Photo of the sunset over Lake Ontario tonight, not including the gelato in my other hand.

Had a leisurely stop in Dublin, one of my favourite cities, on the return journey to Canada. Naturally, I had to make my maternal Irish ancestors happy and partake in a Guinness. It truly is so much better in Ireland than anywhere else in the world. ☘️ 🍁

Had a splendid time at the British Library yesterday attending the outstanding Misha Ewen’s talk “Imperial Ties” about women who were enslaved and also enslavers in the British Empire. The talk was part of the Eccles Centre’s summer scholars series which is phenomenal.

Enjoying a nice evening dinner and pint overlooking Blackfriars Bridge, London.

Had a blast today in Stratford upon Avon while visiting some friends on my last weekend in the UK for my fellowship at the BL. This jester required my attention. #Jester

Hey I was just there last month! #PrinceEdwardIsland #EighteenthCenturyMaps

Oddly enough, I was just looking at an account of Brant in the British Library’s America 250 exhibition this morning. I still think his sister Molly is arguably more interesting and more representative of Mohawk interests in the eighteenth century, but I get that his perspective is more accessible.

In Bristol for the day and it was fun to wander around a city that has frequently appeared in my research on Indigenous travellers who came to England in the 16th-17th centuries. #Bristol #IndigenousHistory

Is there a German word for when you’re in the archives and you happen upon the absolute most treasured gem of a document in a collection which you know well but didn’t see before, & which ties together a series of threads that you’ve been struggling with for the past 5 years? Asking for a friend

In Bath for the weekend and am very much enjoying waking up to the sounds of the wood pigeons outside. They are quite the chatty bunch! Also, Bath is lovely!

I have been in the British Library this week for an Eccles fellowship, and found it striking to see Thomas Jefferson’s ancestor John Jefferson as a signatory on this document recounting the Anglo-French conquest of the Kalinago island Liamuiga (St. Kitts) in 1627. #Jefferson #US250

Feeling pretty good about the fact that the heat wave in Ireland is, knock on wood, done for now. 🪵

Come listen to my talk today on Kalinago trans-Atlantic travel and diplomacy in the mid-17th c. You’ll learn about poisoned arrows, shipwreck survivors, and the formation of the French empire. 1 Divinity, Maynooth South Campus, 11:30am.

A few days behind in announcing but I am thrilled to be the 2026-2028 Kobrak Fellow with the Canadian Business History Association, working on a project on Cree economic and political diplomacy with the Hudson’s Bay Company. #Fellowship #IndigenousHistory #BusinessHistory

It’s striking that denialists are also drawing on family members of former residential school employees, something which I have observed on a 1st hand basis. They fear the shame that comes from complicity in genocide, which makes it all the more important to call them out for the cowards they are.

When faced with the choice between a “general store” or “brewery,” I believe you all know the correct answer. Folks, we did not go to the general store. We made the right choice. Anyway, I enjoyed touring around the small towns and villages of eastern Ontario yesterday.

Today, we had the wonderful Greg Anderson present in our department on pluriversal histories and how historians can help bring to life all kinds of ways of being and knowing the universe. It was a great talk with lots of fruitful discussion afterwards. I also got my copy of his book signed.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh! ó Kingston

“Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt” “There are tears for all things and mortal things touch the mind.” - Virgil, The Aeneid, l. 461-462. Photo of Kingston’s Victoria Park, 29 Jan 2026

I grew up on a small farm in central British Columbia where winter was a time of rest and recovery. I crave long and frigid winters like what we are having in Kingston this weekend. Anyone who complains that they “are not built for this” can get a grip or move. This ain’t Florida, nor should it be.

Christmas is always such a nice time of year in Kingston. The streets are quiet and the waterfront walkways are very peaceful. Plus the lake is as clear as glass.

I believe that the Irish rappers @kneecapceol.bsky.social should be allowed to tour in Canada and I oppose the government’s ban on their entry, which is a violation of freedom of expression. I have outlined my case in yesterday’s letter to my MP:

We may live in troubled times, but here’s a small reprieve: Yesterday’s evening sun over the Kingston shore on Lake Ontario.

Of all the possible places, Kingston knows how to be scenic in winter.

2025 was not always the year I had hoped what with so many funding applications rejected and a broken labour strike on campus. However, some of the most rewarding moments were in the classroom. I am humbled and proud to be the recipient of my department’s annual Teaching Fellow award this year.

Bonne journée Montréal et @thenacbs.bsky.social! C’était ma deuxième fois mais toujours une conférence super! J’ai passé une bonne expérience et je souhaite retourner encore, très bientôt j’espère.

I am taking the train, making my way up the St. Lawrence River to Montréal for the NACBS, enjoying the in-between fall and winter season that we can currently find in the river valley.

Un gatto multo carino

When in Rome

I visited the Tomb of Saint Nicolas in Bari yesterday and can confirm that Santa Clause is in fact dead. I am not quite sure how I’m going to break the news to my nieces yet.