Brian Spurrell

Ive sat here watching a gentle old weatherman getting obliterated by Michael Buerk and find myself wondering how BBC journalists are unable to hold the feet of certain "politicians" and other figures to the fire these days.

Speaking of Wilfred Rhodes, by the time he played his last Test match in 1930, snooker player Fred Davis (brother of Joe) had already turned professional. In 1992 Davis, aged 79, lost a Rothmans Grand Prix match to 17-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan.

My favourite of these when it did the rounds on "the other place" was: Stan Laurel could have ridden a Japanese bullet train.

Yes, I preferred Like a Virgin and Crazy For You and still do. But that's a bit much! Good luck with the book Justin.

You got that far? I nearly stopped when he called Madonna "grievously pathetic" - way to alienate your audience within half a sentence!

Arthur Negus looking to the left. A teapot looking to the right.

Your own
personal
Negus,
Someone to look at your wares
Someone who cares.

ICE attempted
and failed to disappear a food delivery guy.
It needed to be scored.

‘Stand Up and Be Counted’: Hughie Green, the 1970s and Popular Memory At about 7.20pm on 27 December 1976, towards the end of Opportunity Knocks, a talent show on the UK commercial channel ITV, the presenter Hughie Green turned to the camera and suddenly adopted a gr…

Excellent as ever, the leaving behind of a child's Christmas juxtaposed with a feeling of change in music which (as you've often said) wasn't as radical in 1977 as we thought it might be. Re that peculiar Hughie Green record, take a look at this: very long but rewarding. joemoran.net/academic-art...

Never mind that, where were Squeeze playing and why did Gilson Lavis go to hospital??

I also adored Spinning Rock Boogie. And had a misheard lyric for the Waddy too - "your ass shining so brightly".

Some gems here. Keith Moon's drumming like nails being hammered into crosses; your dad calling Johnny Mathis a racist bastard; a remarkable reference to Brecht and Weill from a 12-year-old, and the parallel between "Somebody to Love" and the Lumberjack Song! Genius.

Very odd watching BBC News talking about the Lib Dem conference and mentioning how the party has struggled to break through in the media like it's nothing to do with them.

Fascinating chat with Rod around the time of The Killing of Georgie - originally in Gay News.

Today, Trump claimed not to know who Peter Mandleson is. An obvious & egregious lie but one which highlights why the regime is so keen to silence anyone telling the truth. On the current trajectory, he will soon be able to claim that he's never heard of Melania without any pushback at all.

Guess this is a historical document now...

That's more sense than I've seen for a while on the topic, from someone who's not courting Reform votes.

Charlie Kirk was a champion of free speech and anyone who says otherwise will be fired

Sometimes I find myself thinking there may be somebody I loathe more than Johnson, then I see his smirking mug again and am reminded...

Not quite up there with Lenin and Benny Hill, but a good one!

In case you weren't aware (I'm not sure he's even aware himself), tonight just after 9 on Talking Pictures TV - channel 81 or 82 on Freeview - there's a gig by @churchcat.bsky.social appearing at the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club in 1977!

wow, where have we seen stuff like this before...?

Worth the admission fee for the review of Doina De Jale alone. A later generation might have called it ambient chillout: for me, 14 and excited by all these punk bands I was reading about in Sounds but had yet to hear, it was mesmerising. And so few people I've met since appreciate it!

Was listening to Steps on @whichdecadetops.bsky.social just a couple of hours ago!

Take some time to read this marvellous review of the Stones plus supporting cast at Knebworth 1976. They said "this could be the last time" for the Stones (Jagger still packs them in at 33!!) - but it was the last time for 10cc who split soon afterwards, and nearly the last time for Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Sounds Front Cover 28th, August 1976 featuring The Rolling Stones. Pic by Mike Portland.

A collection of front pages from the billionaire owning media, promoting anti immigrant rhetoric

Lucy Connolly called for hotels housing women and children to be set on fire.

Out of European countries, UK ranks 13th for asylum claims/capita and 1st for proportion of news media owned by billionaires.

Only one country has widespread protests outside asylum seeker accommodation.

Bringing out the old Hollowegians (1980-84 in my case). Went to a reunion in 2011 and was allocated my old room in Founders East!

And yet Waterloo Sunset was trending, so that's a new angle: man who was apparently in a song.

Most surprised that AI hasn't heard of "Devil's Haircut" Beck.

A road sign. The left turn at the roundabout leads to Monkey World and the Tank Museum.

Very possibly the most British road sign in Britain: