On the centenary of Kenneth Williams's birth, let's celebrate his encounter with Glaswegian socialist Jimmy Reid, "a reminder that intelligence and civility once shared the same studio space and that we were all the richer for it". thelionandunicorn.com/2025/10/23/l...

"Things got so bad that not even an adult Richard Attenborough was safe; he is seen on a bombsite by a nosy neighbour and as a result later accused of murdering a child." @lordbonkers.bsky.social on the dangers of bombsites in post-war British cinema. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/21/f...

"So dangerous did bombsites become for boy actors that Jon Whiteley ventured on to them twice and got caught up with a murderer both times." I've written another piece for Lion & Unicorn blog: @lionunicorn.bsky.social

Look out for new articles from me on Central Bylines and Lion & Unicorn very shortly.

"Our philosophy is simple: if you are ready to work hard and there is work for you to do, then you are welcome here…" A guide to what every incoming government since 1964 said about immigration in their manifestos. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/18/i...

"There will be no further large scale permanent immigration..." A quick guide to the manifesto promises made on immigration by each government elected in 1964-2024. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/18/i...

"In Spite of Harry’s Toenail..." and other 1970s album titles. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/14/a...

"Never trust a man who owns a sex guide. There are some things you should know how to do without reading a manual." thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/07/h...

Dandruff, Gluggo, Ass... These and many more are to be found among my 70 favourite album titles of the 1970s. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/14/a...

Dandruff, Gluggo, Ass... These and many more are to be found among my 70 favourite album titles of the 1970s. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/14/a...

Liberal England: John Osborne, Desert Island Discs and No Room at the Inn #theatre

"For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night" @alwynturner.bsky.social selects his 70 favourite album titles from the 1970s. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/14/a...

Was talking to an MP today who said Daisy Cooper is the only member who is allowed to wear trainers in the Commons chamber. I asked why. "I think it's because even Lindsay Hoyle has to admit she looks fucking cool."

"My Father’s valet brought me, while I was undressing, The Communist Manifesto..." St Loe Strachey was born 9 February 1860. He was Spectator editor for 38 years, and he also wrote one - slightly odd - political novel, The Madonna of the Barricades. thelionandunicorn.com/2018/06/02/i...

"I want every anarchist, commie, trotskyist, pinko, leftie, greasy-bastard student rounded up and brought in..." What we learn from "Ashes to Ashes". thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/07/h...

"I’ve seen a bloke from Billericay balance a budgerigar on his Hampton Wick..." NEW: On the anniversary of the first broadcast of Ashes to Ashes on 7 Feb 2008, here's my episode guide. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/07/h...

"She was sick of living in a borough where everyone you met was looking after number two." The great Keith Waterhouse was born 6 February 1929. thelionandunicorn.com/2017/09/22/a...

"And this is for children?" @benfinlay74.bsky.social on some highlights from the days of weird kids' TV. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/04/3...

My January reading included two excellent books: 1929, the inside story of the Wall Street crash by @andrewrsorkin.bsky.social and A Shellshocked Nation, Britain between the wars by @alwynturner.bsky.social They complemented each other I think.

Not only a review in Private Eye, but also a caricature! How marvellous!

Saxophonist Don Rendell was born 100 years ago today. His 1966 album "Dusk Fire" with the Ian Carr Quintet makes @benfinlay74.bsky.social's Top 10 of British jazz. thelionandunicorn.com/2025/05/17/c...

"The songs are rebellious and haunting, auditory messages from the past..." @benfinlay74.bsky.social celebrates weird drama from the golden age of kids' TV. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/02/04/3...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... As usual, Marina Hyde cut through all the crap with her withering scalpel.

Rumours are confirmed that yes, I indeed have a new article coming out on the internet's finest website tomorrow. @lionunicorn.bsky.social

I have never seen anything in politics to match Mandelson’s betrayal. He betrayed his colleagues, his party and his country just so he could suck up to Epstein and the bankers who had crashed the world economy. It’s staggering Piece here comment.press/o3o2mandy

When news was brought to the studio floor of Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador during the recording of this, I involuntarily and rather embarrassingly said "fuck" quite loudly on mic. It didn't make the edit. But I see no reason to retract my view. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Edna Squire Brown had a strip act that required specially trained doves to settle on her person in a way that protected her decency. Regrettably, some unchivalrous audience-members were known to bring birdseed to the theatre. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/31/s...

Edna Squire Brown had a strip act that required specially trained doves to settle on her person in a way that protected her decency. Regrettably, some unchivalrous audience-members were known to bring birdseed to the theatre. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/31/s...

"Art should be international and sexless." Some outtakes from A Shellshocked Nation: Britain Between the Wars. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/31/s...

Who was Britain's Shirley Temple? This and some other questions about interwar Britain answered in the outtakes from my book A Shellshocked Nation. thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/31/s...

"This gleaming gem of a book … crammed with rich detail." - David Vaiani in The Oldie.

'Synoptic and ­panoramic, with everything that occurred in any field between 1918 and 1939 crammed in' #AShellshockedNation by @alwynturner.bsky.social, reviewed in the Daily Mail. Get your copy now 📚 www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

Where @paulsaffer.bsky.social leads, the NS follows.👇 "Goldsmith funded the nationwide distribution of five million promotional VHS cassettes, demurely titled: ‘The most important video you’ll ever watch’. Fronted by former That’s Life presenter Gavin Campbell" thelionandunicorn.com/2025/11/07/r...

"There were dictators everywhere: Franco, Stalin, Mussolini, as well as Adolf. And in Britain? Our favourite pastime was darts. Holidays were spent in caravan sites or at ­Butlin’s, with knobbly-knee ­contests" On @alwynturner.bsky.social's A SHELLSHOCKED NATION👇 www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

'Another compelling, insightful book about a fascinating and critical period in British history' Read Chris Hallam's review of #AShellshockedNation by @alwynturner.bsky.social, out now in bookshops. chrishallamworldview.wordpress.com/2026/01/23/b...

Hooray! Hooray! It's publication day...

Congratulations to my great friend @alwynturner.bsky.social on the publication of another excellent book. He's such a readable historian that Andrew Marr recently dubbed him 'Alwyn page-Turner'.

Every single one of @alwynturner.bsky.social's other books have been brilliant (I'm reading one right now), so it's odds-on this one will be too.

Alwyn Turner's books are essential reading. If you think you know everything about a particular era or its popular culture, he'll present an argument or dig up an overlooked aspect that'll stop you in your tracks. He's that rare thing, an academic author who knows how to write engagingly.

Hooray! Hooray! It's publication day...

On the eve of publication, I shall be talking about "A Shellshocked Nation" at the Owl Bookshop, Kentish Town this evening. Come on down.

"Most historical facts are unpleasant." Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932) thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/21/s...

Good Lord, it's the day before my gig at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town, talking about interwar Britain. You are coming, aren't you? It'd be lovely to see you there.

Staggers: "You’re after justice and logic. There ain’t no justice and there ain’t no logic. The world ain’t made that way. Everything’s luck, see? And good temper – and if you can take a joke. The whole of life’s a joke." St Martin’s Lane (1938) thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/15/s...

British prime minister: "Let the people of the British Empire and the people of the United States of America pledge themselves to stand shoulder-to-shoulder and no power in the world can be strong enough to defeat them." The Tunnel (1935) thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/15/s...

"I wish I’d had a history teacher like Turner, with his idiosyncratic gift for wit and tenderness. This is history at its most fun, immersive, human and revelatory." - Juliet Nicolson in The Spectator A Shellshocked Nation is published next week.

From the archives: Ten years ago, @alwynturner.bsky.social explored the history of female vocal duos in British pop music. thelionandunicorn.com/2016/01/16/w...

Talkin' 'bout M-M-M-Max Headroom... thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/17/f...

Snyderling: "What was the first country to come out of the Depression? England. Why? Dignity." Thunder in the City (1937) thelionandunicorn.com/2026/01/15/s...

"I wish I’d had a history teacher like Turner, with his idiosyncratic gift for wit and tenderness. This is history at its most fun, immersive, human and revelatory." - Juliet Nicolson in The Spectator A Shellshocked Nation is published next week.