I found the worst painting in the world.

CANCEL WEEKEND PLANS. I’M WATCHING THE DUCKLINGS.

Maximum points if you can identify the cinematic reference in this t-shirt, as modelled by @jondennis.bsky.social

My best overheard in Tod still remains the lady in Aldi who said "I feel really rundown lately. Betty says I should try that mindlessness."

Hello! I’m looking to interview a trans woman on her experiences of suburbia for my next piece of writing. If you think you could help please get in touch, thank you x

"Asked why she was recruiting British journalists, one ally also pointed out that they were cheaper than their US counterparts." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Macca snacka

In the best trattoria in Lucca - frequented by Oliver Stone and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Is there a more disingenuous phrase than "We just got on with it"?

Imo, "Reach out" should only ever be used if you're in the Four Tops.

Extraordinary detail in the new book on Trump's second term administration

Flying shoe designs for Yellow Submarine, 1968

My mother has just dug out some hot water bottles and offered me one as a present in case it comes in useful.

I read Lucky Jim when I was 24 and had taken a horribly wrong turn. Jim Dixon's line about taking what you want and paying for it was the impetus I needed to ditch my boyfriend, leave my job, move to London and upend my life.

Enjoyed this very much, despite there being no mention of the even worse 'nom-noms'.

Hypha Gallery South Bank opens today✨ Featuring three galleries spanning almost 800 square metres, as well as a dedicated project space and a new showroom designed to support emerging artists🎨 Free to visit! www.timeout.com/london/news/...

I wrote this last year, in case of use today: helenbarrett.substack.com/p/cool-place...

Your employer doesn't love you back. www.ft.com/content/8e71...

YES IT WORKS.

One of the things I love best about Norfolk is that you can drive past a pretty little medieval church in the middle of nowhere, park up and push open the heavy old door, and find… this! Little Witchingham church, Norfolk NR9 5PA

hey look it's the iwo jima photo but embarrassing

The Ladybird fan. Mind your fingers Artist: Gerald Witcomb (1976)

They look great, obviously, but roll on the invention of leisure wear.

Teenager: 'Mum, it's creepypasta. Not crispy pasta.'

'Absolute smoothbrains'

Worker carrying a tube of rolled glass at Pilkington Glass of St Helen's, Lancashire, 1918. Photo by George P. Lewis.

The worst thing about this announcement is the stream of Perry-back-from-up-north posts.

This is idiocy. We wouldn’t know a fraction of what we know about Trump without good journalists, especially Haberman and Swann. There’s no evidence they sat on a story. They did over 1,000 interviews for this book. Good reporting takes time. And it can have more impact in a book.

The Beatles’ attempt to buy a Greek island in 1967 is usually seen as John Lennon's fantasy. But George Harrison was also drawn to islands his whole life. "Shell-shocked” from Beatlemania, he built homes on a Hawaiian clifftop and a remote Australian island seeking space. New Substack post:

Red Yellow Blue https://www.wikiart.org/en/ellsworth-kelly/red-yellow-blue-2000

My dishwasher won't stop bleeping, the magpies are fighting and a neighbour is singing softly to herself from an open window. It's like being in a Tennessee Williams play set in south London.

‘Song’ 1986 - #RSThomas (Experimenting with an Amen, Macmillan 1986) #Cân #Bardd #Barddoniaeth #Cerdd #Poet #Poetry #Poem

Not for the first time I ask: how can a bag be an unexpected item in a bagging area?

We are facing the greatest challenge to refugee protection in decades. Their rights in the UK are being steadily eroded, with the government reducing the length of refugee leave from five years to just two & a half years. 🚨 We are challenging this in court. 🧵 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Bluesky hive mind, I need your help! I am revising my book edits, this week is my opening Derek Jarman chapter, & I would love to confirm that these shivering flowers in a wintry Dungeness are…viper’s bugloss? Unlike Derek, I am no expert – keen to get this detail right!

Proud to have got this piece of anti-fascist history on the radio this morning www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

These ‘running the Manchester bus service is not like being PM’ takes are mildly irritating. Firstly, you may not use buses; others — 11 million people every day — do. More importantly, it’s not about buses, it’s about knowing what will improve people’s lives and committing to it.

The quote is not from Elon Musk. It's Pat McFadden. Don't trust Google AI

Yeah, absolutely agree with this. What we mean when we say middle-aged women are 'invisible' is 'invisible to men'. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/13/o...

Melon Kuma, a terrifying hybrid of a melon and a bear, is a character from Yubari City in Hokkaido, and was inspired by wild brown bears destroying melon patches in the area. He visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building today.

It's a horrible cliche to burst into tears in front of a Rothko but that's exactly what I did when I saw this exhibition a couple of weeks ago. This piece is a good explanation of why those paintings have that effect so often, on so many people. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🗣️ "Different groups face different challenges, but we should not be pitting these groups against each other." @carlcullinane.bsky.social We must tackle the challenges facing all young people across this country, regardless of background ⤵️

Reading this reminded me of my family's Welsh town, where a local man who fixes computers is known to everyone as Gwyn Dot Com. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/w...

The London County Council Parks Department brochure for the 1963 season of open air entertainment, which took place across the Council’s various parks and outdoor venues:

Super Substack from @helenbarrett.bsky.social on memes, mortality and youth cultures. helenbarrett.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...

Author Wishes She Hadn't Blown Personal Tragedy On First Book https://theonion.com/author-wishes-she-hadnt-blown-personal-tragedy-on-first-1819566064/

David Bowie referred to inhabitants of Penge (neighbouring suburb of Beckenham) as “Penguins”. And I’ve also heard “Ponge”. But it seems both jokes are much older. This is from the Daily Mirror, 3 April 1933.

Lovely essay here