Catching up on the @wsc.co.uk ‘s pods and there’s a wonderful section on @camsell59.bsky.social’s 1991 visit to #NUFC’s Benwell training ground, where “We don’t practise set pieces cos Ossie (Ardiles) says if you know how to kick a football then you know how to take a corner”.

Haven’t watched any football today, but did have a coffee with the lovely Mr Chris Nagle, who produced or sound engineered about half the music I grew up listening to, and the only song I ended up talking to him about was Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (it’s a long story).

Nice bit of personal symmetry that Coventry City were promoted back to the Premier League on April 17th - 41 years to the day since I saw them play at SJP in my first ever #NUFC game. We lost 1-0. Of course we did.

George Robledo, born 100 years ago today, scores the only goal of the 1952 FA Cup final for Newcastle United against Arsenal to take the trophy to Tyneside for the second year running. Besides scoring six times in the FA Cup, George also netted 33 goals in the league that season.

Very much doubt Magyar is the saviour many outside Hungary are making him out to be, but a genuinely uplifting moment to see the odious grifter Orban and his friends in both Washington DC and Moscow humiliated. Next stop…

Beginning to think the real problem the USA had with George III was that he was nowhere near mad enough.

After rain, wind and Saharan dust storms, the sun is back!

Half century up today. Now should probably start contemplating giving a bit more thought to that “pension planning” thingy I hear people talking about.

Puerto de la Cruz makes a big thing of the author’s visit here in 1927, with a whole staircase dedicated to her works and a statue of new Bristol City boss Roy Hodgson commemorating her stay.

Puerto de la Cruz away.

Made the silly mistake of briefly checking what Twitter is saying about Howe out of morbid curiosity and, well, here are some pictures of some trees I’ve just seen which are far nicer to look at and make a lot more sense.

Worst storm here in the Canaries since 2013 to hopefully close out an unusually wet and windy winter. Facebook still convinced it’s all just “cloud seeding”.

Europeans when asked to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz

Still gutted we lost Anderson for some loose change and an unwanted keeper, but we can at least thank PSR - and Chelsea’s scattergun spending - for messers Lewis Hall and Jacob Ramsey.

Media here in Spain rightly fulsome in their praise of Lewis Kieran Hall today. The ‘anti-Lamine’ passed his test with flying colours (salió airoso).

Nowhere near as devastated as the last time we lost 3-1 at home in the FA Cup fifth round, when I’d convinced myself we were going to win the whole thing. If you’re looking for solace after tonight, we did lose 3-1 - to Wimbledon again, ironically - the weekend before beating Barcelona in ‘97…

This is what the rubes who think AI is some whizz bang solution to work fail to get. The point of the work in education isn’t the output. The point of the work in education IS THE WORK.

Noticeably less talk about this than Semenyo’s disallowed second in the CC, but - and I may be wrong here - isn’t this something that VAR can’t intervene on because the (obvious) foul occurred before the ball was active? In which case, this is a loophole that’s open for this kind of exploitation.

Raúl Asencio sent to the shop for a loaf of bread during Osasuna’s brilliant winner v Real Madrid in Pamplona.

Just hearing the team news…

Goals in Europe (#NUFC only) Alan Shearer 30 Shola Ameobi 15 Craig Bellamy 11 Wyn Davies and Anthony Gordon 10

Three of these from Big Nick in the second half, danke.

Remembering the legend Sir Bobby Robson on his birthday. Pictured here with Tony Dorigo at Italia 90.

Sorry, Trelford, but I think you’re down to second place…

Sunday afternoon: coffee and ice cream, ‘Local Hero’ playing in the cafe while I polish off a tortilla española, then the walk home up the hill to work it all off.

All set for Vallehermoso v Villamar. Northern League-ish but with more palm trees and parasols.

This is a really great read on childhood, memories and family (with a little bit of #NUFC).

Just had a two-hour city-wide power cut but the lights have come back on just in time to watch #NUFC. Is this a sign?

Tyne Bridge Snowfall, painting by Trudy Kepke.

“Querida Brenda, ahora estamos en el mar.”

Plenty of recency bias in the Guardian’s list, but the answer to the question is yes and please don’t show us that goal and the kid in the parka ever again #nufc

Off to Tenerife for the day with a copy of @groomb.bsky.social’s ‘The Northerners’ for company on the choppy waves.

Never seen this part of La Gomera looking so verdant. A whole year of water shortages followed by two weeks where it belted down at least once a day - weather so weird that even Fuerteventura has gone a little bit green.

Is it too early to start enjoying the ‘As it stands’ table? #nufc

Made it up one last mountain just in time for the final sunset of 2025. ¡Próspero año nuevo! Have a wonderful 2026, everyone, and here’s to more of our wildest dreams coming true.

Shared a mid-90s Dan Air flight from Newcastle to Belfast with the entire Newcastle United squad. I was in the front row and, as I got off, Kevin Keegan smiled and asked me a question. Unfortunately, my ears had popped and I couldn’t hear anything, so I just said “Cheers, mate” and kept walking.

Kickabout with orange ball on what I briefly thought was an ice rink (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Dec 26). Thought I’d spotted the next Pedri until I realised they’d just drained the water and left the concrete behind.

Ukrainian Christmas in the hills of Tenerife.

Just found this on sale at the local supermarket - will now be watching tonight’s #NUFC match in the backyard, standing throughout while pretending I’m at a Northern League game.

Current mood (though with a five-year-old and not a spirit level):

Combining Northern Lights in Leazes Park with my son’s first ever look at SJP.

Well, that half brightened up a long wait in an airport queue, though recent form still leaves a tiny doubt that I’ll check the score on landing and find it’s been a reprise of QPR away in 84-85 #nufc

Ashley bidding for Wednesday means I get to read “he ran the club as a business” lines about a bloke who bought #NUFC without due diligence, had a DoF who used YouTube as a recruitment tool, would’ve got us relegated three times, let revenue wither and lost 10k season ticket holders in one summer.

Gomeran derby between 2 of the SIX teams on this island of 23,000 people. UD Gomera at home to Vallehermoso, complete with around 500 people, two parasols giving the only bits of shade and one megaphone - ¡Vamos Vallehermoso! - providing the atmosphere.

It’s the anniversary of this outrageous skill from David Ginola in 1996. Magnifique, old son. Magnifique.

Not interested in what Slot has to say about #NUFC but I wish people would stop repeating his claptrap about Isak not training all summer. This is him at a 5-day training camp in Austria in July. And here he is choosing to train at Real Sociedad (not our fault if he was on a pintxo binge instead).

If Robert Jenrick thinks the story of 1980s football hooliganism is ‘The police put a quick but firm end to it’, I’ve a big bag of magic beans that he’s gonna *love*

After smugly telling everyone last week how well he’d handled Isak in comparison to other managers, Tomasson’s now played him for every minute of fwo games, lost both and is very likely about to get the sack. Oh well.

Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera. Centre a 15th century local uprising against Spanish rule and now the hot spot for boneshaker bikes, German hikers (+ a few Brits) and vegan bakeries. Only place on the island where you can wander through a banana plantation then see the Bundesliga on TV.