Richard Sims
@simsre.bsky.social
Railway and Industrial Historian, especially the sailcloth, twine and netting industry of S Somerset and W Dorset.
Pinned
This Austin 7 was parked in a Bridport car park yesterday. It makes you realise just how small older cars used to be!
December 2, 2025 at 8:25 AM
This Austin 7 was parked in a Bridport car park yesterday. It makes you realise just how small older cars used to be!
The Christmas tree has gone up at West Bay, reflecting its maritime heritage. The building behind to the right was a sail loft until 1863, becoming St Andrews Mission Church, often called The Little Upper Room. It closed when St John’s church, which stands a few yards away, was dedicated in 1939
November 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The Christmas tree has gone up at West Bay, reflecting its maritime heritage. The building behind to the right was a sail loft until 1863, becoming St Andrews Mission Church, often called The Little Upper Room. It closed when St John’s church, which stands a few yards away, was dedicated in 1939
Reposted by Richard Sims
One of the most beautiful bits of english eccentricity and glorious design is coming back to Sotheby’s and should be bought by a musuem (or me) for THE NATION. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Jewelled golden hare that sparked national treasure hunt set for auction
Artist and author Kit Williams hid a golden hare with clues to its precise location given in his 1979 book
www.independent.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 9:18 AM
One of the most beautiful bits of english eccentricity and glorious design is coming back to Sotheby’s and should be bought by a musuem (or me) for THE NATION. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Reposted by Richard Sims
📅Nov 10 1903: Mary Anderson patented the windshield wiper. Automakers rejected it, claiming drivers would be “too distracted” to use it. Her so-called distraction became mandatory on every car, yet she never earned a cent from her invention. #WomenInHistory #WomenInSTEM
tinyurl.com/yxh5w584
tinyurl.com/yxh5w584
November 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
📅Nov 10 1903: Mary Anderson patented the windshield wiper. Automakers rejected it, claiming drivers would be “too distracted” to use it. Her so-called distraction became mandatory on every car, yet she never earned a cent from her invention. #WomenInHistory #WomenInSTEM
tinyurl.com/yxh5w584
tinyurl.com/yxh5w584
Came back this afternoon to find a young deer grazing on our communal land, just 20m away. It may be the same one who visited some months ago.
November 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Came back this afternoon to find a young deer grazing on our communal land, just 20m away. It may be the same one who visited some months ago.
@durotrigesdig.bsky.social
Forget Stonehenge? At Loders we have the sun shining through 13 pylons on the 28/9 October!
Forget Stonehenge? At Loders we have the sun shining through 13 pylons on the 28/9 October!
November 23, 2025 at 2:33 PM
@durotrigesdig.bsky.social
Forget Stonehenge? At Loders we have the sun shining through 13 pylons on the 28/9 October!
Forget Stonehenge? At Loders we have the sun shining through 13 pylons on the 28/9 October!
Researching the book on Coker Canvas we found probably the only surviving example of the cloth. Treatment of the yarn before weaving meant that it lasted twice as long as normal canvas but was more expensive. When Ld Dundonald carried out his experiments he showed that it had a lower life time cost.
November 21, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Researching the book on Coker Canvas we found probably the only surviving example of the cloth. Treatment of the yarn before weaving meant that it lasted twice as long as normal canvas but was more expensive. When Ld Dundonald carried out his experiments he showed that it had a lower life time cost.
Reposted by Richard Sims
Here’s the Nature paper: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Here’s the Nature paper: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Richard Sims
LANCASTER BOMBER POPPY GOODNESS
Local church is carpet bombing poppies for Jesus @remembrancewatch.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
LANCASTER BOMBER POPPY GOODNESS
Reposted by Richard Sims
My reconstruction of Allen Smelt Mill (2017) is a good contender for being among my most challenging visualisation projects. It required months of effort, research, and problem-solving with the aid of 3D models. I wrote an article about the experience.... bob-marshall.blogspot.com/2018/01/reco...
November 1, 2025 at 8:02 AM
My reconstruction of Allen Smelt Mill (2017) is a good contender for being among my most challenging visualisation projects. It required months of effort, research, and problem-solving with the aid of 3D models. I wrote an article about the experience.... bob-marshall.blogspot.com/2018/01/reco...
Reposted by Richard Sims
Farage: epic grifter
October 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Farage: epic grifter
Reposted by Richard Sims
We now have the privilege once more of being serenaded nightly by his hoots from the nest he shares with his mate in the oak tree outside our house. One of the most surreal yet worthwhile commitments I’ve ever made.
If this folklore malarky ever falls through, I think I might have found my calling…
If this folklore malarky ever falls through, I think I might have found my calling…
October 5, 2025 at 9:12 AM
We now have the privilege once more of being serenaded nightly by his hoots from the nest he shares with his mate in the oak tree outside our house. One of the most surreal yet worthwhile commitments I’ve ever made.
If this folklore malarky ever falls through, I think I might have found my calling…
If this folklore malarky ever falls through, I think I might have found my calling…
Our lunch venue today being our anniversary, as it was all those years ago!
October 3, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Our lunch venue today being our anniversary, as it was all those years ago!
Reposted by Richard Sims
Reposted by Richard Sims
The cricketing world has lost a legend today. Thank you for the memories, Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird MBE OBE.
May you rest in peace.
#WeAreSomerset
May you rest in peace.
#WeAreSomerset
September 23, 2025 at 11:22 AM
The cricketing world has lost a legend today. Thank you for the memories, Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird MBE OBE.
May you rest in peace.
#WeAreSomerset
May you rest in peace.
#WeAreSomerset
Reposted by Richard Sims
Just to note that to geneticists this is not a surprise, and the latest data confirms all the other data that has been building since the time of Darwin. We're all amazing mongrels, and this planet belongs to us all, to share and nurture.
“Harvard geneticist David Reich said … increasingly sophisticated analysis of genetic material made possible by technological advances shows that virtually everyone came from somewhere else, and everyone’s genetic background shows a mix from different waves of migration that washed over the globe.”
Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.
news.harvard.edu
September 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Just to note that to geneticists this is not a surprise, and the latest data confirms all the other data that has been building since the time of Darwin. We're all amazing mongrels, and this planet belongs to us all, to share and nurture.
West Bay’s fishing fleet tied up in the harbour.
September 20, 2025 at 8:34 AM
West Bay’s fishing fleet tied up in the harbour.
Reposted by Richard Sims
“The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before”
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.
news.harvard.edu
September 20, 2025 at 8:05 AM
“The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before”
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
@anjanakhatwa.bsky.social
While at Eype Church stewarding an exhibition, I have time to read Whispers of Rock. Within a few pages I am transported to the galleries at Grimes Graves where, in the 1970s, an antler was found, the thumb print of the Neolithic miner still visible in the puddled clay
While at Eype Church stewarding an exhibition, I have time to read Whispers of Rock. Within a few pages I am transported to the galleries at Grimes Graves where, in the 1970s, an antler was found, the thumb print of the Neolithic miner still visible in the puddled clay
September 9, 2025 at 10:30 AM
@anjanakhatwa.bsky.social
While at Eype Church stewarding an exhibition, I have time to read Whispers of Rock. Within a few pages I am transported to the galleries at Grimes Graves where, in the 1970s, an antler was found, the thumb print of the Neolithic miner still visible in the puddled clay
While at Eype Church stewarding an exhibition, I have time to read Whispers of Rock. Within a few pages I am transported to the galleries at Grimes Graves where, in the 1970s, an antler was found, the thumb print of the Neolithic miner still visible in the puddled clay
I have been looking at the Visitation of Dorset 1565 to try and understand the history of Mapperton, near Beaminster. Could a #mediaeval specialist clarify whether the use of the word residence means that the person lives there or just has property there .
September 8, 2025 at 8:15 AM
I have been looking at the Visitation of Dorset 1565 to try and understand the history of Mapperton, near Beaminster. Could a #mediaeval specialist clarify whether the use of the word residence means that the person lives there or just has property there .
September 8, 2025 at 8:01 AM
I have been looking at the Visitation of Dorset 1565 to try and understand the history of Mapperton, near Beaminster. Could a #mediaeval specialist clarify whether the use of the word residence means that the person lives there or just has property there .
Reposted by Richard Sims
Seriously, just look at this graph - Somerset were ahead of Warwickshire in the first over, and then off the last but one ball. This, by and large, *does not happen*.
September 7, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Seriously, just look at this graph - Somerset were ahead of Warwickshire in the first over, and then off the last but one ball. This, by and large, *does not happen*.
The Artists of the Jurassic Coast Exhibition is on at Eype Church from tomorrow until the 28th. The photos show Marion’s work
@annadillon.bsky.social
@annadillon.bsky.social
September 5, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The Artists of the Jurassic Coast Exhibition is on at Eype Church from tomorrow until the 28th. The photos show Marion’s work
@annadillon.bsky.social
@annadillon.bsky.social
While setting up for Artists of the Jurassic Coast we noticed 7 hang gliders over Thorncombe Beacon
September 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
While setting up for Artists of the Jurassic Coast we noticed 7 hang gliders over Thorncombe Beacon
Reposted by Richard Sims
Credit to Ed Davey for this. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
September 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Credit to Ed Davey for this. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...