Exactly this. This requires urgent police action. X has a London office.

Mourning a true master, Béla Tarr. And remembering the all night screening of his 7 hour magnum opus, and the certificate he issued, as if we were kids at Little Chef who had eaten all our dinner.

Absolutely fucking tremendous from the FT.

The Society invites applications for the following three funding programmes, with deadlines 23 to 31 January 2026 bit.ly/3LbxDQb > RHS Workshop Grants > Applied History Fellowships, in association with @ihr.bsky.social > Fellowships, for completion of a History PhD, also with the IHR #Skystorians

This breaks a link with the deep past. It was a privilege to know Faith Clarke, whose great-grandfather, Wilkie Collins (born 1824) is my great literary love. She was a shrewd & generous keeper of his legacy. Her maiden name, Dawson, was a fiction invented by Wilkie for his “morganatic family”.

Kudos to the kid who instead of booing Carabosse shouted BURN HER

Beautiful brutalist Basildon

Fascinating. And obv it gives the lie to the old "Nobody could have imagined that home video recorders would come along" excuse for junking.

Been reading this again after 20 years. Breathtakingly, pitilessly brilliant.

Afternoon chums

Just sold a book which I described in 2022 as "the missing Barbara Pym episode of Blakes 7". I'm sure you know the book I mean

Felt strangely at home here

The new Traitors seems to have found lots of ways to clutter and block its own drama. Coincidence handed it something amazing on a plate. And it didn’t have time to make anything of it. And some of the contestants seem to be speaking in trailer sound bites. Hmm.

*excellent* joke

So much truth. And controversial view: for me one of the key differences between radio programmes and podcasts is that radio programmes rarely make me shout GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER IN THE PUB I WASN’T THERE

Happy New Year! 🇬🇧 Bonne année! 🇫🇷 The Garlic&Pearls podcast is back, starting 2026 as we mean to go on, with Gallic rectitude, and with me telling @suzanneraine.bsky.social about LA DICTÉE - how dictation, a school spelling test, became a FRENCH OBSESSION and SYMBOL OF FRENCHNESS! Tune in!

On iPlayer now, campy noir fans! 88 minutes of crackling genius

In Agadoo did Kubla Khan Push pineapples, shake the tree

HAPPY NEW YEAR! For 2026, History Book Club meetings will take place bimonthly. Our first two books are... - NONFICTION – The Wrath to Come by Sarah Churchwell - FICTION – The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller Sign up here: histfest.org/history-book... 📚

Happy burek to you

Excellent. I fully expect to see an increase in the solution of baffling murder cases.

South London pub culture

Just sold a wedding card to an urgent man who was wearing the full wedding regalia. Do people get married on NYE?

For 2026. Big bundle of my BBC radio work releasing on Audible and most other audio platforms, June 18th. Essentially a boxed set, if downloads came in boxes. Eight Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas.

Great stuff, well worth your time.

How does Moscow view Donald Trump at the end of 2025? One Russian paper today: “The US leader’s philosophy is closer to the values of Russia’s president, not the politicians of the Old World…he sees Europe as a liberal stronghold to be destroyed…” #ReadingRussia youtu.be/7EwZNk6KgHU

On BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds today, 11am. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

It pleases me that the Palladium panto has a song in it with a joke about Nigel Havers being in a provincial tour with Rula Lenska

In case I forget (I won't forget) This is the year that my old pal Jonathan Main from Bookseller Crow, died after an abrupt illness A true instinctive bookseller who regularly said to me "Read this" and handed me a banger A very dedicated worker and clearly a very proud family man There's more:

Unexpected Michael Hordern cameo in The Housemaid

Celebrate the Michel Piccoli Centennial 🎂💯 📷 Sam Lévin "Admirers of Michel Piccoli know better than to ignore any film, however slight, that is anchored and calmed by his presence." - Anthony Lane #Piccoli100

"I don't care if it's fake" will be the phrase of 2026.

Inspired by Walter Murch’s book Suddenly Something Clicked, rewatched The Conversation - and guess what? It’s a Christmas movie! boxd.it/cgmbN3

Well this is good to know! I wanted to post links to my favourite ones over the last 12 years but my last show has vanished.

Two new books on @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Jürgen Habermas reviewed by @iprnickp.bsky.social Habermas is 96. Had they lived as long, ‘Foucault would have interpreted the election of Donald Trump, Hannah Arendt would have analysed 9/11’ www.ft.com/content/9f89...

Good interview in the paper, this. I think Sadiq is right: London 'needs' to be less successful than it is for a bunch of political arguments here in the UK to work, hence the fictions being invented about it:

Incidentally, I am absolutely not Team Cromwell, but justice compels me to point out that it was Cromwell who allowed Jews to resettle in England and to openly practice their faith, and I doubt he’d have had much time for this lot.

someone once accused me of having the levels of self-confidence of a privately educated white man and.....I mean I'll take that actually yeah, cheers

Cartoon c/o "TV21" issue 48 (dated 18/12/65). #DoctorWho

"Give it a rest" posted podcaster Connor Tomlinson at 3.15pm on Christmas Day about the King's message Tomlinson advocates bamning all British citizens who are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist from parliament & civil service, along with ethnic minorities who lack white British ancestors.

#Crossroads celebrates the royal wedding.

Beautiful to hear the Ukrainian choir at the end of the King’s Speech. As for the speech itself, wouldn’t it be good to hear more of that generous, compassionate and hopeful language in public life?

Merry Christmas!

Hope nobody is having a Christmas dinner where reading this out seems like a good idea.

No Dr Who Christmas special so posting this instead

Just finished watching It’s a Wonderful Life, and I’m not being funny but this guy’s a right cunt x

Christmas telly so far.

I love this country and its traditions, perhaps none more so than how Smithfield butchers are treated like rock stars on Xmas Eve

Just up on the Telegraph, a thorough and thoughtful piece about the wrongheaded policy changes at WAC. Thanks to Kate Murphy, @illuminations.bsky.social, @unamccormack.bsky.social and @marklewisohn.bsky.social for giving up their time. Gift link here www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/65a1031...

Wish there were still TV programmmes interviewing French critical theorists