Ran a pub quiz the other night. A man argued with me that Pat Roach wasn't the only actor except H. Ford to appear in the first three Indiana Jones films. "Denholm Elliott", said he. Oh so DE was in Temple Of Doom then? Which bit? The Shanghai opening? Pankot Palace? THE FUCKING ROPE BRIDGE? TWAT.

My wife was video calling my poorly daughter at university today. She was meant to be going to London to visit a friend this weekend but didn't feel up to it. As I was walking past I shouted "JUST COME HOME, I'M COOKING A CURRY", and she did! SO I WIN AGAIN.

[immediately puts 'Skipton' into Rightmove]

Oof. Came across this tonight. No one has ever asked me to do a list of my top ten favourite books, but if I did, this would be in it. "There's a great awful bird in the fridge!"

So are we to believe that George's previous fling in Last Christmas actually doesn't recognise him? A year isn't that long. It only leaves two possibilities: either she was blind drunk the year before or she's been kicked in the head by a horse in the interim. Sadly we are not told.

A mate reminded me today of something I used to say to people at school if they looked a bit miserable. It was: "tweak your willy, sailor?". I have no recollection of this at all, but I like it a lot and intend to start using it immediately.

"I don't live in a mansion. It's a 1930s house." It's worth over two million quid though mate, don't be a twat about it.

Well here's something that doesn't happen every day/ever: a Depeche Mode interview that I'd not seen. My most useless ability is to be able to identify the exact year of any DM appearance based solely on Dave's hair. I'd have a good stab at the month as well, I reckon. youtu.be/SA4CpvH2als?...

Ran a pub quiz tonight with questions 100% made up from my actual brain. The winning team all took time to congratulate me on them. Some of the other teams did as well. So I guess I'm a professional quizmaster now.

I love Tom Wilson. Yesterday I watched his latest video and let's just say that I found it very moving. Like a lot of his videos. Today I was lucky enough to share a lovely correspondence with him. A truly good egg. And definitely not just that guy from Back To The Future. youtu.be/PyCiGf1QCoM?...

Bit weird that he should be complaining about that Time Magazine cover but didn’t pipe up when there was a photo doing the rounds of when he shat himself playing golf.

Something I’ve learned this week: a problematic root canal is very much bearable while it’s actually happening. Less pleasant a day or two afterwards. Ouch.

I am craving autumn. Even winter. I know I will spend hundreds of hours with my dog traipsing through mud in the rain and the wind and whatever else and I can't wait.

IS THIS SATIRE

Had loads to do today. Even made myself a list last night. I'm looking at the list now. Nowhere does it say "eat ice cream and watch the cricket all day".

Couldn't sit outside last night thanks to WASPS. So I made a couple of traps this morning and put them out, without any real hope that they'd work. I've just checked them and, well... They worked. I feel terrible. Absolute carnage out there. Sorry, wasps.

Sunday lunchtime and I’ve already seen The Selecter and had two pints of cider. Living the dream.

There should be a word for the moment your brain registers a tickling sensation somewhere about your person, then kicks it up a gear with a "THERE'S SOMETHING ALIVE ON YOU" and you instantly turn into a flailing panic machine.

Iconic. A stage presence like no other. Rest in peace Douglas McCarthy. Bollocks.

Today's entry into the canon is a zinger, from an account with over 60 thousand followers: "one of the best movies ever made". Star Trek II.

My brilliant daughter is home and I can’t think of anything I’d rather be listening to than the sound of her playing bass in her bedroom.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, UK moving to ‘war-fighting readiness’ [opens wine]

I have seen footage of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show many times but watching it again and in full I am still stunned. How did these four young lads make this sound? It's fucking incredible. youtu.be/yqrYUORgY-s?...

Today I discovered that my second cousin has worked as Depeche Mode's tour coordinator for a good while. Information that would have been extremely useful PRIOR TO NOW. Never mind, I'll take the top quality gossip in lieu of free tickets and backstage access.

Here's a neat encapsulation of our broken property market. With the exception of the newish build in Camber Sands, every one of these houses would've been built for ordinary working people. www.theguardian.com/money/galler...

Well this weekend proved two things beyond doubt: 1: that I have a great circle and extended circle of friends and 2: I need more than four hours sleep per night.

Got to be honest, I didn't have chemical castration on my Labour Party Policies bingo card.

Two excellent things happened on my walk with Abel this morning: I didn't have to make polite conversation about the weather with anyone and I heard a CUCKOO! I hope the rest of the day lives up to these lofty standards.

What is the point of the Labour party? What a profoundly depressing load of right wing appeasing crap.

My daughter and me watching the 1985 Top of the Pops special. See if you can spot when Holding Out For A Hero came on.

I love those cinema appreciation accounts on Twitter when they say things like 'this movie is a straight up masterpiece, the performances could not be bettered and it truly deserves its status as an all time classic' and then you look and the film is The Matrix Reloaded or John Wick.

I had to throw away my favourite pair of shorts this morning. They were more hole than short. And I swear that what I am feeling now is actual grief.

A brief summary of opinions regarding some famous people I have met: 1. Andy Fletcher - lovely and amazing 2. Jeremy Irons - gent, laughed at my shit joke 3. Idris Elba - charming, funny 4. Jason Cooper from The Cure - top bloke 5. Robert Plant - gracious, lovely 6. Jarvis Cocker - ARSEHOLE

It's been on YouTube for ages but it's nice to see a cleaned up version on a 'proper' channel. #DepecheMode youtu.be/TUGP0_grXCs?...

A school reunion of sorts happening tonight. I have spent the evening banging out disco tunes and ska with my recently returned daughter and I HAVE WON.

A collage I made for my number one mucker on the occasion of his 50th. All meaningful but unknowing players in our lives, with a few friends thrown in for good measure. He's framed it and put it on the wall. My art teacher would never have believed it possible. Well KISS MY ARSE MR TAYLOR.

Changing career but still have one foot in web design for the next month or two. I just received an email with the heading 'External API array data output' and I almost physically flinched when I read it. I will not miss this stuff. At all.

Have had to rejoin Zuckerberg's beige hellscape for the third time. Profile settings as private as I can make them. No friends, no likes, no interaction of any kind. Taking a perverse pleasure in the algorithm's increasingly frantic attempts to get me to engage with ANYTHING.

BEARD TRANSPLANTS are a thing now? What a time to be alive.

I've watched this video a few hundred times so it's hardly a shock but - my word. Anton Corbijn really did have a style, didn't he? Some of the shots in this are recreated almost verbatim in his early Depeche work. All the tropes are there. Still love it all, obviously. youtu.be/7tTX49CjAgo?...

I haven't watched any music reaction videos on YouTube since Covid. They were all pretty much of a muchness. I just saw one with a young (younger than me) American woman watching Queen at Live Aid. She basically cries with joy all the way through. No insightful comment. Absolutely perfect, 10/10.

I was a bit concerned for the wellbeing of a client of mine, he was having cancer treatment and I haven't heard from him for months. Anyway my wife looked him up on Facebook and I was pleased to see that he's alive and well, less pleased to discover that he's a racist prick.

My son is 15 and acutely tuned in to avoiding any and all potentially embarrassing situations. So imagine my delight when I discovered he is having to attend a trampolining party at the behest of one of his less tuned in friends today.

Birthday present from my wife. This is where it all started for me at eight, pretty much the basis for my musical tastes. Synthpop, electro, The Beat, Fun Boy Three, the first rap track I learned all the words to, and naturally some real stinkers. Lost the tapes years ago. And the vinyl is pristine!

Making the most of the last day of my 40s by [checks notes] filing my tax return, stacking logs and going to see my optometrist. What a delight.

Hullo clouds, hullo (Blue)sky, it seems I've pitched up here. Yet another refugee from the The Bad Place. I hope you are all shimmering with joy (just generally, not because I've joined obvs). I made sure not to click the News or Politics tabs on signing up; I'm naively hopeful it will work.