Robert Slack (UK) 🧬🌲
@ukrobertslack.bsky.social
[06/11/2024]: Let's take to the Bluesky!
Home city: 🏰Exeter (UK)
[📷]: River Teign near Castle Drogo (National Trust):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertslack/37809667436/
Home city: 🏰Exeter (UK)
[📷]: River Teign near Castle Drogo (National Trust):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertslack/37809667436/
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'How winter storms are rapidly reshaping our coastline' [Featured: Torcross & Slapton]
💬"This is going to become increasingly common," Masselink says of the erosion seen at Torcross and Slapton beaches.
Worryingly much of our UK coastline under threat from erosion.
'How winter storms are rapidly reshaping our coastline' [Featured: Torcross & Slapton]
💬"This is going to become increasingly common," Masselink says of the erosion seen at Torcross and Slapton beaches.
Worryingly much of our UK coastline under threat from erosion.
How winter storms are reshaping the Devon and Cornwall coastline
Why the coastline is eroding fast - after Storm Ingrid strips beaches in height by as much as 2m (6.6ft) and exposes homes.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 31, 2026 at 10:21 AM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'How winter storms are rapidly reshaping our coastline' [Featured: Torcross & Slapton]
💬"This is going to become increasingly common," Masselink says of the erosion seen at Torcross and Slapton beaches.
Worryingly much of our UK coastline under threat from erosion.
'How winter storms are rapidly reshaping our coastline' [Featured: Torcross & Slapton]
💬"This is going to become increasingly common," Masselink says of the erosion seen at Torcross and Slapton beaches.
Worryingly much of our UK coastline under threat from erosion.
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
💨Teignmouth taking a battering from Storm Ingrid. Sadly outer portions of the pier lost. Also, new railway storm defences being pushed to the limit and in part failing.
💨Teignmouth taking a battering from Storm Ingrid. Sadly outer portions of the pier lost. Also, new railway storm defences being pushed to the limit and in part failing.
Pier washes away and railway sea wall crumbles as storm lashes South West
Part of a historic pier washes away and a sea wall next to a railway line crumbles as Storm Ingrid lashes Devon and Cornwall.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 12:56 PM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
💨Teignmouth taking a battering from Storm Ingrid. Sadly outer portions of the pier lost. Also, new railway storm defences being pushed to the limit and in part failing.
💨Teignmouth taking a battering from Storm Ingrid. Sadly outer portions of the pier lost. Also, new railway storm defences being pushed to the limit and in part failing.
Shocked at how prescient this is. Compare with what is happening in the USA today. I've just picked this book up (20% into read) but evidently a great choice. Set near-future (today?), conjures perfectly the (could happen to anybody) 'lost soul in oppressive authoritarian regime'.
📖 Recommended!
📖 Recommended!
![Novel: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami - cover [Bloomsbury] - Longlisted: Women's prize for fiction 2025](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreibjbldnv5nvi7lsjhuwr7obt42n4p5yqsdulsubjopy3expiob4s4@jpeg)
![Novel: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami - p.22 [Bloomsbury] - Longlisted: Women's prize for fiction 2025](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreigvrdphggceejtb2yypp43ehlv76ohfo64ldddzanckdpxqwujrue@jpeg)
January 9, 2026 at 10:23 AM
Shocked at how prescient this is. Compare with what is happening in the USA today. I've just picked this book up (20% into read) but evidently a great choice. Set near-future (today?), conjures perfectly the (could happen to anybody) 'lost soul in oppressive authoritarian regime'.
📖 Recommended!
📖 Recommended!
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ah ha! Google are at last catching on with their Willow quantum computer the likes of which was first seen in episodes of the Dr Who UK television series in the 1960s. Will it be capable of transporting us through time? Where's the police call box? 😉
Ah ha! Google are at last catching on with their Willow quantum computer the likes of which was first seen in episodes of the Dr Who UK television series in the 1960s. Will it be capable of transporting us through time? Where's the police call box? 😉
January 8, 2026 at 1:28 PM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ah ha! Google are at last catching on with their Willow quantum computer the likes of which was first seen in episodes of the Dr Who UK television series in the 1960s. Will it be capable of transporting us through time? Where's the police call box? 😉
Ah ha! Google are at last catching on with their Willow quantum computer the likes of which was first seen in episodes of the Dr Who UK television series in the 1960s. Will it be capable of transporting us through time? Where's the police call box? 😉
My year in reading courtesy of Goodreads. Rather neat.
It's been a good reading year for me. Every book read has merits. Personal favourite of group is All the Light we Cannot See (WWII setting); quite exquisite writing.
It's been a good reading year for me. Every book read has merits. Personal favourite of group is All the Light we Cannot See (WWII setting); quite exquisite writing.
![My books read in 2025 [Goodreads]. Image is produced by and sent out by email from Goodreads web site. Rather neat!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreiea2kfluag345w5k2uuh7tnpmch765rmclwm64qqau67z3mqeiwce@jpeg)
December 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
My year in reading courtesy of Goodreads. Rather neat.
It's been a good reading year for me. Every book read has merits. Personal favourite of group is All the Light we Cannot See (WWII setting); quite exquisite writing.
It's been a good reading year for me. Every book read has merits. Personal favourite of group is All the Light we Cannot See (WWII setting); quite exquisite writing.
🔗 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/...
The Red Dress - Killerton (NT)
Interesting and unusual. Unifying in a time of division.
"We have more in common" ... Joe Cox
#NationalTrust
The Red Dress - Killerton (NT)
Interesting and unusual. Unifying in a time of division.
"We have more in common" ... Joe Cox
#NationalTrust
December 22, 2025 at 6:58 PM
🔗 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/...
The Red Dress - Killerton (NT)
Interesting and unusual. Unifying in a time of division.
"We have more in common" ... Joe Cox
#NationalTrust
The Red Dress - Killerton (NT)
Interesting and unusual. Unifying in a time of division.
"We have more in common" ... Joe Cox
#NationalTrust
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Only in England! 🙂 No one should ever trifle with the English!
💬'Four people have been arrested after custard and apple crumble was flung at a display case containing Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.'
Only in England! 🙂 No one should ever trifle with the English!
💬'Four people have been arrested after custard and apple crumble was flung at a display case containing Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.'
December 6, 2025 at 12:40 PM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Only in England! 🙂 No one should ever trifle with the English!
💬'Four people have been arrested after custard and apple crumble was flung at a display case containing Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.'
Only in England! 🙂 No one should ever trifle with the English!
💬'Four people have been arrested after custard and apple crumble was flung at a display case containing Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.'
All fans of the seaside are bound to love what is a surprise find in Wilko this December. Seaside themed string-pulls. There are beach huts, seagulls, rowing boats and surf boards. Perhaps a bit wacky but, hey, this is England.
December 2, 2025 at 6:53 PM
All fans of the seaside are bound to love what is a surprise find in Wilko this December. Seaside themed string-pulls. There are beach huts, seagulls, rowing boats and surf boards. Perhaps a bit wacky but, hey, this is England.
Reposted by Robert Slack (UK) 🧬🌲
@ledbydonkeys.org dunno if you wonderful lot were responsible for this poster spotted apparently in south london before sadly quickly removed…?
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
December 2, 2025 at 8:12 AM
@ledbydonkeys.org dunno if you wonderful lot were responsible for this poster spotted apparently in south london before sadly quickly removed…?
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
Of course it would be terrible if we were to spread it on social media!
"Start 'em young," my parents would say. After a trike and a bike, both with solid rubber wheels, this bike with pneumatic tyres was a major step up.
Spot the 'I've got a tiger in my tank' sticker? Came with a furry tail. Who remembers this 60s advertising campaign from Esso? Too young!
Spot the 'I've got a tiger in my tank' sticker? Came with a furry tail. Who remembers this 60s advertising campaign from Esso? Too young!
October 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
"Start 'em young," my parents would say. After a trike and a bike, both with solid rubber wheels, this bike with pneumatic tyres was a major step up.
Spot the 'I've got a tiger in my tank' sticker? Came with a furry tail. Who remembers this 60s advertising campaign from Esso? Too young!
Spot the 'I've got a tiger in my tank' sticker? Came with a furry tail. Who remembers this 60s advertising campaign from Esso? Too young!
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
🤭🛌 Oh dear!
🤭🛌 Oh dear!
October 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
🤭🛌 Oh dear!
🤭🛌 Oh dear!
🔗 www.amazon.co.uk trading site working just fine; funny that.
Sites I've noted down:
www.flickr.com / www.ancestry.co.uk / www.findagrave.com
Sites I've noted down:
www.flickr.com / www.ancestry.co.uk / www.findagrave.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:13 AM
🔗 www.amazon.co.uk trading site working just fine; funny that.
Sites I've noted down:
www.flickr.com / www.ancestry.co.uk / www.findagrave.com
Sites I've noted down:
www.flickr.com / www.ancestry.co.uk / www.findagrave.com
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...
Attended interesting 'Explore Exeter Cathedral in the 1920s' event in the Cathedral Library & Archives Reading Room yesterday. In hall there's this fabulous model mock-up of the construction of a Roman Baths with cut-through showing hypocaust.
Attended interesting 'Explore Exeter Cathedral in the 1920s' event in the Cathedral Library & Archives Reading Room yesterday. In hall there's this fabulous model mock-up of the construction of a Roman Baths with cut-through showing hypocaust.
October 10, 2025 at 9:14 AM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engl...
Attended interesting 'Explore Exeter Cathedral in the 1920s' event in the Cathedral Library & Archives Reading Room yesterday. In hall there's this fabulous model mock-up of the construction of a Roman Baths with cut-through showing hypocaust.
Attended interesting 'Explore Exeter Cathedral in the 1920s' event in the Cathedral Library & Archives Reading Room yesterday. In hall there's this fabulous model mock-up of the construction of a Roman Baths with cut-through showing hypocaust.
🔗 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Pleased to see plans are in motion to improve route and junction heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists in #Exeter An important connection to the City centre that is currently hazardous.
Gets my ✔️
Pleased to see plans are in motion to improve route and junction heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists in #Exeter An important connection to the City centre that is currently hazardous.
Gets my ✔️
Views sought on revamp to Exeter city centre entrance
The scheme aims to make the Exeter gateway "more accessible, attractive and safe".
www.bbc.com
October 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
🔗 www.bbc.com/news/article...
Pleased to see plans are in motion to improve route and junction heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists in #Exeter An important connection to the City centre that is currently hazardous.
Gets my ✔️
Pleased to see plans are in motion to improve route and junction heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists in #Exeter An important connection to the City centre that is currently hazardous.
Gets my ✔️
🔗 www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_scrapboo...
Interesting photo showing post-war rebuild of South Street that began in 1955 at top of which St Peter & the Devil can be seen.
This is in fact the third position for this statue, the fourth and current being RAMM.
Interesting photo showing post-war rebuild of South Street that began in 1955 at top of which St Peter & the Devil can be seen.
This is in fact the third position for this statue, the fourth and current being RAMM.
![Rebuilding South Street did not start until 1955 when work commenced on the west side – photo right courtesy Express & Echo [Exeter Memories]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreiekjmdtyreqve7kshajqmtsy2b6bgdese75mezja2dctwo5i5lnfq@jpeg)
October 1, 2025 at 10:37 AM
🔗 www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_scrapboo...
Interesting photo showing post-war rebuild of South Street that began in 1955 at top of which St Peter & the Devil can be seen.
This is in fact the third position for this statue, the fourth and current being RAMM.
Interesting photo showing post-war rebuild of South Street that began in 1955 at top of which St Peter & the Devil can be seen.
This is in fact the third position for this statue, the fourth and current being RAMM.
🔗 www.heritageopendays.org.uk
Yesterday a 🚲 to Killerton. The Columbjohn chapel was open (1pm-3pm) for Heritage Open Days with experts available to talk history & about recent archaeological dig.
Access to Killerton House (NT) free to all today.
Walk route (follow Tudor rose):
🔗 tinyurl.com/2s3eepyp
Yesterday a 🚲 to Killerton. The Columbjohn chapel was open (1pm-3pm) for Heritage Open Days with experts available to talk history & about recent archaeological dig.
Access to Killerton House (NT) free to all today.
Walk route (follow Tudor rose):
🔗 tinyurl.com/2s3eepyp
![[Heritage Open Days - 2005]: Killerton House & Columbjohn. Follow the Tudor rose signs for walk route to Columbjohn.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreiahkp7kgilvqzsvu4rglz5dl7lthzi2rr4fzqq753o5wkzhwdk4ey@jpeg)
![[Heritage Open Days - 2005]: Killerton House & Columbjohn. Follow the Tudor rose signs for walk route to Columbjohn. This stone arch of the gatehouse is all that remains of the late C16th former manor.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreic6hokbmc4wdvgv5jmwzmmbpmrtnaio6qcw27zhvpwt7566cmymv4@jpeg)
![[Heritage Open Days - 2005]: Killerton House & Columbjohn. Follow the Tudor rose signs for walk route to Columbjohn. This is the interior of the chapel at Columbjohn. Very austere. Church services were once held here.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreifkokcdvcyso5sixf3g2opbspjrmzrqdv5rrdyrh246h3iekkymm4@jpeg)
![[Heritage Open Days - 2005]: Killerton House & Columbjohn. Follow the Tudor rose signs for walk route to Columbjohn. The chapel at Columbjohn.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wesgabqkytcdfcdsgofzn4tf/bafkreifpbddwdbknfgtxjprgxtlgxpnyliss42glbnjj5g5ob3ydi54thi@jpeg)
September 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
🔗 www.heritageopendays.org.uk
Yesterday a 🚲 to Killerton. The Columbjohn chapel was open (1pm-3pm) for Heritage Open Days with experts available to talk history & about recent archaeological dig.
Access to Killerton House (NT) free to all today.
Walk route (follow Tudor rose):
🔗 tinyurl.com/2s3eepyp
Yesterday a 🚲 to Killerton. The Columbjohn chapel was open (1pm-3pm) for Heritage Open Days with experts available to talk history & about recent archaeological dig.
Access to Killerton House (NT) free to all today.
Walk route (follow Tudor rose):
🔗 tinyurl.com/2s3eepyp
⚡ A real-life Back to the Future moment. Perhaps?
Rep. Moskowitz: "So you're telling me someone 22 years ago went back to the future and forged his signature when he was a Democrat, and somehow this person knew he would become a Republican and become president 22 years later?...We should immediately open up an investigation!"
September 10, 2025 at 8:41 PM
⚡ A real-life Back to the Future moment. Perhaps?
🔗 www.mysteryguides.co.uk/products/exe...
I'm not able to vouch from personal experience but can say I've seen 3 family groups doing this about #Exeter in the last week, something I'd not seen before. I spoke with one couple & they thought it great & would recommend as a novel way to explore a place
I'm not able to vouch from personal experience but can say I've seen 3 family groups doing this about #Exeter in the last week, something I'd not seen before. I spoke with one couple & they thought it great & would recommend as a novel way to explore a place
Exeter Treasure Hunt | Mystery of Drake's Last Orders | Treasure Trail
Exeter Treasure Hunt: For years, the iconic bell has been hidden somewhere in Exeter... through this clever history walking tour, now it's your chance to find it! Follow the Treasure Trails, solve the...
www.mysteryguides.co.uk
September 4, 2025 at 10:15 AM
🔗 www.mysteryguides.co.uk/products/exe...
I'm not able to vouch from personal experience but can say I've seen 3 family groups doing this about #Exeter in the last week, something I'd not seen before. I spoke with one couple & they thought it great & would recommend as a novel way to explore a place
I'm not able to vouch from personal experience but can say I've seen 3 family groups doing this about #Exeter in the last week, something I'd not seen before. I spoke with one couple & they thought it great & would recommend as a novel way to explore a place
Reposted by Robert Slack (UK) 🧬🌲
Sometime between AD 55 and 65 a man named Lucius Julius Hipponicus scratched his named into a Samian Ware drinking cup
Because of this simple act, he is one of the first residents of Exeter (ISCA) for whom we have a name
📷 May 2025
@rammuseum.bsky.social #FindsFriday #Roman #Archaeology #Devon
Because of this simple act, he is one of the first residents of Exeter (ISCA) for whom we have a name
📷 May 2025
@rammuseum.bsky.social #FindsFriday #Roman #Archaeology #Devon
August 22, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Sometime between AD 55 and 65 a man named Lucius Julius Hipponicus scratched his named into a Samian Ware drinking cup
Because of this simple act, he is one of the first residents of Exeter (ISCA) for whom we have a name
📷 May 2025
@rammuseum.bsky.social #FindsFriday #Roman #Archaeology #Devon
Because of this simple act, he is one of the first residents of Exeter (ISCA) for whom we have a name
📷 May 2025
@rammuseum.bsky.social #FindsFriday #Roman #Archaeology #Devon
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Good to see the old Gaumont/Odeon cinema in Plymouth receiving funds to protect this 'heritage at risk' property. Planned to repurpose as shop units.
Historic images @:
🔗 historicengland.org.uk/images-books...
Good to see the old Gaumont/Odeon cinema in Plymouth receiving funds to protect this 'heritage at risk' property. Planned to repurpose as shop units.
Historic images @:
🔗 historicengland.org.uk/images-books...
Medieval harbour and historic cinema among sites to be restored
Four historic building and sites in Devon and Cornwall will be saved for future generations.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 7, 2025 at 8:17 AM
🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Good to see the old Gaumont/Odeon cinema in Plymouth receiving funds to protect this 'heritage at risk' property. Planned to repurpose as shop units.
Historic images @:
🔗 historicengland.org.uk/images-books...
Good to see the old Gaumont/Odeon cinema in Plymouth receiving funds to protect this 'heritage at risk' property. Planned to repurpose as shop units.
Historic images @:
🔗 historicengland.org.uk/images-books...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I had not known Dartmoor Prison, Princetown, held (1,000) conscientious objectors during World War One. This booklet has to be quite momentous with special significance for the county of Devon. Owner: " ... would very much like to find it a good 'home' for posterity." ✔️
I had not known Dartmoor Prison, Princetown, held (1,000) conscientious objectors during World War One. This booklet has to be quite momentous with special significance for the county of Devon. Owner: " ... would very much like to find it a good 'home' for posterity." ✔️
Views of pacifist prisoners recorded in Dartmoor jail album
The booklet contains stories, images and poems from the prisoners held in Devon prison from 1917.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 19, 2025 at 7:59 AM
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I had not known Dartmoor Prison, Princetown, held (1,000) conscientious objectors during World War One. This booklet has to be quite momentous with special significance for the county of Devon. Owner: " ... would very much like to find it a good 'home' for posterity." ✔️
I had not known Dartmoor Prison, Princetown, held (1,000) conscientious objectors during World War One. This booklet has to be quite momentous with special significance for the county of Devon. Owner: " ... would very much like to find it a good 'home' for posterity." ✔️
Seaside Bar, Lindau, Lake Constance (or Bodensee), Germany. With a little stretch of the imagination it would seem 'seasides' can sometimes occur in rather unexpected places.
June 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Seaside Bar, Lindau, Lake Constance (or Bodensee), Germany. With a little stretch of the imagination it would seem 'seasides' can sometimes occur in rather unexpected places.
🛳️ My g-grandfather, William Henry Rockett (b.1892), was due to sail from Southampton to America but was late arriving at the port (typical!), missed the sailing on 10th April 1912 and instead boarded a later sailing on the 13th.
The #Titanic sank on 15th April 1912.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory
The #Titanic sank on 15th April 1912.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory
April 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
🛳️ My g-grandfather, William Henry Rockett (b.1892), was due to sail from Southampton to America but was late arriving at the port (typical!), missed the sailing on 10th April 1912 and instead boarded a later sailing on the 13th.
The #Titanic sank on 15th April 1912.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory
The #Titanic sank on 15th April 1912.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory
Reposted by Robert Slack (UK) 🧬🌲
A four part story about what you can achieve when you don't just get a bunch of delinquent kids to burn down a listed building for you on that land you want to "develop".
March 18, 2025 at 3:09 PM
A four part story about what you can achieve when you don't just get a bunch of delinquent kids to burn down a listed building for you on that land you want to "develop".
Whilst on the subject (sort of) of Trews Weir, #Exeter, some 📷 I snapped Sep 2022. It had been a long hot/dry summer and the River Exe was running lower than I'd ever seen before. To some extent due to St James Weir having failed on the lower reaches. People were strolling around the river bed.
April 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Whilst on the subject (sort of) of Trews Weir, #Exeter, some 📷 I snapped Sep 2022. It had been a long hot/dry summer and the River Exe was running lower than I'd ever seen before. To some extent due to St James Weir having failed on the lower reaches. People were strolling around the river bed.