If you do say have a take away soup and then you leave the wooden spoon in that very hot soup... you will end up with a totally flat spoon. Just you know, fyi. Wouldn't be something I'd end up doing.

The kitchen/pantry sequence in #Rivals is spectacular. It owes a great deal to Michael Frayn's Noises Off, and I am basically certain the chorus are singing 'Beef Daube' as it reaches its climax. Incredible blocking work, chef's kiss all round.

Burnham, disembarking Avanti West Coast

I'm not sure 'write the statement for thingy' was the best to do list item I've ever committed to paper. Absolutely no idea.

The Acquaintance - Camus

sorting out my old files - found from 2015. "Readers should produce at least one high-quality peer-reviewed article (or equivalent) per annum." Profs must do that but one monograph a cycle. On income "Readers should apply for at least £20,000 per annum on avg". - Profs 40k

Posted a thing on insta so will share it here, a little piece of writing on #Sondheim, friendship and loss.

Fell into the history of Birmingham's CBSO, and the fascinating story of Thomas Appleby Matthews - hardly anything about him exists, yet he brought orchestral music to the city in theatres, cinemas and the concert hall. sarahwhitfield.com/2026/03/30/b...

Enjoyed the well this has ruined the Eastenders flash forward #scottmills takes

Happy free money day to all who celebrate (and join @alcs.co.uk they are brilliant and make writer's lives better all round). Thank you for the work you've done collecting all this <3

These original sketches are currently on display at the Royal College of Music Museum, as part of a cabinet I co-curated with @sarahinthepark.bsky.social

And just look at how Adam Tickell, economic geographer and vice-chancellor, has chosen to word his attack here: 'getting access to the student loan book', 'investing money in people who are not really capable of graduating'

Many of the most committed students I have had the joy to teach, who have grabbed the opportunity to learn with both hands, did not have A-levels. Education is for everyone or it means nothing.

#WutheringHeights Sweepcliff.

It is days like today I miss old Twitter.

Bold choice for a for profit journal publisher to ask me what I think of peer review, and offer the solution that HEIs pay for reviewing time. Why yes I did tell them what I thought of that.

Sometimes Mcsweeneys is very funny and sometimes Mcsweeneys is sharply, pointedly, painfully true.

Had the joy of students imagining what they want classical music performance to look like in 2026. That much hope is contagious.

Saw the incredible RCM disco 🪩 concert last night, which had the first half as soul and protest music. Songs like What's Going On and War, as well as Mississippi Goddamn. Incredible music, and the audience was so moved.

Today I am navigating period health and GPs, the only appointment they had was with student GPs. I am cautiously hopeful it might be _slightly_ less like banging your own head against a wall?! Let's find out!

Are you a PhD student interested in using museum collections in your research? Our next free doctoral training webinar takes place next Wednesday. Join us for guidance and examples of uncovering marginalised and minoritised stories in collections. collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/doc...

Thank you for the shout-out Classical:NEXT for our new Composers' Hub! Composers: find opportunities, awards, funding, bursaries, interviews & more: www.alternativeclassical.co.uk/composers-hub

extraordinary 1921 census record... secret service milliner? They must have needed hats... #history

HarperCollins Author Academy opens 8th January, a virtual, six-week, free programme for writers from underrepresented to have their manuscript considered across HarperCollins UK publishing divisions. Please share with anyone that might be interested. Find out more at harpercollinsacademy.co.uk

Just 5 tickets left for our book launch in Birmingham this Thursday, with talks on naval surgeons and abolition, chartist poetry, and the invisible work of theatre cleaners @sarahinthepark.bsky.social. Free wine, good cheer! book here: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/birmin...

This is coming up on Dec 11th, next week!

Not an email from Avanti saying we'll get you " ho ho home" when they've cancelled my train and the next one already is getting later and later 💀

Come along to the book launch at the perfect setting of the Back to Backs in Brum. I'll be there talking about theatre cleaners writing the empty stage! www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/birmin...

The book proposal is on the loose! Off to review, fingers crossed for it, a history of ladies orchestras in Britain.

It is the year 3023. Computers now do all of the talking. They still cannot correctly insert an image into microsoft word without breaking everything they have ever held dear. This is how they remember us.

Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.

rare couple of hours of writing, and realising again how important it is if you're not sure about structure to just let that be, and _continue writing_ - sometimes you just have to see how the thing comes out and fix it afterwards #amwritinghonestly

Devastating news from Manchester 💔

Hugely proud to have a chapter in this collection! I explore the missing history of theatre cleaners, often a women's history, and traced the fragments of their lives that remain.

We spoke to Laura Hamer about her free course with @openuniversity.bsky.social 🎶 It includes interviews with experts in the field championing the music of women composers, advocating for greater gender equity within the classical music industry 📣 🔗Read more: www.musicmark.org.uk/news/researc...

It's not "unproven". It's false. A lie. Untrue. Mendacious. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Also can we stop with the "unproven" claims and just say what it is. False claims. Lies.

You can’t fix autism because autistic people are not broken.

In case you hadn't heard this wonderful late Rodgers and Hart song, please enjoy 'To Keep My Love Alive' www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmXe...

The EHRC Code will devastate trans people's lives. This is an emergency. Here are three ways to fight back. Take action now: www.transsolidarityalliance.com/ehrc-code

Meanwhile ProQuest has moved into direct check ins or... threats?

Historic theatre listing or a description of a Phd?

This is a hugely important report which gathers together devastating testimony about what is happening and being experienced across the LGBTQ community, and the way in which our trans family are being segregated in daily life. Please take a moment to write to your MP.

So this is my lovely news!

Word of advice for coming back from leave. If all those emails didn't come in during one day, you cannot actually answer them in one day either. Breathe.

It's always penalties. Always #SWEENG

What's your favourite niche album? I'm not talking Ella sings Gershwin here, we are thinking the Supremes sing Rogers and Hart, the Disco Sondheim album... rock anthems from your Grandad's shed... the more specific the better

got to have a serious photo for a work thing, and this may be one of the best options.

Are you an early career researcher looking to get published? Don’t miss out on financial support and mentorship with the Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship, in partnership with Writers & Artists. Find out how you can apply here: bit.ly/4mHlgcn

Got excited about creating a butterfly feeding station with some questionable fruit. What I've actually done is created a Wasp Service Station, with the occasional visit of a butterfly like 'wow, there are a lot of wasps here'.