Quite a lot of England/China half-and-half scarves on the tube home. Kemi Badenoch must condemn.

8-0 at full time. A decent night out.

England 5 China 0 HT A total mismatch so far, which is a bit of a shame. Not sure Wiegman will have learned much she didn’t know from that half.

Like the Valley but a bit bigger.

Off to Wembley later. Would be quite handy to break the journey with some Christmas shopping in town, but the Wembley restrictions on taking anything bigger than a postage stamp into the ground basically rules that out.

Been to Ebbsfleet for reasons of Parkrun tourism this morning, and ended up getting a selfie with Dame Kelly Holmes. Good start to a damp Saturday!

The 15yr-old and I watched Airplane! together tonight. Important to keep on top of the latest cultural trends.

Intrigued by this new church-to-flats listing in Woolwich. How are you supposed to incorporate these old altar rails into your day to day home life? And what is this kitchen-cupboard(?)-fitted space for, given there seems to be a kitchen elsewhere? www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

My first exposure to ‘Fairytale of New York’ for Christmas ‘25 recorded in an independent Skoda dealer in Sidcup.

Intrigued by this new church-to-flats listing in Woolwich. How are you supposed to incorporate these old altar rails into your day to day home life? And what is this kitchen-cupboard(?)-fitted space for, given there seems to be a kitchen elsewhere? www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

Reading a bit of the ol’ 1950’s sociology. Time to rehabilitate “Nark it, chums”, I think.

One for the ‘books about free jazz’ crowd’. #jazzsky www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

Day off work today. Maybe I’ll use it to try to find out why HMRC have just changed my tax code. Those guys sure like to keep you guessing.

Mansion tax chat got me wondering what round here would be caught by it. Not many for sale rn, most being Victorian piles in west Greenwich or further out in the suburbs, but was genuinely surprised that they’re pitching penthouses at North Greenwich at £1.95m www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

Spotify's "On Repeat" playlist is perhaps a little too beguiling for those of us with obsessive compulsive tendencies

Few things engender simultaneous feelings of bafflement, despair and delight quite like r/visitlondon. You’re visiting from overseas for the first time, you’re very worried about football hooliganism, have prioritised eating a Yorkshire pudding, and want to go to a football match…at Gillingham? Ok!

Hopefully something in the Budget for the hardworking salaryman who can’t get his act together to take a packed lunch in to the office.

I think at this point if you're including Diane Abbott - a woman who has never held government office, has been a backbencher since 2020, and is scarcely a government ally - on your list of political wrongdoers, we all know exactly what your real concerns are

oyster vending machine

You can keep your Poirots and your Marples, the greatest murder mystery moment on tv is when John Nettles discovers Selina Cadell has been popped into a tumble drier

A bunch of new salaryman lunch places have opened near my office recently – Nonna, Grain, Garbanzos, etc – all apparently designed to make Pret seem like the cheapo option.

Japanese Jazz at the Barbican tonight was very much a concert of two halves for me, Clive, but the multi-generational quintet were *fantastic*.

And now a pint of Dark Star Hophead, which really doesn’t seem to have suffered for its recent(?) strength reduction. 🍻

Went to the Lee Miller show at Tate Britain this afternoon: very good, very sobering, and very, very busy.

Westminster seems to have rebranded as ‘London Heritage Quarter’. Bit of a cheek, imo.

[extrapolating from one billboard] Our culture is stuck.

SW London cafes of the mid-‘70’s. This must be right up the strasse of at least one person I know on here. www.caferoyalbooks.com/shop/p/grenv...

Season’s Greetings from SE7. #cafc

Flicking the V’s half-heartedly in the direction of Sky Sports as I set off to the Valley for Too Early Football.

I know the government is keen to punish the unemployed, but if you've been forced to spend any time on LinkedIn, you've suffered enough.

Back in LDN 🍻

Bit of supermarket dessert calibration for the tl, based on my parents’ recent research: - Lidl tiramisu: “better than M&S” - Sainsbury’s egg custard tart: “not as good as M&S”

Good book. #reviews

A reissue of jaimie branch’s tremendous final album is on its way and has reminded me that I had tickets for her last show in London but didn’t go as I was a bit under the weather. I should have gone, and should try to remember not make that mistake again. intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/fly-or...

Probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but I’ve learned this week during visitor hours that the scourge of people watching/listening to their phones with volume up and no headphones extends to hospital wards now.

I feel like I’ve probably seen enough screenshot examples of how shit Grok is now.

The Mani news is a proper shocker, isn’t it? Only saw him live twice but both gigs were absolute standouts in all the shows I’ve ever been to.

Here’s the best piece of writing on The Stones Roses thequietus.com/opinion-and-...

A must read. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

Pleased to see a minibus belonging to ‘Jovial Private Hire’ earlier. ‘Avuncular Taxis’ next? @zemblamatic.bsky.social

Maybe not the main point, but perhaps Ofcom should think a bit harder about YouTube.

Durham Cathedral + snow.

Have I ever mentioned my mortal fear of former BBC News substitute presenter Mishal Husain? Probably not, since it's not a big issue generally. Anyway, best get to work

King’s Cross muscling in on St Pancras’s station Christmas tree installation territory.

Back on my travels to Durham, where I am told it is currently snowing.

Hatton Garden - November 2025.

Good evening to the Sulbang crew.

In a (new to me) quiet Victorian corner boozer, tucked away down some Holborn mews and ‘Across 110th Street’ just came on the hi-fi. Highlight of the day by some considerable margin.

Wishing a very happy On The Calculation Of Volume Day to all who celebrate.

1. Producer or engineer sits at a vast mixing desk in the sort of recording studio that barely exists any more and tells tales from the past, occasionally pushing the fader up on an isolated track. 2. A music documentary that doesn’t revolve around irrelevant talking heads, eg N Gallagher /Fin