website.
@jakecampbell88.bsky.social
@tricksterprince.bsky.social
@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
#giftideas #booksky
@jakecampbell88.bsky.social
@tricksterprince.bsky.social
@sarahjlonsdale.bsky.social
#giftideas #booksky
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
"Last month marked the third time since 2008 that layoffs in November exceeded 70,000, with the other two times being in 2008 and 2022."
@paigemcglauflin.bsky.social reports.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025...
@paigemcglauflin.bsky.social reports.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025...
Employers seemingly disregard etiquette, laying off employees right before the holidays
The once common ritual fell out of fashion following the Great Recession, until this year.
www.hr-brew.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
"Last month marked the third time since 2008 that layoffs in November exceeded 70,000, with the other two times being in 2008 and 2022."
@paigemcglauflin.bsky.social reports.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025...
@paigemcglauflin.bsky.social reports.
www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025...
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
In #winter 2018, Icelandic photographer Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir wanted to show her partner, who was away in the capital, how much it had snowed overnight at their home and posted a photo of herself on FB #womensart
December 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
In #winter 2018, Icelandic photographer Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir wanted to show her partner, who was away in the capital, how much it had snowed overnight at their home and posted a photo of herself on FB #womensart
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
My uncle broke ranks with my Methodist family & told me the Glyderau mountains of Dyffryn Ogwen are home to Gods, & Angels live in the rivers & trees on the valley floor
As a child I listened in awe to his stories of a life with Nature, & still have no reason to not believe him
As a child I listened in awe to his stories of a life with Nature, & still have no reason to not believe him
December 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM
My uncle broke ranks with my Methodist family & told me the Glyderau mountains of Dyffryn Ogwen are home to Gods, & Angels live in the rivers & trees on the valley floor
As a child I listened in awe to his stories of a life with Nature, & still have no reason to not believe him
As a child I listened in awe to his stories of a life with Nature, & still have no reason to not believe him
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
I'm not saying I hire staff exclusively for their baking prowess, but I'm not saying I don't. (they are *delicious*)
December 8, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I'm not saying I hire staff exclusively for their baking prowess, but I'm not saying I don't. (they are *delicious*)
Even when the leaves have gone, there's so much life in the woods. Forests of moss, and lichen that stuns with its ingenuity to find life on dead twigs and old rocks. The colour and shape of that blue-green tree lichen is astoundingly beautiful
December 8, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Even when the leaves have gone, there's so much life in the woods. Forests of moss, and lichen that stuns with its ingenuity to find life on dead twigs and old rocks. The colour and shape of that blue-green tree lichen is astoundingly beautiful
Reposted by Doc Sarah Lonsdale
“Russia wishes us harm and is working in a very organised way to inflict damage”
There’s been a lot of recent Russia-UK news - from spy submarines to the Salisbury inquiry.
So I asked someone who’s been tracking what’s going on why Russia has singled us out
www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
There’s been a lot of recent Russia-UK news - from spy submarines to the Salisbury inquiry.
So I asked someone who’s been tracking what’s going on why Russia has singled us out
www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Russia has made Britain its number one enemy
Ex-Nato official John Lough on how the UK is being “singled out” for Russian aggression
www.newstatesman.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:39 PM
“Russia wishes us harm and is working in a very organised way to inflict damage”
There’s been a lot of recent Russia-UK news - from spy submarines to the Salisbury inquiry.
So I asked someone who’s been tracking what’s going on why Russia has singled us out
www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
There’s been a lot of recent Russia-UK news - from spy submarines to the Salisbury inquiry.
So I asked someone who’s been tracking what’s going on why Russia has singled us out
www.newstatesman.com/internationa...