Teachers should not have to be heroes for tackling people with guns. This should not be normal or acceptable in a civilised society.

It’s a fascinating phenomenon. I know women who have been into this M/M genre in book form for some years, including one who has been writing them successfully for over 10 years, but I only recently realised the sheer scale of it and how it isn’t aimed at gay men.

As a gay man, I still find it strange how Heated Rivalry — exclusively a story about queer men — was made specifically for straight women.

Péter Magyar victory speech:

"We want to make a country where no one is persecuted because they think differently or because someone loves in a different way to others."

He may not have campaigned as a liberal. But this is a huge change of direction and rhetoric from Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ crusade.

Claudia Jolly as Brenda Dean in In The Print. Photo by Charlie Flint Photography.

As a journalist (and one-time NUJ deputy father of chapel), I found Robert Khan & Tom Salinsky’s play, In The Print, at the King’s Head Theatre a fascinating and compelling account of the 1980s Wapping dispute. Claudia Jolly stands out as the tough and tenacious Brenda Dean.

Right now, EUP’s website isn’t allowing pre-orders of the paperback but I will try again in a few days as this sounds a timely must-read.

Paperback of Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City on a counter next to a black coffee in a coffee shop

Sat in a near-empty Edward Hopper-like coffee shop in London at Easter finishing off Olivia Laing’s excellent book about social isolation and loneliness, The Lonely City.

Paperback copies of Goran Vojnović’s books, The Fig Tree and Yugoslavia, My Fatherland, in English from Istros Books

Looking forward to reading Goran Vojnović’s latest book in English translation — Yugoslavia, My Fatherland — from Istros Books. Žal ne morem brati knjige v slovenščini, ker ne razumem jezika dovolj dobro.
#slovensko #knjige

The New York Times drops freelance journalist who used AI to write book review Writer and author Alex Preston said he “made a serious mistake” after a reader spotted similarities between his review and one that appeared in the Guardian

Once again, a reminder that AI right now is nothing more than plagiarism and theft.
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m... #AI

Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika and Maddie Ziegler in blood-spattered white ballet costumes standing on a staircase with Uma Thurman in Pretty Lethal

Amazon Prime Video’s new thriller, Pretty Lethal, is bloody and ludicrous but wonderfully camp and action-packed. A great cast including Uma Thurman and Lydia Leonard. Never mess with a balle-****ing-rina. #PrettyLethal

Scottish poet Kenneth White’s dying wish to be denied aft... White wanted his Brittany home turned into an artists’ residence. Now it may be sold on the open market

He thought poetry could help save us - now not even the fate of his home is secure…Scottish poet Kenneth White’s dying wish to be denied after clerical error observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Last time I went to a Simmons, I paid £10 for one Espresso Martini (although I had missed the 2-for-1 happy hour) so I’m wondering if my old NUS card will get me access to this bar.

Isn’t all biography or memoir a kind of fiction? But I say “biographical fiction” and go in assuming none of it is “fact” until I’ve read non-fictional accounts. I’ve just read Memoirs of Hadrian and wonder what Marguerite Yourcenar would make of this.

I have tried Huel. It brought back memories of being treated for cancer when I could drink nothing but Fortisip protein shakes.

As Roger Scruton once said, foreign caterpillars bring multi-culturalism and that is bad. (Source: ?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

RIP Desmond Barrit, towering theatrical talent, glorious human. Had a ball hosting a Q&A on a play he was in a decade ago - had always loved him on stage and it was a joy to discover what a smashing man he was in real life. He’ll be so missed. Hope theatres dim the lights for him….

UK government must urgently apologise for forced adoption, MPs say Ministers urged to work with survivor groups on formal apology as many victims are nearing end of their lives The UK government must urgently issue a formal apology for the state’s role in forced adoption as many victims are nearing the end of their lives, a cross-party group of MPs has said. A report from the education select committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording. Continue reading...

UK government must urgently apologise for forced adoption, MPs say

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix

Remembering the brilliant Harper’s Island from 2009(!) as I prepare to watch a new horror series about a wedding that presumably ends in bloodshed…
#SomethingVeryBadIsGoingToHappen

Being self-employed and in the past forced to chase payments that were many months and even years late, I am pleased to see some action.

As someone who once worked in bookshops, I find WH Smith’s haphazard approach to alphabetisation extremely discombobulating. I resisted the urge to put them in order. Well, mostly… (I didn’t buy anything.)

CAMPAIGN FOR A WEST END CAST RECORDING
I asked the wonderful Jenna Boyd at Stage Door of The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry about the possibility of a cast recording. Jenna said that the cast would love to but it was up to us to 'get on the socials and drum up some support'. Let's make it happen!

It is small, stable and a European success story. So why is Slovenia turning its back on liberalism? | Ana Schnabl Janez Janša would be another illiberal threat to the EU if he wins on 22 March, says Slovenian writer Ana Schnabl

It is small, stable and a European success story. So why is Slovenia turning its back on liberalism? | Ana Schnabl

Fespa 2026 set to be biggest outing for the event since Covid - Images magazine The number of exhibitors set for Fespa 2026 is approaching 600 with 10 weeks to go, making it the biggest outing for the event since Covid

The number of exhibitors taking part in Fespa 2026 in Barcelona is approaching 600 with more than two months to go, making it the biggest outing for the event since Covid.
imagesmag.uk/fespa26-bigger

#Fespa2026 #fespa #textile2026 #GarmentPrinting #GarmentDecoration

Želim brati to knjigo, ampak se učim slovenščine in še nisem dovolj dober. Morda bomo imeli angleški prevod, preden bom lahko bral v slovenščini!

Več tisoč pisateljev s Več tisoč pisateljev in pisateljic je izdalo

Več tisoč pisateljev in pisateljic je izdalo "prazno" knjigo, da bi protestirali proti umetni inteligenci, ki njihova dela uporablja brez dovoljenja. ⬇️

You know the best way to kill AI? Don't use it. Don't buy it. Don't share it. Don't give the people who use it your labour or your money.

Terrible name.

I have come across Brits there who do understand and take an interest in Cypriot history, politics and culture but they are in a minority and, yes, sadly there is no evidence that will ever change (which is their loss). 🙁

Ha. Looking at Brits’ comments on Cyprus news posts on Facebook, that looks extremely unlikely. Some of them clearly haven’t a clue.