*standing in front of Cologne cathedral* “Of course, you could never make this nowadays”

Many years ago *cough* 20! *cough* I used to sing in a cover band. We weren't great but we did ok. My wife was our biggest fan, dancing in front of the stage and singing along to every song. Fast forward to the present and my wife has been diagnosed with having Lewy Body Dementia (1/n)

A short thing about music. Please indulge me. My son and his girlfriend did a pub gig this afternoon. Here they are. Voice and keyboard. Jazz standards. They were good, but that’s not the point. (1/n)

“And now the male shifts slightly and says ‘right. Bed.’ And yet, despite the clear intent in his voice, he will now do something very strange, continuing to sit on the sofa, scrolling on his phone, for another hour or more. It is one of the great unsolved mysteries of the natural world.”

I’m on my nonsense again. This week’s Six Things: – the quality of silence – artists’ calling cards – Audubon photo awards – the birth of a book – the tree of life – I am not a robot open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

A short thing about music. Please indulge me. My son and his girlfriend did a pub gig this afternoon. Here they are. Voice and keyboard. Jazz standards. They were good, but that’s not the point. (1/n)

@watsoncomedian.bsky.social ok look I’m very sorry about that but we really really really needed the points ok?

I’m on my nonsense again. This week’s Six Things: – the quality of silence – artists’ calling cards – Audubon photo awards – the birth of a book – the tree of life – I am not a robot open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

I will not comment on YouGov’s latest ragebait and you can’t make me

friday night hot take: channing tatum tap number should be just as popular as tom holland umbrella dance

How are you? It's Alan (Partridge)

Random obscure trivia question for your Saturday morning: what links This Is Spinal Tap and The Ladykillers?

The next step is, presumably, the only true original party, Ur Party.

Good afternoon, this is your captain speaking. We are currently cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet at an airspeed of 400 miles per hour and with good weather ahead and helpful tailwinds we’re expecting to land in London approximately 15 minutes ahead of schedule. #TalkLikeAPilotDay

I wrote about birds. AGAIN. This time, the thrill of New Bird. open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

Going to watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid because why the hell not

18 September 1970: The death of Jimi Hendrix. The birth of Darren Gough.

ITS AUTUMN! The first major arrival of Pink-footed Geese today over the Isle of May as 3,095 battled their way in off the sea in strong westerly winds. Great to see. Welcome back!

I wrote about birds. AGAIN. This time, the thrill of New Bird. open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

“And he replied, ‘The Aristocrats!’”

“And he replied, ‘The Aristocrats!’”

Lovely moment on insta earlier with Laura Dern and Julianne Moore both posting about how much they loved RR, along with photos of them looking at him with complete adoration. So it wasn’t just us.

it’s called a state visit because he’s in a right state I’m sorry I’m tired and that’s all I’ve got

Today is the 846th anniversary of the death of Hildegard of Bingen: saint, abbess, composer, writer, visionary, but best known of course for once seeing the Gruffalo appearing from the Bride of Christ’s, um...

I would come out of my approximately 10-year Lego retirement for this

Yes, but *apart* from being hot, kind, intelligent, talented, hot, charming, generous, hot, iconic, sweet, funny, hot, hot and hot, what on earth did Robert Redford have going for him?

As the day goes on, the claims for “Robert Redford’s best performance actually” are only going to get more outlandish. “Like, he was in this episode of The Twilight Zone, only appeared for ten seconds, but it was magical, honestly.”

nah not robert redford LOOK AT ALL THESE ASSHOLES STILL WALKING AROUND BEING DICKHEADS THAT COULD HAVE DIED INSTEAD COME ON

I thought I saw some auks, but it was just a skua flying backwards.

Every time I see the word ‘Derwent’ I think of Derwent Enterprises and it cheers me up just a bit

The Jay, The Beech And The Limpetshell is a book that's partly about being a parent but mostly about being a kid. It's about being a kid in the woods and at the seaside and in a warming world. It's about picking up toads and watching Octonauts. It's pretty good. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rich...

It’s always difficult, I think, to do a post out of the blue where you just come straight out and say “BUY MY BOOK HERE LOOK HERE IT IS” without any preamble, but sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and do it. Tl;dr: BUY MY BOOK HERE LOOK HERE IT IS levparikian.com/index.php/pr...

It’s always difficult, I think, to do a post out of the blue where you just come straight out and say “BUY MY BOOK HERE LOOK HERE IT IS” without any preamble, but sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and do it. Tl;dr: BUY MY BOOK HERE LOOK HERE IT IS levparikian.com/index.php/pr...

Inflation affects everyone these days

I’m on my nonsense again. This week’s Six Things: – the glory of woodpiles – space atlas – farewell to Melvyn – all the cocktail recipes you’ll ever need – people matching artworks – when is a circle a circle? open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

Look, I’m not saying that this photo of a really pleasing dry stone wall in front of spectacular mountain scenery will improve your morning even a tiny bit but yes actually that is exactly what I’m saying.

I’m on my nonsense again. This week’s Six Things: – the glory of woodpiles – space atlas – farewell to Melvyn – all the cocktail recipes you’ll ever need – people matching artworks – when is a circle a circle? open.substack.com/pub/levparik...

Regardless of everything else, Oblique Seville is one of the very best names. #TheAthletics

Indian-Spiced Chicken and Potato Traybake is #RecipeOfTheDay, a most uplifting proposition! www.nigella.com/recipes/indi...

Look, I’m not saying that this photo of a really pleasing dry stone wall in front of spectacular mountain scenery will improve your morning even a tiny bit but yes actually that is exactly what I’m saying.

Jan van Groypers (1553-1608) was a Flemish artist known for his tediously realistic landscapes. Particularly predominant in his art are hedges and cows.

Salt peppering the boundary #TheCricket

Worth getting soaked for

Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues is out today! I insist that you go and see it in the cinema as I’m interested to find out whether my deal involves residuals. Please to enjoy this unprofessionally framed picture from the premiere on Tuesday. To paraphrase Sir Denis Eaton-Hogg, Tap into a… cinemaaaa!

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks went up to 11." #spinaltapnovels

“It was the day our drummer exploded” #spinaltapnovels

Yeeessss. You can their faces in both sides. Thanks @biggreenbooks.bsky.social.

Great to be back in England where you get 46 different weathers all at once

The cat’s tracker has a leaderboard of local cats and their activity and if my next book is late it’s because I’m watching him closing in on Pablo.

Two minutes ago I reached an important personal milestone: the 10,000th time in my social media career that I have written a post, considered the replies, then deleted it.