Retired historian (Ancient Greece) & oboist. Deracinated Nottinghamian. Widower. Grandfather. European. Loves dogs, humour, movies, orchestras, wine.

In my phrontistery
Joined June 2017
Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
If you think Ravelโ€™s Bolรฉro needs a full orchestra, listen to this version: just one cello, yet itโ€™s every bit as captivating.
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
The old terminus of the London Necropolis Railway, which shipped mourners & coffins (tickets had to be purchased for both) out to Surrey's Brookwood Cemetery. Trains & waiting rooms were segregated by class & a steam-powered lift took coffins up to the platforms. #gothic #history
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
How to combine German and English: From "Handy" to "Oldtimer," the German language is riddled with Anglicisms that can be confusing: dw.com/en/mother-tongue-momeโ€ฆ
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
(359) Julian Bream plays Malcolm Arnold Guitar Concerto Op 67 3rd Movement in 1963 - YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=ISifvAnhโ€ฆ
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
I hate the clocks going backwards and forwards. When I was young, we didnโ€™t even have clocks. If we got hungry, we ate each other. We were poor, but we were happy. Good times. Not that we had time. It hadnโ€™t been invented. We had to make our own time out of string and cholera.
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
Clintonโ€™s right. The Rose Garden wasnโ€™t just a lawnโ€”it was a historic public space tied to decades of presidential history. Paving it over for a limestone patio, gold lettering, and Mar-a-Lago umbrellas turns the Peopleโ€™s House into a personal club. Practicality doesnโ€™t require that aesthetic. Congress should have pushed back before they gave more of the grounds the same treatment.
Bill Clinton: "I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace's bathroom"
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
The famous - and very impressive - lantern at Ely Cathedral ๐Ÿคฉ
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
A wonderful obituary of Chris Wickham theguardian.com/books/2026/oโ€ฆ
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
The cast-iron lamppost near Albert Bridge features two climbing boysโ€”one passing a burning torch to the otherโ€”wrapped around a shaft decorated with oak leaves, acorns, and overflowing cornucopias. It was sculpted by Timothy Butler in 1874. When the London Metropolitan Board of Works was choosing lighting for the new Thames Embankments, Butler's design was rejected for mass production because it was deemed too complex and expensive to replicate. The city chose the famous "Dolphin" (sturgeon) lamps instead, leaving only two of Butler's rare climbing boy lamps in existenceโ€”both on Chelsea Embankment (the other sits further west near Chelsea Old Church). The granite plinth features writing on its east face that marks the official opening of the Chelsea Embankment in May 1874. It credits the foundry, Coalbrookdale, and honors the key players behind London's revolutionary Victorian sewage system: Sir James Macnaghten Hogg (Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works) and Sir Joseph Bazalgette (the chief civil engineer).
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
Hermione Lee: Biography is a dying art prospectmagazine.co.uk/viewsโ€ฆ
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
24 October 1941: Members of the wartime Coalition Govt photographed in the garden of 10 Downing Street (This includes members of the Outer Cabinet as well as the smaller War Cabinet):
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
Justice catches up with Odysseus after 3,000 years. Supreme Court finds careless Greek mariner too cunning for his own good and convicts him for loss of entire fleet and crew. Wrote this for @ObserverUK on the annual @classicsforall moot trial observer.co.uk/news/nationalโ€ฆ
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Something I've just seen & enjoyed in Wikipedia s.v. #VickyMcClure (the actress). 'In 2015 Nottingham Express Transit named tram 224 after her. On her maiden trip she was asked to leave the tram for fare evasion. Having been offered a free ride, she did not have a ticket'.
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
I will now be saying โ€œbotanicalโ€ instead of โ€œastronomical.โ€ Via @WSJ / Jonathan Silvertown / Gerard Helferich
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
St Peter's, Tickencote in Rutland is best known for its remarkable Norman chancel arch: in 1792 under the patronage of Miss Eliza Wingfield it was given a neo-Romanesque make-over by the architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell, great-great nephew of the diarist. #steeplesaturday
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Prof David Whitehead MRIA ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท ๐Ÿ’™ ๐Ÿ’š retweeted
Why do people serving in shops, cafes nowadays often add "today" onto their questions? eg. "Would you like milk, today?". How does the word "today" help? Isn't it obvious that if I want milk I'd like it "today"? How would they respond if I said "No, I'd like it a week on Tuesday please."
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