Passing a rainy journey to work with some sounds from Japan (the band, not the country). 🎧 music.apple.com/gb/album/ass...

Six shifts during the next three weeks. We’ll start the first of these with this classic 1981 album on the work commute. Some amazing bass and synth lines in here. 🎧 music.apple.com/gb/album/dur...

Started to get YouTube adverts for Transport For Wales again. In Welsh. As a viewer in north east Scotland…

Further adventures in the (flawed) YouTube algorithm. This time a section called “1970s and more” featuring TV clips from 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994 and, most bizarrely, 2019. 🤦🏻‍♂️

🎄 Wee seasonal reshare on some of the history of Scotland’s complicated relationship with Christmas, from it being banned in the late 1500s to finally becoming an official Bank Holiday in the early 1970s: theaddersden.wordpress.com/2021/12/19/s... 📰 #christmas #yule #christianity #presbyterian 🗃️

It’s the beginning of the first moon of 2026…it may seem a bit early but there’s thirteen moons this year so we get a bit longer. It’s also the solstice on Sunday and the peak period at work seems to be lessening off so there’s a real feeling of ending (and beginning) in the air.

Opened YouTube. Amongst the videos on offer is a section called “Anarchism and more”. The videos here include one about Nordic habits than make life easier, a BBC report on “why did our friends stop posting on social media” and an episode of It’s A Knockout from 1981. 🤦🏻‍♂️

And so we come to the last day of the last moon of 2025. A new moon at the weekend near enough coinciding with the solstice.

The secret pizza club is in session again at work. Never mind, I’ve been busy making Xmas happen for some people while they all stuff their faces. Such as Lindsay of Wales who’ll get her pretty Zara skirt after all despite her friend mailing it in an open plastic bag with the address written on it.

Moon date ♐️ 28. This’ll do nicely! youtu.be/jWgwx8ZFVCI?... (contains flashing images, which you never got warned about on tv back in 1983)

Nearly the end of the last moon of 2025, and I’m playing bass covers on YouTube (which should raise all kinds of red flags) Just come up, in order, Advertising Space (Robbie Williams), One Of Us (ABBA) and He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother (Hollies). It’s OK, it’s just something in my eye…

Sitting in a small corner of the rec room at work listening to Japan’s Assemblage album and wishing with all my heart I was not here at this time. I can’t “people” any more. The battery’s empty.

Have been given this package of lovely biscuits by the management in recognition of all my hard work during December so far. Yum.

Really pleased to hear Groupie‘s current temp placement has been extended from the 24th to the 31st. Hoping 2026 is the year she finally gets off the temping bandwagon and gets a permanent job. We joke about her perhaps having to do topless tarot readings on OnlyFans but it’s a lot less funny now.

Today’s shift is an endurance test. Additionally, there’s a girl at work who has marinated herself in wild rose perfume to the point where you can taste it. I suppose there are far worse smells I could be subjected to.

Moon date ♐️ 26 and the theme to Johnny Ball’s Think Again (Francis Monkman’s Achievements Of Man) comes on shuffle at I travel to work and suddenly everything seems alright…

Groupie: I had a horrible dream last night. You were leaving me for another man, who had a dog. Zaph: Well, I’m not planning on doing that for real. Groupie: I could have accepted it if it were another woman, but a man with a dog? #AtHomeWithZaphAndGroupie

My usual fruitless request for people doing what we used to call “tweetalongs” of sporting events or TV shows to use hashtags so people know what you’re talking about (and you can more easily find others watching the same thing)

A great anecdote about the late Stanley Baxter, worth reading. 👍🏻

For WOMEN, Amazon? How very dare you. I think I’d look gorgeous in these. (Then again, I have often remarked to Groupie “sometimes I think I’m the girl in this relationship”)

My timelines are full of comments about the late Stanley Baxter, which makes me feel I chose the right people to follow.

Posted up at work. I love the whole #KeepingIt70s vibe of this. (I may not be a card-carrying socialist, not by a long chalk, but I will say…if you can join a union, do so. I’m glad I’m in mine)

I’m hiding in a quiet corner listening to a suitably #KeepingIt70s soundtrack right now, if you’re wondering how work is progressing. Life really is a fragile thing sometimes.

This might be fun. Possibly… 🤔

They’ve put a large Santa decoration in the city centre and every time I travel past it I get strong Wicker Man vibes. Avoid that area on winter solstice day, I think.

Ten shifts to go. We can do this…

Went to bed in my gf’s Spice Girls t-shirt and when I woke up, she demanaded “who do you think you are?”

Today’s work shift was steady but exhausting. Well I should be used to staggering through December by now. Meanwhile Groupie is across town at a talk about witchcraft which I’m sure she’ll find highly enjoyable. Hopefully she’ll get home alright as the storm is getting up outside.

“So what are you in for?” “Armed robbery. And you?” “Utensil misuse.” #ZaphAndGroupiesSurrealLife

Words can not express how much I love this song 💕 🎧 music.apple.com/gb/album/sug...

Moon date ♐️ 19 and it’s so much fun when work calls you and asks if you can come in early with practically no notice to perform an induction. Especially when you remind them the earliest I could come to work given my public transit commute is in a hour and that’s assuming I’m dressed and ready… 😈

I used to work shifts so can approve this message. I also used to work “perm any four days from seven” schedules as well so the same confusion happened with days as well as times. 11 on a Tuesday morning? Could mean anything depending on what this week’s schedule was…

Sitting half-frazzled on my commute to work and thinking there’s, what, thirteen shifts to go before Xmas? Zaph & Groupie will prevail. Somehow. And then have an absolutely mind blowing 2026. Mind you, 2025’s been pretty special too…

Induction session went well, although it did overrun and there were ten people there. Hopefully they’ll all come back for an actual shift soon and I haven’t scared them off…

Today’s workplace coach adventures include taking a group of temporary workers for their induction session. With luck they got more notice of this than I did. Beginning to understand how Groupie felt on the first night of a play when she used to do a bit of acting.

The laws of physics are important things, I’ll admit, and it’s probably a good thing they’re there, but they do get in the way of my desires sometimes. For instance, why can’t I float in the air when I want to? Only three metres or so off the ground, that’s all I’d ask…

For the last time in 2025, then. #fullmoon

Watching something on Sky. When the adverts came on I noticed little black pauses between some of the adverts like the old days, rather than one advert immediately starting after the previous one finishes. If these are back in vogue I’m all for it. Maybe we could cut back to 7 minutes an hour next?

Moon date ♐️ 13 and I’m starting it by playing Mr. Jones by the Counting Crows very loudly. This song reminds me of the early days of what used to be Virgin 1215, to the point of it sounds weird without that “AM radio” low bandwidth effect.

Moon date ♐️ 12 and so far today has been based around recharging, witchy protection spells and a #KeepingIt70s soundtrack. I presume today’s shift will go better than yesterday’s but there’s no guarantee with these people in charge…

Groupie phone background for December. (sings quietly to the melody of the Pippi Longstocking theme… 🎵 It’s Groupie Jonsdottir, la-la-la-la-la-la-la, it’s Groupie Jonsdottir, there’s no one like her… 🎶)

I swear it comes round earlier every year. #Jinglegeddon youtu.be/zpsvWdCSJeg?...

It’s been a day. The bedroom radiator wasn’t coming up to full temperature, the drains in the bathroom sink & shower were blocked and I’m only getting about 30 Mbps from a WiFi connection which should be over double that. And of course Groupie hasn’t got a job at the moment. Nevertheless we persist…

Hogmanay’s a comin’, Hogmanay’s a comin’… 😊

No, I’m sorry, but if you don’t want me to sing along to Icicle Works “Love Is A Wonderful Colour” while going down the aisles of the local supermarket, then you shouldn’t play it through the speakers. Also, the moon is up and I have a smile on my face wider than the river Clyde. Leave me alone…

The short lived BBC1 jingle here. Showing the BBC1 strap line when discussing Late Night Line Up threw me because I instantly thought “that’s on 2, surely?” Thankfully later in 1969 cross-network promos were less confusing…

Admittedly, it’s only about four weeks before Xmas and I’m told something like this happened once before… 😀

Eighth day of the moon, last working day of November and I’m already at the “life is an endurance test” stage. One year this season is going to kill me. It won’t be this year, though.

Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you have seen; Motörhead Pet Shop Boys Toyah Scooter Cyndi Lauper

Absolute scenes at work this evening as one of the Xmas casuals was found ASLEEP behind one of the machines. Never seen that before. He’s been told to go home and not bother coming back tomorrow. That’s two of them who didn’t last the first week.