“He thinks that just because he thinks, he is.”

Downe Cathedral in Downpatrick. First snowdrops of the year I've seen.

Beside the Foyle the cast and crew of Brian Friel's 'Translations', during rehearsals for its premiere in the Guildhall on 23 Sept 1980. The pic includes Friel himself, Oscar nominee Liam Neeson, Buncrana born Ray McAnally, Mick Lally, Stephen Rea and Derry actress Ann Hasson.

Cross Country today with Eoin.

Love this cover.

A while ago I cancelled my subscription to the London Review of Books and took one out with the Times Literary Supplement. One thing that's struck me is how much better the poetry published in the TLS is.

Liked this. open.substack.com/pub/northsea...

Orange Juice performing Rip It Up, which they released as a single on this day in 1983. Watch the full recording from Switch, which also includes The Day I Went Down To Texas, here youtu.be/PpkHczKcwsQ

Jim Carruth

Under the Volcano

Disorderly order.

Ruby Hamilton in the LRB on David Lynch.

Looking to reading at the launch of PIR next week.

Belfast City Hall being built in 1903. My great -grandfather Joseph worked as a labourer during its construction.

The great Roy Buchanan. youtu.be/BdxZs2sCugE?...

If prose is a house, poetry is a man on fire running quite fast through it. — Anne Carson

Came across this bit of divilment from NB in the TLS.

More Labore than Arte. But a win is a win.

Pre-Season training for Devenish St. Mary's GAA club from Fermanagh on a cold Tullan Strand, Donegal. 📷James Crombie

The Spitting Image puppet of Peter Mandelson as a snake. It was part of an exhibition last year in the Ulster Museum.

1970. Glenties held a parade. Dennis Tynan photographed the event, including this photograph of a float with a banner paraphrasing Patrick McGill's poem Going Home: 'I am back home again in Glenties in Conservation Year where there is no air pollution and Salmon by the score.'

Belfast. Little Donegall Street looking towards North Street

One of my favourite Belfast bars.

Rainer Brambach, translated by Esther Kinsky

David Moyes on being booked for dancing on the pitch after Beto's 97th-minute equaliser: "I bloody will do it again...in fact had I been a bit more mobile I would have done a knee slide"

This day 54 years ago.

I'd say you'd be gasping for a pint after this.

Domhnall Mitchell's review of the Faber Book of Political Verse edited by Tom Paulin which appeared in North in 1987.

Peter McDonald's review of Geoffrey Hill's Collected Poems in a 1987 issue of North Magazine.

From 'North' a magazine I edited from 1985 to 1987.

A lot of the country seems to have moved a bit south on this 16th century map of Ireland! From Antoine Lafrery's Geografia Tavole.

📷Akihiko Okamura. Battle of the Bogside August, 1969 Derry.

Come on, come on down, Sweet Virginia Come on, come on down, I beg of you Come on, come on down, you got it in you, a-ha Got to scrape that shit right off you shoes youtu.be/tIfQipkkOqs?...

George Mackay Brown.

A blood-soaked monarchy. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Arthur Schopenhauer

Kilclooney Dolmen • Donegal One of Ireland's finest examples of a portal tomb, Kilclooney Dolmen is situated close to a number of other Neolithic monuments, suggesting this part of Donegal was an important landscape to Ireland's first farmers. #Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Donegal #WildAtlanticWay

Rainer Brambach, translated by Michael Hofmann

Part of Michael Hofmann's speech at the T.S. Eliot Prize ceremony.

Photograph of T.S.Eliot taken in 1949 by Lee Miller.

John Ashbery.

Kilcar

Many things in football have improved, but they've seriously deteriorated in the management style department.

Just heard that Eddie McCreadie died earlier this week. This photo from when he was the Chelsea manager and football managers dressed like pimps in a Martin Scorsese film. The other guy is the legendary Malcolm Allison.

This novel is astonishing. A thrilling story written in the most beautiful prose. I hadn't heard of Ramuz until a few weeks ago.There are unknown wonders still out there.