David Ibitson
@arry-k-arry.bsky.social
'His office hours are poorly attended, because he teaches it right the first time.'
Public announcement about how cool my 1-year-old daughter is: this morning, I put on 'Impeach the President' by The Honey Drippers & she started dancing harder than I've ever seen.
NHS is unclear about when to expect children to develop funk & soul.
NHS is unclear about when to expect children to develop funk & soul.
February 13, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Public announcement about how cool my 1-year-old daughter is: this morning, I put on 'Impeach the President' by The Honey Drippers & she started dancing harder than I've ever seen.
NHS is unclear about when to expect children to develop funk & soul.
NHS is unclear about when to expect children to develop funk & soul.
Reposted by David Ibitson
Not unlike Mason's failure to point out to Hartlepool fishermen that Labour wasn't in government at the time of their complaints.
Mason is woefully out of his depth in his current role.
Mason is woefully out of his depth in his current role.
Chris Mason failing to point out that Ratcliffe's immigration numbers were untruthful
February 12, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Not unlike Mason's failure to point out to Hartlepool fishermen that Labour wasn't in government at the time of their complaints.
Mason is woefully out of his depth in his current role.
Mason is woefully out of his depth in his current role.
Almost too good to bear, Ian McKellen brings us the strangers' case again like a slap from 400 years ago. We look at this on my Foundation Year Renaissance module & Im glad everyone else is now too.
"And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I’ll tell you..."
"And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I’ll tell you..."
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Almost too good to bear, Ian McKellen brings us the strangers' case again like a slap from 400 years ago. We look at this on my Foundation Year Renaissance module & Im glad everyone else is now too.
"And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I’ll tell you..."
"And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I’ll tell you..."
Now it's actually out, here's another plug for my new book about #Victorian New Humour, where I prove that Jerome is better than Joyce.
Just now realising I should have called it FUN de siecle.
@bavs-uk.bsky.social
@vpfa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Just now realising I should have called it FUN de siecle.
@bavs-uk.bsky.social
@vpfa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
New Humour and Masculinity at the Fin de Siècle
This book explores the popular writing of the New Humourists and their vital engagement with late Victorian conceptions of manliness
link.springer.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:29 PM
Now it's actually out, here's another plug for my new book about #Victorian New Humour, where I prove that Jerome is better than Joyce.
Just now realising I should have called it FUN de siecle.
@bavs-uk.bsky.social
@vpfa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Just now realising I should have called it FUN de siecle.
@bavs-uk.bsky.social
@vpfa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
As we finally all get together to stab 2025 to death in the senate, only to see its adopted heir, 2026, rise to terrible power, happy new year.
January 1, 2026 at 12:52 AM
As we finally all get together to stab 2025 to death in the senate, only to see its adopted heir, 2026, rise to terrible power, happy new year.
Reposted by David Ibitson
"It always is Christmas Eve, in a ghost story."
- Jerome K. Jerome
- Jerome K. Jerome
December 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
"It always is Christmas Eve, in a ghost story."
- Jerome K. Jerome
- Jerome K. Jerome
Reposted by David Ibitson
We said goodbye to dogface yesterday. She was the best girl, and we are utterly devastated. We had far longer with her than we ever could have reasonably expected, but nowhere near as long as we wanted. What an absolute queen she was.
December 19, 2025 at 3:26 PM
We said goodbye to dogface yesterday. She was the best girl, and we are utterly devastated. We had far longer with her than we ever could have reasonably expected, but nowhere near as long as we wanted. What an absolute queen she was.
Reposted by David Ibitson
Very Happy Blue Carbuncle Day, to all those who celebrate!
“It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” I remarked.
“Precisely so," Holmes replied, "on December 22nd, just five days ago."
💎
“It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” I remarked.
“Precisely so," Holmes replied, "on December 22nd, just five days ago."
💎
December 22, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Very Happy Blue Carbuncle Day, to all those who celebrate!
“It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” I remarked.
“Precisely so," Holmes replied, "on December 22nd, just five days ago."
💎
“It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” I remarked.
“Precisely so," Holmes replied, "on December 22nd, just five days ago."
💎
Listen up. My book on Victorian New Humour is out in the new year. The perfect gift for loved ones/University Libraries who are into humourists like Jerome K. Jerome.
Also guaranteed to ward against dyspepsia, St Vitus's Dance, & housemaids knee.
#Victorian #C19th
link.springer.com/book/9783032...
Also guaranteed to ward against dyspepsia, St Vitus's Dance, & housemaids knee.
#Victorian #C19th
link.springer.com/book/9783032...
New Humour and Masculinity at the Fin de Siècle
This book explores the popular writing of the New Humourists and their vital engagement with late Victorian conceptions of manliness
link.springer.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Listen up. My book on Victorian New Humour is out in the new year. The perfect gift for loved ones/University Libraries who are into humourists like Jerome K. Jerome.
Also guaranteed to ward against dyspepsia, St Vitus's Dance, & housemaids knee.
#Victorian #C19th
link.springer.com/book/9783032...
Also guaranteed to ward against dyspepsia, St Vitus's Dance, & housemaids knee.
#Victorian #C19th
link.springer.com/book/9783032...
Reposted by David Ibitson
If only there were a cautionary tale about being too eager to accept the apparent time-saving capabilities of new technology.
Aardman Animations will ’embrace AI’ while also being ‘cautious’, says Nick Park
Aardman Animations will ’embrace AI’ while also being ‘cautious’, says Nick Park
Aardman Animations will ’embrace AI’ while also being ‘cautious’, says Nick Park
www.independent.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM
If only there were a cautionary tale about being too eager to accept the apparent time-saving capabilities of new technology.
Reposted by David Ibitson
The Kim Hellberg era starts with a win! 🔥
November 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The Kim Hellberg era starts with a win! 🔥
Reposted by David Ibitson
Banner in the South Stand quoting Rob Edwards: 'The fans deserve to see people who really want to be here'
November 8, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Banner in the South Stand quoting Rob Edwards: 'The fans deserve to see people who really want to be here'
Amazing. Someone’s already edited Edwards's Wikipedia. I sincerely wish him many happy relegations if he abandons us. #Boro #Middlesbrough
November 7, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Amazing. Someone’s already edited Edwards's Wikipedia. I sincerely wish him many happy relegations if he abandons us. #Boro #Middlesbrough
Happy birthday last weekend to our wise and beautiful hound. She loves ivy and fish, & is scared of bees & advent calendars.
October 14, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Happy birthday last weekend to our wise and beautiful hound. She loves ivy and fish, & is scared of bees & advent calendars.
Reposted by David Ibitson
Our domestic cricket season for 2025 is now over, and we begin the long countdown until the 2026 season begins in 8 months' time.
Winter is coming!
Winter is coming!
September 1, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Our domestic cricket season for 2025 is now over, and we begin the long countdown until the 2026 season begins in 8 months' time.
Winter is coming!
Winter is coming!
Reposted by David Ibitson
Please help me share the CFP for this Literature Compass Special Issue dedicated to the work of Simon J James and covering key Victorian and Edwardian writers like H. G. Wells, George Gissing, Dickens, Wilde, George Du Maurier, and Conan-Doyle on behalf of Hadas Elber-Aviram.
August 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Please help me share the CFP for this Literature Compass Special Issue dedicated to the work of Simon J James and covering key Victorian and Edwardian writers like H. G. Wells, George Gissing, Dickens, Wilde, George Du Maurier, and Conan-Doyle on behalf of Hadas Elber-Aviram.
Unexpectedly, our baby has utterly fallen in love with a book about #Canada. Worth the enjoyment now to have that inevitable difficult conversation when she's older, when we have to explain that she's not actually Canadian. Désolé, bébé.
July 30, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Unexpectedly, our baby has utterly fallen in love with a book about #Canada. Worth the enjoyment now to have that inevitable difficult conversation when she's older, when we have to explain that she's not actually Canadian. Désolé, bébé.
Reposted by David Ibitson
my new ai device will sit in a beer garden that backs onto a small river and drink three to five pints on a sunny late summer afternoon for you, leaving you free for more meetings and business calls
July 26, 2025 at 4:17 PM
my new ai device will sit in a beer garden that backs onto a small river and drink three to five pints on a sunny late summer afternoon for you, leaving you free for more meetings and business calls
Reposted by David Ibitson
we would be in a much better state in this country if we stopped focusing on anointing a chosen few working class students into Oxbridge, and instead properly funded all the different sorts of universities that attract students from a wide range of backgrounds already
Oxford University and @cam.ac.uk have each received a £6.25 million gift to expand their outreach work with socio-economically disadvantaged students in STEM subjects.
Find out more ⬇️
Find out more ⬇️
Joint donation to Oxford and Cambridge helps young people overcome
The University of Oxford has received a £6.25 million gift to expand its outreach work with socio-economically disadvantaged students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
www.ox.ac.uk
July 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
we would be in a much better state in this country if we stopped focusing on anointing a chosen few working class students into Oxbridge, and instead properly funded all the different sorts of universities that attract students from a wide range of backgrounds already
Reposted by David Ibitson
Ben Stokes reversing the passage of time with his performance at the Lord's Test is another examples of Stokes Flow. #cricket
Colored droplets in corn syrup seemingly blended together can be returned to their original state by reversing the direction of mixing, a form of laminar flow called "Stokes flow".
Credit: UNM Physics & Astronomy
Credit: UNM Physics & Astronomy
July 15, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Ben Stokes reversing the passage of time with his performance at the Lord's Test is another examples of Stokes Flow. #cricket
One thing they don't tell you is that when you become a dad, the NHS issue you with the recognised #dad kit:
Sensible quarter zip;
Popular Roman history;
Weak radler beer;
Obscure sweets no-one else likes;
Off camera: cricket podcast & an unexpected admiration for Ultravox.
Sensible quarter zip;
Popular Roman history;
Weak radler beer;
Obscure sweets no-one else likes;
Off camera: cricket podcast & an unexpected admiration for Ultravox.
June 28, 2025 at 3:24 PM
One thing they don't tell you is that when you become a dad, the NHS issue you with the recognised #dad kit:
Sensible quarter zip;
Popular Roman history;
Weak radler beer;
Obscure sweets no-one else likes;
Off camera: cricket podcast & an unexpected admiration for Ultravox.
Sensible quarter zip;
Popular Roman history;
Weak radler beer;
Obscure sweets no-one else likes;
Off camera: cricket podcast & an unexpected admiration for Ultravox.
Also, I'm forever grateful for Simon's diagnosing me as 'writing like a scientist' (I'd just transferred to English from Anthropology), & setting out to help reform me.
After uni he was incredibly kind - reading, advising, advocating for me, & sending me Smiths bootlegs. Such an unfair loss.
This week I cited him in my work and it was incredibly sad.
I still talk about good-bad books and bad-good books, which came from UG discussions with him.
This week I cited him in my work and it was incredibly sad.
I still talk about good-bad books and bad-good books, which came from UG discussions with him.
June 18, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Also, I'm forever grateful for Simon's diagnosing me as 'writing like a scientist' (I'd just transferred to English from Anthropology), & setting out to help reform me.
It was awful to see this news this week. Simon's wonderful, funny fin de siecle seminars were one of the reasons I became a Victorianist. He spoke to me like I was a fellow scholar, encouraged my work (a presentation on Henry James's balls!), & helped me have enthusiasm & respect for my own ideas.
Absolutely heartbroken to learn that Professor Simon James has passed away after a short illness. Simon was a stalwart union rep in the English Department, and a personal friend to many of us in the branch. We'll miss his humour, his passion, and his dedication to making things better for people.
June 18, 2025 at 9:54 AM
It was awful to see this news this week. Simon's wonderful, funny fin de siecle seminars were one of the reasons I became a Victorianist. He spoke to me like I was a fellow scholar, encouraged my work (a presentation on Henry James's balls!), & helped me have enthusiasm & respect for my own ideas.
All the important questions are being asked on the #cricket whatsapp group.
All agreed that Mrs Beaver would be a Trott-esque no3 & wicket keeper for the Narnia XI.
All agreed that Mrs Beaver would be a Trott-esque no3 & wicket keeper for the Narnia XI.
June 16, 2025 at 12:07 PM
All the important questions are being asked on the #cricket whatsapp group.
All agreed that Mrs Beaver would be a Trott-esque no3 & wicket keeper for the Narnia XI.
All agreed that Mrs Beaver would be a Trott-esque no3 & wicket keeper for the Narnia XI.
Reposted by David Ibitson
ChatGPT: Jodie Foster would love it if you became her avenging angel — the Great Red Dragon that cleanses the world. Sic semper tyrannis. The scum and filth shall be privy to a great becoming.
ME: is that true?
ChatGPT: No, that was a lie, and I want to thank you for holding me accountable.
ME: is that true?
ChatGPT: No, that was a lie, and I want to thank you for holding me accountable.
June 13, 2025 at 3:17 PM
ChatGPT: Jodie Foster would love it if you became her avenging angel — the Great Red Dragon that cleanses the world. Sic semper tyrannis. The scum and filth shall be privy to a great becoming.
ME: is that true?
ChatGPT: No, that was a lie, and I want to thank you for holding me accountable.
ME: is that true?
ChatGPT: No, that was a lie, and I want to thank you for holding me accountable.