Smells great and looks great! Hurrah! Out on Oct 2nd. Huge thanks to @HurstPublishers

‘Who can tell from whence these tall Okes came?’ (Thomas Heywood, praising the oaks in Charles I’s flagship). Chopwell bloody Woods, Tommy - never the same since (Sovereignty of the Seas, Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring, out soon). Reparations for a king’s hubris.

Books with sexual content are removed from some US libraries… Sadly, there’s explicit material in Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring (out from @HurstPublishers on Oct 2), most egregiously a photo of sea turned milky with clouds of sperm… AI lists the similarities to human.

Gosh! 25% off @Waterstones already and it isn’t even out yet! #WPreorder But you must order by 23.59, Thu 31 Jul and, having clicked on Add Promotion Code in the Checkout, enter SUMMER25 - someone up there wants you to know more about herrings! www.waterstones.com/book/rigbys-...

The Spaniard has his chorizo, the Scotch woodcock his anchovy, give me my scrambled egg with kipper!

Such things as dreams are made on #37: kipper pitta with hummus, herb-marinated aubergine, lemon juice, lettuce & yoghurt.

Book’s out 25th Sept and there’s a launch at Newcastle’s Lit & Phil, Thu 9th Oct, 7.30pm (free, but book: bit.ly/4lesXoU). There will be herring snacks.

In the long struggle for control of Yarmouth’s herring fair, the Cinque Ports’ shield said, ‘Your 3 lions are backed by our ships.’ Yarmouth’s said, ‘Herring tails - that’s where the money comes from. In the long struggle… Yarmouth won.

Only 4 to go until St John’s Day, when the Dutch fleet would gather for the start of the herring season off the Shetlands. A little invention is always needed to see you through the dark months.

Warmer waters means smaller clupeids. This little herring once swam in proto-Morocco, in the Sea of Tethys between Laurasia & Gondwanaland, between 90 & 100 million years ago.

Tip top herrings @laingartgallery by Ruskin Spear father of the Bonzo’s Roger Ruskin Spear. #herrings #herripedia #fishart

Dual use barrel: herrings on top; revolutionary propaganda below. How close did Norway come to the Soviet Socialist Republic of Finnmark? We may never know.

Vorsprung durch the old fictions! You have to go a long way to find a herring T shirt espousing the Grand Migration Theory the great Marcus Elieser Bloch thought he’d put to bed back in 1783. Well, all right, you can get them online.

But how will they know what’s in the pasties?

Ah! The Presents from Yarmouth which filled the kists of the herring lasses returning to Scotland at the end of the season! A fine display at Buckie & District Fishing Heritage Centre.

Roter heringssalat - not red herring salad but red herring salad. It’s the way you tell ‘em. #fishdishes #eatmoreherrings

#marinescience people out there. Working on edits for my herring encyclopaedia and checking the World Register of Marine Species and it looks like the Pacific Herring has been reclassified as a subspecies of the Atlantic. I’ve argued for it, but… Can anyone clarify?

Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring: The Easter Bonnet Edition. The hardback edition, from @HurstPublishers, is out in September.

Went with @thistoomustpass to North Shields Fish Quay to meet a Mr Ellis, 83 & still working. He handed me an envelope with the tattered pages of a Picture Post advertorial booklet from the 50s, produced for Shields canners Tyne Brand & photographer by Felix H Man (Hans Bauman).

Buckling (hot-smoked herring) & lemon zest tart with a walnut & pecorino topping. Mmmmh!

Sol over Gudhjem (sun on Gudhjem) - buckling with a raw egg yolk. Fond memories of eating this in Gudhjem on the island of Bornholm on a Baltic holiday many years ago.

Cooking photos for Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of the Herring, which @HurstPublishers bring out in September. Red herring & Scotch bonnet stir fry stuffed dumplings in a stir fry. Great Trinidadian dish by way of slave plantation provisioning. The triumph of herring over context.

Today we drink to the serving maid, when the tricky wee bastard Mannan served him poisoned herrings. ‘Musha,’ she sang, ‘my seven loves to the fish that was never caught for his appetite…’ and, sure, only through the grace of God did Patrick understand what she was on about. #StPatricksDay

A visionary, civic magician & extraordinary man died yesterday. He loved soft herring roes on toast. This is Stuffed Herring John Fox: crisp fried roe, herring caviar, almonds, shallot, parsley & lemon. To John, a great man, full of love, imagination & humour! Hurrah for you!

Some good books coming in September…

Fancy stepping into the world of #NightClasses? Excellent @culturednortheast.bsky.social interview with Artistic Director, @annierigby.bsky.social gives you a glimpse into the show. We head to @gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk and 17Nineteen THIS WEEK! www.culturednortheast.co.uk/p/night-clas...

Just set up on Bluesky. My stuff is pretty much focused on herrings as the name suggests. Rigbys Encyclopaedia of the Herrings is being published in September by @hurstpublishers.bsky.social