🙌
Still the luckiest person in the world. Living in NE England. Body failing, spirit soaring, walking with Gusto in Pontburn Wood. Plymouth Argyle supporter. Monument Maker. MD ANT!
199 followers 132 following 1,150 posts
view profile on Bluesky
🙌
BBC's political editor wants to have Nigel Farage's babies www.bbc.com/news/article...
I was already in a good mood this evening, and now I'm in a doubly good mood listening to David Byrne's new album.
Yup, that’s folk art.
I like Ashley-Hammond. Keep him in instead of Hazard the Hazardous. (Except for penalties, of course, cos he'll never save a penalty in his life)
Is that what they call folk art?
Finally beginning to look like a team. Ibrahim was a revelation today.
Good question
On Saturday mornings I always go to Blind Date first in the Guardian, just to see how terrible the men’s trousers are. I couldn’t fault Joe’s today, though, except that his turnups are out of whack. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Melissa Carper and friends were great fun at the Cluny in Newcastle last night. Country swinging between Texas and Tennessee. Happy times.
Quite right too
Gusto found a squeaky ball on his walk and this could go on for hours. (Sound on)
The cover of a Penguin Classic paperback is apparently 'Adult Content'
I'd not heard of Lafcadio Hearn until recently. He was a fascinating character and these traditional Japanese stories are beautifully written. The local connection is that he was educated in the 1860s at Ushaw College in County Durham.
Having said that, I would absolutely love to be there.
Some wonderful paintings shown in the article, but there's something very odd about seeing them mounted so close to floor level. It seems more natural to look up at an Immaculate Conception than down on it.
It's bright in the North East too. A good new day rising.
Zurbarán, of course. My fingers are very fat today.
Wautier, not Vautier!
And I've just found that this exhibition of Michaelina Vautier's work will be at the Royal Academy in London next year. Same time as Zurbabán at the National Gallery so that's a big trip in prospect.
I've not heard of her before, but those are some outstanding paintings. Now I need to find out more.
On a grey and drizzly morning in Bishop Auckland, the snuggest place is definitely the Spanish Gallery #bringasheeptoworkday
All the cheap Chinese-made flags flying at half-mast in Crook, County Durham, are looking particularly pathetic in the rain this morning.
I much prefer the short stories
What a frustrating book this is. A great story, long passages of incredible beauty, but all those many, many clevernesses make it hard to love.
"They're just playing to the Reform gallery" is not an explanation or an excuse. Playing to the Reform gallery is the whole damned problem.
That's the one that made me buy it
It's not difficult to strike a contrast with Reform. Just don't be racist. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Losing my edge Wordle 1,536 3/6 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Bernard taught me for a term in 1981. When I next met him (at a Heaney-related event) nearly 30 years later, he remembered me. Definitely one of the good guys.
Eek!
There’s one or two tracks I’d like back. She can keep the rest.
Mandy still has my copy of Veedon Fleece that I lent her in 1980.
It's #bloodcancerawarenessmonth, and here's why I think it's important...
I see Starmer's reset is going well. Agreeing with racists and thugs because he "gets it"
I’m just the luckiest person in the world
Obviously going to be a good week Wordle 1,535 2/6 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Spencer might not have thought that his still lives and garden pictures were important, but his genius shows in every meticulous brush stroke.
Serious pannier toting going on there
Spare advertising space for sleeve sponsors
Oh, look. A good day coming. Wordle 1,534 2/6 🟩🟨🟨🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
The Arsenal third kit has the best football shirt collar I've seen in a long time.
That's quite a codpiece, or is that a drum that Death is beating with a bone?
The only time I saw him play live was in the Killjoys. No one that night could have guessed what would follow.
Many old junior chemistry sets are going to be taken down from attics today
One day in Edinburgh and I'm convinced it's the last redoubt of the hipster beard.
Busy time gallery-hopping in Edinburgh: John Bellany, Andy Goldsworthy and John Singer Sargent. Take your pick, but I love them all.
I'm so sorry to hear that, Richard. We could all see how much he meant to you.
Come on over, Bill.
That's the ticket
Are you having a good week or summat?
Flag shaggers
Yes, exactly that effect. Thank you.
Do you know why oil paint on copper retains such brightness? Is it simply because copper is non-porous or is there some other reason? We have two paintings on copper by Pedro Orrente in the Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland and they are amazingly bright and clear.
In other news, and in the face of both evidence and morality, racists will tell you that the country is full and people should be forced to leave
It's international dog day, and international Gusto has Irish and Welsh heritage just like me
The beautiful Derwent Valley
I'd like to hear him move on to the first verse
That's going to stck now. Every time anyone talks about you, recommends your books, etc, it will be, "Did you know the slightly eccentric Rónán Hession supports Watford?", "Have you read X by the slightly eccentric Rónán Hession?"
It was such a pleasure to see Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips in a small bar in Durham tonight. A magical evening in many ways.
Theo would be very happy
It hurts
It’s daft how one good result for your team can make your day, your week, your month, better than it would have been
Last time I had white pudding was in Dublin
Wendy is an inspiration, for sure
Well that’s my world turned upside down
One of the best short stories I’ve ever read
Did you have a black pudding?
Agree all round. Boateng looks the business, looking to drive forward instead of tapping it sideways. Tolaj looks good.
It really was
Sensible dog…
I'll look out for that. It's extraordinary how much he achieved in a short life.
Ushaw House in County Durham, a former Catholic Seminary, has the most beautiful 19thC gothic chapel.
I drove through Crook in County Durham today and every lamp post has a flag of St George hanging from it - appropriately at half-mast, commemorating the loss of our country to racists and bigots.
Post a non-religious photo you think of as holy
Good. I’ll look out for that.
Will this be available to watch online?
Only three rules are needed: never wear shorts; always were a belt; a tee shirt is an undergarment. www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...
What is it that most says 'Autumn's on its way' to you? A chill in the air? Birds gathering on telephone wires to fly south? School uniforms in shop window displays? Or me putting a call out for contributors to A Personal Anthology when it returns in September? Love short stories? Prove it!
Given that we are stuck with the players we have, the tactics have to change. Slow motion tippy-tappy football didn't work under Rooney and it's not working now.
The Gorgeous Inertia of the Earth by Adrian Duncan has everything I need from a book these days. I don't understand it, but I want to, and that's enough. A bit like prayer or St Cecilia at the end of the book, neither of which I will ever understand, but I'll circle around, getting closer and closer
I've given up reading articles about men giving up reading. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/au...
Another small example of the severe limitations of Google gi ing authoritative answers: Q. Does Durham University own Ushaw House? A. No Q. Does Durham University own Ushaw College A. Yes But it's the same place, and the correct answer is No.
Does it include Conversation Piece? One of the best Bowie songs of any era.
That’s enough. I can’t watch any more of this
At least Lincoln are completely useless as well, so I guess we still have a chance even if we are shit. I’d forgotten how bad League 1 football can be.
Be steady, Richie. I hope the rest of the day is good for you.
A beautiful afternoon at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire today.
Still waiting for that Black Lamps album...
I haven't missed them for a minute. I'd probably do the same for the 1000 cds on my shelves but I doubt there's a market for cds (yet).
I sold mine on Ebay a few years ago. Singly for the best, then bundles of five-ish by particular artists (eg REM and Van Morrison). It was a long process and took effort, but I wasn't doing anything else at the time, and I'm sure I got much more for them than if I'd sold them en masse to a dealer.
Same feeling here. There's just too much stuff around. I'm strongly tempted by life in a monastic cell right now, as long as I can take my dog.
I visited Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire for the first time today and saw some fine paintings from the studio of Van Dyck, including this excellent version of Thomas Wentworth and his Secretary Philip Mainwaring, 1634. Knockout stuff from the great man.
Ryan Broom? That bloke who runs after the ball in ever decreasing circles in the middle of the pitch like my neighbour’s little terrier. That Ryan Broom?
Amazing how a dab of white paint can conjure a world
Careful! Adult content below, apparently.
The Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland was the coolest place in the North East today for several reasons.
You can buy them in Primark for £12
