Decades on from the famous Japanese 'lawsuit' copies of famous guitar designs back in the 1970s, it looks like Fender is getting litigious again... Are Fender hoping that all the thousands of cheaply available Stratocaster style guitars will just disappear? #guitar #Fender #Stratocaster #guitarist

Just bizarre how Farage being funded by a Thai dual national isn't leading the headlines every single day until he's forced to resign.

Slightly increase a band. The Rolling Boulders

The worst thing about Keir Starmer's government over the last two years is that people voted for change (after years of Tory damage), but it's taking longer than expected. Again, I'm not a Starmer fanboy, but replacing the Prime Minister won't make things better - except for Farage/Trump/Russia.

A caller to BBC Scotland rightly points out that if we had ANY other Prime Minister, "we'd be at war with Iran right now". More than one caller also noting the silliness in changing PMs so frequently (six in the last decade or so, one of whom lasted just six weeks) and blaming Westminster media.

The current Keir Starmer / Labour Party crisis, now in Lego form...

Starmer hasn't been great, but this current crisis all feels a little... manufactured. It feels like pro-Reform elements of the media (which in reality means pro-Trump & pro-Russia) are trying to capitalise on council elections and drawing Labour MPs into this with them. #Westminster #UKpolitics

The best new band for 2026 just dropped... #NewMusic #funk #psychedelic

Been messing around with some abstract art ideas, both with a spacey theme. I think they'll undergo several redos before I'm completely happy with them. #BlueSkyArtShow #abstract #ArtSky #Moon #WorkInProgress

Very saddened to learn that guitar & pickup guru Alan Entwhistle has passed away at the age of 79, following a battle with cancer. Entwhistle pickups are among some of the best available and Alan continued to work on the best versions of his guitars up until the end. R.I.P., fella.

R.I.P. Dave Mason (1946-2026), who passed away a few days ago. As a founding member of Traffic, Mason appeared on their first three LPs, playing guitar, sitar & bass, as well writing & singing the psychedelic classic 'Hole In My Shoe' and this short but fun tune... youtu.be/ME3mICfgcQ4?...

Of course they would. That's the whole game of Westminster journalism (albeit to varying extents). The problem for the rest of us is that if Farage becomes PM, it's already too late for scrutiny.

Any visit to Edinburgh is lifted by their green spaces. This fountain in Princes Street Gardens offers a fantastic view of the castle. #Edinburgh #Scotland #Lothian #castle #spring #photography

Leith was a rather lovely place to have Tapas and ice cream the other day... #Leith #Edinburgh #Scotland

Boris Johnson didn't pass vetting when Theresa May appointed him Foreign Secretary. The media must have missed that one.

This song is about EXACTLY this...

The instantly recognisable, stinging guitar tones of Hubert Sumlin (best known for being Howlin' Wolf's lead guitarist) playing in the café I'm sitting in this morning. Great start to a morning in the city.

Just sitting here thinking about how Black ppl came up with jazz, the blues, rock and roll and hip hop WHILE this country was doing everything it could to ensure we had nothing. Nobody needs Al to create except the untalented.

As one who frequently works with schools across several local authorities, the next few weeks will feel rather disjointed. Anyone in a similar position (e.g., teachers with children at another school) can tell you the Council of Whitby means NOTHING - the Easter dates are still up for debate 🤣🐣🐰

March really is Wrong Coat Month this year. It doesn't matter what coat/jacket I wear out of the house, the weather will confound me one way it the other.

Speaking of gigs, I just found this shot from a gig I played last year... #LiveMusic #guitarist #guitar

It all looked so promising four months ago. One of these gigs has (unsurprisingly) been cancelled already, due to *vaguely gestures around at all if THIS*

This whole US-Iran thing... One side is led by a tyrant elected by a minority, in a country that not only runs its economy around oil, but uses religious extremism as an excuse to subjugate women & harm children. Then on the other side there's Iran. (cartoon credit @tomgauld.bsky.social)

I promise I didn't write this (but it's difficult to argue with).

We can have it better than this, you know.

Been attempting to adapt a Philip Glass piano piece for the guitar. It seems to have transposed well, but my picking-hand fingers feel like they've been tied into knots. #ClassicalGuitar #guitarist

Happy Panic About Being Judged For The Last Minute Dressed Up Child Day, to all those who celebrate. #WorldBookDay

Quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, who, prior to his presidency, had been the U.S. Supreme Commander during WWII. So he probably knew what he was talking about more than most (he also coined the term 'military industrial complex' and warned against what has - seemingly inevitably - happened since).

This feels as relevant now as it did 20-odd years ago...

The 'Board of Peace' looks more like Spectre every day.

I genuinely believe most people are inherently decent, and can see Farage for what he really is (even if they can't see the shadowy funders behind him). There's a very small group of people who love the dog-whistle rasicm, but their loudness masks just how much of a minority they really are.

Crickey it's not even that close.

If Reform win today's #Byelection - Lab will pivot even further right. Lab win - they feel justified in having moved rightwards. Greens win - Labour blame it on losing a share of their vote TO Reform & continue moving right. Either way, they'll miss the truth... They need to return to the left.

Kate Nash in the current Amnesty Magazine. 🔥

Last batch from #London (until next time). Vibe, people & food all brilliant. Weather was... mixed, to say the least, but what do you expect from an English winter? Further proof that those claiming London 'has fallen' are lying (or haven't been & were lied to). #photography #musician #travel

In case it wasn't clear, I've been in #London (meeting friends and having two work-related meetings about exciting future projects). And yes, I am bloody well going to post about it because I don't get down here as often as I'd like nowadays.

I'm a big fan of the painted red brick station buildings in central London. They seem to hark back to their Victorian origins... #LondonUnderground #tube #London #photogrphy

More random London shots... #London #February #art #architecture #travel

Wouldn't this be a lovely thing to happen here in the UK?

Been Londoning. Here's some generic tourist shots of St Paul's Cathedral.

BBC #r4today currently repeating & amplifying Jim Radcliffe's xenophobic remarks and Nick Robinson is using it as an excuse to interview Nigel Farage. Cue the dog-whistles & half-truths...

Got my green rocker back after what feels like ages away with my guitar repair guy (for reasons which, to be fair, were beyond his control). But it's not green anymore. It has new pickups (under the gold foil covers) and has had the Bigsby removed. It's also teal now. #guitar #guitarist #repairs

The 'current vibe' sounds like neo-feudalism, which is exactly what the tech bros and 1% have been working towards for years.

Now, more than ever, it's important to remember what can happen if we allow our humanity to be diluted by indifference. This sentiment applies everywhere & to all the peoples of our shared Earth. #HolocaustMemorialDay

Today's coping mechanism #coffee

The most basic advice for humanity is to live in such a way that, after you're gone, people celebrate your life, rather than your death.

If a government truly believed it was in the right, surely they wouldn't need to lie about the actions of their armed forces?

If you're living somewhere outside the USA, one thing you can do is pressure your leaders to boycott World Cup and Olympic events here.

If the media had any sort of backbone (or the regulators any teeth) they would refuse to repeat the announcements & PR of any politician / influential individual unless they submit their arguments to thorough examination (instead of endless airtime unhindered by fact-checking).