Mandalee

@mandalee.bsky.social

2050 Followers 308 Following

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

Junior archaeologists on the job. No knee complaints as of yet! 😁
the EHAS booth at the Archaeology Fair, just waiting for diggers!
the East Herts Archaeological Society stand, all set up and ready for visitors!
Copy of the lyrics to the song in question. (It's 'soul shaker')
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 😁
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.
A green sign on a lawn with kanji text and an English translation underneath reading "Do not disturb. Tiny grass is dreaming"
Camera shop window in Pimlico, chock full of vintage camera bits
A dog with shiny black fur and brown eyes cocks his head, waiting for a crisp at the pub. (He had ALL the crisps)
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)
A black dog in a bright blue harness is walking slowly on a treadmill in the water. He's clearly thinking very hard and trying to figure out how all this works
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
A paperback copy of Hìldur Knùtsdòttir's novel The Night Guest, with special tooth marks courtesy of her wonderful dog, Uggi
A blonde woman (me) with pinkish-purple tips on her hair, smiling cause she feels like herself again
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?
My 2026 word is, apparently, 'melancholic'. FFS
My 2026 word is, apparently, 'melancholic'. Please, for the love of god, noooooo
A grey plastic kitchen bin, with a GREAT MASSIVE HOLE gnawed in one corner of the lid
A movie poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark
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.
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"
"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'"
"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."
A crow - shiny black bird, intelligent, gives zero fucks
A green lawn leading to a gate between trees, with sunlight filtering through.
Marchers in what looks like 16th century uniforms, with helmets and pikes (I kid you not)
A buncha scary zombie folk shambling through London for charity
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.
"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."
British comedian and all around legend Janey Godley, standing on a Trump golf course with a handmade sign that reads, "Trump is a cunt"
A corroded metal sign showing a skull and crossbones with a red lightning bolt passing through it, and text in Polish with many exclamation points. I think it was warning not to touch because of a risk of electric shock.
The front of my house, a former Victorian school building in red brick with a large window on the front. The sky is a deep, clear blue.
A recent post of mine which reads "This is the only sensible solution I see. Give the bigots their own little space and let the rest of us just get on with our lives. Call them TERF toilets, just so we're clear."
"Next time the [Ryder] Cup crosses the Atlantic, at Hazeltine in 2029, whether during Trump’s third term or not, the hosts will have a choice to make about what kind of event they want to run – and what kind of country they want it to reflect.
"The result is that the announcement of the intent to recognise a Palestinian state had already been weakened by its bizarre conceptualisation, framed as it has been around certain conditions that Israel must meet, including a ceasefire and permitting aid into Gaza, to head off the recognition. Palestinians either have an inalienable right to statehood and self-determination or they do not, and linking that right to the compliance of their occupier maintained a wildly unrealistic, if not fantastical, notion that Israel has any interest at all in pursuing a two-state solution when it is hurtling persistently in the other direction. It is clear now, two years into a genocide, that the Israeli government is not one that can be threatened, urged or scolded into ceasing its violation of Palestinian human and political rights."
A black furry dog face giving me the big eyes, clearly about to perish of hunger
Cassowary on the road. He has brilliant blue and pink on his neck and a bony crest. His visible foot is huge and scaly and unmistakably that of an ancient creature.
Pan-fried bream in garlic butter with linguine, tenderstem broccoli and spinach
A beautiful moth with black and white stripes like a zebra
A completely enchanted-looking view from the top of Glastonbury Tor at sunrise. The ground below is misty and the sky is peach and rose. The photo was taken from inside the church, looking out through an arched window. It's a stunning image, and I've had it as my lock screen for quite some time now. 📸 Michelle Cowbourne
Stacks of pilae (flat tiles used to support the floor over a hypocaust) at the Welwyn Roman Baths. SOME people are reportedly very protective of their hypocausts. No idea why 😁😁
Photo of an octopus underwater with the caption, "Octopuses sometimes punch fish seemingly without reason, possibly just out of annoyance."
Black dog on a beach, looking slightly offended
A results matrix for the "Jock-Nerd/Prep-Goth Test". I scored 69.1% goth, 69.1% nerd. Not surprising, but amusing in a juvenile way.
A fossil in what I have only just learned is called the 'opisthotonic death pose' - with its head arched far back over its spine
Pamphlet from the Museum of Gloucester with an absolute unit of a pig, with the caption 'Sow's it going?'
They added : "The Conservative Party has a history of treating people very badly, and it continues to do so."
Xray of the skull of a pug dog, which essentialy has no sinuses at all
A black dog with curly fur and a red collar standing in the leaves, pink tongue out. You can just about see his eyes. (He really does look like a muppet)
What are the criteria for a legal abortion? Abortion up to 24 weeks Most abortions in England, Wales, and Scotland are carried out before 24 weeks with permission from two registered doctors. In reality, most doctors leave a two-week margin for error and rarely go beyond 22 weeks. If a person is less than 10 weeks pregnant, they may be able to have a medical termination at home, rather than going to a hospital or clinic. After 10 weeks of pregnancy, a health professional or abortion provider can discuss options. In order for an abortion to be legal, the medical practitioners must be acting in good faith - not negligent or dishonest when forming their opinion - and agree on ONE, or more, of the following grounds: The pregnancy has not exceeded 24 weeks. Termination is necessary to prevent permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant person or any existing children of their family. There is a substantial risk that the child would have physical or mental abnormalities if they were to be born.
"Right before I was traveling domestically in late March, I heard the story of an author who was asked for her passport when she checked in for a domestic flight even though she was a citizen. At the time I hadn’t renewed my passport (I have now) and hadn’t gotten around to upgrading a Real ID. I had visions of being whisked away as I walked through security, and even had an email to friends and family ready to send should that happen. Delusional? Perhaps. But now that someone journalist-adjacent has been detained, the fear seems like it wasn’t unjustified."
Guardian article entitled 'Elk could return to UK after 3,000 years in rewilding project'. The photo, captioned 'an elk in the taiga', is, without a doubt, a moose.
A black dog with curly fur, snuggled next to a person on a sofa. He is snoring like a dockworker after a bender. It's a rough life.
"Many Americans watching this unfold declare that the United States is descending into fascism. We whose bodies have always borne the brunt of this country’s violence know better. The US is not “descending” into fascism. The US is a nation built on the genocide of its Indigenous population, the enslavement of Black people, and over a century of racial segregation. The current terror ICE is unleashing on immigrant communities builds on a long-standing history of racist, xenophobic immigration policies and enforcement."
A pigeon with its 'nest'. This consists of about six twigs in a pile on a concrete surface
Aurora borealis glowing purple and pink and green over a tree in the foreground
Happy black dog with curly fur, desperately begging for crisps at the pub
Snopes article investigating a rumour that Trump is planning to invoke the Insurrection Act on April 20 in order to declare martial law. I reckon all these silly EOs are designed to get people to riot in the streets. Perfect excuse.