Christ I’m soo tired of leadership challenges against sitting PMs whatever the party. Nobody cares about your internal fucking popularity contests. Just get on with the job and try not to make quite such an arse of it.

My favourite Neil Young photo to celebrate his 8️⃣0️⃣th birthday! Keep on rockin big man 🎉🎂✊🏽🎂🎉

Gone ten years today rest his Philthy soul 🥁♥️🥁

I see Fleetwood Mac have knocked Vale out of the Autoglass on penalties. Dunno if Stevie scored but let’s hope so.

I’ve seen one James Bond film all the way through (The Spy Who Loved Me) and the girl in the bikini and the bloke with the decapitating bowler hat and the girl painted gold etc hundreds of times but that’s about it. So much as I’d like to help bring him back from the dead I’m probably not your man.

Give it to Ron and Russell till the end of the season.

It’s always grimly amusing to see the likes of the Daily Mail attack the BBC for a lack of impartial reporting.

On this day in 1990. Find out who killed Laura Palmer. Really. Really?

Autumnal colours at Rudyard Lake 🍂 🚤 🍂

Already missing two home games in Dec because of holidays. Tempted to go to the Louder Than War thing in Mcr in March but then I’d miss another one. Stoke being half decent again has certainly made life more complicated.

I’d never watched The Traitors before so I didn’t realise the person who won it was whoever everyone else could read like a fucking book.

I listened to the Sex Pistols thing on BBC Sounds (8x20min eps). Fucking hell talk about hyperbole. Oh and cliché. Funnily enough it was still alright though. Well chosen clips. Good to hear from Gina. And basically yes I’m just a sap for the Pistols.

Magavaggio

The thousand yard stare of a schnauzer who spent most of last night cowering behind the settee like a seven year old watching the green death maggots on Doctor Who.

I didn’t realise you pronounced it Courtney Bar-NETT. I’ve been calling her Courtney Barnet for years as if it’s a hairdo reference.

Surprised to read Joey Barton is still only 43. He seems to have been acting the bellend for way longer than that.

A very minor irritant in the scheme of things but I do wish they’d thought a bit more about this pub sign down the road. Locals are a sub-group of pubs so ‘pub & local’ makes no sense. I suppose I should be grateful I haven’t got anything important to worry about.

Stoke City being pretty good again. Cant beat the feeling, can’t beat the feeling. Plenty of talent but more importantly they all work for each other. Gentlemen of the Stripes we salute you 🫡

More than happy with the outlook at half time thanks to the good offices of Lewis Baker Troublemaker and Arthur ‘Steve’ Nzonzarelli ⚽️⚽️ #STOOXF

It’s a year since I sacked off Twitter and decamped over here. I know it’s got its knockers matron but since I’m not selling anything, I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind about anything, I follow lots of amusing, interesting people and just block the occasional pillock it works for me.

The chairman of this Tiptree outfit sounds like a right gobby idiot so I actually hope Vale do ‘em. Not that I’d put any money on it mind you.

When a man is tired of Bananarama he is tired of life.

I haven’t really thought about Idlewild for twenty-odd years but I’m enjoying their new album at the moment. Yes Stoke won 5-1 and so I’ve drank a fair bit but my critical faculties remain intact for what they’re worth. Anyway, yay for Idlewild.

Who doesn’t love a marauding defender waltzing upfield and skipping through the opposition then smashing one in? Junior Tchamadeu take a bow me old son. Straight into my top five Stoke goals ever 😂

Exhibition stuff from the mighty Potters there ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Anyone expressing surprise that the royal family is dysfunctional and its members tend to behave like scum obviously didn’t pay much attention in history or indeed to the news.

Radio 5 had a news item about the rediscovery of a presumed-extinct spider species this morning and the nice lady asking the questions seemed to think it was actually an individual spider who’d been lost and found. Everyone else was very polite which just added to the Philomena Cunk-ness of it all.

Marc Riley throwing out some terrific @3quatermass.bsky.social action as we speak 👍🏼

‘If I never see the English evergreens I’m running to, it’s nothing to me, it’s nothing to see’ If ever a lyric could make me cry. Context innit. #blackstar

And Stoke’s Nathan Lowe scores against the Vale. That should go down well.

The much better half wasn’t best pleased at having to traipse up to the Wembley of the North on a Monday night to watch Vale v Stockport and I’ve just seen on the telly that it’s pissing down too. Lord have mercy.

4pm on the 27th of October and I’ve got to turn the lamp on to read. Get fucked winter.

Yesterday I drove through Endon, very much north Staffordshire’s poppy capital. There was a bloke planting dozens of 3ft high wooden poppies along the roadside. With all this rain they should be massive by the time we actually get anywhere near Remembrance Day.

The Average White Band packed up in 2023 and the implications are still sinking in.

I have no particular argument with the good people of Portsmouth but on the occasion of a rare win for Stoke City down there could I just remind them that there is no second E in Wedgwood. Thanks bye.

As much as I love this pub, and I really do, I’m not bringing my blummin records along.

Matthews scores for Stoke! Not happened since about 1965.

I see my big zero-on-the-end birthday has been declared a bank holiday in Scotland which is very convenient as I’ll be north of the border myself to celebrate. Obviously they’re pretending it’s just because St Andrew’s Day falls on a Sunday but I think we know the truth.

The Much Better Half has been advising me to read this for about 35 years so as I’m always one to do what I’m told I’ve spent this week doing just that. A right riveting gothic page-turner it is as well. Should have read it 34 and a half years ago.

Happy birthday William it’s the big 5️⃣ 🎂

To my surprise I’m enjoying Celebrity Traitors having never watched the proletarian version but I have to say the very best thing about it so far has been Claudia’s satin teddy boy jacket.

Who’s managing these faithfuls, Narcís Pèlach?

I love how characters in Victorian novels can post a letter 100 miles before breakfast and get a reply before lunchtime then exchange a few more before it’s time for bed. Maybe bringing back horses could solve the Royal Mail’s problems.

Sixty soon so it’s time to stop pretending I’m still young and update my profile pic. I have done this in the modern ‘zoom meeting’ style in front of some bookshelves.

I love Husker Du and Sugar and Bob Mould’s solo stuff but I must admit I don’t really understand all the fuss about this reunion. I don’t even know the names of the other Sugablokes.

The building in the background with green windows is an excellently stocked public lending library so I would respectfully suggest that Norma’s books are neither the cheapest nor the latest books in town.

Forty years ago today I saw The Fall in their pomp at Shelley’s in Stoke on Trent which went on to become a regional acid house hotspot and is now a Farmfoods.

Well it’s a Tuesday night away in London so frankly I’m amazed we even came away with zero points.

He’s seen me sitting here to have my tea so guess what he thinks that means…

Birthdays today for Julian Cope (happily still with us) and Lux Interior (unhappily not). Two of my very favourite rock n rollers responsible for hundreds of great songs between em. Thanks fellas 🙏🏼