You know how The Morecambe & Wise Show and The Two Ronnies had legendary runs in the 70s? Both programmes only won Best Light Entertainment Entertainment once. Stanley Baxter's shows won it twice. Baxter had some of the best and best looking entertainment programmes on British television.

America tears up 80 years of history and seeks to work with Russia for the destruction of Europe, and the #BBC leads on 1) dodgy driving instructors, 2) a football tournament, 3) stress not being an illness, 4) a dodgy princess.

The whole idea that studying the history of a country constitutes an attack on the history of a country is deeply deeply stupid.

Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen Lonnie Donegan Brenda Lee Beatles/Roy Orbison Glen Campbell/Ann Murray Helene Fischer

Enjoyed seeing the Isle of Man on #escapetothecountry. Fond memories of the mixed hockey tournament at Easter, inspecting the old prison, and a holiday with my dad. Six boat crossings of the Irish Sea and hardly saw a wave.

Happy Fenton Day to all who celebrate. Jesus Christ, fourteen years. youtu.be/3GRSbr0EYYU

Every one a banger. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDD5...

It's red cabbage making time. Summoned to open a bottle of red wine (Cotes du Rhone). Remembered to check a decent slug of it for taste etc before passing it back.

My "forever" football team is playing today at the home of my adopted team/town. #HardFoughtDraw

Channeling one's inner Elkie.

Those 1970's! www.youtube.com/watch?v=tezm...

Huntingdon - This comment from Simon Calder is worth repeating. My thoughts with all involved

A little indugence on my birthday. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TZX...

Deep breath. My publisher @johnmurrays.bsky.social informs me that my book about 🇬🇧, "Fantastic Kingdom“ which will come out in June 2026, is now available to pre-order, and that @waterstones.bsky.social is offering a 25% preorder discount this week. www.waterstones.com/book/fantast...

Only really, really crap bosses - I mean epically bad bosses - publicly blame junior staff for mistakes. Good bosses take ownership of them and then work internally to ensure they do not happen again. Absolutely shameful stuff here.

Successful trip to Burgess Hill yesterday. Bought a new woolly pully at factory shop, enjoyed an excellent pasta amatriciana (proper guanciale and no chilli) and some nero d'avala for lunch, and had G's leather purse closure repaired at no cost by the shop where we bought it.

Magic!

Yup. A different generation but we (at least those of us who studied Yorkist England as our special subject at Exeter) were told that the purpose of our university education was to produce trained minds.

And there's more where that came from. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEz7...

Nine minutes from an absolute star in her prime. #GeorgiaBrown www.youtube.com/watch?v=blUV...

Put another way, populist right wing champions of the common law have absolutely no idea it is quite literally judge made law

The best www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2C2...

RIP Dame Patricia Routledge "I Will Wait For You" www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-PU...

St John's church, Glastonbury peering out of the mist. Photograph taken this morning from Glastonbury Tor on Michaelmas day.

I suppose it doesn’t “require a proper national debate” after all

Lovely sunny day for an outing to Cuckfield and a delicious lunch in an independent Spanish/Argentinian restaurant run by a crew who had "escaped" from a well-regarded steakhouse chain. Always like it when the "fish of the day" turns out to be hake.

'Over the points, over the points, over the points, over the points The six-five special's steamin' down the line The six-five special's right on time' Happy birthday Pete Murray, presenter of the 'Six-Five Special' TV show (among many other things), who turns 100 today

This is very good millihill.substack.com/p/right-or-l...

This pleased me ✅

The #50routes of Europe by Rail. The Oberbaumbrücke across the river Spree in Berlin. The capital of Germany is the end point (or beginning if you travel it in reverse) of Route 10 in our book: Across Northern Germany. Photo © Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime

Laura Wilde-always so vivacious-enjoying #Brighton www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfmR...

Another free link to this, in case people have going to bed reading requirements on.ft.com/3K1ZFg3

19 drones launched over several hours, from Russia and Belarus, into Poland, were not a mistake. Many of them did not carry explosives, so they had not gone astray in Ukraine....they were a probe of Poland, NATO and Trump.

Wouldn't have been long in the other place before someone added "and close the boozers at half past ten" after the reference to Runnymede in her second paragraph.

Memories of the poet. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jnT...

Great footage on BBC2’s Roy Orbison night. Bidding you all goodnight with this wee beauty. #NowPlaying youtu.be/QNAVrQ96mpA?...

Alive and brewing: the 10 best, most overlooked, British breweries www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2025/08/aliv... HT @rogerprotz.bsky.social @teamdb.bsky.social

Calling cheese-lovers! In a lovely episode of On Your Farm, Caz Graham visits the Kirkham's family farm in Lancashire to learn about their traditional, farmhouse, raw milk Lancashire cheese. Fascinating insight how Randolph Hodgson of Neal's Yard Dairy helped them too. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

TV actor Ray Brooks, who starred in some of the UK's best-known programmes in a career spanning five decades, has died aged 86. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Welcome back #Alex

Happy Birthday to the best of them all.🔨 www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKrg...

the scenario we all feared

'The starters were assorted deep-fried pellets of unidentifiable organic matter; the meat was cold and colourless . . . the roast potatoes soggy and the yorkshire pudding chewy as a dishcloth.' @steverose7.bsky.social on the decline of British pub food. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Coming over all unnecessary. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLrA...

Saw him play at Taunton in 1966.

Across two lavishly illustrated volumes, Groundtastic presents a unique pictorial record of 55 years of lost British grounds, stands and terraces. Before The Cemetery End (1970-1994) £20 + postage groundtastic.co.uk/before Beyond The Cemetery End (1995-2024) £25 + postage groundtastic.co.uk/beyond

FEEL THE BENEFIT: Pre-Order A Cheesemonger's Tour de France and get 25% off - you can spend that on cheese!https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-cheesemonger-s-tour-de-france/ned-palmer/9781788166942

The Mona Lisa of shithousery

Fußball ist ein einfaches Spiel: 22 Frauen jagen einem Ball hinterher und am Ende trifft Chloe Kelly und England gewinnt. Yes, Lionesses. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿!!

…Paddington is a fine London home for a railway associated with one great name in 19th-century engineering: Isambard Kingdom Brunel ... the driving force behind the Great Western Railway ... In Victorian England, it was often suggested that the initials GWR stood for God’s Wonderful Railway.”