JUBREMONY AT THE LIREMONY

Join us later for a moment of pure magic? ✨ At 18.30 GMT this evening, we’re premiering Choir of the Earth’s recording of the Kyrie from Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli. It’s beautiful & we can't wait to share it. Everyone is welcome so do join us live or later, here: youtu.be/1vNiH1A2YlU?...

Instead of conferring titles, gongs and baubles and then demanding those titles, gongs and baubles be removed… …perhaps as a modern, mature polity we should have far fewer titles, gongs and baubles in the first place.

A wonderful few days working with choirs in Bolton-le-Sands and the Gregson Centre, Lancaster. St John's Hospice choir and the Millennium choir really show the social and civic value of singing, each in their own way.

Enjoyed the older couple on the bus out of Lancaster talking disparagingly about the Marina Trump film.

Mordor she wrote #LibraryShelfieDay

Led by Marshall Allen, who is now 101 years old... #SoaceIsThePlace

It occurs to me that out of the very many things I have done in my life being an election agent for Gorton constituency is one of them...

I think it's a good thing that Mr Burnham describes the politics of division facing us as a country as the "poison" it is. How the Labour Party reacts to that will be informative. I don't care about the personalities, I do care about where we are headed.

Joyeux anniversaire to French composer Éliane Radigue (b.1932) who turns an incredible 94 years of age today! Her work is proof that subtlety can be seismic, and that the smallest shift can change everything. Long live sustained tones, deep attention and Éliane Radigue!

Solidarity from Salford. 🇬🇱

It’s Penguin Awareness Day which seems like a great excuse to post the greatest ever Wikipedia edit.

I see Blair is angling for that coveted FIFA award. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Danish newspaper @politiken.dk opens ENGLISH LANGUAGE section of its coverage of Greenland. Resource to understand local coverage, analysis, politics, and public opinion ⬇️ politiken.dk/tag/main/gre...

For all my friends and colleagues in the cultural sector - I must now ask you to stop using "Twitter" if you still do. Here is why, and why it is an opportunity to engage in more meaningful ways : www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Danmark skal ikke købe våben af et land, som truer os militært! Både pga det åbenlyse i ikke at købe fra dem på den anden side af en mulig frontlinje, og konkret fordi USA nemt kan underminere funktionaliteten af de købte våben, så de bliver uduelige Vejen frem er europæisk. #dkpol

Critically, we also need the public to support actions that enable older people to live great lives without having to drive for when they fail the eye tests. So the public need to get onboard with no pavement parking, pedestrian priority, denser housing, fewer out-of-town shopping centres, etc etc

Plymouth book shop window.

Lubaina Himid: Have Courage in the Crisis -

Got a terrible feeling about this water bottle, but no one else seems to care.

A useful response from the culture secretary would be to reference Gypsy: "you ain't getting eighty-eight cents out of me Rose".

2 approaches to revelry attire at Todmorden station.

Nnena Kalu's win is great news for UK culture overall. Her work makes the same point that @separatedoors1.bsky.social Doors has been making - learning disabled and neurodivergent creators are our colleagues, not to be put in a "community" or "outsider art" box. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Abolish the Lords.

Indeed, and Hitler wasn't a subject of conversation at Plymstock Comprehensive. Apart from in History, when I remember Sarah Pickles asking why people didn't speak out more. I think we have some of the answer to her question now.

In my case this is me logging on to all my rail delay repay accounts for different operators to prevent deletion. (Despite it all apparently being the same system) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The recent release of the Index of Multiple Deprivation by UK Gov. allowed me to indulge my twin interests of psephology and demographics. The results a visualisation of the deprivation profiles of the 296 English local authorities. More info here www.opendatamanchester.org.uk/revisiting-p...

It's shocking to see how entrenched Blackpool's challenges have become. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Here’s my Spotify Wrapped 🎵✨

In related news, could there be an option on "delay repay" for it to go to a tab at The Doric Arch at Euston? www.theguardian.com/business/202...

We said Silence = Death for a reason. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

FINAL REVEAL: A brand new Benin bronze plaque, titled "Looting of the Oba's Palace in 1897". This #newarrival confronts the theft of works from Benin in 1897. It shows what the palace altar looked like before 1897 (left), and British soldiers in the act of looting (right).

'Suturing Wounds' features self-portraits of artist Sara Sallam wearing a tunic made of torn Egyptian textile fragments, bearing witness to the C19th practice of excavating Byzantine-era cemeteries, tearing garments from the dead to satisfy the growing demands of Western museums. bit.ly/3L6QX0n

I would have thought the important word would be "unfair". Writing as one who has been both sides of the various hiring and firing equations. www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...

People listening to music openly on the train be advised that I have a podcast with Galina Ustvolskaya's music on it and I'm not afraid to use it.

Congratulations to Aonishki!

Nye tider I Koebenhavn... www.dr.dk/nyheder/poli...

I see various takes on Danish politics today - and it is the government that has invited the comparison. I wish this country learned from dk's democratic culture, rather than the xenophobia of some of its political parties.

Denmark, Epinion poll: Copenhagen local election Ø (LEFT): 24% (-3) F (Greens/EFA): 20% (-2) A (S&D): 12% (+2) C (EPP): 10% (+2) B (RE): 8% V (RE): 7% (+1) I (EPP): 6% (-1) ... +/- vs. 04 September - 13 October Fieldwork: 13-17 November 2025 Sample size: 1,272 ➤ europeelects.eu/denmark

Happy local elections day Denmark... #kv2025

Anyway, had a great morning in West End Community centre joining the singing and signing choir County of Song has been supporting as part of Burnley Diversity Festival.

As one of a tiny handful of people in the UK that actually follows Danish politics, this is not the lesson to learn from it. To put it mildly.

One thing that the cultural sector should note - no disrespect to the great causes here - there is not a single cultural charity here, despite most of the celebrities being cultural figures.

So, a new verse for Lancashire: County of Song, looking for directors for establishing it as a CIC. The aim is to open up access to singing. Interested in hearing from people not just from the music world but from governance, health, data... countyofsong.substack.com/p/call-out-f...

Perhaps we can start to turn around the idea that children using time on culture is somewhat suspect. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

I vividly remember playing to Lancashire care home residents through the window during the pandemic. I guess Mr F's followers take a different approach. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Good news about the recommendations for a curriculum overhaul, particularly important for creative subjects. Let's hope this happens. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back! Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary. Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest! #MundaneHalloween

Lots of young people round trick or treating. Everyone universally polite and charming as well as spooky. Full marks to the goth girls who were complentary about the garden. 🎃🦇🏮