An extraordinarily deep and moving essay: "This texturelessness, and the filmy feeling it generates, is my synaesthetic reaction to something that, at the moment, remains uncanny: the knowledge that I am trying to parse meaning from something that, while grammatical, has no motivation to carry it."

Parma Udinese. In posizione!

This is a story I’ve been wanting to write for ages. It’s about how a generation of fans have brought the ultra movement to Scotland, and what that says about fandom, connection and friendship in a world where so much of life is digital observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

Thinking about the burden and joy of writing about real people... Do subscribe. It's free. Or you can buy me a cuppa if you fancy it. 🍵 tobiasjones.substack.com/p/the-ethics...

Making cappelletti (egg-free, meat-free and normal versions) for our Christmas lunch. The record to beat is 1,373. As usual, my only role is taster and washer-upper!

How "the system" (gov, unis) screws up the hopes of its young: Here the (rightly tough) exams to enter Italian medical schools were leaked and copied before exams began. All results might now be annulled. Honesty and meritocracy still steep challenges here. www.rainews.it/articoli/202...

Upsets this w/e. Nigeria out. Hungary folded. But Italy losing 1-4 at home to Norway was almost unsurprising. The Azzurri will prob. be OK against old foes Northerns Macedonia or Ireland, but they last won a WC group game in 2006. More despair than upset here. www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazio...

Thinking about books and what we share and how... [with thanks to Tom Gauld for allowing me to use his cartoon and thus showing how it's done] tobiasjones.substack.com/p/ex-libris

Cyclists have better lives... and socks. Canale di Burana.

Train at Parma station. Now I've posted this I guess I never will get back to the US.

Thinking about all the off-desk aspects of the writing life: walking, gardening and, especially, table tennis. [good people, subscribe: it's free, it really won't overwhelm your inbox] tobiasjones.substack.com/p/manual-lab...

Doing the olive harvest. Hard work but always sociable & rewarding. [Not our land obvs, just helping friends.]

Huge Palestinian flag at the Teatro Regio's Falstaff this evening.

My piece about the new Monster of Florence dramatisation 👇 www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Back cycling along the Po* (aka. "Padus") The river in autumn is so mellow. [*There's a great book called "The Po" in case you missed it... available in both English and Italian.]

Prato

The colours of autumn: the Christmas cake has to be prepared in early October and then be watered regularly with brandy!

Thinking about thumbs and story-grip... open.substack.com/pub/tobiasjo...

On the true crime beat in Rome.

Parma Lecce. In posizione.

This story from Parma's lovely palazzo Tarasconi is hilarious: a Dali exhibition has 21 artworks confiscated, suspected of being counterfeits. Please, someone, commission me to do a long dive into wtf just happened! www.gazzettadiparma.it/arte-e-cultu...

Parma v Torino. In posizione. P need a first Serie A win of the season.

Parma v Spezia (coppa italia) In posizione

Very sad to hear that Claudia Cardinale has died. A sultry legend of Italian cinema. It always amazed me that Italian was only her fourth language, after Arabic, French and her parents' Sicilian dialect (she was born and raised in Tunisia). Sit tibi terra levis. www.rainews.it/articoli/202...

This is how to launch an opera festival: Thousands of dancing children block the streets. Lots of oompah & giant versions of il Maestro! Affordable (and expensive) tickets still available: www.teatroregioparma.it/spettacolo/f...

Thinking about extremism, fakes and points of view 👇 [Good people, do subscribe to my weekly column about books and how to read & write them: I'm offering a thousand top quality words every week, full of ideas, confessions, illustrations and fine music!] tobiasjones.substack.com/p/fascism-fa...

Ferrara corners

Ever wondered what 1,300 books like? Thanks @goldsborobooks.bsky.social and @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social Book out on 6 November. It tells the story of the real Dr Asperger - was he an amazing pioneer of autism research or a Nazi collaborator? #fiction #historicalfiction

Mapping some thoughts 👇 substack.com/@tobiasjones...

“...leathery & marmaladey...” As a Somerset lad, I reckon abundant cider is cause for good cheer. It's what gets us through the winter. But the taste this year will be bitter because we know the causes of the bumper crop: monsoon rains & furnace heat. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Life ambition fulfilled: Like serious sports-folk, I finally have a mark out of ten in la Gazzetta dello Sport!

No public organizations should be using X. It’s owner supports Tommy Robinson.

Great-sounding book👇 We work with refugees so are not naive. Offering sanctuary is exhausting. Never works out how you expected! I always think about that line: wanting to help people can be a grave temptation. But understanding "refuge" is key to our era's sanity. observer.co.uk/culture/book...

It’s that time of year again: making erba luigia liquore. It’s a digestif / liqueur made from the leaves of lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora). Of all the Italian liqueurs, I think it’s my favourite: a subtle citrus & grassy flavour. 40 days until bottling…

We are searching for a new colleague in Theology, tenure track, at Providence College -- open area of specialization! www.schooljobs.com/careers/prov...

Guilty Feet Have Got No... Thinking about prose tempo, about the sounds and speeds of sentences and how they create the beats. Do read, share, comment, subscribe! tobiasjones.substack.com/p/guilty-fee...

Read @tanjilrashid.bsky.social's piece. Dehumanisation happens so fast. This notion that all our very serious problems can be solved by pushing a good 2% (do I hear 10?) of our communities off our white cliffs is insanely stupid & vengeful. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Are we really going to sign a midfielder called Merlin?! Heady days.

Parma v Atalanta. 1st home game after loss away at Juve.

A Palestinian flag attached to a crucifix on the summit of Monviso @ 3841m. The mountain is the source of Italy's longest river, the Po. [Not sure who to credit for the photo, poss. Antonio De Rossi??]

"It is a famine we could have prevented.. food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel. It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food.. a preventable famine sustained by complicity" Tom Fletcher from the UN on famine being declared in Gaza City

Thinking about my own extremism... open.substack.com/pub/tobiasjo...

Any, tiny slither of a chance that Everton could get him?! www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Parma transfer window: Chivu gone to manage Inter, so in-steps Cuesta, who is only 29 and looks like a Spanish G. Neville. Bonny sold to Inter, Leoni to them others. Huge churn with half the squad moved on (Man, Sohm etc.) Ondrejka injured. But still have the finest left-foot in Serie A: Bernabé!

Sad to hear of the death of Padre Fedele. He was the volcanic monk who worked with Cosenza ultras to open food banks and build peace between ultra gangs. Irascible, idealistic and controversial, he was a legendary figure in Calabria. Sit tibi terra levis. www.ilfattodicalabria.it/cronaca/2025...

Road trip Parma-Portugal. First stop Nîmes.

Emotional credibility: the best way to get this reader to suspend disbelief. And an appeal for funds for Windsor Hill Wood! Please read, share, subscribe, discuss, donate. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Emotional credibility: the best way to get this reader to suspend disbelief. And an appeal for funds for Windsor Hill Wood! Please read, share, subscribe, discuss, donate. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Best village name in Abruzzo (here on the crest below the summit: half-abandoned, half-rebuilt): Buonanotte (aka. Malanotte). Quite the story / legend: it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montebe...

Percentage increase of wages in real terms 1994-2024. Don't come to Italy if you want to earn well.