Mandalee

@mandalee

Archaeologist, serial immigrant, lover of dogs and coffee. Obstreperous AND unruly. Black is my happy colour.

310 Siguiendo2063 Seguidores3285 Publicaciones

Bluesky

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y mandalee.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Mandalee@mandalee· 15d

Meet the General. I believe in this photo he is just about to make a rather penetrating legal argument about the right to privacy

A black cat wearing a formal white ruff around his neck is trying to enjoy his bed by the fire. An impertinent and persistent hand is patting him. His ears are back, and I think we all know what happens next

Mandalee@mandalee· 16d

What's your sign

Sign on a lawn with Chinese (?) characters followed by a translation reading "Do not disturb. Tiny grass is dreaming'

Mandalee@mandalee· 25d

so far, so good! We have some serious skills showing up, Digging for Britain has clearly had an impact 😁 #archaeology

Junior archaeologists on the job. No knee complaints as of yet! 😁

Mandalee@mandalee· 25d

Come one, come all to the Hertfordshire Archaeology Fair, TODAY at the Welwyn Roman Baths until 5pm! I'm at the EHAS booth, where we have a mini-dig set up for budding young archaeologists😁 #archaeology #ancientBluesky

the EHAS booth at the Archaeology Fair, just waiting for diggers!

Mandalee@mandalee· Jul 6

😂

Copy of the lyrics to the song in question. (It's 'soul shaker')

Mandalee@mandalee· Jun 29

Got to see this wonderful mosaic in person at the Leeds Museum over the weekend. The happiest, derpiest wolf in all of art history 😁 She makes me smile every time. #ancientBluesky #mosaicMonday

A Roman mosaic depicting Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf. I'm just about certain the artist never saw a wolf in real life. But her wide grin says she's happy 😁

Close-up of the same mosaic. Even derpier

Mandalee@mandalee· Jun 16

I recovered my first one from a skeleton last week! Unbelievably small, no wonder they're so hard to spot when washing! (Malleus and toothpick for scale)

A plastic bag containing two tiny bones, with a toothpick for scale. The stapes looks like a stirrup, and I'm not sure the end of the toothpick would have fit through the hole in the middle.

Mandalee@mandalee· Apr 23

Paging @sardonicus.eu 😉

Camera shop window in Pimlico, chock full of vintage camera bits

Mandalee@mandalee· Mar 19

This was our Monty on Sunday. They could have been brothers

A dog with shiny black fur and brown eyes cocks his head, waiting for a crisp at the pub. (He had ALL the crisps)

Mandalee@mandalee· Mar 14

I was thinking more like this

Scene from one of the Jurassic Park films where a man is trying to tame a velociraptor, holding his empty hands out in a calming gesture. (The movie would have been far better if this tactic hadn't worked, IMHO)

Mandalee@mandalee· Mar 3

My 15-year-old best boy does hydrotherapy too! It's been great for him 🥰

Mandalee@mandalee· Feb 10

Are we talking about these guys? Cause I have my doubts tbh

Medieval manuscript illumination depicting a gigantic and frankly terrifying rabbit or hare, wearing a belt, and using an equally gigantic sword to cut of a man's head

Mandalee@mandalee· Jan 18

Ooooh treats in the post this weekend!! Thank you very much @hildur.bsky.social, and a special thank you to Uggi for the customisation... excellent work! 😁

A paperback copy of Hìldur Knùtsdòttir's novel The Night Guest, with special tooth marks courtesy of her wonderful dog, Uggi

Mandalee@mandalee· Jan 17

You know what - I read this and said fuck it, I'm not waiting to have the top bits bleached... I'm doing the ends NOW. and I feel way waaay better for it too ✊🏼

A blonde woman (me) with pinkish-purple tips on her hair, smiling cause she feels like herself again

Mandalee@mandalee· Jan 5

British folks, I know I go on about this, but this IS the reality right now in the US. Please do NOT be complacent about the #NHS. Powerful interests want to privatise in order to profit. We must not let them. It's not exaggeration. It's not a fuss over nothing. It's really, really important.

January 2, 2026
He canceled his insurance yesterday.
He's 31. He's been on an ACA plan for three years, paying $94 a month after subsidies. His new premium: $486 a month. That's $5,832 a year for a plan with a $3,000 deductible. He'd have to spend nearly $9,000 before the insurance pays for anything.
He went to the doctor once for chest pain. Nothing wrong, just stress. The bill was $4,200. He's still paying it off.
Outside, a car sputters past the house. He doesn't look up. The confirmation email is still open on his phone, the screen dimming, then going dark.
If something serious happens, he'll let it kill him.
He's done the math. Dying is cheaper.
What do you call a country that makes dying cheaper than living?

Mandalee@mandalee· Jan 1

Fuckin 'ell. Someone up there have a little mercy, PLEASE

My 2026 word is, apparently, 'melancholic'. FFS

Mandalee@mandalee· Dec 30

In our house, we have a mouse. This happens every winter (we live in the country). But this one seems especially stubborn. No baits tempt it, only the bin... So I shut the lid. Today, we found this:

A grey plastic kitchen bin, with a GREAT MASSIVE HOLE gnawed in one corner of the lid

Close-up of the hole, with tiny serrated tooth marks all round the edge. This is an interspecies 'fuck you' if I've ever seen one

Mandalee@mandalee· Dec 19

I mean...could be worse? Maybe I'll get to punch a Nazi.

A movie poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Mandalee@mandalee· Dec 2

Indeed 😁

The etching 'Gin Lane' by Hogarth, a busy street scene depicting the various ill effects of gin consumption. Central to the frame, a drunken mother carelessly lets her baby fall from a staircase while she laughs.

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 29

Having a great shopping day at #Dragonmeet today, but neglected to bring along my trusty foldup shopping bag. Oh well, had to have SOMETHING to carry stuff in... 😁😁😁

A canvas tote with a very silly medieval scene of a Knight battling a snail. The text reads "Prithee carry mine shopping, cur!""Chill out, Nigel"

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 25

Too white, eh

"She said the agents themselves were...saying 'What are we doing here? These aren't the sort of people we're supposed to be arresting'"

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 25

How about it @hertscc.bsky.social ... you ready to do the right thing yet? Your biases are really showing, and they're not pretty. Take the racist flags DOWN already.

"Inevitably violence has resulted in the arrest of the man who has been behind the Raise the Colours campaign in Faversham and the wave of anti-migrant demonstrations, Harry Hilden.
KCC's Green Group Leader Mark Hood commented "This is what happens when the county council acts as the compliant cheerleader for these plastic patriots imposing their divisive campaign on our communities. Kent Police have been equally culpable for their permissive attitude which is contrary to the law of the land, nothing should be attached to a lamp post without prior permission. People are entitled to fly whatever flag they wish from their own property but we are talking about intimidation and division as identified by Kent Community Health NHS Trust who say that their Black and Asian staff felt deliberately intimidated, and that “It felt like the flags were creating no-go zones.”
Enough is enough there is little surprise that residents are taking the flags down themselves."

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 13

A crow - shiny black bird, intelligent, gives zero fucks

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 13

View from my desk today. Yes, I'm lucky.

A green lawn leading to a gate between trees, with sunlight filtering through.

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 8

Witnessed an event today that's been happening for over 800 years - the Lord Mayor's Show (this year the Lady Mayor's Show). Terrific not just for the spectacle, but because it's a parade of all the guilds, crafts & organisations that have always been London's heart.

Marchers in what looks like 16th century uniforms, with helmets and pikes (I kid you not)

The Pearly Kings and Queens, one of London's quirkiest traditions that evolved from Cockney market traders in the 19th century. Their regalia can weigh up to 30kg/66 lbs and is covered with mother of pearl buttons.

Part of the Company of Butchers retinue, carrying a paper mache pigs head and dressed in their hats and aprons

The Fan Makers guild, carrying (approximately) a giant fan

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 5

I recently participated in the London Zombie Walk, and along our shamble we passed a church where the bride and groom were just emerging. About 30 zombies stopped to yell congrats 😂

A buncha scary zombie folk shambling through London for charity

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 5

I took this one, I've always liked it. An incredibly photogenic building

Close up photo of the Taj Mahal - an enormous monument built of white marble. Hard to explain how impressive it is unless you've been there.

Mandalee@mandalee· Nov 5

💯 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

"In the UK, Starmer’s pitch is basically: we’ll adopt the language and the flags, but deploy them with greater civility. As a response to this moment, it is morally contemptible and politically myopic."

Mandalee@mandalee· Oct 18

They probably didn't intend the homage, but I imagine Janey Godley's spirit is cackling right now 😁

British comedian and all around legend Janey Godley, standing on a Trump golf course with a handmade sign that reads, "Trump is a cunt"

Mandalee@mandalee· Oct 13

I've seen exactly that sign, in Krakow! I loved it too ☠️