What is this nonsense? Instead, spend £660M on creating safe immigration routes so people can settle, work, pay taxes, become part of their local community etc etc.
I don't understand how we've got to this point. It's insane.
Anyone in Stockbridge (Edinburgh) lost a hen?
Re-watched the section from 55min to 1h04m and can confirm it's so profound I was moved to a wee tear. A great antidote to *waves hand dismissively at the world* all this other bullshit.
Twice up Craigendarroch this afternoon. Not by design, more by accident. I went up, I came down, and then I felt thirsty and went for a swig from my bottle. That's when I realised my hands are somewhat freer than they'd been on the way up 🙄
The world we live in today.
Imagine being Matt LeTissier, a footballer so sublimely gifted supporters of every team in the country admire you, ending up pissed, at 12.04 in the morning, arguing about chemtrails with Elon Musk's outsourced ego machine
they're calling it the most successful World Cup of all time
I feel for you, pal.
As a tribute to Barrie we've reissued the episode of The Melchester Odyssey where Roy Race got shot in the hair.
Here's the source material...
If you want to see the meteors - and you’re in the UK, look NNE - just above the horizon
People with horns in wooden masks and sheep skins
They tried to make me go to Skipton I said no no no
It's harder than ever to promote and spread the word about the good stuff that we all make. This sounds obvious but if you see something you think is fantastic, repost it! As a prolific 'liker' on Bluesky I often forget to repost the stuff I love, and it really helps to get more eyes on nice things.
There's hardly anything left of it
Just in from a lovely teatime visit to Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Holmwood House - which was positively glowing in the low evening sunshine - for the opening of sculptor Jonathan Owen's exhibition.
I'm not familiar with Michelle McManus's programme, but Nicola and Len are great, and BBC Radio Scotland will be the poorer without them.
Edinburgh. She was married, for the second time, in that church.
Advert for kitchen staff at a local soft play centre. It’s horrible AI, and says “Banter all round, good sense of humour, cry laughing emoji” WE DON'T TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY... IT'S BANTS ALL ROUND! BUT WE STILL GET THE JOB DONE! CAN YOU HANDLE THE HEAT & THE JOKES? They also say they are having trouble with interview no-shows. Perhaps people are applying for the bants.
Found this cursed job advert
J. H. Prynne wrote a guide to reading works of literature for Cambridge students. This was the postscript:
8.33% of the managers at the 2026 World Cup have been sacked by Chelsea
Yes, that did in fact hurt.
This book is so freaking good: black, sparse, funny, modern, it transcends descriptions of it as a working class Scottish novel. It’s making me angry all over again that Agnes Owens was so belittled and under-appreciated.
So '90s' you're obliged to wear a biohazchem suit before handling:
That Dubstar record could only have existed in 1995. There is literally no other year in which it might have come into being.
(In my head, because it was always on in the bar at KCL, and I was as fresh and impressionable a 1st year undergrad as could be).
Another call for this, which is back on the iPlayer (maybe it never went away). Incredible footage, immaculate soundtrack. A rare treat.
From today's walk, around Craigmillar Castle, two minutes from my front door...
One thing you will never think after reading a great book or listening to a great album or seeing a great piece of art is, “I’m really glad this person remained cautious while they were making this and guarded against being perceived as weird.”
An Italian colleague thought the MPs' expenses scandal was hilarious, as he couldn't understand why we were getting so bent out of shape about such small amounts
Cover of Beautiful Vision
Listening to Van Morrison’s 1982 album Beautiful Vision, I’m reminded that on the song ‘Cleaning Windows’, about Van’s time as a window cleaner, the ‘Sam’ in the song that he worked with was our window cleaner when I was growing up.
