"Commence to dancin' Commence to prancin' Commence advancin'..." Thoughts on the grace of Laurel and Hardy lukemckernan.com/2026/01/21/g...

And we're back. The moment the danger passes, people rush to pretend everything is alright again. It isn't and will not be.

To mark Monday's centenary, the 1976 BBC documentary The Birth of Television is back, on BBCiPlayer. Today's post characterises the film as 'a curious, in some ways valuable, and yet limited document that fifty years on remains of considerable interest'. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/back-to-the-...

Previewed in The Bookseller..

You can pre-order with a 10% discount off the Bloomsbury website: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hard-days...

Lovely review of my new Laurel and Hardy show from Rosie Millard!! rosiemillard.substack.com/p/100-years-...

damn -- CNN put together a video of Kristi Noem claiming ICE officers are "highly trained and skilled" and "gifted" alongside to a clip of them beating someone nearly to death in Minneapolis

There are certainly some controversial opinions floating around on BlueSky tonight.

North-East chums! This is happening Sunday, 3pm! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-afterno...

The successful series of screenings at BFI Southbank continues on Sunday, 18 January, with the first of three programmes of British feature films that offer imagined versions of television at its start. First up is the silent version of High Treason... www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-a...

Eric Roth on High Noon, Forrest Gump & what he learned writing the disaster that was Airport '79: The Concorde. Plus Tommy Emmanuel,Agatha Christie's enduring appeal & Port Talbot's Pompeii. Fab BBC Front Row to catch up on from Monday: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Or, visit in rain, there's no shelter!

This is hardly surprising if you’ve actually seen them at work on the street.

Yesterday i saw @neilkbrand.bsky.social and his new touring show about Laurel & Hardy. They are so funny and his accompanying music chimes so well. Catch it on tour.

Magic Rays of Light, from the Introduction In this extract I outline the five centeral arguments of the book. Also briefly noted are two of the key figures in the book, critic Grace Wyndham Goldie and 30-line producer Eustace Robb (pictured). www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...

Boys AND girls keep swinging. Made this in 2013. It still says everything I needed to say about David Bowie. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

I’ll be at the UK Ghost Story Festival on Saturday 28th February at Quad in Derby alongside a host of fantastic names over three days. I’m SO excited and hope to see a few of you there.

Wonderful show. Amazing films.🎥 Touring UK venues from February. You must catch this joy filled experience in the expert musical 🎵 hands of @neilkbrand.bsky.social

A perfect Sunday awaits celebrating 100 Years of Laurel and Hardy with @neilkbrand.bsky.social.

@neilkbrand.bsky.social Great show @bfi this afternoon. Good luck with the national tour.

The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred. It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become

Watching the washing

I did a bit of analysis on Coldplay's Yellow for Soul Music. Starts at 14.13. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Hooray! Voting for the @procartoonists.bsky.social Awards 'THE SPLATS 2025' is open. Here's one or two 'for your consideration' as they say. (1/4) s.surveyplanet.com/bqq48opj A @privateeyenews.bsky.social one of mine in 'Best Current Affairs Cartoon'

A blog post to mark publication day, with a note of what Magic Rays of Light has cost me to date. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/magic-rays-o...

At last!

In July 2024, I warned that if Trump were re-elected, "The age of multilateralism would be over, and something much worse will take its place. The UK and Europe will need to find the means of defending ourselves". I was called "hysterical". Well, here we are. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Well d'uh, of course we should.

Including a show at the Queen’s Hall in May!

I'm launching my Laurel and Hardy Centenary show at the BFI on Sunday in advance of the jaw-dropping 51-date tour that traverses the UK from February to March - details of that are at www.laurelandhardypresentedbyneilbrand.co.uk and tickets for the BFI at whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/defau...

The bot problem here is getting worse and worse. Why do they exist? They ONLY can keep existing if they take less effort than benefit, so they MUST “work” to trick people… WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE AND HOW ARE THERE ENOUGH PEOPLE SO STUPID AND EASILY TRICKE…. Oh… Nevermind I withdraw the question.

Starting the first Monday in January writing an adventure in time and space. Leaving the stuff that feels like work til later. ☕️

The bombing of Venezuela is an act of aggression: unprovoked, unjustified and unjustifiable.

For the BFI, 10 great films from 1926 www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-gre...

Screenings across the UK this week. Don't miss it.

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani is officially mayor of New York City

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

We love going to the Xmas radio recordings at Barbican - this was a cracker 😀

one for @diane.dianeduane.com ?

Shit the bed.

This is a massive humblebrag but just reposting Paul Joyce's glittering review of Hound of the Baskervilles! ithankyouarthur.blogspot.com/2022/12/real...

I live in Muswell Hill. I have one of these most weeks. Peter Capaldi in the hardware shop. Rebecca Front in Sainsbos. Sophie Okonedo in the greengrocers. Crossing the road with Robert Peston.

Congratulations to Sir Roy Clarke, King of the Sitcoms. 25 episodes of Open All Hours, 34 episodes of Still Open All Hours, 44 episodes of Keeping Up Appearances, and a magnificent 295 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine!

The audio version is on my 'reading' list for my students studying adaptation... Hadn't spotted the telly one is on iPlayer, so this is great! Will let them know 👍 📺📻📕

Glad to see this getting another outing. #HolmesForTheHolidays. Happy New Year!

Looking forward to this again Neil. Hope you are well btw.

I utterly adore this gorgeous production of The Hound of the Baskervilles. You can’t hunker down on a dark Betwixtmas night with anything better. 🍷 🐺

Delighted this is getting another outing tonight - available on demand on the I-player for a month. Probably my proudest acheivement so far, with the monumental presence of Mark Gatiss and Sanjeev Bhaskar and the score brilliantly orchestrated by Timothy Brock. www.tvguide.co.uk/schedule/85d...

Haunting festive presence.

This is the man in charge of the best equipped military in the world. The guy with the nuclear codes. He’s a terrorist. He’s a threat to the entire world. Even Putin should be concerned b/c Trump could flip on a dime, come for him & Russia. We’re a code away from a world wide disaster at his hands!