And of course now it's developed into a very prominent black eye. How long do these things last? 😞😎

Got whacked in the cheekbone by a large bit of spinny playground equipment this evening, so will be telling anyone who asks about the massive bruise that I can't talk about fight club.

DO YOU HAVE A DIG OR ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT YOU THINK REALLY OUGHT TO BE ON DIGGING FOR BRITAIN SERIES 14? Then email [email protected] and maybe @toriherridge.bsky.social Rosanna or I will get to come out and visit! www.instagram.com/reel/DZViJ2T...

As anyone could have predicted. It's the next logical step once you decide that the only important thing about a woman is the uterus.

Brave and fascinating article by Sally Beamish about her life and autism diagnosis. I think classical musicians are trained to be incredibly self critical in any case, so that combined with nd can be a pretty tough mix.

The snails have eaten pretty much all of the beans and peas we lovingly grew and planted out, so I have been forced to buy these monsters from the garden centre... Let's see who wins this one.

My 6yo is a pretty competent rider now, but it's too dangerous for him to cycle on the roads. More segregated cycle lanes and places like this would be heaven!

We all have the ability to make the world a better place, each in our own way. I think it's fair to say that Anthony Head knew this, recognised it, and did far more than most to live up to the opportunities his fame afforded him in order to put good into this world whenever and wherever he could.

Hello! I'm on the lookout for Welsh arts journalists. Yes, I know a few well, and a few not so well, but who am I missing? People interested in classical music are a plus. Thanks!

Considering they messaged ME with this, their AI analysis clearly isn't doing so well.

Natalie wrote a beautiful album and poetry book inspired by this year, and I'm part of her band gigging around 😍

the focus of police brutality being an anti Black thing, rather than a thing that affects everyone, has given the racists a big disingenuous sandpit to play in. It's an issue that affects us disproportionately, not comprehensively.

In Doppelganger, @naomiaklein.bsky.social shows how white supremacists assume the victimhood of those they oppress, presenting the evils they do as evils done to them. In Britain, where black people are 7 times more likely than white people to die after police restraint, this is what we are seeing.

Watched the first series of Last One Laughing, which sent me down a Richard Ayoade rabbit hole, and I discovered his brother in law is Laurence Fox, which I find horrifyingly facinating 😬

Police are so well protected when they handcuff a dying man, their superiors want to blame anti racism guidelines, not their absolute cruelty and fucking idiocy. None of the officers involved should have jobs right now. But we're discussing paperwork they prob haven't even read

'collaborate'...? (I for one welcome our new robot overlords etc etc).

My mum still has (and uses) the hairdryer she was given when she left home - in 1970. The airflow is like warm cats' breath (and always was) but it still works!

IMPORTANT: For any artists/writers/etc etc, using Linktree to point people to their work, from 5 July, they'll be feeding all imagery you use on your landing page into DALL-E by OpenAI. I deleted my account this morning.

Man, 2020 was weird.

It's not that there's are no women composers, Tommy, it's that people like you did their very best to ignore them and erase their legacy.

Not even 8am and I have already seen a post saying that trade unions shouldn’t be doing anything on the climate crisis because that is not a worker issue - as though workers do not also breathe toxic air, suffer in excessive heat, or watch their wages vanish in a puff of smoke when food prices rise

In a climate crisis it beggars belief that the government and WECA Mayor aren’t doing more to cap bus fares. £5.20 return in Bristol is prohibitively expensive for so many people. www.bristol247.com/news-and-fea...

EHRC's hypothetical trans man is not allowed on either the men's or the women's wards. There is one private side room. Who gets the room? - A patient with compromised immune system who needs it? - A dying patient who needs it? - An infectious patient who needs it? - The trans man who doesn't?

Job opportunity: The University of Bristol seeks to appoint a highly-qualified UK-based professional conductor for the University Symphony Orchestra for 2026-27 (deadline of 15 June) www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

What do you do if you get rejected for a scheme, but you know that the organisation never listened to the work samples you sent (that they ask for as part of the application)? Feeling rather frustrated.

The current climate is the most stable we will ever experience in our lifetimes. I find that a very, very sobering thought.

Such sad news. Blaize played for my opera highlights performance a couple of years ago and he was such a lovely person. Gone far too soon.

Join me with Making Music for a discussion about inclusion and menopausal singers - free to attend on Friday 29th May, online via Zoom. www.makingmusic.org.uk/sspx/convers... #menopause #singing #choir #voice #inclusion @makingmusicuk.bsky.social

If you're a mother and you work in any area of the music industry, do join us in Bristol this Friday @ @bristolbeacon.bsky.social for a very relaxed sharing/networking/meetup! Please share 🙏

Just a little PSA- Neil Gaiman has reactivated his Bluesky account. Because he deactivated before a lot of people could unfollow him, and/or because Bluesky doesn’t remove you from a person’s followers when you block them, a LOT of you are still publicly listed as following him. You should check.

Enjoying playing spot the Bristol location watching Young Sherlock.

I was deeply immersed in classical music as a child - hours of lessons, practice, chamber music and choir each week - and I can tell you that my favourite General Midi sound by far was helicopter.

You can see from the numbers the Michael Jackson biopic is doing that fans will overlook a LOT if they love the material enough (see also JKR & Johnny Depp). It would be nice if the same couldn't be said for Gaiman.

So if you want to hear more unfamiliar-but-great music out there, either do some of the unsexy work yourself (photograph/scan, edit, upload), or support those who do. You can donate to @henselpushers.bsky.social’s efforts here henselpushers.org/donate

Many Labour MPs, maybe even the PM, will tell us today that the far right rally doesn’t represent the British people. Meanwhile, the policies they support help normalise, at times deliver directly, what the far right want. This is not how we are better; it is not how opposing the far right works.

Historic England is looking for people who know and care about heritage as part of a recruitment of 7 new Commissioners to the Board. 12 days per annum. £4,133. Apply by 4th June apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9320

It's sort of breathtaking how quickly the BBC agenda for 'both sides-ing' political issues has taken root in an effort to normalise fascism, that we can have a racist far right rally be spoken of in the same terms as a protest against genocide. Staggering abdication of ethical and moral standards.

You know you've been rejected when the email starts 'Dear Applicant' 🫠

Seeing all the Cannes coverage and kind of wishing I was there again. I wrote this about my first visit back in 2019, which I think sums it all up pretty well...

🎉 It’s happening! Direct Oxford–Bristol trains start on Monday, running every two hours from Monday to Saturday. Weekday Oxford departures are at 0700, 0903, 1103, 1303, 1504, 1904 and 2103: the journey takes ~1hr10.

The feature on R4's Today this morning about a guy with Parkinson's who's 'using AI' to realise his songs was ridiculously soft ball. I have massive sympathy for people dealing with that awful disease, but this interview really riled me.

1001 fun ways to poison yourself and your neighbours with wood burning stoves!

I think about this ALL THE TIME. I happened to meet Baroness Finlay when they were debating the AI bill in the Lords, and said this very thing to her.

I'm not a Starmer fan, but I admit I will feel a significant amount of amusement if Starmer now somehow survives all this, and Wes is left on the back benches.

Yesterday Kier Starmer announced Labour will nationalise British Steel, and save 2700 jobs. Today, the Uni of Nottingham put 2700 staff at risk of redundancy. This is just one university. Across the UK 15,000 higher education jobs need saving. Where is the rescue package for our universities?

Insane dystopian shit here, totally unacceptable. I expect politicians and commentators to be outraged by it, regardless of their opinion of the crimes these people were convicted of.

We as musicians/composers particularly should stand in solidarity with artists and refuse to use genAI art, just like we want others to refuse to use AI music.

Our next general funding application window opens in a month, on June 15, 2026. Details via our website 💻

This explains my almost 80yo mother in law, who spends most of her time volunteering at art galleries, organising architectural tours, playing chamber music and going to the theatre 😁

I LOVED the Sound of Music, the Wizard of Oz, Olivier’s Henry V, Robin Hood, etc etc, and I’m certainly not alone. What an odd take.