Recently added blogs

This is a piece of advice that I found myself giving to many early career researchers, students, and colleagues supervising and advising those as well. For years, actually. A mathematician, the joke says, is a …

As someone who’s always looking for ways to make more eco-conscious choices, I’ve recently made a big change in our home cleaning routine. After diving into the world of refillable…

In retrospect, I’m aware that I stopped blogging probably when I had the most important things to say. It was when I started working in an area of deeply entrenched disadvantage. I just couldn’t find …

shmup (n): Shortened form of “shoot-em-up;” a genre of 2D video games based on shooting down waves of enemies while dodging waves of projectiles. (Usually in an aircraft, usually scrolling in one direction, but not …

As we step into the New Year here at The Archive we’re delighted to welcome two brand new titles – the Cannock Chase Chronicle and the Walsall Chronicle – to our collection, as we’ve added …

It’s possible that British country-rock quartet Unicorn has found more fans since disbanding 45 years ago than during their eight years of existence. The group’s original four studio albums (1971-78) have been reissued multiple times, …

A case for abandoning web analytics

Fraser Island by David Stanley (Nanaimo, Canada) via Wikimedia Commons It's been over a month since my last post, though there has been the Christmas runaround to contend with, plus it took me several weeks …

It is always in the early days of December when I start to speculate on what the Pantone Color of the Year will be for the year to come. I’m not sure why I am …

Library of Congress This photo shows Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks with her longtime friend and advocate, Elaine Steele. At about the time when this card was sent out, Steele had helped Parks start a …

First record we have is circa 1815, William Haddon was the victular. John Briggs, circa 1827 – 1846. The Bulls Head was up for auction in 1842, whilst John Briggs was in occupation. Thomas Sarson, …

You wouldn’t know it was the very end of November from the verdant hydrangea leaves. History is about to be made. The latest recorded first frost I could find for our area ranges from November …

Be still my beating heart. A book on the supply of clothing and equipment that relies heavily, and quotes, contemporary documents. Somehow, this book really ticks my boxes. Who'd have thunk it? What do you …

How can I feel I have arrived home in something that is in many ways so ­foreign to me? And yet beneath the surface it is not foreign at all, but a reversion to the …