Simon Williams
@historysimon.bsky.social
MA in Military History from Wolves Uni. Developing a project on the treatment of the families of the bereaved after the Second World War. Working alongside Stichting Erfgoed 40-45.
https://simonwilliamshistory.substack.com/publish/home?utm_source=menu
https://simonwilliamshistory.substack.com/publish/home?utm_source=menu
Reposted by Simon Williams
It is that time of the year when we launch the T-Towel.
And here it is.
This beauty is now on the website’s store.
Enjoy!
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
And here it is.
This beauty is now on the website’s store.
Enjoy!
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
![T Towel design in red and white. Reads “Please Mind the Farage” with a picture of a waste bin seeping farage (liquid waste) and beneath the image printed in red, “farage (noun) [fa-rij] The liquid found at the bottom of a waste bin or container"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2dsjjyd6tv34uyxd75o44o4p/bafkreier3jfqiupxmlfwchsgac3sbfwx6x5gtr7so3oecezmkf3otmm3ey@jpeg)
November 23, 2025 at 7:14 PM
It is that time of the year when we launch the T-Towel.
And here it is.
This beauty is now on the website’s store.
Enjoy!
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
And here it is.
This beauty is now on the website’s store.
Enjoy!
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
Reposted by Simon Williams
HOME Manchester this week for the play Ordinary Decent Criminal by Ed Edwards. Week after we have a couple of dates in York. Then the tour is done.
So last chance to see it.
The playscript is for sale on the website.
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
So last chance to see it.
The playscript is for sale on the website.
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
Store – Mark Thomas Info
markthomasinfo.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 7:23 PM
HOME Manchester this week for the play Ordinary Decent Criminal by Ed Edwards. Week after we have a couple of dates in York. Then the tour is done.
So last chance to see it.
The playscript is for sale on the website.
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
So last chance to see it.
The playscript is for sale on the website.
markthomasinfo.co.uk/store/
Reposted by Simon Williams
I can't sing and can't play a musical instrument. But back in 1985 when I had to pose for this group shot, I totally tried to steal what Jellybean Johnson did on the cover of The Time's 1981 album. The power of the skinny tie compelled me.
November 23, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I can't sing and can't play a musical instrument. But back in 1985 when I had to pose for this group shot, I totally tried to steal what Jellybean Johnson did on the cover of The Time's 1981 album. The power of the skinny tie compelled me.
Reposted by Simon Williams
ICYMI
In the second episode of SHAKESPEARE & FRIENDS Rachel Aanstad and I discuss what some food items might have meant for early moderners.
Lots of plays covered, including Richard III, Henry V, Hamlet, Othello, and of course...Titus Andronicus. 🥧
youtu.be/moZBBU2sdto?...
In the second episode of SHAKESPEARE & FRIENDS Rachel Aanstad and I discuss what some food items might have meant for early moderners.
Lots of plays covered, including Richard III, Henry V, Hamlet, Othello, and of course...Titus Andronicus. 🥧
youtu.be/moZBBU2sdto?...
What was on Shakespeare's menu?
YouTube video by Shakespeare & Friends
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 AM
ICYMI
In the second episode of SHAKESPEARE & FRIENDS Rachel Aanstad and I discuss what some food items might have meant for early moderners.
Lots of plays covered, including Richard III, Henry V, Hamlet, Othello, and of course...Titus Andronicus. 🥧
youtu.be/moZBBU2sdto?...
In the second episode of SHAKESPEARE & FRIENDS Rachel Aanstad and I discuss what some food items might have meant for early moderners.
Lots of plays covered, including Richard III, Henry V, Hamlet, Othello, and of course...Titus Andronicus. 🥧
youtu.be/moZBBU2sdto?...
Reposted by Simon Williams
Reposted by Simon Williams
Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Jimmy Durante and Buster Keaton 1932
November 22, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Jimmy Durante and Buster Keaton 1932
Reposted by Simon Williams
JD Vance Cries In Bathroom After Trump Uses ‘Piggy’ Nickname On Someone Else https://theonion.com/jd-vance-cries-in-bathroom-after-trump-uses-piggy-nickname-on-someone-else/
November 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
JD Vance Cries In Bathroom After Trump Uses ‘Piggy’ Nickname On Someone Else https://theonion.com/jd-vance-cries-in-bathroom-after-trump-uses-piggy-nickname-on-someone-else/
Reposted by Simon Williams
Jodie Foster sings "My Name Is Tallulah" in Alan Parker's 1976 gangster musical comedy film "BUGSY MALONE"
🎥 Pinewood Studios
🎬 Paramount Pictures
🎥 Pinewood Studios
🎬 Paramount Pictures
November 19, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Jodie Foster sings "My Name Is Tallulah" in Alan Parker's 1976 gangster musical comedy film "BUGSY MALONE"
🎥 Pinewood Studios
🎬 Paramount Pictures
🎥 Pinewood Studios
🎬 Paramount Pictures
Reposted by Simon Williams
Alexander The Great! Philip I! Emperor Justinian! Mother Teresa! Can you hear me, Mother Teresa? YOUR BOYS TOOK ONE HELL OF A BEATING! YOUR BOYS TOOK ONE HELL OF A BEATING!
November 18, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Alexander The Great! Philip I! Emperor Justinian! Mother Teresa! Can you hear me, Mother Teresa? YOUR BOYS TOOK ONE HELL OF A BEATING! YOUR BOYS TOOK ONE HELL OF A BEATING!
Reposted by Simon Williams
Enjoyed appearing with @ww2tv.bsky.social this afternoon to propose a few SWW hot takes www.youtube.com/live/QvOWBrY...
Advance Britannia: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1942-1945
YouTube video by WW2TV
www.youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Enjoyed appearing with @ww2tv.bsky.social this afternoon to propose a few SWW hot takes www.youtube.com/live/QvOWBrY...
Reposted by Simon Williams
PERSON OF THE DAY. 17 November 1937. Peter Cook was born in Torquay. He was a key figure in anti-establishment satire in the 1960s, starring in Beyond the Fringe, founding The Establishment Club, co-founding Private Eye and was part of comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
November 17, 2025 at 9:37 AM
PERSON OF THE DAY. 17 November 1937. Peter Cook was born in Torquay. He was a key figure in anti-establishment satire in the 1960s, starring in Beyond the Fringe, founding The Establishment Club, co-founding Private Eye and was part of comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
Reposted by Simon Williams
PHOTO OF THE DAY. The coffin of the Unknown Warrior lies in Westminster Abbey (1920).
📷 google images
📷 google images
November 11, 2025 at 9:45 AM
PHOTO OF THE DAY. The coffin of the Unknown Warrior lies in Westminster Abbey (1920).
📷 google images
📷 google images
Reposted by Simon Williams
PERSON OF THE DAY. 10 November 1925. Welsh actor Richard Burton was born in Pontrhydyfen. He was noted for his mellifluous voice, his heavy drinking and his highly publicised marriages to Elizabeth Taylor, which often overshadowed his undoubted acting ability. #Burton100
November 10, 2025 at 9:36 AM
PERSON OF THE DAY. 10 November 1925. Welsh actor Richard Burton was born in Pontrhydyfen. He was noted for his mellifluous voice, his heavy drinking and his highly publicised marriages to Elizabeth Taylor, which often overshadowed his undoubted acting ability. #Burton100
@bobmort.bsky.social Where, please, was that caravan you just stayed in on BBC2 on the River Tony? Asking for a friend.
November 7, 2025 at 9:09 PM
@bobmort.bsky.social Where, please, was that caravan you just stayed in on BBC2 on the River Tony? Asking for a friend.
Reposted by Simon Williams
PERSON OF THE DAY. 4 November 1918. Wilfred Owen (aged 25) was killed in WW1, a week before the conflict ended. He was a leading poet of the “Great War of 1914-18”. His war poetry on the horrors of the trenches included Dulce et Decorum est, Insensibility, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Futility.
November 4, 2025 at 9:16 AM
PERSON OF THE DAY. 4 November 1918. Wilfred Owen (aged 25) was killed in WW1, a week before the conflict ended. He was a leading poet of the “Great War of 1914-18”. His war poetry on the horrors of the trenches included Dulce et Decorum est, Insensibility, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Futility.
open.substack.com/pub/simonwil...
Who were the men they encountered on the Railway of Death? How were they both being and not being?
Who were the men they encountered on the Railway of Death? How were they both being and not being?
'That is the question'
Who were they? Who are they? War's ending is not the end of the war.
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:07 AM
open.substack.com/pub/simonwil...
Who were the men they encountered on the Railway of Death? How were they both being and not being?
Who were the men they encountered on the Railway of Death? How were they both being and not being?
Reposted by Simon Williams
PERSON OF THE DAY. 3 November 1954. Adam Ant (Stuart Leslie Goddard) was born in London. He gained huge popularity in the early 1980s as lead singer of Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist. He had 10 UK Top 10 hits from 1980 to 1983 including 3 UK No 1 singles.
November 3, 2025 at 9:28 AM
PERSON OF THE DAY. 3 November 1954. Adam Ant (Stuart Leslie Goddard) was born in London. He gained huge popularity in the early 1980s as lead singer of Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist. He had 10 UK Top 10 hits from 1980 to 1983 including 3 UK No 1 singles.
Reposted by Simon Williams
Happy Halloween, folks!
In the first episode of our brand new #YouTube series 'Shakespeare and Friends', Rachel Aanstad and I ponder the question: 'Did Shakespeare's Audiences Believe in Ghosts?'
youtu.be/Br4N4RA0j_s?...
In the first episode of our brand new #YouTube series 'Shakespeare and Friends', Rachel Aanstad and I ponder the question: 'Did Shakespeare's Audiences Believe in Ghosts?'
youtu.be/Br4N4RA0j_s?...
Did Shakespeare's Audiences Believe in Ghosts?
YouTube video by Shakespeare & Friends
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Happy Halloween, folks!
In the first episode of our brand new #YouTube series 'Shakespeare and Friends', Rachel Aanstad and I ponder the question: 'Did Shakespeare's Audiences Believe in Ghosts?'
youtu.be/Br4N4RA0j_s?...
In the first episode of our brand new #YouTube series 'Shakespeare and Friends', Rachel Aanstad and I ponder the question: 'Did Shakespeare's Audiences Believe in Ghosts?'
youtu.be/Br4N4RA0j_s?...
Reposted by Simon Williams
The paperback of SHAKESPEARE'S BORROWED FEATHERS is now on Google Books. I love what Manchester UP have done with the cover!
www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
Shakespeare's Borrowed Feathers
A fascinating exploration of the early modern authors who helped to shape Shakespeare's beloved plays. Shakespeare's plays have influenced generations of writers, but who were the early modern playwr...
www.google.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 1:24 PM
The paperback of SHAKESPEARE'S BORROWED FEATHERS is now on Google Books. I love what Manchester UP have done with the cover!
www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
Reposted by Simon Williams
#80sTop30
#MusicChallenge
Vaguely ranked
Day 25
I Got You
Split Enz (1980)
Just a great pop song
youtu.be/wiqBlKnb91A?...
#MusicChallenge
Vaguely ranked
Day 25
I Got You
Split Enz (1980)
Just a great pop song
youtu.be/wiqBlKnb91A?...
Split Enz - I Got You (Official Video)
YouTube video by Split Enz
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 7:36 AM
#80sTop30
#MusicChallenge
Vaguely ranked
Day 25
I Got You
Split Enz (1980)
Just a great pop song
youtu.be/wiqBlKnb91A?...
#MusicChallenge
Vaguely ranked
Day 25
I Got You
Split Enz (1980)
Just a great pop song
youtu.be/wiqBlKnb91A?...
Reposted by Simon Williams
On the centenary of Thatcher's birth, there have been predictable calls for a memorial to her memory. But Britain's 2300 food banks serve that purpose already.
October 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
On the centenary of Thatcher's birth, there have been predictable calls for a memorial to her memory. But Britain's 2300 food banks serve that purpose already.
These are a band.
October 6, 2025 at 8:08 PM
These are a band.
Reposted by Simon Williams
Cirencester was the Roman Corinium, second only to London in size with 10,000 inhabitants. Its amphitheatre was one of the largest in Britain. It was built in the early 2nd century and it could hold c. 8,000 spectators. It was fortified against Saxon invaders. #RomanSiteSaturday
October 4, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Cirencester was the Roman Corinium, second only to London in size with 10,000 inhabitants. Its amphitheatre was one of the largest in Britain. It was built in the early 2nd century and it could hold c. 8,000 spectators. It was fortified against Saxon invaders. #RomanSiteSaturday