David Clifford

Origin Stories Object No. 1: The Rosetta Stone To set this collection apart from more established marques

Who else here has a direct relative responsible for purloining the Rosetta Stone from Egypt in 1801? Just me then?

open.substack.com/pub/djhc2/p/...

Origin Stories Object No. 1: The Rosetta Stone To set this collection apart from more established marques

Someone in my own family turned out to be responsible for plundering the Rosetta Stone from Egypt! How will I live this down?

Origin Stories Object No. 1: The Rosetta Stone
substack.com/home/post/p-...

The Origin Story of *Origin Stories* And whether 100 objects to talk about them is likely to be enough

My forthcoming book, Origin Stories, is all about storytelling. There are quite a few interesting stories that didn't make it into the final draft, so I'm posting some of those up for free on Substack - The Story of Storytelling in 100 Objects. Find out more below.

open.substack.com/pub/djhc2/p/...

Everyone likes cheaper books, right? Waterstones are offering 25% off preorders: Enter a London like no other in this fast-paced, captivating fantasy filled with warring gods, alternate realities & a working class kid caught in the middle, for fans of V.E. Schwab & Genevieve Cogman. #fantasybooks

It's never too late. PSS is one of those novels of a lifetime. Nothing quite like it - enjoy!

Delighted that the paperback of The Unrecovered (pub 9 Oct) is in the Waterstones 25% off pre-order!

www.waterstones.com/book/the-unr...

Offer runs until 23.59 on Thursday 31st July, enter: SUMMER25 to redeem the offer and receive 25% off on the Waterstones website and app

#WPreorder #Booksky

(there is A bee in this picture, if you can spot her!)

I have to say, I'm liking my zero-effort wildflower garden as much as the bees seem to be

We need higher standards for academic writing | Ian Pace | The Critic Magazine At the end of 2024, a short-lived Twitter/X storm raised significant questions about the nature of academic work and public engagement with such work, especially on social media.

An excellent essay on the politicized orthodoxy of the humanities, alienating academic jargon, and the need for constant, robust scholarly scrutiny. By
@ianpace.bsky.social.

thecritic.co.uk/we-need-high...

I'm curious about what lay behind the decision to title the UK version of Catherine Nixey's latest 'Heresy' and the US one 'Heretic'. The distinction between two very different words must have mattered to someone. Terrific book, though.

Artist son tells me he's a bit bored, really looking forward to restarting Life Drawing classes.

Rather hurt by his response to my offer that I, his mother or his sister could possibly put some time aside to model if it would help 😔

Really enjoyed it - a splendidly well crafted piece of work. Well done, shall look forward to #2.

And of course, no devotee of Middlemarch can stop by in Rome and not pay a visit to St Theresa (Bernini)

fine work being done by the Guardian picture editor today.

When I was a kid at Sunday school in Essex our church was probably decorated with, at most, illustrations from a Ladybird book showing the Sermon on the Mount, or the Wedding at Cana.

In Rome, they have Caravaggios.

Cheers, #ZeroDay. We all knew #WhoKilledBambi was shit and irritating when it came out. It wasn't the earworm I craved 40 years later.

‘Impressive, ingenious and affecting’ poem about missing an absent son wins National Poetry Competition Fiona Larkin’s poem uses Finnish grammar to explore her feelings about her son’s move from the UK to Brisbane

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

Silhouette of black cormorant spreading wings perched high on a tree branch.

Cormorant flexing his guns over the Cam just now

'Girl Writing', St John's Wood (1931) by Harold Knight

(Grundy Art Gallery)

Somehow I was slow to pick up on How to Speak Whale by @tommustill.bsky.social when first out, but delighted to have given it time now. Novel, fascinating and uplifting - with warnings. Beautifully clear writing, Mustill also knows the power of a good metaphor, and of crafting a memorable line.

Rather handsome little egret spotted yesterday, of all places, at Sainsbury's. Probably picking up lunch too, I suppose.

On a weekend course on Roman /Anglo Saxon archaeology - fabulous late Roman (c.450 CE) pottery samples. The pale marks are where the potter held the pot with her/his fingertips when dipping it in the coloured slip before firing.

Very sad news - a great scientist (and a great friend)…

Warning: if your name is David, you won’t survive a horror movie A survey has revealed the most likely characters to be killed off before the end credits. Actors would be ill-advised to take on any Davids, Hollys or Dicks

I have to say, this was not the news I wanted after a lovely evening with students and alum

www.theguardian.com/film/2025/ma...

Michael Sheen buys £1m worth of people's debts The Hollywood actor has helped 900 people in south Wales with their debts for a new documentary.

Admiration for this guy off the scale

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Back with Book Report asap!

My indie bookshop edition of The Unrecovered by @richardstrachan.bsky.social! Check out the fabulous edging! Students have already asked me about this; I'll look forward to letting them know!

Ooh, now THAT'S how to wrap a book! Great job @goldenharebooks.bsky.social. But what's inside..?

A moment that changed me: I was 16, gay and bullied for it. Then my father wrote to the Guardian … Britain in the 90s seemed to see homosexuality as something shameful. My father told the world how proud he was of me

Very moving in many ways
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Who'd have thought a novel about Hellenic Syracuse told in modern Irish vernacular would be so brilliant and funny? Ferdia Lennon, obviously