I just finished a novel I knew nothing about before reading. I thought it was awful, and then read in the author’s bio that she wrote for the Mail, and found she’s written reams of pro-Rowling articles. It’s a little reassuring to have a blind taste test confirm that terrible people are terrible.

Has any actor ever had a year to compare to Thomas Mitchell in 1939? He was in STAGECOACH, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, GONE WITH THE WIND, MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS. He was a brilliant character actor with great taste (or a great agent) but that is a run for the ages.

Paris is full of food and art and architecture, but what a city for film. Over two nights I’ve been able to revisit TROUBLE IN PARADISE, REAR WINDOW and - the cream of the crop - ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS in packed theatres. An absolute joy.

Utterly the wrong call. Step by step, this embroils us in an immoral, illegal, illogical war.

I appreciate that one look at this curtain call photo from Patrick Page’s Instagram tells you which show he’s currently in. It might not be a great play, but it’s certainly memorable.

I first saw, and loved, this figure (Rodin’s study for his portrait of Balzac) when I was 15; his unabashed pride in himself and his body-positive stance were as amusing as they were inspiring. I am glad that the intervening 35 years have not dimmed my delight in it!

Gothique français

The turret of the Préfecture de Police. Demented fans and/or traumatised vfx professionals may recognise it as the location where Javert sings Stars in LES MISÉRABLES. The horror, the horror.

Henri IV looking extraordinarily pleased with himself for having killed the Hydra, and prefiguring the genre of insufferable hunting bro portraits by 400 years.

Just arrived in Paris for the first time in 31 years. The last time I was here, I was dumped and then had to travel back to London, by agonisingly slow coach and ferry, with the person who had dumped me. Fingers crossed that this trip will be more successful.

I think I had assumed he was long gone, but what a life. I’ve never read any of his books (though they were ubiquitous in the 80s) but I love the Harry Palmer films (especially Ken Russell’s BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN). www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is both a very weird label to have, and a very low bar for it.

Eve Babitz’s prose is incredibly immediate and evocative; I can see why she is so often bracketed with Joan Didion, with whom she can share a sun-kissed, strung-out mid-century vibe. Compared with Didion, though, it all ultimately feels a little empty and more like reportage. Vivid but thin.

I had no interest at all in The Other Bennet Sister, since after Longbourn, Lost in Austen, Death Comes To Pemberley, Mrs Bennet Has Her Say etc I’m a little tired of P&P ephemera. But that was before I knew that RYAN SAMPSON is playing Mr Collins! A brilliant, undervalued actor and perfect casting.

This wasn’t a patch on her brilliant The Great Believers, but an engaging read nonetheless. Its Obama-era perspective on the conservative religious zealotry of the Bush years being countered by the power of literature now seems depressingly naive - but who could have seen all this coming?

When it comes to the best tv series ever made, Friday Night Lights and The Americans are both chunky, multi-season commitments…but Freaks and Geeks is just eighteen perfect episodes. It can be binged in a weekend, and it would be a truly great weekend.

Did everyone else know that Mel from The Pitt is Bryan Cranston’s daughter? I had no idea. She makes a strong case for nepo babies; it’s an astonishing performance.

An underrated aspect of Cat Stevens is how much he looks like Hans Gruber on his gap year.

I first got on board the Sarah Waters train with Affinity and - despite reading everything she’s published since then - had never gone back to Tipping the Velvet. I’m glad I did; its plot is a little simplistic compared to her later work but the characterisation and sense of place are glorious.

I am listening to a podcast with a woman who invited herself on to talk about what a huge Austen fan she is. She has just mentioned that she hasn’t read Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey. There are six* books! This does not require obsessive commitment. *Yes yes, Sanditon and juvenilia. It’s six.

It's no longer OK for you to sit in the house of Lords because your dad did. But if your mate put you there? That's fine. Neither of these really feel like democracy to me.

This is emblematic of Labour’s failures: a puny piece of populism used as a fig leaf for their refusal to confront the need for radical reform. No hereditary peers, only people who properly paid for their own lifetime seats. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Tuesday Morning! I heard this song on the radio in August 1993 and immediately bought the single. I then played it on repeat, literally non-stop, in my bedroom for a week. It’s a wonder my parents didn’t throw me out. (I did turn it down when they asked.) youtu.be/QI2pyrN3Z5I?...

It is impossible to overstate the monstrousness of this horrific man. Devoid of every virtue or any drop of empathy or decency or humanity. The United States can never erase this national shame.

THE BRIDE! My theory that exclamation marks are always a good sign continues to hold firm. Yes, it’s all over the place but better to have more ideas and themes than you can quite carry than to be timid. Bold and awkward and beautiful. More like this, please.

I really enjoyed the first third or so of this, when it was an engaging alt-history, but became less and less interested as the fantasy elements came to the fore. I remember a similar trajectory with Babel, so I think I may just not be on RF Kuang’s wavelength.

I think this is the best way to proceed. I know Parliament has not distinguished itself as a decision-making body in recent years, but referendums REALLY haven’t.

The world is awful but two of my favourite celebs - Jennifer Garner and Daniel Radcliffe - are currently on (separate) publicity tours. I’m sure it’s a dreadful bore for them but I find them both delightful whenever they pop up, and I’m glad they are famous.

The US is a rogue state that murders innocent men women and children. It is about time world leaders stood up and said it loud and clear.

I just went to close a tab and accidentally hit the ‘close all other tabs’ button. There were pages that I’d been waiting to get around to since at least 2023.

I have just abandoned a novel after 100 pages (the grace period I always allow). It was hailed on the front as ‘a stone-cold masterpiece’ but it reminded me of nothing so much as Longing For Wolverhampton by Adrian Mole.

I have been working my way through A Very Peculiar Practice, which is one of the strangest shows I’ve ever seen but extremely enjoyably so. And never more so than when it throws up a tiny appearance from a very young version of Britain’s greatest actor.

It continues to be a disgrace that this sort of calculus is necessary. Everyone should have the right to cast a positive vote, and know that it will count.

Reform win a seat: The true Volk have spoken and we all must listen. Greens win a seat: Early reports that Muslims may have ‘voted’ (an ancient Islamic practice designed to steal elections). How severely should the franchise be limited in response?

All of these are wonderful writers. For my part, I’ll throw in: Dorothy Whipple Barbara Trapido Olivia Manning Alison Lurie Eva Ibbotson

One of the best examples of making something out of a nothing role is Felton Perry in ROBOCOP. He has barely any lines but makes every moment on screen count; he’s hilarious, watchable and brilliantly memorable.

First Past the Post is a perfect electoral system with no flaws

It’s basically impossible at this stage to keep track of how many activists, councillors and MPs Reform has been forced to disavow (and that’s only the ones who couldn’t manage to keep their bigotry private). At what point does it prompt some self-reflection? (Obviously I know the answer is never.)

Up to the end of S2, it was just a brilliant drama. Since then it has upped its commitment to utter madness every season, in line with the amount of make up Joel Kinnaman has to wear, and I couldn’t be more here for it. Forget Slow Horses and Ted Lasso, this is the jewel in Apple TV’s crown.

Back on my hobby horse: the UK political system is heading for a disastrous reckoning with FPTP at the next election, which will deliver an even more catastrophically unbalanced result than it usually does.

I only voted for four of this year’s BAFTA winners, which may be my worst hit rate yet, but I am very happy that one of them was Robert Aramayo as Best Actor. A truly unforgettable performance.

Ready for my Frederick Wiseman memorial marathon. (With Wiseman, you only need one film for a marathon. I have snacks and a cup of tea, and am all set for 217 minutes of scorching legislative action.)

Fixed it.

This is absolutely correct. Will Tippin is THE WORST. I also held a grudge against Seth Rogen for many years because I so hated Ken in Freaks and Geeks.

When it comes to stories about Shakespeare’s life that culminate in an extended recreation of a play’s first performance, asserting that it reflects the writer’s own emotional state, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is ten times the film that HAMNET could ever be.

Ken Follett writes clunky prose and favours simplistic characterisation, tempered with inelegant dumps of his research - but he does bring a propulsive energy and satisfying plotting. I can see why The Pillars of the Earth is a beloved book, even if no-one could ever mistake it for a great one.

"Otack är Sveriges lön" - Max Gustafson.

It’s thirty years ago today that the greatest band ever teamed up with the greatest solo artist, and it was exactly as brilliant as you’d expect. (This is one of David’s best 90s looks. Neil and Chris obviously always look amazing, except for Chris’ very ill-advised long hair around 2003.)

Guy Ritchie’s wretched filmography has yielded just two minutes of value - a wet Henry Cavill eating a sandwich in a truck in THE MAN FROM UNCLE - and yet those two minutes are enough to justify his entire career.

Reform is a clearing house for the worst people in the country.