A fictional realisation of the career of one of the earliest and most influential archbishops in England: Theodore of Canterbury (AKA Theodore of Tarsus). Based on the sources, with references to back the assumptions made in telling the story. (Free to read) www.calameo.com/books/008054...

The Wyrds of Esla (free to read) www.calameo.com/books/008054...

Lots of good points in this power test of a Citroen GSA. My first car was a Citroen GS 1222cc, and I seem to recall that the book power was 58hp. The GSA was a later model. It would be good to see whether a GS would do well in this test @upndown.bsky.social

Several hours of delays on a railway line because a lorry collided with a level crossing gate. What does that say about the safety of such a lorry driver on the road in general? I have driven for nearly 50 years and have never hit a gate, barrier, or bridge.

Happy Birthday to wonderful Alan Alda. 90 today, and still producing hugely informative podcasts. www.alanalda.com

Think of Prince Harry's court cases as a substitute for the second part of the Leveson Inquiry, which was dropped by (checks notes) Matt Hancock. His civil cases couldn't match a judge's power, but they have exposed truths which needed exposing. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...

I’m looking forward to playing in this concert in London in around a month’s time: www.ticketsource.co.uk/islington-si...

Reading Somerset Maugham’s ‘Miss King’, he writes: “…and patriotism (in peace-time an attitude best left to politicians, publicists, and fools, …). Spot on.

I’m looking forward to playing in this concert in London in around a month’s time: www.ticketsource.co.uk/islington-si...

Something to read over the next fortnight. Fiction set in post-Roman Britain. Free to read: www.calameo.com/books/008054...

They asked me on the train to express a view whether they should add first class carriages to the Stansted Express service. “No!” I said, “remove all first class everywhere on the network.” Surely that’s uncontroversial. Why are we keeping first class in this day and age?

Happy 💯 Birthday to the amazing Dick Van Dyke. Long remembered for his famous cockney accent in Mary Poppins and his brilliant bamboo dance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Many happy returns!

How does adding “Great” and painting the trains deal with the fact that Network Rail already causes all of the delays and cancellations (apart from those caused by passengers etc) on my line, and none are caused by the operator’s staff and rolling stock? Yet another performative gesture.

Playing in Sibelius 6th Symphony tonight at St Peter’s Notting Hill, with Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra.

At Sothebys, I chanced upon possibly the worst painted dog in British art history.

🧵👇🏼

Fascinating blog about ‘elephant diplomacy’ salutemmundo.wordpress.com/2025/09/18/p...

cc: @bendorgrosvenor.bsky.social & @januszczak.bsky.social This 1990 movie has appeared on YouTube: youtu.be/sVezVo5StAI?... I wonder whether you might review it on podcast, re the old chestnut about impressionism linking art and music; whether such links exist, and this movie *as art*. 🙏🏻

Performing with Kensington Symphony Orchestra on Sunday (3pm!!) in an all British programme, predominantly composed by women, and in Smith Square Hall in Westminster. It’s both attractive and adventurous at the same time bachtrack.com/concert-even...

Wow! 😮🤩 There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓 itiner-e.org We might have to have a lie-down.

Shocking article in the Sheffield Tribune. A solicitor, Andrew Milne, buying up freeholds of houses and then making (false) threats to the leaseholders to bully them into buying the freehold at a huge premium.

Spooky Song 2: youtu.be/Wtd0Bq1utwc

Spooky Song 1: youtu.be/Qvbbc5A_C4c

Lots of people say the Government should significantly cut spending. Hardly any spell out how that could be achieved. So kudos to the Policy Exchange for a serious-minded report proposing spending cuts taking the size of the state down to where it was before the pandemic.

I am being personally sued for more than £8m by a barrister, Setu Kamal. I believe this is one of the largest English libel claims ever made.

I wholly endorse the 'Kells' outcome here, though had the category been narrowed to an unfinished work by an identified artist, that would have allowed Michelangelo to romp home. But - query - "made on Iona, almost certainly"? Whitworth begs to differ:- www.tarbat-discovery.co.uk/2025/09/22/d...

🧵👇🏼 This could be described as a statement of the obvious, but it seems the obvious needs to be stated.

Concert coming up next Saturday in Islington

Today arrived the parts for a clarinet quintet by John Casken; Misted Land, composed in 2017 and published in 2023. All I have to do now is find a string quartet that’s prepared to play it with me!!

Concert coming up next Saturday in Islington

My first London concert of the 25/26 season on tonight at Smith Square Hall in Westminster, includes Rachmaninov Isle of The Dead. The weather seems appropriate for it.. www.corinthianorchestra.org.uk/event-detail...

Covering Zoffany, rosary, and prophylactic. And not agreeing about them. Great to have this back. Hope it’s here to stay. Bravo!

Today is the anniversary of the Synod of Herutford (possibly Hertford) in 672/673 CE, convened by Archbishop Theodore, and generally considered to have been the starting point of the broadly unified English church.

Yes, the world needs a new podcast. Or rather, an old one resurrected. Just finished recording - dropping next week.

October concert in London

“When year’s eighth month comes to its end, The sun at eight o’clock doth wend.”

🧵👇🏼

A bit late for a song about Spring, but this was the first Lehrer song I heard and as a little boy I really liked it: youtu.be/VR9Qm7IXpU8?...

Cleo Lane … what words are sufficient? RIP and thank you

The vast majority of us can never know the true Norman Tebbit (RIP), so what we have lost is this chap: spittingimage.fandom.com/wiki/Norman_... which is nonetheless a loss.

What better way to celebrate the milestone of HH The Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday than by reading his birthday message: www.dalailama.com/news/90th-bi...

I decided to compare the size of the product with the photo, and it looked identical.

At the age of 92 Alfred Brendel was thrilled to have discovered Handel. But he thought Grieg was a gateway to Rachmaninov. Which was not good. My conversations with the great pianist who died recently. app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/70308/...

🧵👇🏼

Happy 90th birthday to James Bolam.

Perhaps my brain is running at the wrong speed today, but the slow marches in Trooping the Colour seem unusually quick to me.