#MusicSky Came home to find 2 new releases waiting. @theloftuk.bsky.social took 40 years to release their debut album, thankfully their marvellous 2nd album arrives 15 months later. Astor's songwriting never disappoints. Bugeye also release their 2nd album, noisy disco punk and very fine it is too.

Sandbach pt2

Trip to Granadaland last Friday #afflecks #Mcr

Sandbach, baby #Sandbach

#BookSky 12th book the year, Frost is definitely of another time. Misogynistic and a bit noncey coppers are left, right and centre. One thing I like about the Frost series is that there are multiple cases going on, as they would IRL. Decent yarn from Wingfield, but HR would like a word.

##last4albums been a while since I did one of these

30 May is my eldest's b'day, I know what I've done on all since 97. 2004, took him see Bristol City fuck up the play offs. 2006 saw my favourite band The Wedding Present play. This year I am at a wedding and will sack off the evening do to watch the most important football match in my lifetime.

Me, giving upwards feedback at work.

Happy "It's only Ray Parlour" day to all who celebrate #Arsenal

#BookSky 11th of the year, so well on target to achieve 30 by end of year. Half a story, not told brilliantly. Very heavy on dialogue and less so on developing themes. It's quite short, but still feels padded out by irrelevance. Definitely one for younger readers, or crime beginners. Grim indeed.

Many miles away something crawls from the slime At the bottom of a dark Scottish lake

Have to separate art from the artist, it's difficult to do so with McNabb. His blatant misogyny is galling, also his ranting conspiracy theories. Fortunately he churns out a decent album every year. The highlight is a cover of REM's So. Central Rain, but nothing to dislike amongst the other tracks.

10th #BookSky of 2026. Quite a disturbing tale this, topics cover necrophilia & paedophilic murder. But despite being brutal it is also gripping through it's twists, and beyond the great reveal there is a fantastic finale. First in a series that I'll continue despite the very graphic narrative.

#last4albums Still heavily influenced by reading the Stuart Adamson book last week, and this week's purchase new Joe Jackson album.

9th book of the year. Long awaited. Big Country were my 1st gig, 1st band I saw more than once, and the 1st band I travelled out of Bristol to see. Not seen any of the post Adamson line-ups Not many celebrity deaths hit me, probably only Stuart Adamson and Terry Hall tbh. 1/? #BookSky #BigCountry

Book 8 of 2026, masterpiece from David Nicholls. You experience all possible emotions reading this. His 3rd novel, and all have lead male as inept & completely flawed. Emma is the real hero of the story, she never gives up even when Dex is an arsehole, many would walk away. #StSwithensDay #BookSky

Record fair in Clevedon, got a decent haul of 10 cds for less than £20. Nothing overly exciting, mostly stuff I had on vinyl/cassette back in the day.

#last4albums There's a theme to this one, back in the 80s if I saw a decent review in Record Mirror and liked the name of the band, I would buy a single and if I liked that I'd buy the album too. Here's four of those bands, had a nostalgic Saturday morning

#Ceilingsonsaturday #Berlin Europa Center

#BookSky. Book 7 of the year is another masterpiece from @michaelrobotham.bsky.social A welcome return for Philomena McCarthy. We encounter a Hatton Garden robbery, some murders, a turf war with a satisfying body count and a kidnapping. Fast paced as ever with plenty of twists on the journey. 1/2

My 6th book of the year comes from @russincheshire.bsky.social known mostly for The Week in Tory on the other place. Comes across as a decent bloke and he's from Sandbach where Mrs D hails from. So when I'd heard he's written a novel it got added to the TBR list. 1/2 #BookSky

Remember last summer when some daft people tried to claim Spurs had a better season than Arsenal? What really happened was both clubs were laying down a foundation for what was to come this season. No one sensible was impressed by winning the European equivalent of the Auto Windscreens Shield.

Can you hear it? The sound of something burning Something changing On the merry-go-round tonight

#last4albums Including the best album ever released

Latest corner gate issue is the amount of time that Arsenal are taking them. Which I get, it's frustrating. Almost as frustrating as watching goalkeepers take over a minute over goalkicks when not losing against Arsenal. Or every single quick set piece taken by Arsenal get called back by the ref.

St David's & St Tott's what a day to be Welsh & The Arsenal

In recognition of today, quote post with something #green you've photographed

I'm gonna be busy for a little while #terryhall #colourfield

#last4albums Unintentional S theme

Repost with a photo that would make a good album cover.

Turns out he really does only score against the weaker teams. Once if they're shit, twice if they're shit and getting relegated.

Book 5 didn't last long, abandoned. The prologue was promising, but the first full chapter tuned me out. Decent authors can include the minutae of life without padding the story. Dialogue needs to be on topic. The first chapter was waffle and heavy on dialogue but thin on content. Very disappointing

Seems ages since reading any @valmcdermid.bsky.social, only downside of having read all her books is waiting for the next to come out. Fantastic read covering 4 murders, rape and football betting scandal. We see how Pirie (and her team) juggle all of the above in her inimitable style. A must.

These days, I'm struggling to stand my own reflection It always looks backwards From the way that I imagine

“Post an album that was important to you when you were 11.”

Book 3 of 2026. Let's go through the Checklist.... Maverick cop Haunted by personal tragedy Broken marriage Murdered sex workers Bent coppers on the case Despite all of this I quite enjoyed this tale, even if the business end of it seemed more than a touch unlikely.

Release day for Ist Ist. Everyone's favourite Mancunian doom merchants. A familiar wall of sound, stomping anthems in what nme would probably describe industrial. It's fucking great, give it a listen.

January goes out with a bang. The debut album from The Molotovs is a generational release. The most important UK debut since Up The Bracket, 24 years ago. Lande Hekt is a bit more twee and introspective, local indie from Bristol. Both are marvellous.

1/2 Second book of 2026 (very apt). A collection of contemporaneous blog posts, so the book stays in real time all the way through. Making it a documentation of the season on the pitch rather than a deep dive of anything behind the scenes. Autumn hope turns to winter despair and spring acceptance.

First book of the year. Straight up who dunnit from Chris Chibnall. His first novel but plenty of TV credits, Broadchurch, Torchwood, Dr Who etc. A good read, lots of noise taking you away from the actual perp. Decent pace and subplots, but in line with a TV drama the reveal was a tad underwhelming.

First cd of 2026 is "Secret Love" from the excellent Dry Cleaning. There's a few bands at the moment delivering spoken vocals, Dry Cleaning (along with The Rhythm Method) are my favourite. In this case backed up by a chaotic, at times, screeching guitar sound. Wonderful stuff.