Just finished @grindrod.bsky.social magnificent CONCRETOPIA. I learned a huge amount, had many of my assumptions upturned, had attitudes and prejudices remain intact (still unfanish about the aggregate Lasdun & Barbican horrors) and revelled in things I thought were unrevellable in. Bravo.

Social historian John Grindrod reveals the messy, moving, dark, and uplifting true stories of LGBTQ+ people living and loving in the UK’s suburbs. www.mklitfest.org/in-person-ev... #lgbtqhistory #lgbtqstories @grindrod.bsky.social

Going to finish watching Small Prophets tonight. Have been putting it off because who wouldn’t want that story to live in their heads?

Waiting nervously to find out what happens to the Scott Mills Bridge at Fleet services

I just wrote ‘extravagantly’ and it autocorrected to ‘a teabag antsy’ as it naturally should

John and I will be bringing a touch of Croydon glamour to Manchester on Thursday evening. Join us in body if not in spirit. the-modernist.org/collections/...

This week I’m in Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester, doing talks and generally being suburban www.johngrindrod.co.uk/events

Noisy geese are flying over, interrupting all those bleak early morning thoughts, taking them and landing flat footed on the lake, to let them sink down with the rest

Writing is hard & that's good, actually. The imagining bits, the thinking-through bits, the sitting down & doing it bits, the revising it bits, the showing it to people bits, the starting again bits. All challenging & all what it's actually about. Chairs should be better tho, holy shit.

The video for Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse’s Valerie feels so poignant now, all those lookalikes so delighted to be standing in for her. Feels ever more happy-sad as the years pass

I adored @grindrod.bsky.social’s ‘Tales of the Suburbs’. As someone who felt the need to escape the suburbs myself, it gave me a new appreciation of them as a queer space. There’s such a rich diversity of stories that inspire laughter, sadness and deep empathy – but overall, joy and hope.

Who's a very handsome duck then? Lovely male Teal at Dawlish Warren. 🤎💚

According to all our clocks that automatically change at different times we have been taken out of time entirely

The best bit of Gladiators is when Mark Clattenburg says, with bored PE teacher voice, ‘…and then the Gladiator will be unleashed.’

Picked up a second hand copy of this today, it’s been making me laugh. Always loved a bit of Glen Baxter

Also spotted - and looking very fine - in Waterstones Birmingham earlier @grindrod.bsky.social

Just finished reading your book John. Lots of the stories resonated with me as somebody who didn’t come out until later in life. I also learnt a lot from some of the struggles and experiences from the contributors. The social history included in the book was enlightening. Highly recommended.

Scenes in and around Lyme Regis

Tales of the Suburbs by @grindrod.bsky.social is brilliant: observant, often funny and really moving. It’s a series of interviews with LGBTQ+ people, telling their stories. But he makes connections and wry observations, so it is something more profound.

Am on the new episode of the brilliant Field Ramble, talking queer suburbia podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/f...

dog: it is imperative that you completely cover me with a blanket dog (10 minutes later): I have through no fault of my own crawled out from under a blanket. see above

That 1971 documentary series based on David Hepworth’s book is just brilliant, so much incredible footage so well assembled

Cheery 8/10 review for Tales of the Suburbs in the Express (!) www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-exp...

Bought a Colman’s packet sauce that takes 1 hour 45 in the oven, like it thinks it’s made of golden swans

Phone ringing off the hook when I was opening up this am. Finally grabbed it: “Have you got the new Matt Goodwin?”

On today's new Little Atoms podcast, @grindrod.bsky.social on his brilliant new book Tales of the Suburbs. Out now from @faberbooks.bsky.social. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or here: shows.acast.com/b5fe8d16-751...

Next week I’m doing events for Tales of the Suburbs at Five Leaves in Nottingham, Juno Books in Sheffield (with Alim Kheraj) and the Modernist in Manchester (with Andy Miller). Bring your own bourbons x www.johngrindrod.co.uk/events/

Boyf’s mum insisted the new series of Marlow Murder Club was a reboot because she didn’t recognise any of the actors, but turned out she had never watched it with her glasses on before

Tom Allen has a novel about suburbia about to be published. Well, at least I’ve got my high profile TV career to fall back on

Really big news! Author copies of my book are here, and they're gorgeous. The colours! The chunkiness! The big glossy cat on the front! LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK is out in 2 weeks. Go pre-order it; it'll make a beautiful addition to your living space. I’m just saying…

Working on the copyedit of my new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class. An Injury to All tells the story of how the British working class was pushed from the centre of political life to the margins. It's hitting the shops in October!

Feeling rough so taking a rest day. I can’t talk, which must come as a relief to everyone

Yay my signed copy pre-ordered from Bookseller Crow of @grindrod.bsky.social new book was waiting for me when I got home! Looking forward to reading this

Thank you @grindrod.bsky.social 🌈 #TalesoftheSuburbs

Tolkien's own abandoned sequel to The Lord of the Rings sounds worryingly prophetic. In a time of peace and comfort, young Men of the West turned to the dark side for no better reason than that they were *bored*. lotr.fandom.com/wiki/The_New...

In the evening we went to a cheese and cider party where I won some notelets on the raffle.

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the @portybooks.bsky.social event last night, what a lovely crowd and gorgeous shop!

Always love the spectacular view from the window on the train to Edinburgh.

Two opportunities to join the fantastic @grindrod.bsky.social this week (Edinburgh, 24th, & Glasgow, 25th), in conversation about his latest book, Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains. For more info and booking www.johngrindrod.co.uk/events.

Hive mind question... Does anyone recognise the location on Bloomsbury Street, London in this painting? Fwiw I *think* it's looking north from the junction with New Oxford Street but For Reasons that might be wishful thinking on my part. I've already checked the bomb damage maps.

ZOMG postman’s been and bound proofs are in! #phantomatthefeast #writinglife Looking great No Exit Press @bedsqpublishers.bsky.social — thank you! 🙏👏🫡✊ (Publication date 18 June ‘26)

Basically, exciting athletics was achieved

The company that sold me some printer ink a year ago loves to be in touch, so am going into witness protection

Living the suburban dream this afternoon with the new @grindrod.bsky.social 📖

Off to Bath today for an event at Curious Minds festival. Forgot I was being interviewed so prepared a talk. Might give that at Paddington station Simply Food instead

The best bit of Gardeners’ World is where Monty has to say ‘And now let’s look at one of your tawdry little gardens’

I recorded the audiobook of Tales of the Suburbs, and it's out now in all of those audiobook places they have now. Here's a minute of me doing my best Martin Jarvis. youtu.be/ycVokUJ_VBU

What a smashing review. Also, hadn't realised how much that jumper would match the cover.