I grew up in a non-descript terraced house on a Valleys street in Blaenau Gwent. Despite being an impressionable teen and with all the arrogance of youth I didn’t view it as being of any particular interest, but of course the area was (and is) an incredible place. Part of the old Welsh kingdom of…
The Season of Bright Sadness
Back in February, aided and abetted largely by my stupidly reactionary personality, I gave up social media for Lent. By and large this has proven (for once) to have been a good decision on my part: doom-scrolling, my companion during the long, dark evenings of winter had eventually, inevitably, become a source of anxiety, fuelled…
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
I dunno whether you noticed, friends, but 2023 was a bit of a turbulent year for me. I’ve been pretty circumspect about it, kept myself to myself, you know? Felt my feelings quietly. I certainly didn’t frame almost a year’s worth of blog posts around my experiences, no Sir. No frenzied self-indulgence for me. Thank…
Star Wars Ep 2 | Attack of The Clones
I feel like something of an interloper as I write this month’s post because Star Wars is not my field of expertise by any measure. I am a sci-fi afficionado (it must be true because it says so in my bio), but the great battle between the Jedi and the Sith is an area I’ve…
Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go
Small’s asleep in her room, festive bedding pulled up around her shoulder, surrounded by an army of soft toys. The festive season has been good to her, so far: she’s watched the town lights switch-on, delighted in the antics of the naughty elf, and participated in her first proper school play on the big stage…
Medieval Tomes & Digital Souls
Last month I guested on the amazing Jack of All Graves podcast with the joyous Marko and Corri and if you haven’t already, you can check it out in the link above. Naturally I got lots of things wrong (including when the medieval period actually was, smooth effort K-Dog) but it’s definitely worth your time…
Spineless Wonders | National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
On the 17th November I pulled out the posh coat and ventured forth again into the world of academia, attending the Spineless Wonders conference at the National Library of Wales. It didn’t seem, on the face of it, to really have much to do with my field of research but I’m so glad I went…
The Eleventh Tome of Klavek
November has brought, along with the fireworks, a recognition that I am going to need to dig in deep this winter, and give myself as much love as I can muster. The experience of grief is not linear. The days where I am full of joy at the autumn leaves and the sense of the…
A Ghosting Story
Appropriately enough for the start of spooky season, I’ve been ghosted by the Boy. In the beginning it was quite subtle; a feeling, a premonition of absence. Plans cancelled, replaced with half an hour here or there and then rushing off to somewhere else. The slow, inexorable march to nothingness seemed to have begun, and…
In the Beginning was the Word
In the name of self-care I’ve been attempting early nights. So, at 7pm prompt (my North star, the thing that I aim for, is Small’s bedtime) I make myself a drink and/or a snack, and head to my bedroom. I make sure that the lamp is on, the bed is tidied, various discarded pieces of…
Dr Keri Thomas 