Poor Frank Raw

Lucifer has a point

Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base

I do fear that grotesque boast that the USA no longer needed to worry about "stupid rules of engagement", will haunt the country for years to come.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/w...

In my defence, they gave me a key to a cellar full of wine, so really I can't be blamed.

The former Assistant Sommelier.

I'd be in the cellar, opening everything, slooshing, laughing, drunk crying, incoherent, fired.

Damn, I'm SO close!

That is nuts.

Who invented that?! And how?!

Thrilled to find out I've been awarded a Bodleian Library Fellowship! I'll be taking up a Humfrey Wanley Visiting Fellowship in the autumn term, researching the residents of medieval Catte Street 📚 #medievalmanuscripts @ihr.bsky.social @ies-sas.bsky.social @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Dear wise ones, is there a way of saying 'first in, last out' in Latin?

Born 1825....

I just checked and 5 people sign the marriage certificate. Bride, groom, minister, 2 witnesses. Only one is not a Thomas.

Also my mum's maiden name was Thomas and she married a Mr Thomas. The minister who married them was Revd Thomas. No relation. Potentially. Hard to tell. Ferndale, 1945.

Yebbut, come on, mix it up Tom 🙄 A bloke in dad's road applied for the job as hangman at Cardiff prison. Unsuccessfully. However he was known for the rest of his life as Jones Hangman.

I have several ancestors called Thomas Thomas, and one called Thomas Thomas Thomas. This displays a breathtaking lack of imagination on the part of the parents.

a man in a suit and tie is smiling ALT: a man in a suit and tie is smiling

Someone I am researching has named their child different versions of their last name.

'Verity De Verite Verity'

There is a viral video doing the rounds by The Tower of London which takes on the castle spiral stair swordfighting myth... but the comments are full of questions about why its a myth. Well, it *is* a myth and here's how we know...
triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/mediaeval-my...

There are many more images of this amazing ring at the museum's link: www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collectio...

Yes, the fresh issue of Forum has arrived!
Among the articles, clippings, events, and reviews, you’ll find my Nottingham Gingerbread Tile and my review of the ongoing great exhibition at Fitzwilliam Museum.
Also, don’t miss @poorfrankraw.co.uk’s review of the conference at Cambridge University.

Today's quiz - anyone know about prawns on gravestones?

It is the far edge of Christian apocalyptic thinking that armageddon is welcomed as the harbinger of the return of the messiah. To hear that military leaders are propagating that message down through the chain of command is mental. Religious hardliners on all sides. What could possibly go wrong? 💀

US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges Religious freedom group says 200 troops sent complaints of superiors using extremist Christian rhetoric to justify war

Well in a world of crazy, this is pushing into new crazy levels of batshit:

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Trump says Starmer is 'no Winston Churchill' over Iran strikes Sir Keir Starmer had refused to grant the US permission to use the Diego Garcia military base.

Was it not the USA who sat out the first two years of WW2 as a neutral until Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and Hitler declared war on the US? Meanwhile Europe was deep in the fight against fascism... Great insight from Cadet Bonespurs as usual 🙄

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Saw her once before, much smaller venue, this was HUGE. Amazing stage presence and voice.

Trump is wrong. "Sharia courts" in the UK are not actual courts. They are not part of the judiciary & have no legal authority.

They are private bodies that offer Islamic guidance & mediation to Muslims.

Christians & Jews have Beth Din courts & ecclesiastical tribunals that operate in the same way.

An expat in Dubai has a startling revelation: the Stephen Collins cartoon Reality check …

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

I like the Google phones because they have such a vanilla Android setup. The other companies all seem to fiddle with stuff and make things harder to achieve.

"We called London a war zone and moved to Dubai by mistake"