
These days, education can be an international affair. The University of Birmingham attracts around 10,000 international students from across the globe and with plenty of study exchange opportunities, students can discover a different academic environment and immerse themselves into a completely new culture. This cosmopolitan approach to learning is nothing new. After the Nettlefolds’ eldest

All Hallows’ Eve will soon be upon us and, as fate would have it, we recently stumbled upon the subject in a book from our archives. Published in 1901, the following extract from ‘The Larger Dumpy Books for Children: Holidays and Happy Days’ gives us a fascinating insight into a long-forgotten tradition, and how the

Family photographs are a great source of information about the fashions of the time. Archive volunteer Paula has been delving into some Nettlefold photographs – and her research has turned up some fascinating finds about the dress and style of twentieth-century women. We are lucky to have lovely photographs of two Nettlefold family weddings. The

This month I am cheating and choosing three objects for the price of one! Since we took responsibility for the University Herbarium a couple of years ago, we have constantly been unearthing new treasures. The archive volunteers have been working on two collections of objects which came to us with the Herbarium – a box

Summer has finally joined us and what better summer activity than going for a picnic? But did you know where the tradition of picnics came from? As I watched the skies darkening last Sunday I was hastily doing a mental note of how many family members I could fit round the dining room table to