Someone wants their breakfast #gardenbirds

The last three games could redeem it but this has not been a good world cup. Too big, badly scheduled, too much VAR especially in knock out stage, low quality football, too much celebrity, way too much Infantino, poor TV coverage in UK on both sides #WorldCup

Came across this photo in a book on the history of City of Edinburgh Fire Brigade. Seemed topical, I think from the list in the book this may have been C&A in 1955 #edinburghhistory

The World Cup is starting to turn into a bit of a slog for neutrals. Feels like it's been going on forever and not that many good games. With 104 games it's the equivalent of 10 premier league matchdays and some. Back to 32 teams and compress the group stage #worldcup

A summer evening robin and a summer morning fledgling robin

Another alcohol advert from 1973 with historical reference points #seventies

A 1973 advert for Courvoisier found in an old edition of The Scots Magazine #seventies

What looks like a fledgling mistle thrush in and out of an evening bath #gardens #birdsofbritain

A relatively interesting read although I can't say I enjoyed it that much. It seemed to flit from serious political analysis to trashy political thriller, often in the course of the same paragraph. Not impossible to see some of it happening though #bookstagramuk

Hincapie proving you can take the man out of Arsenal but you can't take Arsenal out of the man. Odegaard also proved that in earlier game with his constant whining

I reckon whoever wrote 'Yes Sir, I Can Boogie' owes Andrew Considine a few bob

Fans choice of anthem says a lot. England - slightly ponderous, very self important but utterly meaningless 'Wonderwall'. Scotland - 70s upbeat disco classic with a very clear meaning 'Yes Sir, I Can Boogie'. Grumpy Manc brothers or Spanish ladies from the seventies

A bit ironic that Austria and Algeria can now play out a 0-0 draw for both to qualify for the knock outs #WorldCup

Superb second album from Sun Shines Cold. Chilly post rock shoegaze with perfect imagery to match. They're relatively local to me but don't think they've gigged in the area #shoegaze #vinyl

A late present from the better half and my 1998 keyring has an upgrade #WorldCup

Just came across my piece of World Cup memorabilia from our last appearance in 1998. In surprisingly good condition considering it was used. I have yet to see a 2026 equivalent #worldcup

Today's clearance discovery is a tin First Aid kit which an internet search tells me is from the 1960s. Clearly we weren't a particularly sickly or injury prone house as it appears to be pretty much intact #firstaidkit

Mark Bonnar currently doing a good job as manager of DR Congo #WorldCup

A retro/vintage pitcher and glasses with a couple of outliers which are escaping the charity shop/tip pile. They are very redolent of distant summers

This is a great read. London's modern underbelly of billionaires, oligarchs, corruption and crime is exposed in this investigation into the mysterious death of a young man and attempts to uncover the truth.

First e-mail of the day has me included in a Wellbeing and Safety committee meeting delivering on pigeon access to depots. To be honest it's not my area of specific expertise 🤷‍♂️

First all staff message of the day is about Tourette Awareness Day event yesterday. As it's a humourless local authority I suspect I'll be in trouble if I respond with 'fuck off'

Blue tit fledglings and parent #springwatch #bbcspringwatch #gardenbirds

Mr Clow appears to have been a man of many talents. I hope no-one ended up buried in a cabinet with a coffin as a piece of furniture

How is it that so many social media football 'experts' only seem to have discovered today that World Cup kick off times are not all convenient for the UK this time? This despite the fact the draw was made in...checks notes... December 2025

The changing heft of World Cup histories, Chris Freddi comes in at 352 pages for the first 16 tournaments while Jonathan O'Brien has 1,630 pages for 22 #worldcup #bookstagramuk

The full World Cup reading pile - the huge Jonathan O'Brien trilogy, Jonathan Wilson's history and the South American perspective from Mark Biram & Tim Vickery and the World Cup adjacent book on Maradona from David Arrow Smith #worldcup #bookstagramuk

Background reading for the next month (four years!). This history makes for a hefty pile. Meticulously researched and put together #worldcup #bookstagramuk

A pretty in depth breakdown of the making of one of the greatest films ever made. It's a decent read and has some nice insights into the film #bookstagramuk #localhero

Catching up on this week's Pick Of The Pops from 1976. I don't especially remember Diana Ross and 'Love Hangover' from the time, more familiar with The Associates' version (which I love) but my goodness just how unbelievably good is the Diana version

It was only a matter of time before one of our resident blackbirds realised this was the best perch in the garden. Now just waiting for one of the robins to pose #gardenbirds #gardenbirdsofbritain

Clearing a house out can reveal nice things but also a lot of tat and rubbish. These are quite bizarre and I can't imagine they were in much demand #houseclearance

In case you need some good news Alan Cumming has said he won't present the Baftas again. But only after he made sure the last controversy was actually all about him www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ma...

A well deserved retirement for an outstanding athlete and an extraordinary person www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/m...

The garden cabin project is now pretty much complete. Wired up, carpeted and stuff moved in. Still some organising and sorting to do but there's no hurry for that #gardencabin

It turns out #recordstoreday was not as over as I thought it was. Surprised to find these were still in stock online and in some cases reduced from record shops across the breadth of the UK. Ticking off the remnants on my list (only two left now) #rsd

Listening to last weekend's Sound Of The Eighties and I love Scottish jangly pop as much as the next person but it's a reminder that I don't love all Scottish jangly pop and have a visceral dislike of some

The first pack is opened, the odyssey begins and may never end #gotnotgot #worldcup

Today's Observer Sport...

Back to CDs and a couple of @cherryredrecords.bsky.social compilations released this week celebrating late nineties indie & late eighties and nineties Scottish indie #cds

Before Record Store Day this month there was the Great Yorkshire Record Fair in York hosted by Record Plant York popped down and got this mix of old and new #vinyl

150 records is substantial is it? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Completing @recordstoredayuk.bsky.social with these two online purchases. From Reflex the one Newcastle city centre store I didn't have time to queue for on Saturday. I think that's it for this year now. It has its critics but I enjoy it & I'm very happy with my purchases #rsd2026 #recordstoreda

Looking through the @recordstoredayuk.bsky.social posts and second day availability I still haven't seen a Modern Eon or a House Of Love. Were these actually released on the day? #recordstoreday #rsd2026

Up early to head to Newcastle for @recordstoreday and came away with a range of stuff from @rpm_newcastle and Beatdown. Didn't manage to get Modern Eon but happy with everything else, all on the list. Lovely atmosphere in the queues and some nice conversations #rsd #vinyl

The results of today's and a week past Saturday's non-fiction Spring binge #booksky

Utterly horrendous. It's difficult to know where to begin with this pish. High heels and mini skirts for our female athletes...not sure if this is the new look for Tenants Cans or the for the launch of a sports team

I keep finding things mum cut out of the paper. I think this may very well have been the most heartfelt. Dad was a nightmare with a broadsheet in his hands

Remembering Glen Baxter whose death was announced last week. A signed copy of his 1986 book from an event at the University of York bookshop Still makes me smile

Slow and steady progress. The pod now has power and external lighting. Flooring soon, then the furniture then stuff...lots of stuff