Since people are doing year highlights, here’s one of mine: the gift of one of Muriel Spark’s famous James Thin notebooks. Imagine what words she might have written on the pages if she had the chance.

One for @peteralanross.bsky.social @ourjoanne.bsky.social on tonight’s #OnlyConnect

"Lucid, profound and moving, it is his best book." Many thanks to @mathewlyons.bsky.social for including Upon A White Horse in the Engelsberg Ideas Books of 2025. It's an honour to appear in this list of excellent works. engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...

My 14 year old son Luca took me here after cricket training today. He said there is hope in that sky Mum, I’ve never seen anything like it, the locals said there are half a million starlings here. Keep your families close, hug your children, help those who need us, do a 1000 piece puzzle, enjoy!

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 22 Durham Cathedral Artist: SRBadmin

Rare footage of St Paul’s Cathedral testing its giant flamethrower

Peter, your three books sit beside my bed, and are a beautiful escape route to a bigger, smaller, more complicated world.

If you're in a solstice frame of mind can I recommend this episode of @peteralanross.bsky.social Upon a White Horse. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... Andy Clark has the most gorgeous voice as well, so lovely to listen to.

This is wonderful and resonates as I'm in the middle of reading @peteralanross.bsky.social book Upon a White Horse.

Buses in the 1950s were specially designed to fit under Beverley’s medieval North Bar Gate, East Yorkshire.

Riding on flooded Sussex lanes in blinding slanted winter sun earlier today with @peteralanross.bsky.social's audiobook of Tomb With A View in one ear (should have been Steeple Chasing really). Had a look in Old Hamsey, Barcombe & Chailey churches thinking about future Churches of Sussex 'zines.

Wrote a letter to The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

If I don’t live through to night in this hotel, ask these guys what happened

Wee wander up to the ruins of St Peter's Seminary at Cardross, which lends itself to this morning's grey skies, wind and rain.

What a great review in The Times for Peter's new book - can't do better than this if you still need a present for someone...

"An insightful and engaging reflection on the appeal of the ancient." Many thanks to Katherine Harvey and The Times for this review of Upon A White Horse. www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

A timely reminder that the lyrics to Deck The Halls scan perfectly to the tune of War Pigs by Black Sabbath. 🎶 DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL TROLL THE ANCIENT YULETIDE CAROL OH LORD YEAH 🎶

🇸🇪 🇩🇰 Join me for 8 days of trowel-tappingly good Scandinavian #archaeology in Sept '26! I had such a great time leading the 2025 tour that I jumped at the chance to lead it again in 2026. Mighty mounds, marvellous museums, and magnificent palaces await... All the details are below ⤵️

A wee podcast I made with the Civic Journalism Lab about reporting on the Polmont suicides. soundcloud.com/civicjournal...

Roger Clarke and I are writing a book about ghosts. We need a publisher. @tomsbrown.bsky.social and I are writing a graphic novel about boy mire maids and need a publisher. If you are interested, DM me.

"He draws his power not from the sheer force of his arguments and personality, but increasingly just how recklessly the immigration issue has been handled by the political establishment." Nesrine Malik would have been my columnist of the year. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I like how this implies all foxes keep a pet mole in a little kennel.

"The only 1st Amendment rights Trump is interested in are those of the powerful, & those of us who refuse to run our social media accounts according to his diktats will have to reconcile ourselves to not visiting a country he is, in any case, destroying." My @heraldscotland.bsky.social column.

Trump is trying to rig the geopolitical game at Ukraine and Europe’s cost - Today’s in-depth international read👇 www.thenational.scot/news/world/2...

Writing With: Beasts, Work, Windows, Mirrors, Music, Jack Gilbert and Mis-placed things, our North Sea Poets 2026 spring course is now available. For all details, and to book, please click below. www.northseapoets.com/courses

Many thanks to @chrishawkinsdj.bsky.social for including Upon A White Horse in Radio 4's Pick Of The Week. It broadcasts at 6.15pm today, and is on BBC Sounds now. I'm grateful for Chris's kind words about both my writing and the actor Andy Clark's reading of it. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

In some places, winter is a blessing. Living near a deep pool or pond, you greet mornings of savage cold with a smile. It means things will be quiet. It means the Stay Belows are hibernating in the mud. Nobody is going in and nothing is coming out of it today. – William Weston #VOH

Join us for a historic moment in the heart of Dorchester! Visible Women UK proudly invites you to the unveiling of the new statue of Sylvia Townsend Warner on Sunday, 14th December at 1pm sharp. townsendwarner.com/join-us-in-d...

The Krampus Tree hast gone live...

This was a great listen whilst riding across the South Downs in the late afternoon winter sun

The big Tescos in Skegness has a porch offer cat as well! Met them in November - a glorious beast.

Unexpected small joys are glorious - and a cat makes any place better 😍 (a friend lived in Dunfermline for a while and I always was happy to do a little grocery shopping in the huge Tesco there and say hi to the cat which spent its days in the front porch, perched on whatever the latest offer was)

I wrote about meeting Budge, the @norwichcathedral.bsky.social cat, for this Guardian feature on travel discoveries of 2025. www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...

Skegness had one but it was replaced by the dinosaur park

Donald Trump is pursuing regime change – in Europe | Jonathan Freedland

Hello. I'm writing about model (as in miniature) villages and have a list of twelve so far, all in England. If anyone has one they especially like, I'd be glad to hear about it, please. Maybe in other parts of the UK? But further English examples also welcome. Thank you.

We have recorded the Christmas Day episode, by Toutatis! 💥 @iammilliam.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social

"I want these books to feel like communities." I spoke with @stoneclub.bsky.social podcast about Upon A White Horse & my working methods, the desire to fill my writing with the voices of other people. Thanks to @matthewmshaw.bsky.social for the invitation and conversation. stoneclub.rocks/podcast

Legendary Scottish actor and comedian Stanley Baxter has died at the age of 99. www.heraldscotland.com/news...

Thank you to everyone who has been listening to Upon A White Horse as Radio 4's Book of the Week. The final part is about Sycamore Gap and goes out at 11.45am today. It's also all available on BBC Sounds. I hope you enjoy it. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Thank you to everyone who has been listening to Upon A White Horse as Radio 4's Book of the Week. The final part is about Sycamore Gap and goes out at 11.45am today. It's also all available on BBC Sounds. I hope you enjoy it. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Thrilled to be shortlisted for the @stanfordstravel.bsky.social Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year for #SmallEarthquakes 🎉 Many congratulations to my fellow finalists, and a huge thanks to my brilliant publisher @hurstpublishers.bsky.social for helping to make the book a reality 🙌🏽

Some of my favourite books I’ve read this year. Should include O Caledonia.

Time again for my favorite christmas post ever, one that still makes me laugh every time i read it

Such a great column by Kenny Farquharson. "Scottish culture is unsmashed. Scottish culture is alive and kicking and all the better for the children of Maxwell Park." www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

Beneath the #Wiltshire Medieval hilltop town of Malmesbury lies a 9ha Iron Age hillfort Here looking east: Now (© Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard) and then (© Athelstan Museum) A wee thread for #HillfortsWednesday 🧵👇

Another niche request here, but does anyone with Italian heritage have any good stories/memories around the tradition of La Befana on the epiphany. I'm not clear how much the tradition was exported to the UK?