Ruskin Spear's portrait is of Sir Robin Darwin, the great-grandson of Charles Darwin who as principal in the 1950s made the Royal College of Art a leading force in arts education and changed the image and fortunes of the Royal Academy. He was also a fine landscape painter.

There’s not a day goes past that I don’t miss Tony Bourdain, great man, great friend, great writer. Nothing can make up for the loss of him, of course, but it’s wonderful to hear his voice live from the page in the compellingly brilliant Anthony Bourdain Reader edited by Kim Witherspoon.

‘I have a theory that people tend to have a life-long favorite colour, and that their home and car will eventually be that colour.’ Photographer Christopher Hall.

the password to the louvre surveillance server was "louvre" www.thesocialpost.it/2025/11/02/f...

Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.

A photograph of the London Underground taken by Bert Hardy in 1952. #london #londonunderground

Three geese in a flock one flew east one flew west one flew over the cuckoo's nest. ― Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest #BookSky #FilmSky

'The Crown', Islington (2025) by Sarah Lundblad sarahbethlundblad.art

'Man Reading.' (1904) John Singer Sargent's portraits balance looseness and definition, what might be called Old Master-casual; faces and hands rendered just tightly enough to stay alive. The sitter is Nicola d'Inverno, Sargent's Italian valet and a frequent model.

This week's theme was London Nights 🌙 Take a look at the timeline over the last week for full details of these and the rest of the featured pieces.

‘Before Walpole, ghosts in English literature tended to haunt people, or generic geographic locations: crossroads, bridges, graveyards. After him, they came inside, haunting domestic spaces.’ Jon Day on things that go bump in the night. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” Read by Christopher Walken, Christopher Lee & Vincent Price www.openculture.com/2025/10/edga...

The Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, a highly under appreciated Neolithic/Bronze Age monument. These very much deserve to be better known #rollrightstones #rollrights #prehistoricmonument #henge #stonehenge

Waiter, Paris, Saul Leiter, 1959

According to the latest research, going to the dentist in half term has the same impact on teacher wellbeing as going to the tip in half-term. #edusky

One day something is going to make me snap, close my computer, and walk into the wilderness to be never seen again. And there's a very high chance that event will be a service forcing me to enable two-factor authentification.

Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻 Enter if you dare...🚪

A reminder that the original Hallowe'en jack o' lanterns date back to 18th century Ireland if not earlier, were based on a shady boozy blacksmith called Stingy Jack who cheated the devil & was trapped between 2 worlds, were carved from turnips and looked like this:

Hundreds of civilians were reportedly massacred at a maternity hospital in Sudan yesterday. The RSF attacks civilians and uses sexual violence as a weapon of war. The UK must do all it can to alleviate this humanitarian disaster, and ensure no UK arms are used in this horrific civil war.

‘The Romans had passed down to early medieval Europe the belief that crowds were an important source of validation. Hordes of admirers attested to the holiness of relics. Adoring masses confirmed a ruler’s legitimacy.’ Pablo Scheffer on the power of medieval crowds. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Morning all. Photographer Clémentine Schneidermann and stylist Charlotte James ‘Little Ghosts', Merthyr Tydfil, 2018. www.lensculture.com/articles/cle...

London Backwater, near St Pancras', Woburn Walk by James Finlay Watson (1898–1981) (Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens)

‘“Did Marlowe appropriate from the Heptameron a motto that Whetstone had encountered in France or Italy?” asked Diana Shklanka. An excellent question, which has lain unnoticed by Marlowe scholars for nearly forty years.’ M.W. Rowe on (possibly) Marlowe’s portrait. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

'The Monash research, published this week, backs up previous work in this area. In 2019, researchers at the University of Utah found music was beneficial in tackling Alzheimer's and dementia' ...

Happy Halloween!🎃 In his poem “All Souls’ Night”, W.B. Yeats calls on the memory of his lost friends around a ghostly dinner table. The poem serves as an epilogue to his work ‘A Vision’, an philosophical exploration of the imaginary and the occult.🔮 👻 FINZI BOOK ROOM 19G/02

You know that scene in horror movies when the unsuspecting victim invites the vampire into their home …

When in the woods, best beware of dead man's fingers lurking there. Reaching up above the ground, a creepy fungi to be found. Happy Halloween everyone. Photo: Sheringham Park by Rob Coleman

Tbf, many demand additions to the curriculum that already exist.

"The next time someone says they’d like to see animal husbandry or knitting taught in schools, ask them what subject they think we should sacrifice in exchange. Ask them what trade offs they’d make." No, We Can’t Just Keep Adding Stuff To What’s Taught In Schools (scroll down)

SHOT: "If you’re in trouble or hurt or need – go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones." -Ma Joad CHASER: "Give your money away, shorties." -Billie Eilish

“Billie Eilish just cooked the billionaires in their own room,” one social media user said.

​Where the veil between seasons and legends is thin. Wayland's Smithy is cradled by a blazing ring of fall foliage. The very definition of a timeless landscape. 🍁 #History #Mythology

They revoked Wole Soyinka’s US visa? I keep typing reactions and deleting them. Another new low.

An academy trust’s new nine-day fortnight improved wellbeing and resulted in financial savings for teachers, but some 'felt overwhelmed by the condensed schedule', new analysis shows schoolsweek.co.uk/trusts-9-day...

A Tour of a Utopian Home Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Presented by His Last Living Client www.openculture.com/2025/10/a-to...

#Wildlife #Photography www.theguardian.com/environment/...

archive.ph/CVaAG Scary in a number of ways. Things a very detailed article, read the whole thing and see the array of problems with this model of learning. #edusky #teamenglish

Love this idea @nytimes.com "How many of you practice seasonally driven reading? I doubt any library patron on earth remains unfamiliar with the term “beach read,” but what should we crack open once we see delicata squash & heirloom pears stacked up at the market?" www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/b...

Don’t allow anyone to tell you that reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula in a dimly-lit café on a cobblestone side street in Prague during a pouring rain whilst enjoying cappuccinos and croissants “doesn’t classify” as self-care,

I have a very bad feeling about this...

He was a lovely man and I spent hours with him in Manchester hearing his life story. Always had a twinkle in his eye and had such potential. Sadly he had always had problems with substance abuse. It’s a great loss that he’s gone and that makes five people from Outsiders who are now dead.

Desperately sad to hear that Lawrence McGill (aka Riff Raff) passed away last year. Lawrence was an artist and poet with lived experience of homelessness and was one of our participants in the Outsiders project.

There is a moment at this time of year when the word ‘apricity’ really comes into view. For those who don’t know it, it was recorded only once, in 1623, before slipping out of view. Apricity is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.

'The Vineyard.' (c1938) Throughout the interwar years, Vanessa Bell lived predominantly in London and travelled to Europe, taking extended stays in Italy and France. Her paintings at this time consist of warm, sunny landscapes that document her travels abroad.

The German company that makes the mechanical ladder used in the Louvre heist has used the image to advertise, with the text 'When you need to move fast' 10/10 response, no notes

'Piccadilly Circus' (1960) by LS Lowry (Private collection)

'Piccadilly Circus' (from 'Looking Round London', c.1938) by Helen Carstairs

Good evening! This week's theme is Piccadilly. ------ 'Piccadilly at Night' by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1885-6) (Private Collection)