1947-2016. “Though nothing, nothing can keep us together, we can beat them forever and ever…”

The first road trip of the new year - very grateful to Rachel Gilmour MP for such a useful day with cultural leaders in the Tiverton and Minehead constituency. Time very well spent and plenty to build on.

Looking forward to listening to this >

Seeing out the old year in deepest rural Dorset, with old friends, glorious early morning walking and a stack of good books.

I’m regretful that Bluesky hasn’t become busier over the year in terms of the south west’s cultural voices, but I do very much value the engagement that is to be found. A few cultural highlights of 2025 in a thread. (1/10)

Thanks to the cultural & heritage leaders in Portsmouth who joined @henleydarren.bsky.social @helenbirchenough.bsky.social, Ginny Graham and I at Central Library today to explore the city’s future plans. As with last week’s Hampshire & Solent devo discussion, a real sense of optimism/ambition.

A couple of very useful days in Gosport, for an Area Council meeting at the museum; a Criterion Theatre site visit, and a chance to admire Portsmouth Historic Quarter’s transformed artists’ workspace at Carpenters’ Yard. Thanks to everyone who gave their time so generously.

Forty five years ago today. We all shine on.

So sorry to hear that Martin Parr has passed away. A passionate advocate for photography, for Bristol and the power of our daily lives. What a great resource his foundation has been for Bristol these past few years. RIP.

Another one of those glorious Bristol evenings tearing it up with the Blue Aeroplanes at the Fleece. Getting older, but still got all the moves. “I passed the test, I think I passed, I think I'm fine” etc etc. So much love for that band.

So sad to read of Tom Stoppard’s passing. Together with ACH Smith, Angela Carter and so many others, they laid the foundations of Bristol as the confident, creative city we recognise today. www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/n...

“Don’t these times fill your eyes”. RIP Mani. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Gary Numan at Bristol Beacon. Telekon at 45. Rolling back the years.

Useful time in Cornwall - meetings with Cornwall Council, a first visit to Truro’s Old Bakery Studios and a chance to explore the potential of St Austell’s Market House. Time well spent.

Very pleased to see this - essential reading >

Helsinki mornings. All the calmness.

Funding update 📢 Our National Lottery Project Grants strands for Major Projects, Place Partnerships, and Touring will be fully reopened on Monday, 20 October. Access Support is available now. Find more information in our Q&A 👇 buff.ly/uPUmaK6

Belfast. On the Van Morrison Trail. “Caught one more time up on Cyprus Avenue”. Evocative.

Dublin. After all these years, a first encounter with the Abbey Theatre for Marina Carr’s The Boy. Plus Leopold Bloom’s front door at the James Joyce Cultural Centre, and a pint of Smithwick’s and a couple of hours of trad at The Cobblestone. Not a bad effort for a Thursday, that.

A few days off. Dublin in the autumn sunshine, on the Ulysses trail. Set foot in Davy Byrne’s. Found the undertakers. Bought my lemon soap.

Oasis at Wembley. Magnificent. A reunion for the ages and one of those gigs that’ll stay with you your whole life. Current mood: caught beneath a landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky.

I know this account is essentially books I’ve read, gigs I’ve attended and despatches from the south west’s cultural sector, but I’m home alone, I’ve just nailed the *perfect* Omelette Arnold Bennett, and I find myself in need of an appreciative audience. (Unlikely ever to be repeated, I’d suggest).

Such a fulfilling evening hearing Joanna Pocock reading from and discussing her new book Greyhound at Storysmith Books tonight. Warmly recommended.

Well done Inside Out Dorset on the 2025 festival launch at the Red House Museum, Christchurch this evening. Full of admiration as always for the curatorial firepower and audience insights of Kate Wood and Bill Gee. And an evocative start to proceedings with River Of Hope down on Christchurch Quay.

Well done @bsidefest.bsky.social on the launch of The Portland Dress as part of the Big Weekend. Hundreds of local stories embroidered in a very special community textiles project. And beautiful choral work led by Destination Opera to mark the launch at the Old Engine Shed tonight. (1/3)

Huge admiration for Shaun and Abigail Bengson’s show Ohio, which is on at Bristol Old Vic. Indie-folk gig theatre spliced with existential philosophy. Quite the night out. And, although it deals with challenging subjects, infused with joy from start to finish. Warmly recommended.

To the cultural capital that is Plymouth in the autumn sunshine for today’s ACE South West Area Council meeting. Thanks to @theboxplymouth.bsky.social for hosting - looking forward to checking out the Jyll Bradley exhibition later on.

Rambling along the Ridgway on a perfect late summer’s afternoon, amid clouds of hawthorn, elderberry, crabapple. XTC’s English Settlement close to hand. Peaceful.

Delighted to confirm my bank holiday reading arrangements are in place, which is always easily achieved when you live round the corner from Storysmith Books in south Bristol.

Congratulations Swindon on the launch of the town’s new cultural collective. Proud to support alongside Swindon Borough Council and other key partners. A big result for one of our SW priority places. www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

Happy Bristol Balloon Fiesta, everyone.

Happy 40th birthday, Rum, Sodomy And The Lash. One of those rare, perfect albums that retains all of its original impact no matter how many times you play it. “McCormack and Richard Tauber still singing by the bed” etc etc.

Finally, a first visit to Sidmouth Folk Festival. Morris on the esplanade. Clog dancing in the market square. Trad sessions. A jig competition. And Richard Thompson performing 1952 Vincent Black Lightning & the rest of his glorious back catalogue in the Ham Pavilion. A summer Sunday very well spent.

Idles. Queen’s Square, Bristol. Owning their home city. Maximum rock’n’roll.

Thanks Portsmouth Creates for the chance to catch up with progress at Playland. A great new hub for the city’s emerging cultural organisations and freelance creative workforce.

Congratulations Ad Infinitum on Last Rites at Bristol Old Vic - a compelling piece of non-verbal storytelling from start to finish.

The Dana Awartani and Sahara Longe exhibitions at Arnolfini are just excellent - well worth your time and attention. Truly an organisation on a golden run right now.

Southampton Mela in glorious midsummer sunshine. A great couple of days in store, and a wonderful focal point for the whole city. Congratulations Art Asia for everything you’ve achieved.

The Jenny Saville show at the National Portrait Gallery. Exhilarating. For lovers of figurative painting, Young British Artists & anyone who ever owned a copy of The Holy Bible or Journal For Plague Lovers by the Manic Street Preachers. Then cricket at The Oval on a perfect summer’s evening. Lovely.

After a hardcore couple of weeks, an evening in, a stern G&T and the chance to get among some of my recent record purchases: two fabulous acquisitions from Analog Africa, an absolute masterwork from The Gymkhana, and the post-Glasto glow of Pulp and Corto Alto. Glorious music for serious times.

Thanks @wiltshiremuseum.bsky.social for hosting me in Devizes yesterday. Good to see the ambitious plans for the Assizes Court, pleased to catch the @wessexmuseums.bsky.social Un/common People exhibition, and valuable to hear from the team about their engagement work. A Friday very well spent.

One final thing about #Glastonbury - I’m an impatient technology consumer, but thought the official festival app was absolutely *brilliant* …an indispensable ally at all times, and a first-class playbook for others to follow.

As ever, a beautiful few days at @glastonburyfestivals.co.uk. The acts you knew, the acts you didn’t, the acts you’d forgotten. Dazzled by the reinvention of @triggerstuff.bsky.social Poli-Nations trees in Shangri-La and, as ever, in awe of the south west’s freelance creative workforce. Good times.

Excellent news from the British Council >

Hugely impressed by my visit to The Creation Works / Hwel An Gwrians yesterday. What a great new resource for the community of Par and performance makers from across Cornwall. Full credit to everyone involved.

Liliane Lijn’s work has had a special place in my heart ever since my University of Warwick undergraduate days. The comprehensive new study of her career to date at @tatestives.bsky.social is just magical - koans and much else besides - very highly recommended if you’re in Cornwall this summer.

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Thanks @sadikal-hassanmp.bsky.social for hosting a very useful roundtable with North Somerset’s cultural leaders and @artscouncilengland.bsky.social at Clevedon Library yesterday. A valuable discussion with plenty of takeaways.

A very useful trip to North Somerset with Arts Council England’s SW Area Council. Thanks @superculture.bsky.social, @triggerstuff.bsky.social, Front Room and @northsomersetc.bsky.social for being so generous with your time and learning…really appreciated.