‘Amid the Ridley Scott images of world cities, the writing about skyscraper fortresses, the Baudrillard visions of hyperspace… much of life for many people, even in the heart of the First World, still consists of waiting in a bus shelter with your shopping for a bus that never comes.’ Doreen Massey

Speaking of which: where was Finnegans Wake…? (I’m not actually surprised it wasn’t in there).

I think this England squad announcement video is really nicely done: youtu.be/2umUvkWzzxw?...

Interesting that DCMS have developed *their own* approach to place targeting that is "consistent" with MHCLGs approach in the Pride in Place programme. www.gov.uk/government/p...

This whole thread is funny in so many details. But the correct answer is, of course, The City of Westminster (behind The City of London). ;o)

The most terrifying sentences in the language: ☠️🎻☠️🎻☠️🎻 “Your Year 3s have enjoyed learning violin this term. We’d like to invite you to a recital…” ☠️🎻☠️🎻☠️🎻

This strikes me as positive: - supply side: NMW/NI/inflation have hit leisure hard - ⁠demand side: mitigates the cost of living + incentivises domestic tourism (good, given Hormuz). Prices presumably won’t go down the full amount, but that’s ok (given issues above & benefits for employment).

With all the train museum collection chat, it’s worth saying that the National Railway Museum is: a) brilliant (even if you don’t identify as ‘interested in trains’) b) free (though donations welcome and deserved) and c) easy to get to from York station.

The NRM has over 1,000 model locomotives, among 10,000 items in the North Shed, and 250,000 in the collection overall (if I’ve understood their website correctly). ‘Not enough stuff’ isn’t a problem they face. What would their curators say if front of house started accessioning things on spec?!

Arsenal won a trophy yesterday. Aston Villa won a trophy today. Fans of Barnet must be getting their hopes up for tomorrow…

The Mamet/Stoppard/Beckett collaboration we never got to see…

Got to be honest, loosening sanctions on Russia before we’ve even tried any basic demand-side measures is not filling me with pride or joy

Feels harsh. I think they should’ve just been banned from using the nickname ‘Saints’ until they’d earned the right again, by fulfilling a quota of good deeds…

According to The Economist, Russia has begun losing territory in Ukraine for the first time since 2023. Russia’s spring offensive has effectively stalled, while Ukrainian forces have gradually managed to regain positions in recent months. 👇ALT

I’ve written more about statistics of the Guardian’s 100 best novels list, including: – Books that just missed out – Two errors in the data (Cather and Camus lost out) – Best novelists – Alternative rankings – Weirdest and least-weird ballots mpaldridge.github.io/blog/guardia...

It’s only 100 books and wasn’t selected to be representative: *of course* there are lots of things missing. Enjoy what *is* there! Or celebrate other books you love too. None of this needs to be negative…

Obligatory sharing of a Huntley & Palmers reference…

Seeing lots of references to ‘Makerfield’: presumably an unpublished Jane Austen novel? Can’t see how it makes the list above detective classic Gorton & Denton. Would never happen under PR.

My last word: putting aside your weariness with lists, your status anxiety, your boredom with the canon, your jadedness with 'literary fiction' etc, that is a selection of one hundred great-to-very-great novels. Read them, be enriched. And to think it all happened here, in Middlemarch. The end.

One thing I *like* about that Guardian 100 Novels is that you can see how everyone voted. So you can: - learn about individuals’ taste - find new choices by those you otherwise agree with - find authors you have similar taste to - understand (and network map?) the aggregate results

Oof.

New theory: the problem with the ‘constitutional lettuce’ is there’s no downside to getting the lettuce out too early. So I propose that the ‘lettucer’ has to eat the lettuce if the PM doesn’t resign (and how soon they accept they ‘lettuced’ too early determines how disgusting that forfeit is…).

People seem surprised that the scriptwriters of ‘The UK’ brought this character back, but it’s a classic case of Chuka’s gun…

One good thing you can say about the UK is that we're spoilt for metaphors

It would have been so different for Starmer if only he’d liberated the Postcode Address File.

Took my 12 y/o to see Kes at The Showroom: still such a great film and nice to share it with him at about the same age I first saw it…

Manchester City: a reminder.

Oh yeah: this is the good stuff… ;o)

Good data is essential for policy. Today it’s been a year since we had a permanent National Statistician. No news on what is happening with the current recruitment which began Oct 2025. This is an under the bonnet issue that points to state failure 🧵 uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/stateme...

So here’s the thing about this book. The cover was quite marmite – which was exactly what we wanted! As a small press launching a debut we wanted a cover that stuck out like a sore thumb. And like a sore thumb, we wanted it to be almost unattractive. Garish. Hard to look at – and hard to miss.

There should be at least 8 layers of Junk Mail folders, like Dante’s Inferno

What a fascinating object and great to see @readingmuseum.bsky.social part of such a landmark exhibition. (the blog reference to the Huntley & Palmers tin in Heart of Darkness reminds me of the time I got far too much credit from a tutor at university for recalling that telling detail…) 🤣

Great headline from BBC News

Based on analysis of nearly 100 wards, Reform are tending to secure larger gains in areas that are older, have lower levels of educational attainment, and voted for Brexit.

Can't stay up all night to watch the election coverage? Don't worry, I can catch you up every detail of it before it happens. "Well it's too early to read anything into this" "Well it's too early to read into this but I'm going to be definitive about it anyway"

"To be realistic about getting out of this division, we need to raise our sights." TTE debutant @olivermantell.bsky.social argues that #ReadingFC's 2026/27 ambitions must be higher than just aiming for a spot in the top six.

I've written a post for @thetilehurstend.bsky.social - on why chasing the playoffs isn't enough...: thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2025-26-anal... #ReadingFC

RIP Sisyphus you would have loved Chumbawamba

Energy costs have destabilised grassroots music venues for years. Which is why today we launch: Off The Grid, supported by LIVE Trust, and bands like Coldplay who have donated funds via their stadium tours. 📸 by Georgia Penny

I just took a delivery of cat-food and as he handed it over, the delivery driver said “enjoy”. I wasn’t sure whether to clarify that I wasn’t planning to eat it myself…

The villa says ‘vale’. (Yes, this is a transparent attempt to lure them back…)

*Will Kemp hath entered ye chat*

Interesting thread. I think other reasons for the negative reaction are: Exclusivity (‘we’ can watch the Oscars, off-camera roles are also celebrated; lots attend but also watch the Superbowl - film & sport are popular) Extravagance (if a painting was only viewable once, it’d be decadent too…

This could be an album cover.

As far as I can tell the Arts Council does not have an X account, although Number 10 Downing Street does.

"openai.com" was once the personal homepage of a guy named glenn (2001), and "tiktok.com" was the quaint shared homepage of a couple as their relationship progressed from dating to married with a baby (2000). THREAD!!!

May the fourth be icummin in, lhude sing grogu.

Some 25/26 season #EFL1 notes: **on Home points only** Playoffs: Luton in, Stockport out Relegation: Wimbledon down, Exeter stay up **on Away points only** Promotion: Plymouth 2nd(!) Playoffs: Luton, Mansfield, Cardiff in, Bradford, Bolton out Relegation: Wigan down, Port Vale stay up

As of today, there are no longer hereditary peers in the House of Lords. Modest but real progress. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Interesting report on Private Investment in Culture (by colleagues of mine): www.artscouncil.org.uk/private-inve... “organisation[s] of different sizes and scales and focuses [are] all saying that the model that used to work even 3 or 5 years ago doesn't stack up in the same way anymore.”