*First preview. Le Carré is adapted for the stage for the first time. Despite the flashy venue, it’s a very trad play. I found the lead much more compelling than Burton and the love story slightly more believable. It could do with more tension early on but on the whole I really enjoyed it.

Wasn't that the EA Sports catchphrase at the time?

Any time Bear Grylls has come up in the past month (which is a surprising amount), I have told them that he's written an eyewitness account of Jesus' life, with a lot of emphasis on the word eyewitness. So far no-one's reaction has disappointed

Did it not seem unwise at the time to formalise factions within a group of five MPs?

Bitcoin now consuming as much energy as the entire country of Pakistan. That seems bad.

We lost it as a country when Strike It Lucky became Strike It Rich

I don’t remember old Labour being especially welcoming to migrants tbh

The past is a foreign country(!)

Wow, he looks just like him!

Lest we forget Paul McCartney.

Leo has a lot of opinions compared to his predecessors, eh(?)

Flicked past a Blankety Blank repeat on Challenge and the only celebrity I recognise is Ian Watkins (not that one) - I normally only don’t know one, maybe two. One of them’s called Lowri - can’t be many famous Lowris

People who publicly threaten to leave the country because they disagree with policies should be put on a list and if they’re still here in six months should be fined for crimes of cowardice.

The murder rate in London is now the lowest in decades, perhaps centuries. (The Times)

Once again I feel the need to point out that almost every advert for B2C AI is trying to sell me on the aspirational idea of being a friendless idiot

I said a few weeks ago that only dickheads use the phrase Overton Window. Feeling validated

You can tell who the proudest British people are because they’re the ones who want to tear down the most well known British institutions 🫡

I’ve only just stumbled across the fantastic fact that Margaret Thatcher’s 1970s voice coach, who taught her to lower her voice and speak more resonantly, was none other than Catherine Fleming, who voiced the evil Animus in bonkers 1965 Doctor Who serial The Web Planet. The Zarbi’s not for turning!

Some inspiring words on cinema in the streaming era from the Pope. Yes, THAT Pope.

Did the BBC or other ever release a compilation of the musical interludes on The Goon Show by Max Bygraves and The Ray Ellington Quartet? It’d probably be the only big band and jazz music I’d ever need

I didn’t realise I was using a bit of history every day

Can’t wait for The Wilderness Years Blu-Ray Collection

Channel 4 are now showing about 26 episodes of *Frasier* a week, meaning that the Frasier year is now just over ten weeks long. That’s even shorter than a year on Mercury.

steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back

FIRE PRO WRESTLING 2

Just sat here thinking of the possibilities, and innuendos, of Carry On Canon

I like the Carry On films but the lore is too confusing, impossible for modern audiences to accept these people could play a major part in the French Revolution AND lose their bras on camping holidays

The lesser Daddy Cool #TOTP

Can’t believe they’re just repeating the Legs & Co footage from Dexy’s Midnight Runners, what a rip-off #TOTP

Is Noel presenting from an isolation chamber this wee? #TOTP

It’s weird, I’ve known about Elvis Costello all my life and yet I’ve never met a fan of his so I know he’s a pretty decent deal but know nothing beyond Oliver’s Army and, because of his cameo Austin Powers, She #TOTP

Lovely to see a pink triangle on ‘70s #TOTP. I wonder if Tom Robinson Band will be back on to sing Glad To Be Gay(?)

The only time I’ll accept AI genuinely generating revenue for a business is me getting YouTube premium because of constant AI voiced adverts. Annoyed into submission.

Before Thatcher, then? How very Ben Elton of you

Bit of stolen valour to spice up your Friday

‘I was never offside, I can’t believe it!’

The subtext of this line from The Prisoner reads a bit differently this week

This is four minutes long and it comes from Waitrose. Is ITVX just trying to get me to voluntarily choose to watch adverts?

We didn’t start the fire

“Forget the myths the media has created about the White House. The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” 1972/2025

Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round

After initially confirming the project to Tech Radar, Ofcom went silent when pressed on questions about what data was being monitored, what privacy protections were in place or who the company doing it was.

Thought: Banning VPNs will have a knock-on for British creativity, since Surfshark et al seem to be the main advertising sponsor of lots of YouTubers. That’s YouTube where creatives are meant to go now the tech disruptors everyone loves have dismantled our public media infrastructure.

How can you put something on a postcard for ‘this afternoon/evening’? No way you’d know when it’s read

Yeah, a thriving live wrestling scene that I could go to every fortnight has kinda ruined wrestling on telly