Dr Helen McKee 🇪🇺✍🏼📚

Dear followers (𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬!), please consider coming over to BlueSky. It's much nicer there. Most of the cool kids are already there. Let's leave X to the guy who killed Twitter.

Word of the day is ‘recrudescence’ (17th century): the return of something terrible after a time of reprieve.

IMPORTANT PLS SHARE. It's rumoured the English £9,250 tuition fee cap may be raised this pm for the 1st time in 8yrs, as University's finances are strained. As student finance misunderstandings abound, I've bashed out a few notes to help... 1. Higher tuition fees WON'T change what most pay each year. For most, they're paid for you by the student loans company and you repay afterwards only if you earn over the threshold. The amount you repay each year (9% over the threshold) solely depends on what you earn not on what you borrow. 2. Increasing tuition fees will only see those who clear the loan in full over the 40yrs pay more. That is generally mid-high to higher earning university leavers only, so the cost of increasing them will generally be born by the more affluent. Most lower and middle earning university leavers will simply pay 9% extra tax above the threshold for 40yrs (and higher tuition fees won't change that) 3. The rise is tuition fees is likely to be trivial compared to the changes the last govt made for 2023 starters. 2023 starters had their repayment thresholds dropped to £25,000 (from £27,295/yr) and had the time they had to keep repaying for (unless cleared) extended to 40years from 30years. So these higher annual repayments for longer, increased by over 50% the amount many graduates will eventually have to pay back for going to university. Yet they were almost stealth changes because people can't intuitively feel the seismic impact. Changing tuition fees is a more obvious rise, but in reality has far less of an impact on the amount most will repay (though combined with the 2023 changes it does certainly up the cost). 4. The biggest practical problem for students isnt tution fees (even if raised) its the fact maintenace loans aren't big enough. English maintenance loans have not kept pace with inflation. I'd urge the govt to couple the tuition fee loans with bigger living loans - if not it is a real risk to social mobility, with those from the poorest backgrounds likely to be worse affected. I could write more, but will stop here, hopefully this gives an idea the issues are less straightforward than many feel.

This week the #WW2 Medal Index Cards were released by the @UkNatArchives onto paid genealogy sites although there is some free access for a while. I first became aware of these when I acquired an unreturned Card many years ago (below). What do these record cards tell us? 🧵

From the eighth century to today, the layout of Old English poetry on the page is the result of engaged scribal and editorial choices, and one of a set of tools used to meets readers’ needs and to express identities. The book is out! @ArcHumanities arc-humanities.org/9781802701166/…

Today’s highlight was the massed bands of the Egham Brass Project (many of whom started playing their instruments @StJudesHead). INCREDIBLE sound! 🎺🎺🎺

A beautiful reminder to never forget to look up at the stars #aurora

Cleverly out. Labour gain

Delighted to receive my copy of this beautiful book - Peter Boston’s evocative illustrations are all reproduced and also inspired the endpapers 🐦🕯️

The first 1000 of our digitised manuscripts have now returned and are available to view online. They include over 600 Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern items, from the Sherborne Missal and the Amherst Manuscript to the Eadui Psalter! blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanus…

@papercutsshow Me-HOW big? #fixtheheadline

It's time to #fixtheheadline! XL Kitty's are the latest trend for feline lovers but this headline isn't the cat's meow. If you can do better just reply with your fixed headline and the best will win a Paper Cuts T shirt!

@arrroberts Via my daughter:

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I'm in this somewhere, but I'm jiggered if I can find where.

On International Day of Peace, browse our brand new Welsh Women’s Peace Petition website. Browse over 50,000 names (and counting) to see who you will discover? 🔗peacepetition.library.wales

@ChronHib This is gorgeous!

For the day that's in it: Stefano Landi (1587-1639), Passacaglia della vita ("Bisogna morire") youtube.com/watch?v=wpAxBZ…

Check out September 2024's #OG_H_AM of the Month, which is really something very special: ogham.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/ogha… In honour of, and in connection with, the #BrigidsWorlds Conference at @EarlyIrishMU @MaynoothUni @brigid1500 (brigid1500.ie/event/brigids-…)

A wonderful tribute to a wonderful scholar - David Dumville brought the many nations to life which lay hidden beneath the scelerotic cliches about “England” and “Scotland”

We are all sad to hear the news of the death of Professor David Dumville (1949–2024). He will be greatly missed. This picture captures him celebrating his 75th birthday earlier this year, with family. @UoA_LLMVC @AberdeenHistory @AberdeenVikings

Rare visit: an Airbus Beluga XL is expected to land today at London Heathrow airlive.net/news/2024/09/0…

Very sad to hear of the death this morning of David Dumville. DND taught me palaeography, was a generous and thorough doctoral supervisor, and it’s devastating to think that his extraordinary mind is no more.

Absolutely delightful thread 📕