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The Surey Demoniack is an intriguing story of alleged demon possession in Lancashire, from the late 1600s. Our knowledge of the events derives from a lengthy pamphlet that narrated a ‘believer’s view’ of demon possession. It was written by the ministers involved in attempts at exorcism. These men were known as Protestant nonconformists, that is […]

Nearly five years ago, I completed a project that, to my mind, remains the most significant of my cartographic career: An Atlas of Great Lakes Islands, manually printed in cyanotype, with a hand-stitched binding. I wanted to share this project with all of you, but there were only a few copies. So, I decided to send one on a journey around the world. Several dozen people signed up to host …

Of course there had to be a poodle puzzle. The final puzzle of this series is a snow and a star studded showdown with Philip and his best friend Sterling. PLUS a note on when I'll be back after the holidays. I'm not sure if this is a thing that other poodle owners go through...Read More

Sometimes I’ll jot down a word I think I haven’t heard before, only to locate it in the existing Word Hoard archive on my own website. Apparently I logged bruit (sounds like “brewie”) on this site in August of 2020, possibly in response to learning more about my dad’s many vascular conditions, but it appears again in my notes from reading Excession earlier this year! Leave it to Ian Banks …

Belleville Books, Belleville, IL(Like The Indie Bob Spot on Facebook and follow The Indie Bob Spot on X)I’ve been on this journey now for about 10 years and over 600 bookstores so not surprisingly, I’ve had a few coincidental experiences. One such experience happened here at Belleville Books, a newly opened indie in a historical downtown building not even three months old. Steve M. and Rob E. are the co-owners …

Boxing Day called for a little bit of fresh air and with the Elizabeth Line closed, I took my folding bike out for a trip to Stratford (East London) via the District Line for a little post-Christmas cycle safari.I caught up with Dermot Hanney, one of the people behind the London Route Plan Roll cycle network map, to have a look a few things going on in the Stratford area …

May 1 – June 21, 1521 (Hellerick) Propelled by fear, habit, and a steady wind at its back, the fleet sailed south by southwest out of Cebu City for almost 24 hours, passing between the islands of Cebu to the west and Bohol to the east. By the morning of the second day, however, the adrenaline rush of the breakneck flight from danger was fading. When a cape at the …

One would think that we’ve more or less figured survey UI out by now. Multiple choice questions, checkbox questions, matrix questions, dropdown questions, freeform textfields, numerical scales, what more could one possibly need?! And yet, every time Google sponsored me to lead one of the State Of … surveys, and especially the inaugural State of HTML 2023 Survey, I kept hitting the same wall; I kept feeling that the established …

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 at least to come up with that title. The wags amongst you might say I should have taken longer. Regular readers may remember my friend Simon, whose growing interest in niche

Kristin here: Last week I returned from a nearly month-long trip, first in London and then joining a tour of Egypt. This was my second trip to London this year. The first, in June, served as a vacation after the intense activities of the winter and spring, when I finished my book on ancient Amarna statuary, dealt with David’s death and planning the memorial service, sold my house, and moved …

In 2015, I wrote about how my grandfather and great-grandmother fared after the 1932 death of my great-grandfather George Edmund Pleau. Since that time, I’ve learned so much more about Bertha’s and young George’s lives! (Thank you, newspapers!) So let me color in the picture a little better. Bertha and George returned to Lynn about 1933, living in a couple of places on Lewis Street in East Lynn, right by …

Another year is in the books, it's time for the latest installment of my "Year in Review" series. This year sucked in so many ways, but there were a few bright spots as well.

Leonard here. The following column is written by my colleague Mark Searby highlighting British cinema past and present. Please enjoy A Bit of Crumpet. Everybody, at some point in their life, has seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie. He made so many iconic films throughout his career. He was, and still is, hugely influential in filmmaking. The films that most know are post mid-1930s. Films such as Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Shadow …

This final round-up of pubs from this year’s Winter Warmer Wander (Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA’s annual celebration of dark, strong and festive beers) covers Stockport. And Hazel Grove, and one pub in Heaton Chapel (which should probably have gone in an earlier post), but mainly Stockport – and mainly Old Tom. This post also includes my first and last WWW trips out – both of which, you may not …

Well, it wouldn't do to let the whole of 2024 pass without a blog post on record, so I'll take this opportunity to look back over this year. It's been a rough one in many ways, but, as always, there are some nice things to note, too.LossThe loss of my Mom casts the longest shadow over the year, partly because she was awesome (dedicated her adult life to being a …