Our Chairman gave a talk yesterday up in Woodford on the origins of Redbridge street names, and I was reminded of this from a newspaper in 1894. Cameron Corbett was busily laying out the Grange Estate north of the station (York Road to Northbrook) but needed another road. 🧵

29-0! Well yes, Wales are, as the commentator said earlier, 'in a bit of a pickle'. Lovely stuff.

Went to the kitchen Switched kettle on Looked out...oh, not bad out...maybe go for a walk in a bit Goes to back to PC Looks out...raining again! Literally a minute later. 🙄

Having seen thermopolium being used yet again the other day, I remember looking it up and finding that it was only Plautus that appears to have ever used the word. So that's a 3rd/2nd c. BC playwright whose main works were adaptations of Greek originals, and no-one after? nunc.ch/en/dont-ever...

When my grandfather died on 5th Feb 1971, my grandma came to stay for a couple of days. So, dad switched on the TV that evening...Oh, a comedy about a funeral director - don't think we want that and quickly switched over. False memory? Apparently not as I found out a few years ago.

A 3LP/2CD Cecil Taylor live set — FRAGMENTS: THE COMPLETE 1969 SALLE PLEYEL CONCERTS — will be released in April. Two full concerts, 92 minutes and 50 minutes long respectively, featuring Jimmy Lyons, Sam Rivers, and Andrew Cyrille. This one will blow your house down. (I wrote the liner notes.)

NP Easy to forget that Duke didn't only make big-band stuff, this was a lovely relaxed small-group session lost in the vaults from when it was recorded in 1960 until it got a release in 1979. And bought by me in the same year from Doug Dobell's shop.

Some light listening for a Wednesday morning

Phew indeed...thought I was on the way to a perfect loss. Wordle 1,691 6/6 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

William Basinski The Disintegration Loops Individually numbered 8 LP / 4CD box set editions. Full-colour sleeves featuring the restored original artwork, and a new 1000-word foreword by Laurie Anderson – housed in a heavyweight, case-wrapped box boomkat.com/products/the...

The Wire 505 is out now! Featuring dälek on the cover, plus an industrial hiphop primer, Vic Bang, Pascal Comelade, O Ghettaõ, Daniel Blumberg’s Jukebox, and much more. Pick up your copy here: thewire.co.uk/shop/

Tickets for my next Associate Artist concert @wigmore-hall.org.uk are now on sale - with the dreamiest lineup!!! 17th July www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/202...

Wow, Alcaraz!! 3-1 Youngest ever to win a career Grand Slam. And 7th title in all. His speed across court is just amazing.

THE MEDIEVAL DRONE SOCIETY is OUT TODAY. I’ve been making friends with the cello after a very long hiatus - exploring 14th century French Medieval Lyric Lais and re-imagining sequences through long bows and breaths and drones. brawlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-me...

Sam Curran hattrick! Great comback after being carted all over earlier.

really strong new one from Okkyung Lee, incoming boomkat.com/products/sig...

Oh wow! Novak in his first final in five attempts!

IN OTHER NEWS, I will be speaking at this ONLINE event on 3rd March about a man we can reliably call A Proper Shit. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-cabinet-...

1925 was a pretty key year for The Area Formerly Known as Redbridge* with the sale of both Shackman's & St Swithin's farms - and you can read about it here: *by those of us of a certain age... ilfordhistoricalsociety.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/...

A rather decent afternoon spent at the Hundred Year's Gallery with Standard Issue in a set of Duos (with one party sometimes an inanimate object!) A varied programme from the serene violin and cello of Imogen Davey's 'Proximity' to the sonic attack of Michael Gordon's 'Industry'. Excellent!

"it took us full-circle back to the start: whispers now concrete, with something real to say." www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

On erasing voices: a thread. I’ve been hugely lucky with reviews for #AHistoryOfEnglandIn25Poems, but the TLS reviewer doesn’t like it (apparently I write like ChatGPT) 😂💀 But I want to reply here to what I think is the review's double erasure of some of the most marginalised voices and stories. 1/5

Out again - this time to Milton Court to see Riot Ensemble. Wonderfully varied programme from twisty slithery solo violin, to gloriously noisy twin drums, lighting and electronics; and contrasting pieces for the full ensemble in the second half. Excellent!

Dear me, 129-1 becomes 164-6...35 runs in 12.1 overs.

Today is all about the 1st ODI while trying to clear the email inbox.

Trump versus reality on the Chagos Islands: 1. UK is not ‘giving away’ the Chagos Islands. It is restoring them to Mauritius having split them off from the former colony when it became independent in 1965. 2. There is a very compelling reason: in 1965 the UN objected …

"Nice little export business you have there. A shame if anything should happen to it." This is basically blackmail / an old fashioned protection racket. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

Shopping done and put away so starting today with this from Henry Purcell. Weather is decent but today will inevitably be spoiled by going to see Orient later...

Laura Cannell's EP series 'A Compendium of Beasts' from 2025 are now available as one digital album. You can download all 16 tracks from the 4 EPs for just £8. Catch up on or meet the beasts in one go! Have a listen here... brawlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-comp...

ICS Ancient History Seminars are back for Spring Term On Tuesday 22 Jan at 5pm, please join Kate Cooper RHUL who will discuss: The Donatist Controversy and the Revolt of Firmus Full details and link to register: ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Getting in training for Sunday's marathon at Kings Place with @philipthomas.bsky.social wonderful box set of Morton Feldman's piano pieces. 2019 though! Where do the years go...

Revelries, our debut miré EP is out today 🥰 with the amazing Kit Downes & Colin Alexander - out on streaming + physicals available via @delphianrecords.com - hope you enjoy and come hear us live next month in The Hague or @kingsplacelondon.bsky.social! @askonasholt.bsky.social

Don't recall any calls for police chief resignations from the Daily Mail et al when the actions of South Yorkshire Police killed 97 people at Hillsborough in 1989 and then lied about it. No one died at Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv

Our releases are on Spotify because Distrokid, who handles our digital distribution, wants them there. I don't publicize their availability, just like I don't publicize their availability to be sampled for Instagram and TikTok videos. Buy our CDs. They're beautiful objects.

This day January 15th (1889) the first Essex County Council elections were held. The county was divided into 63 electoral wards. Andrew Johnston was subsequently elected as the first Chairman of Essex County Council. I image,The 11 parliamentary constituency boundaries in 1910.

Started my fellowship at Merton College Oxford yesterday - during my time here I’ll be giving two free concerts in the chapel, details below & all welcome!

Absolute scenes at Macclesfield! Amazing...

Shopping done and put away, off to Orient this afternoon for the inevitable defeat, and to Oto again to see Evan Parker, Alex von Schlippenbach, John Edwards, and Paal Nilssen-Love. Pretty marvellous last night. But NP...recorders, violins, bassoons, and strings from @laserenissimauk.bsky.social

Thought it was about time I sorted out what used to be called 'the larder'. Well out of date tins and stuff? Out you go. Especially that out of date black treacle... Nutmeg best before Oct 2008? A few things to replace but looks much tidier. And it won't poison me.

I'm very lucky to have this advance proof copy of Thomas Asbridge's brilliant new book, The #BlackDeath: A Global History - out in April and sure to transform our understanding of this #medieval global pandemic. I can't wait for his lecture at @ihr.bsky.social on Weds 24 June - do please join us!

I forgot the other day so my streak came to an end. But...boom! Wordle 1,665 2/6 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

The Black Death? Sounds fun...booked.

Ten years ago today, I made sure I was in London to pick up a copy of this on the day of its release. And so I'm giving it another spin...

#ICYMI: Join us on 27 January to learn about how an Atlas of London in 1666 has been researched! This webinar is in collaboration with the Historic Towns Trust @historictownstrust.bsky.social Find out more: www.balh.org.uk/event-balh-r... #WeAreLocalHistory #LocalHistoryForAll

Are you a PhD student interested in using museum collections in your research? Our next free doctoral training webinar takes place next Wednesday. Join us for guidance and examples of uncovering marginalised and minoritised stories in collections. collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/doc...

Dearie me, Zac Crawley you don't leave those! 🙄

It has to be said that things haven't gone England's way this morning - wayward bowling by Potts, dropped catch, lost reviews.

Our first talk for 2026 is one on Famous Quakers of West Ham given by Mark Gorman and Peter Williams. 7 for 7:30pm on Monday 12th Jan in the Gloucester Room, Redbridge Central Library.

Currently reading Evelyn Waugh's 'Helena' about the Emperor Constantine's mum. So, Helena arrives in Rome at last and...let's just say I have some issues with the description of the heigh of the apartments....