Got the call today to say that I've bagged the Research Fellow role at Queen's University, Belfast. A four-year place-based research and policy project that involves working in and with working-class communities across multiple sites in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Bit of an emotional day.

The UK ERASMUS+ Engagement deadline for your organisation or university is 28 November 2025. Estimated contract start is 1 July 2026. More information from UK GOV here www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/04926...

Fantastic series. Great story, but given that I wasn't too familiar with the Yakuza prior to this, the symbolism and the rituals throughout, however limited they are, gives the show another layer - very well done. After this, I plan to read a lot more about them; really fascinating. Recommend.

To my students from last term, I'll be doing politics and history again this semester. The module handbooks should be available now, so if you want to get a head start, you've got a week before classes begin. Looking forward to seeing you all again. Let's step it up this year.✌️

Aura. Happy Friday.

Do any of my friends or colleagues here have any experience of Leverhume Trust proposals for early career researchers? I have written an in-depth proposal that is linked to my intergenerational psychosocial work, and it would be seeking to provide a material basis for the essay I wrote last year.

Recently @vawright10.bsky.social and I were interviewed for a podcast about the Scottish new towns book which we recently co-wrote (and which is available Open Access for free download via bloomsburycollections, though you can also buy a copy in print if you wish!)

Another young man with his life stolen, a young boy who has ruined his own, and families hurt, broken, sad, and angry. Unfortunately, amid the moral panic around immigration and the deepening crisis of poverty, youth violence has been creeping back on us. www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottis...

My latest film review on @letterboxd.social boxd.it/aO9hHJ

Few better places in the entire world than the North of Scotland on a sunny day. A nice wee weekend and a very relaxing journey there and back. Back to it today but good to get away from the madness of the city for some breathing space. Happy Monday, my friends.

We lost my Dad this morning. It feels like all I've had is bad news lately, but this was quite sudden and especially hard to take. I'm really going to miss him. Rest in Peace, Da. 💙💚

Big pot from the Gods for a mighty lasagne I'm putting together. Made extra to give old Jeff the neighbour down the stairs some too. What Sundays are all about. ✌️

My research has been multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and has covered a broad range of different ideas. One such area is language, particularly in the analysis of it in respect of class and respectability (something I wasn't able to address properly in my thesis but will in a different output).

Doing a wee glossary for my thesis, and I can't help but laugh at how silly some of our words sound when taken out of context. "Canny" (cannae/ cannie). "Ye canny dae aht" Can... nae. Like a not joke almost. Also uses more muscles in the face than boring old can't. Funny old thing is language.

I've been contacted by a great wee student who is looking for people to fill out their survey for a study on social media and sectarianism in Scottish football. If you feel you can contribute, please do, and for any questions, contact [email protected] docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Wee pint on a Tuesday to wash away the blues. Courtesy of the Quaich. 10/10.

After a wee weekend down South dealing with family issues, while trying to squeeze in a bit of leisure on the side (I haven't had much time for the latter lately due to multiple examples of the former) I have managed to get Covid again.

On this day, 56 years ago, man first walked on the Moon. But way down below them on Planet Earth, the City of Glasgow Police were kept busy with "600 arrests" across the first three days of Fair Weekend.

81 years old today and still acts 19. The life of awld John, and it could have been so different, and probably so much better too if he hadn't given up so much of it to help raise me. Without him and my wee Granny, I dunno where I'd have ended up. So, here's to the big man. 🍺

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New Publication: Open Acces. Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues. Volume 28 Issue 1-2. Contextual explorations of the interconnections of 'class', 'race', and 'place' as they relate to education in Glasgow, Scotland and First Nations Australia. search.informit.org/toc/jaiis/28...

It's believed that 126 Labour MPs have signed a 'reasoned amendment' to block the PM's proposed benefit cuts. Returning from the world stage, which featured discussions around defence spending and the future of NATO, the PM expects a rebellion that will create additional friction in Labour.

@gavinbrewis.bsky.social , got the holiday reading sorted. Great first section by Matt Kerr and Katrina Faccenda.

Really good read. Inspiring work from @crmnlgy.bsky.social, Robbie, and all else involved. That voice from the young people I'm paticular, great stuff!

Another couple of weeks tidying this up, then we should be good to go. Good weather for it at least - much prefer to be writing when it's raining, than writing when it's sunny. You feel less cheated of life.

Spatial inequality is ideological and material. To reference loosely David Harvey, Neoliberal urbanism involves accumulation by disposession; housing and infrastructure become opportunities for capital, rather than the people. Conditions born of contradiction. www.heraldscotland.com/news/nationa...

I've had a couple of messages asking if I'm thinking of turning my thesis into a book. I am - but it needs to be done correctly. I appreciate the messages in this regard, but I think it will require a real discussion and a bit of time to think. For such matters, contact on: [email protected]

Eid Mubarak to each of my friends, colleagues, and comrades across the world who celebrate. May this time bring you and your family peace, happiness, and prosperity. 🤲❤️

Socialist Republican, James Connolly was born on this day in Edinburgh, 1868. A key figure in the Easter Rising, 1916, Connolly's martyrdom shook the nation of Ireland and would result in its resistance, and eventually its freedom. 🧵 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪

"Young men who are rejecting... mainstream society" Notice the date? Notice the slant? They're not systemically alienated - they're doing the "rejecting". The individualisation of the problem, just as we see today. Be cautious in your language, as this stuff inspires panic! #NedCulture

All in a day's work (well, couple of days). It looks the part, and I have my notes all good to go, so happy days. Sadly, tomorrow night is not publicly accessible, so I may open up the lecture on another forum for those interested at a later date. Now time for pizza, wine, and the CL Final. 😎🍷

Preparing a lecture on dialectical and historical materialism, and how oral history is able to serve as a tool for such analysis, for a very serious group of historians who are way more accomplished than I am - or most likely ever will be. No pressure... 🥶😆

F#*k Reform.🧵 Reform are a populist party (i.e. they gained traction because they are telling people what they want to hear). But the fact is, they are another rich party, for rich people, run by rich people, who will sell off every single thing that makes this country worth living in at all.

A fantastic night in The Scottish Parliament celebrating 50 years since the Red Paper on Scotland, and the launch of Keep Left: the Red Paper on Scotland, 2025 (published by Luath Press). Great to see some familiar faces, while making new friends along the way.

FAO Music Lovers, or for those just going through a bit of a tough time. There are a number of FREE to attend group activities being held at Brick Lane - funded by Renfrewshire Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund! Call on 0141 328 6983 or email [email protected] Please share. ❤️

Thanks to everyone who turned out yesterday for the Cafe Hope Conversation Sessions at G20. The next session will feature the amazing work of @alistairfraser.bsky.social on his Young Warriors project.

They say "never meet your heroes". One of mine came along today to hear me speak, and also gave me a copy of her new book, which she was kind enough to sign. Carol Craig - an absolute pleasure. Thanks to Emily and the rest of @G20YouthProject - it was great to speak for you. ❤️

Edinburgh pals. Looking for some recommendations for places to sit and chill and study next Wednesday in Edinburgh. Also open to grabbing a Guiness a bit later on.

I'll be presenting some of my work on Neds and the education system this Sunday at the G20 Youth Project in the Wyndford, Glasgow, as part of the Cafe Hope Conversation Sessions. Read on for further details.

Heading back into the Scottish Parliament again next Wednesday for the 50th Anniversary of the Red Paper in Scotland, and the launch of Keep Left from @luathpress.bsky.social. I was really happy to contribute to this and so looking forward to what should be a great event!

Linthouse Housing Association have "reimagined" iconic Govan activist Mary Barbour, as a "modern-day campaigner" in a new mural. But is it simply a "reimagining" of Barbour? Or is it the airbrushing of history, and manipulation of a local hero's aesthetic to fit modern-day beauty standards!?

The sky is so incredible tonight. The different colours and shades, like the brushstrokes of an oil painting. The pictures haven't done it justice, but it's wee moments like that, the beauty of it all amidst the chaos of the everyday, that makes you just so thankful to be alive.

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Had a fantastic night panelling for the launch of @ptheodoropoulos.bsky.social new book: The Precarious Migrant Worker: The Socialisation of Precarity, published by @politybooks.bsky.social. In preparation for the panel, I spent a bit of time getting to grips with the book and its content. 🧵

Very excited to present on such a fantastic panel this Friday, for the launch of: Precarious Migrant Worker: The Socialisation of Precarity. Published by @politybooks.bsky.social, @ptheodoropoulos.bsky.social book provides an immersive portrait of the daily realities of precarious migrant labour.

Glad you enjoyed it, my friend. Thank you. ❤️✌️

Someone sent me some fan art on Facebook. Fair play. 😆

There are definitely some limitations to pursuing a career in academia. You've got pals who can fix yer plumbing, do yer flooring, fix yer car, even do yer house up, but academics have next to nothing we can offer in return. I can write an essay for you! Absolutely useless beyond the academy. 😆

Next month, I'll be panelling and speaking for a number of different events. This is one you can attend, where I'll be talking about working-class youth and their experiences within the education system during the "War on Neds" (2003-2007). I hope to see you down at G20 YouthProject on 25th May!

Have finally got confirmation from my preferred external examiner. One of the best in the field, I'm absolutely thrilled with that. However, it has added a wee bit of additional pressure. 🥶