I know I complain about this every year when Strictly is on, but I'm not allowed to complain about it in the house. And I shouldn't go on about it, but I always imagine Rex Harrison singing, "Why Can't the English Teach Their Children How to Clap?"

I *know* it's a long way off, but I'll be at HNS 2026 in Maynooth, Ireland, next year with @pamlecky.bsky.social and Fiona Veitch Smith. The conference runs 21-23 Aug (our panel date TBA).

Every once in a while I get an email telling me that there’s a UPS parcel on its way from Michigan. They’re usually translated editions of Hardcastles and they’re always a joy. Pretty sure I already have the French one somewhere, but the ‘mass market paperback’ of the German one is new to me.

I’m one of the “people of a certain age...” - he visited my primary school more than once. I clearly recall him demonstrating a tam-tam and explaining that he used it to provide the sound of the gong in the J Arthur Rank film ident. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

I hope @mwcraven.bsky.social and @vaseemkhanuk.bsky.social have been given these. (I had to buy mine, obviously.)

If you dropped all the Lady Hardcastle books on a studio floor it wouldn’t look like this because there are only twelve of them and this image uses 2,000 virtual books. But they were ‘dropped’ in a fun physics simulation in Blender because I should be working.

I might be a drummer, but I have a fondness for guitars and I’m working hard at learning some proper technique. I picked up the beautiful instrument at the front from Andertons yesterday.

It’s at about this time every year when I suddenly remember that, yes, actually, I do have a book with witches in it. In a sort of a way. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D4G28KY/

I have a couple of quadcopters ("drones"). I like to keep the batteries in decent condition and when I charge them up I sometimes take them out for a quick test run to make sure everything is still working. Today I tried to sneak up on a couple of pigeons but they were too wily for me.

This was Eddie's shot at fame in 2016:

Regular viewers might remember Eddie, my faithful Muppet Whatnot. His pleather jacket was falling to pieces, so while we were away, our daughter (who was housesitting) crocheted him a new cardigan.

I neglected to mention that we got from Banff to Vancouver on the Rocky Mountaineer…

My wife says she doesn’t want to use the stairs - THEY’RE ON FIRE

Finally, Vancouver... with added killer whales...

Glacier & rainbow

Banff, eh?

I’m a guest in another of those wonderful podcast things (the link is to Apple but get it wherever you get your podcasts) podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

Book 3 - Death Around the Bend currently available at the Calgary Central Library

And now… Calgary

I’m a guest in another of those wonderful podcast things (the link is to Apple but get it wherever you get your podcasts) podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

It’s Montréal

In early 2017 I’d never heard the word chondrosarcoma. Thanks to the sort of research funded by Sarcoma UK I’m still alive to tell you that.

Very much enjoying Old Québec. It’s like someone took France home and gave it a jolly good wash.

Et maintenant, Québec

I’m not completely sure where we are

Suddenly, Niagara

We find ourselves at Toronto

Name 5 Albums that had the biggest effect on your life: Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy - Billy Bragg Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd The Kids Are Alright - The Who The Rutles - The Rutles Briefcase Full of Blues - The Blues Brothers

It's Friday afternoon on the last Bank Holiday weekend until Christmas. Time to #DownTools and indulge. Just give me a steel [strung] guitar and a glass of wine...

It's a book nook. But it's made of Lego. And it's Sherlock Holmes. I couldn't ask for more.

We find ourselves once more at London

I only ever write THE END so I can screenshot it - it never appears in the actual manuscript. Nevertheless, I have this day submitted the first draft of Lady Hardcastle - Book 13.

It's always seemed a bit artificial to me when foley artists add a zing whenever someone draws a blade in a film. But then we got a new knife block...

80 Years

I was thinking back to my days in 4th Year Juniors at primary school when I played bass guitar in the school orchestra. I looked through old Argos catalogues and found this, which I believe is the instrument I played. It’s a 3/4 scale bass bought by the school from Argos in around 1973 or ’74.

Meanwhile in 2008 at the Upton Snodsbury Music Festival...

I mean… just take my money…

For anyone who wondered about my badger pin this weekend, these are three of the visiting badgers. "You want to try mowing the f$%&ing orchard."

What with writing LH13 and all the prep for Harrogate, I completely missed the anniversary of Macaroni Penguins' last (hopefully not final) gig at the Nibley Festival on 6 July last year. Eee, but we ’ad a laff.

I went to #TheakstonsCrime intending to post updates... and forgot. Instead, I just had the best time ever. I hugged old friends, met wonderful new people, and had a great time hosting the How We Lived Then panel. The only useable pic on my phone is this screenshot from the official HIF IG account.

There are some fantastic books in the book room at Harrogate. #TheakstonsCrime

We find ourselves once more at Harrogate. This is the view from our room. #theakstonscrime

Finally a use for the NutriBullet: I have made a frozen margarita

The yellow ingot arrived today, enabling me to turn my Lego McLaren into Lando's Lego McLaren.

Meanwhile, look what two of my friends have done. If you're an aspiring writer in need of advice and encouragement, this might be exactly what you're looking for... the-story-school.com

I've been a guest on of those podcast things... podfollow.com/crime-time-f...

Because a wireless Boss Katana-Go rig seemed like a funny idea. (it's playing out through desktop monitor speakers)

Sometimes you stop what you’re doing to get a drink. Sometimes the drink gets you…

There was a hitchhiker in the boot of my car yesterday.

When I was a lad, Fast Fret came in a tin and had a wooden handle...