2026 a joy and no mistake

Ebooks, please let me hover on footnotes/endnotes as standard

It’s ‘kidnapped’, not ‘captured’

The Divine Comedy one is really nice, fao gen x indie fans

Peter Buck of REM swiftly looked away when he realised I had noticed him

Mary Shelley: “Definitely not a real goth. SMDH.” Ralph Ellison: “Oh god, not them again—quick, hide!” Jack Kerouac: “Even I think this guy is a bit much.”

Just had to sit down and take some deep breaths. Bought a book of first class stamps

Impressed by the superhero like confidence of people who book one half of a sofa at the cinema

Appreciate Booking dot com asking if I’m ‘excited’ to stay in a hotel just outside Birmingham (for the purposes of visiting my Mom’s grave)

Have ‘No More I Love Yous’ by Annie Lennox stuck in my head. It’s been stuck there since 1995

One teenage boy to another on the train ‘You shouldn’t talk to your Mum like that’ Then ‘Or you won’t be able to get what you want’

What does my daughter want for tea? Chips, onion rings, Brie and olives

Hard to get my almost 11 yr old to watch actual TV programmes as opposed to YouTube, but the answer turns out to be Miriam Margolyes

‘Talk me through this decision’ is what my tween said to me about my outfit AFTER work (and teaching a class) today 1990s Band or Offhand Comment from My Tween About My Outfit? www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/199...

Just love being bombarded by policy changes, including how attendance should be recorded, in several different emails on the first day of term 👍

13 beetroots in the veg box. A frankly upsetting amount

I used to think the lyric in More Than This was ‘for the leaves in the night’. Prefer it

Anyone live in or near Rhyl? There’s a murder case from 1960 that I would like to know whether you’ve heard of

Call me unpatriotic, but Mr Whippy is what you have when there’s nothing else on offer

American Pie was in my dream last night so now it’s my mental soundtrack for at least the next week

What from the recent past but before you were born was talked about a lot in your childhood? For me, the moon landings

Films: 90 minutes Novels: 250 pages Songs: 3 minutes

Think I’d always assumed when the USA went fascist it would be seen as a bigger deal

The one in central Brighton yesterday looked to be about 4 people

I googled ‘low stress icebreakers’ and two truths and a lie was the first hit. That one is so stressful

Someone has left a baby gym outside our building. The effect is pretty creepy

Thought this was George Galloway

‘Opal Fruits’ deserves to be in a poem. 1989 by Louise Machen

There really should be more substitutions for ‘stated’ and ‘argued’ that don’t sound unbearably pompous

Nightcrawlers are just worms? Disappointing

Back from holiday and our broadband router is kaput. Why God, why

Hope it’s good for some people, but I find lifestyle stuff makes little difference. Sometimes I cut out caffeine when I can tell I’m getting more anxious, but it feels joyless because I love coffee theconversation.com/menopause-an...

Being on holiday with a preteen is so magical. Her suggested activity for today is staying in the hotel

Why do mosquitoes have to go for the face?

You become such a delicate plant in middle age

Sign MAP’s petition here www.map.org.uk/campaigns/ga...

I fondly called my 10 yr old ‘brat features’ and she said ‘Have you seen your nose, bro’

We seek a committed & dynamic feminist to join the existing team as a new book review editor @genderandjustice.bsky.social Details: ✳️Deadline 1 August 2025 17:00 CEST ✳️Informal enquiries: [email protected] ✳️Info: www.lexnetwork.org/gender-and-j... @lexnetwork.bsky.social

My daughter is 10 and has a non-binary school friend. That is, thankfully, quite a difference from the days of Section 28 and illustrates how unworkable this guidance is

My husband and daughter both use them, but I don’t like long A sounds. One syllable words become too long

Why to the genre of headline: He may have cooked and eaten his grandma, but he’s right that the Post Office should never have been privatised

We are still looking to speak with people who worked as prison officers in Irish prisons at any time during 1970-2010. Interested in sharing your stories? Please get in touch (DM or email [email protected]) - we would love to hear from you! See further info in poster @louisebrangan.bsky.social

Last chance - this is happening tomorrow, sign up today!

Last chance - this is happening tomorrow, sign up today!

The nectarine is a truly superior fruit

If you are interested in historicising, contextualising, or rewriting #truecrime, join @lizzieseal.bsky.social, me, and our 8+1 speakers! The conference is free and open but registration is required - see the programme and follow the link 👇 drive.google.com/file/d/1tLdN...

Reassured by the totally unsubtle ‘My Mum’s here, my Mum’s here’ when walking in on a video call between 10 yr old and bestie

Have had cause in the chapter I’m currently writing to use the phrase ‘uncanny puppet-based torture show’

She’s my Mum so I don’t see her as - quote unquote - cool My daughter in response to the question of whether I’m cool