#OnTheDial today... a bit of mood-setting for the next few weeks. #WinterOlympics #WinterParalympics #SaremoMusicFestival

Oh, that was such fun! Nostalgic but not dated, silly but sincere. Just as it should be. Also, Sabrina Carpenter was a great choice for the guest star; she looked like she was having a blast. Fingers crossed for a full series. #TheMuppetShow

The Winter Olympics are off to a great start for Milan-Cortina. The curling mixed dobles just got underway when all the lights went out. Oops! #WinterOlympics

I am so excited about this! When I was very small, we had a VHS tape containing, among other things, three episodes of The Muppet Show (Crystal Gayle, Dudley Moore, and Rachel Welch) that my parents had taped off the Super Channel. I loved it so much, I must have been close to wearing that tape out.

I stumbled across a place selling pizzoccheri in Milan just over ten years ago and I still think about it. Real hearty food.

Thank you for the suggestions I got back from this post! I ended up going with Major Barbara but, coincidentally, the Oxford World Classics edition contains Man And Superman and John Bull's Other Island, both of which came up in the replies. www.meetup.com/northampton-...

Finally, the monstrosity I've been waiting for! This is a really fascinating perspective on one of the most satisfying spaces to spend time in.

Theatre people! Does anyone have a favourite George Bernard Shaw play? Someone who joined the play reading group I'm in last night suggested GBS for a future meetup but I'm not sure which play to pick. #Theatre #TheatreSky 🎭

I often hear people say Burns doesn’t do it for them (often based on ‘To a Haggis’ or the first line of ‘To a Mouse’; I thought I’d share my favourite ‘Is There For Honest Poverty’: you are not what you earn or who your parents are but what’s inside the heart.

Oh, for fuck's sake. World Expos have entered the Trumpiverse. I'd love to see a strong German bid to counter this. German pavilions are always well presented, thought-through, and engaged with the expo themes; it would be cool to see them host again. www.france24.com/en/live-news.... #WorldExpo

I got a book of ice cream recipes for Christmas and I just made my first batch this week. It's... not great. I had two major problems. First, the ice cream didn't even come close to freezing in my machine, which would suggest I used too much sugar.

"The Saint" tv series featured Roger Moore as Shirley Temple. Every week he would tap-dance around while singing in an annoying baby voice.

Tapping sadly on the window of the swan sanctuary with one of two Pringles cans I’ve got stuck on my hands, sobbing “yes it *has* happened again, please don’t make me go to the people hospital”

Absolutely extraordinary - and hugely welcome: a great archive collection of Ibsen productions and docs coming to BBC Four and iPlayer; the earliest is the 1953 (!) Lady from the Sea with Irene Worth and Robert Harris, produced by Harold Clayton. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

I’m just gonna put up a bunch of these today I don’t think I have a choice Garfbert 2013.11.11

It's been a long slog but I've finally got my Connections stats up to a level where I'm having a perfect game 50% of the time. What do you mean I could be achieving something worthwhile with my time?

Rocked up 10 hours after tickets went on general sale. Still managed to bag one of the seats I wanted in the stalls circle. 🎉 #Opera

Porco Rossi is often my answer, too. It is, indeed, better to be a pig than a fascist. And, my word, that score... youtu.be/Htq2EUgcrKE?...

Tickets for the Royal Opera's spring/summer season go on sale at 9am tomorrow. At that exact moment, I will be in a staff development session at work that I cannot get out of. Fingers crossed I'll still be able to get something for Peter Grimes. #Opera

And that's the flights booked! That gives me just over ten months to plan my itinerary for Malta. That's the stuff. #Travel #Travelsky

I know I say this every year but, if you're staying in for New Year's Eve, I recommend the live cèilidh on BBC Alba. It starts at 23:30 and it's always a treat to see in the new year with some quality music. #NYE2025 #HappyNewYear

Time for my annual Year In Theatre Programmes post, over on Instagram... www.instagram.com/p/DSiT3SqDQw... #Theatre

We’re proud that our beautiful Royal Safety Curtain has been included in the Beyond the 100 online exhibition, created by Northampton Museums & Art Gallery. Find out more: https://royalandderngate.co.uk/news/royal-safety-curtain-included-in-beyond-the-100-online-exhibition/

Disappointed but not surprised at Northamptonshire's ranking.

Spooner's career as a continuity announcer was short-lived

🎼📺 Eurovision Classical Concerts is coming to screens across Europe! Full story 👉 https://www.ebu.ch/news/2025/12/eurovision-classical-concerts-to-be-broadcast-by-22-public-service-media-organizations

Time for my annual Year In Theatre Programmes post, over on Instagram... www.instagram.com/p/DSiT3SqDQw... #Theatre

As if anyone needs an excuse to visit a theatre but I do need to point out that the mince pies currently on sale at the Bridge Theatre are fucking delicious.

One last theatre day before the end of 2025? Don't mind if I do! En route to London to see out the year in style with a matinee performance of Into The Woods at the Bridge, followed by Oh, Mary! at the Trafalgar. Exciting! #Theatre

Just missed out on a trip back to B league by a point. I managed 4th in C Oasis with only the 8th best TCA but the 2nd best DE. I'll take that. #LearnedLeague #LL107

Just booked my ticket for the Sunday of #MightyHoopla in May. Cannot wait to see Scissor Sisters but I'm also weirdly thrilled that Jane McDonald will be there! 😅

Very kind of Thorsten to give me another chance to bring up my trip to the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka earlier this year. #LearnedLeague #LL107

There is no part of this that isn't both amazing and shocking. Full decision here: www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/r... (PDF, contains strong language)

We had a very traditional nativity when I was at school. I played Rapper No. 1.

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

I'm the Music League* admin for my office and, this week, I ran a Best of 2025 round. Cue performative bragging about not knowing any songs released this year.

'AI is coming' I tell the museum stakeholders as I proudly cut the ribbon of our new Artificial Insemination exhibition

A master of disguise, the Mari Lwyd subtly blends in with her surroundings to stalk the festive streets of Wales. Hiding in plain sight, she waits until the ideal moment presents itself to pounce and steal your cake and ale...

It's sad but I can't resist a yearly recap. I've largely replaced "normal" television with YouTube now so at least this reflects my habits and interests...

As much as I love going to London for theatre, I always dread how busy the train back to Northampton will be. I can usually find some breathing space (and, sometimes, even a seat) by powerwalking to the front of the train but it depends on whether the platform has been called before I reach Euston.

Splitting my time fairly evenly between thinking about theatre, thinking about Japan, and thinking about Eurovision this year and listening to a lot of "adult album alternative". #SpotifyWrapped

When I was a kid, we used to go to MK to see films at The Point, before Northampton got its own multiplex. There's a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in that ziggurat.

Well worth waiting for...

Universities are in crisis, and I don’t think it’s helpful to phrase that as “exiting the market”. They’re not mid-range shoe shops, these are educational pillars in society

I just ordered some shopping from Uber Eats and I was wondering why the delivery fee was so high. I thought it might have been because I placed the order at a peak time but, nope, I'm inadvertently ordered from a Morrisons in a neighbouring town, a 23 minute drive away.

Celebrity Traitors go see The Importance of Being Earnest and meet up with Stephen Fry who plays Lady Bracknell. Photo: Piers Allardyce

Sometimes I think about how cool it would be to be able to take Shakespeare to a modern production of one of his plays but then I think about how I'd spend the whole time trying to persuade him not to yell at the actors or piss on the floor and, on balance, I'm not sure it'd be worth it.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

OK, that was a really interesting production. Katie Mitchell's interventions, as well as exploring the work from a feminist perspective, actually added a lot of humour to the original material. #Opera #Operasky