@vtheobscure.bsky.social I did not know until just now that Channel 5 were doing a TdF daily highlights show! I'm no aficionado, so, combined with For the Love of Cycling podcast, it should get me through July. Hoorah. Will still miss ITV's coverage so much, obviously.

WE DID IT! We survived the Great Heat of Late June 2026! It's 18°C and overcast. It rained last night. It's glorious.

Me: Have you got any of that... GWR train trolley bloke: Fruit cake? Me: How? Him: It's what we're known for. Not late trains. Not overcrowding. Cake. Fruit cake. #TrainBanter

Today a student came to say thank you to the library. In their words before they found us they "refused to pick a book up" but now love to read & have their own bookshelves at home. They thanked us for making that possible & that one interaction has made the last awful year of feel worthwhile.

Today I was woken by arsehole seagull parents attacking a man walking his dog. Again. Look at these bastard things. Every year they have another baby in a stupid neighbour's chimney pot and raise it on our street. Two years ago the baby was run over and the divebombing stopped and I was not sad.

One positive, I know my sweat glands are functioning well. #SoHot #WhenWillThisTortureEnd

This is nice. (Last day tomorrow. Yes, it's cool in there.)

It's really pleasant outside right now. Whereas inside my late Victorian house it feels as though I installed underfloor heating, then whacked it up to max, and turned on the central heating and the oven and opened the oven door, then boiled 50 kettles simultaneously. But outside, lovely.

Cardiff's outdoor gigs so far this week. As heard from my bedroom. Mon: Skunk Anansie 8/10 Some nice recognisable ditties. Skin's voice carries well. Tues: Empire of the Sun 2/10 Seagulls drowned this out. Weds: The Cure 5/10 Disappointingly repetitive basslines. Thurs: McFly 7/10 Lively drums.

It's so very upsetting that management, following our move away from subject support and embedded IL sessions a few years ago, to a functional library arrangement with mostly generic teaching, attribute the notable drop-off in database usage in the arts disciplines I used to support UNIQUELY to AI.

I've been sent yet another mandaotry online work course thingy. I've never before been so grateful to do something so mindless. I might take my time over it. #hot

BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT 107°F (42°C) FEELS LIKE, BBC!

The Cure's basslines, heard from 1.7 miles away, are a tad repetitive. (This doesn't mean I don't think Robert Smith is a sweetie.)

Earlier today a large mirror, which has hung in my bedroom for a couple of decades, spontaneously fell off the wall. (The glass survived, the plug socket below it, not so much.) The hanging mechanism is fine. I can only conclude the house became swollen from heat and expelled the mirror.

If you’re in Cardiff and on your way to see The Cure or Lily Allen tonight, go show these folx some love 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Our local seagulls have welcomed the new people nextdoor-but-one to the neighbourhood. Their baby has taken up residence in their front yard. The poor buggers.

Next Tuesday looks to be AMAZING. (21°C if you don't understand old money.)

Just for my own interest. At work. Tuesday 08:30. 26°.

Catching the bus to work today. Drive is a Good Person. He's cheekily leaving the doors open for a few seconds whilst leaving each bus stop. Getting a nice breeze going. Cheers, Drive!

When I had Amtico installed in my house, the installers were all, "Oooo, it's going to make your house colder. Especially underfoot." Well, who's laughing now, eh? Not this half naked woman sprawled across the living room floor, that's for sure.

Hmm, I wonder what happened 10 years ago…

I did a brilliant job of hiding from the INSANE amount of filming that happened in this 70 minute class.

I'm so incapable of thinking in this heat, I must be close to meditative nirvana.

Ah yes, Angine de Poitrine are on Jools Holland tonight. There'd best be no piano, Jools.

Shitting hell, it happened AGAIN. To me. No-one else. This train hates me. I am VERY DAMP.

I have been rained on inside my train. The air con went loopy and dumped a LOT of condensation on me. The train staff said "Oh, yes, we came from Swansea. It's raining there. And in London it's summer. The air con can't cope." YOU AND ME BOTH, AIR CON! Anyway. I'm a little cooler after my shower.

So. I'm inside Pineapple Dance Studio. Waiting for a class. 😳

Another day, another stupid Excel chart.

Please help spread the word! In honour of our dear Jonathan Main we have two scholarships available for each Masterclass Sunday we run. Next up is Zine Making with @colossive.com on 5th July, 9-11am. Details on how to apply (or book a paid place) here: www.outsavvy.com/event/34987/...

I can't figure out how to switch off the air con in my hotel room without climbing on a chair and poking the thing. And it's stuck at 19°. Anyway. I'm very happy and live here now.

I'm back in the same hotel a year later and, because Travelodge let you do this now, I pre-booked a room with a good view of the traffic. I had a lovely evening.

You know that thing when you and your friend go to a show in a 1,500 seat venue in London during a two week long flamenco festival and you look over at the person about to take the seat next to your friend and IT'S YOUR FORMER FLAMENCO TEACHER WHO NOW LIVES IN POLAND? Bit of a coincidence, eh?

Eating this chocolate because the lady who just gave me my latest COVID jab told me to. It was definitely medical advice.

RIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter

One frustration I have about my work as a prof is there very little reward for good pedagogy (beyond knowing it is the right thing to do and students getting a valuable experience). For example, I teach first-year chemistry and I incorporate an information literacy project in the Spring quarter.

The Cardiff School of Art and Design final year show is on at the mo. I thought this, from @ruben.art.insta, was fab.

Happy birthday, @vtheobscure.bsky.social! May the sun shine brightly for you today. x

The Netherlands team ate their Ready Brek, I see. #Football #WorldCup #NEDvJPN (If you understand this, you may be old.)

The drive that would've taken 3.5 hours yesterday, took just 2.5 hours early this morning. I wouldn't ordinarily mention such a blindingly obvious thing, except I ENJOYED the drive. The motorways were quiet, I wasn't stressed. It felt like 40 years ago. Especially as Tony Blackburn was on the radio.

I enjoyed the graveyard at St Clement's Church in Romney Marsh this morning. These were my favourite headstones. Derek Jarman's (of course), Grumpy's (with the 'its right you're dead' message) and Edward Mark Skilbeck's (because it seems like he lived a good life).

After 2.5 hours of driving, in between more pootling, I've had enough for today. Definitely can't do the remaining 3.5 home. I've collapsed at a motorway services hotel. D'you know what? It's quite serviceable. This is my view. My entertainment will be in the services watching tired people argue. 😂

I'm leaving this place today. When not pootling elsewhere, I've just stared out at this odd view. I've seen the fox, rabbits, brazen and noisy magpies, a flock of linnets, a few pairs of reed buntings, lots of dunnocks and a random little dog. But not a single human. It's been lovely.

This morning I visited the sound mirrors at Romney Marsh (meh) and St Thomas Becket Church (gorgeous, worth the effort of multiple diversions around closed unclassified roads). My favourite part was collecting this giant key to open the church from a nearby house.

The fox visited again. I asked him to move away from the door, then rolled an egg out. He enjoyed his egg. He opened the shell delicately, and licked the contents. Once he'd finished, a magpie flew off with the shell. Nature, eh?

My head is very quiet in this place. Possibly because of the nothingness. Or maybe the unrelenting wind has blown away all my thoughts.

🚨New job alert 🚨 Want to feel like you're making a difference with your skills? Come and join a team of research support librarians working in the House of Commons. It's a great place to work and a really varied role. Full details: hrhoc.parliament.uk/ce0912li_web...

Excuse me whilst I consult my dictionary before walking on the beach. 😜

My holiday place comes with a guard cat. It's a big one.

Staying in a bonkers holiday home for the next few nights. I'm sleeping in an old railway carriage inside a sort of hut. As you enter there's this photo of long-dead blokes in a ticket booth, with train tickets for you to take. Bonkers. I love it.

I used to covet this flat whilst cycling around the Bay trail, but the inside is soulless, bordering on awful. And where did all those leaves in the corners of the terrace come from? It's weird. Also £900k for a flat near wasteland just off the A4232 in Cardiff? No thanks, mate.