This week I asked you; Which would you rather use: the communal sponge on a stick like a Roman or moss, grass and leaves like a Viking I'm sure the result won't surprise you; most people said they'd rather use moss, grass or leaves. I was not one of those people. The thought of picking up a handful of leaves and finding a spider is enough to put me off the idea. I also don't like the amount of preparation that's needed, like what if I really need the bathroom and I've run out

A few days ago, I attended a workshop run by a wonderful artist named Julia (@bookillumination on Instagram). As you all know, I am visually impaired, so I wasn't expecting to produce anything great, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I love my silly little dolphin! I know he's not perfect, but I do plan on tidying up those lines in the future. I wanted to try out drawing something on my reMarkable, and there were definitely a lot of features that helped. Grid line te

This week I asked you; Which of These Warrior Women Have you heard of? The options were Tomyris, Zenobia, Boudicca, Fu Hao, and Artemisia I. I won't lie: I had an idea which of these women was the most well-known, and I was right. I think many people, especially those living in England, are familiar with Boudicca, queen of the Iceni. Her reign ended in 61 CE at the hands of the Romans after she led a rebellion against them. I'll leave out the gruesome details surrounding her

I wonder how many WoW references I can get into this one. Who is your favourite paladin? Mine is Arthas Menethil (1). Back in the day when I first started playing World of Warcraft (2), I thought Paladins were just another fantasy archetype, you know, like druids, priests, warlocks or even monks... oh, wait a minute. They're all real things, and even if the fantasy versions are not the same as their real-life counterparts, you can still see the connections. It makes sense to

Something you all probably know about me by now is that I love a castle, and I love cannons. Broughty Castle Museum is a triple threat: a castle, a museum, and cannons. The best thing? It's only a bus ride away. The castle itself and the castle grounds were lovely, and the view wasn't bad either, though I imagine my fully sighted partner enjoyed that more than I did. There are always accessibility issues when visiting an historic site like this, and nothing was out of the ord

This week I asked you; Who is your favourite figure from mythology? As well as the usual places I ask these questions, I also shared this in a couple of extra Discord servers and uni groups because I wanted to get as varied a response as possible, and you did not disappoint! My original plan was to figure out what characteristics or domains people feel most drawn to, but you guys gave me over 57 different figures! Some of which I disqualified for various reasons. I asked peop

Written by Sam Lock In 2025 over 600 pianists were whittled down to 162 and then down to 84. These musicians aimed to compete on stage, all playing the music from a single composer. Held every five years, the International Chopin Piano Competition (held in Warsaw) hosts talent from all over the world to compete in and celebrate Fryderyk Chopin’s music. Chopin created a vast catalogue of music that deeply resonates with audiences and musicians to this day. Ranging from extreme

By Signa Gillysdottir “You know…” Andromeda said to herself, “It’s not the worst punishment in the world. The sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze, there’s no one around to say anything stupid. I won’t have to marry Phineus, and Cetus will no doubt bite me in half, so it’ll be a quick de-” A dull thud. Andromeda raised one brow in curiosity as a bronze shield rolled past her, then crashed to the ground. The sound echoed like thunder off the cliffs. The shield was quick

This week's question was inspired by my studies. I asked you; What is myth? This was the question we were asked at the start of this week at Uni. I have a very firm idea of what I think myth is. I've been reading and listening to myths for a long time. So, I wanted to know what you guys thought myths were. The wonderful thing about myth is that it is flexible, and different people can take different things away from each story. I do think there are some things that we can all

If you've lost a loved one, you may be taking part in a tradition that dates back to the Georgian era, and probably even earlier, without realising it. Mourning jewellery is worn to honour or remember a deceased loved one. So if, like me, you have a necklace that contains a loved one's ashes, or you carry their photo in a locket, you are wearing mourning jewellery. I had the idea to write this post on the bus this morning. Today would have been my mum's 65th birthday, so I ha

A lot of it doesn't stand out; days seemed to bleed into one another and the passage of time felt so weird. I'm writing this in 2026, too, so my memory is unreliable when it comes to details.

I first learned about Noor Inayat Khan at a talk last year, and it is my honour to share her story with you today and to introduce you to one of the many brave women who assisted the Allies in WW II. Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, also called Nora, was born on January 1st, 1914, in Moscow; she was the eldest of four children. Her father, Hazrat Inayat Khan, was an Indian musician and Sufi teacher, and her mother, Ameena Begum (born Ora Ray Baker), was an American poet and writer.

Book Four: Come Dine With Me (The Odyssey, Book by Book)

Good evening, Nooklings. It's -checks calendar- 40 days until I start studying again. Where did the summer go? It feels like it was only a month ago I was crying in my Latin exam (yes, I really did cry during my Latin exam). This year I'll be studying module A350 Greek and Roman myth: stories and histories. I've decided to go part-time this year, so it'll only be the one module. With how much burnout I had to deal with last year, switching to part-time was an easy decision, e

Good afternoon, Nooklings. With all the attention on the Odyssey recently and a renewed public interest in Classics, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite books. These include Roman and Greek poetry, and some Greek drama. Some of these are definitely not family-friendly. Anne Carson, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho ISBN: 978-1-84408-081-6 Sappho was a Greek poet; she wrote about love and family. Sadly, most of Sappho's poetry only survives in fragments, someti

You may find it hard to believe that there have only been 6 Anglo-Saxon helmets discovered in the UK, and 5 of those were in England. The most famous of these is undoubtedly the Sutton Hoo Helmet, which is currently housed in the British Museum. It's easy to see why it is the most famous; it's very imposing and incredibly detailed, but I'd like to introduce you to one of its contemporaries, which is often overlooked. The Coppergate helmet may be the best-preserved, and the Su