Terrific day at the Albany in Deptford for our mini Festival of Migration as part of @beinghumanfest.bsky.social. Bringing Goldsmiths researchers together with local residents and community partners to explore stories and histories of migration. A JOYOUS event in increasingly dark political times.

Terrible news coming out of Notts. I spent many years at this uni doing my MA and PhD, teaching and working in their arts centre (which is linked to the Music Dept). Tragic to see Music and Languages being decimated there, as at so many other unis… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Some words from me in @artsprofessional.co.uk on a new project with Future Arts Centres - a network of over 170 UK arts organisations. We’re exploring the role that arts spaces can play in bridging divides and fostering ‘creative democracy’. More to follow! www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/fea...

Great evening yesterday at the Goldsmiths Prize ceremony. One of very few literary prizes that actually rewards risk taking and experimentation. CD Rose won this year for We Love Here Now... Always good to see a Mancunian lifting a literary trophy! @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social

Cobbled together Halloween costume. I’m supposed to be a highwayman but I’ve ended up looking more like an eighteenth century French peasant…. Either way, always good to be wearing a tricorne hat!

Had a lot of fun and revisited some old frights writing this seasonal piece on scary books for children for @uk.theconversation.com ! #Halloween theconversation.com/scary-storie...

I sometimes stop and remember that all of this is because we had one Black president, and then two women ran, and this mystical convergence opened the Hellmouth.

In a morbid sort of a way, this is a fascinating piece… ‘Why one small town with very little immigration turned to Reform UK’ www.bbc.com/news/article...

Looking forward to our Festival of Migration in November as part of @beinghumanfest.bsky.social In the midst of ever more dismal political narratives about migration, human rights, the humanities, it feels more important than ever to be doing events like this …. www.thealbany.org.uk/events/festi...

Urban edgeland walking out along the river Wandle to Morden Hall Park. Light industry and suburban sprawl giving way to wetlands, water meadows, sleepy rivers. In the right day, in the right light, this is a magical corner of London.

Excellent dissection of the Caerphilly by-election here and what it means for both Labour and Reform. Take home message is a shocker: you’re better off opposing Reform by… actually opposing them. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Caerphilly shows us that the two things that might still stop Reform is turnout and tactical voting. What won't work is taking people's votes for granted and being somehow worse than the Tories.

So important to keep sharing, stating, re-stating stuff like this. Many types of crime are far lower than they used to be. Society isn’t ‘broken’…. Seeing a few fare dodgers at stations is no reason for society to lapse into fascism!

Two policy tweaks that would massively help UK HE (thread). First up (1) reintroduce some form of student number caps per HEI, thus stopping the growth of non-student centred, bloated mega-unis. That’s for starters. Second policy change is:

Sometimes people just hit the nail right on the head 👇

Looks like the govt are pressing ahead with the international student levy then. It’s a bad idea. Everyone has told them it’s a bad idea. They are pushing ahead anyway… Watch this space for a reverse ferret on this at some point. What a waste of time. www.gov.uk/government/p...

River walking in Sheffield this week. Learning more about the incredible River Don Project led by Opus Independents - which is modelling what a Rights of Nature approach to urban river management looks like, taking the South Yorkshire bioregion as a starting point. Amazing work. www.theriverdon.org

Happy Friday from the Goldsmiths campus.

Renaissance sky over South London…

Just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get worse… www.bbc.com/news/article...

Uh-oh… 😟

Goldsmith juxtapositions. Lovely morning in the neighbourhood.

Mick Harvey and co raising the spirit of David Lynch at the Royal Festival Hall this evening! Absolutely stunning gig…

Heading out to ‘In Dreams: David Lynch Revisited’ at the Southbank and my mood is absolutely

Is Andy Burnham the answer to Labour’s woes? I’m sceptical, to be honest. He’s done great stuff in Manchester but won’t be able to do all the things that make him popular as PM… In principle though I’m obviously all for more Northerners running the show 🤘 www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

South London sunset 👌

This is such sad news. I actually had some interactions with Conor Gearty back in the Being Human fest days and he seemed like an absolute gentleman as well as a righteous, courageous human being. What a loss… www.theguardian.com/law/2025/sep...

Don't tell Nigel! Renewables beat fossil fuels during the last year! via grid.iamkate.com #NetZero #ClimateChange

What I mean by this is: what do they see all this leading to? What is the world that they are trying to create? Do they actually, genuinely think it’s going to be better for anyone, including themselves? I find it baffling.

One thing that always puzzles me … What do the billionaires, tech barons etc who are backing the eradication of liberal democracy actually want to achieve? Does it start and end with ‘lower taxes’? Is that it? Is that really worth it in exchange for the decimation of civilisation as we know it?

3,900 Pages of Paul Klee’s Personal Notebooks Are Now Online, Highlighting His Bauhaus Teachings (1921–1931)

Another victory for the tireless champions of ‘free speech’

In the 1930s Europe slid into fascism due to postwar trauma, mass unemployment, sky rocketing inflation and economic collapse… In the 2020s Britain is slipping towards fascism due to people’s bins being collected slightly less regularly.

Let's be clear. The proposal to deport hundreds of thousands of people born in Britain to parents legally resident in Britain, just because they are black or brown, is not 'right populism'. It's the cornerstone policy of the 1970s National Front.

Good read here from @wonkhe.bsky.social. Many unis are quietly scaling back their climate commitments as they grapple with cash flow issues. This is strong on explaining why that’s, frankly, an insane thing to do: wonkhe.com/blogs/despit...

Worth reading: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I hate this. Switching party at your own caprice when you’ve been elected to represent a different one is massively arrogant and insulting to the people who elected you. It’s becoming more common and is one of the reasons people are losing faith in politics.

Ah, defection. Is there any clearer sign of complete contempt for democratic process and the people who elected you? ‘Conservative MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK’ www.bbc.com/news/article...

The fact that Tommy Robinson’s named is being mentioned in relation to ‘free speech’ makes me want to puke… A right wing thug with a long history of violence and off intimidating journalists and anyone who crosses him. Disgusting to see this creep being platformed and given a place in public life.

Silence from our Prime Minister and our government on yesterday’s march, violence and interventions from tech billionaires is absolutely shameful. There’s never been a better time to say clearly what you believe in. If that’s inclusivity, multiculturalism and liberal democracy SAY IT.

Back in London and back to the things I love: art, engagement, urban nature… Lovely to be at the launch of ‘Street Waders’ by Anna Reading this morning. New public artwork in Lewisham celebrating urban rivers. A legacy output from Goldsmiths’ bit of Lewisham’s Borough of Culture year back in 2022!

Innsbruck you absolute beauty! After a full day of rain the city switching it ON for our last evening here

Worth noting that I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to anyone who has either studied or worked at a ‘mega university’ (and there’s a few around over the 50, 000 student mark) who have had a good experience. Massive institutions might be more cost effective but they are rarely, if ever, more efficient.

Big universities news here, in every sense. Expect to see much more of this sort of thing… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Did some quite extreme hiking today in the alps. Pictures look impressive but I think I was literally whimpering at this point…

In the mountains, there you feel free..

Up in the mountains and not missing London even slightly…

Having a lovely time. Wish you were here…

On the trail of Stefan Zweig in Salzburg (literally, in fact, as there’s a trail named after him). A writer who believed fiercely in pluralism and cosmopolitanism and who was hounded across Europe by book burning, racist, anti intellectual Nazis. Contemporary resonances here absolutely chilling…

Time for a holiday…