Matthew Francis

Book 73: Jonathan Buckley's One Boat (from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social) and an LHG x Põhjala Bestla.

Book 72: Daniel Saldaña París's The Dance and the Fire (from @charcopress.com).

Book 71: Olga Tokarczuk's House of Day, House of Night (from @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social) and an Unbarred 3 B's.

Book 70: Annie Ernaux's The Other Girl.

There are no way there will be any #ThatcherBham students on Bluesky, but if there were...

The next step, of course, would be that you have to wait for the ad to finish playing before the door unlocks and you can get to your cheese...

Book 69: Sophia Rosenfeld's The Age of Choice - which maybe I will have read for Tuesday - and a Deya Unsteady Rolling Man.

Premier League one-time wonders: Extreme examples of things happening only once From a striker who touched the ball only once to the young star stuck on one win, we look at the more niche Premier League statistics

While I enjoyed this from @nickmiller79.bsky.social, I am a little disappointed that Wolves being the first (and as far as I know only) Premier League side to go through a full game without committing a foul did not make the cut...

Wolves supporting ‘Together Against Suicide’ campaign Wolves have joined fellow Premier League clubs in supporting to the ‘Together Against Suicide’ campaign, helping fans affected by suicide or suicidal th...

Am always pleased to see @wolvesfc.bsky.social involved in projects like this. There is a lot not right at the club at the moment, but they are getting this stuff right.

When I looked for the full text of Nye Bevan's comment about sending the Foreign Secretary "naked into the conference chamber" last week, Google AI helpfully told me that there was no record of him attending any international summit in the nude.

Book 68: António Lobo Antunes's Midnight Is Not In Everyone's Reach and an Unbarred Stoutzilla.

If any broadcaster would like to test this theory, I am available for a modest fee.

Book 67: Geetanjali Shree's Our City That Year and an Unbarred Bueno Shake.

Book 66: Chiara Valerio's The Little I Knew.

Also, frankly, anyone who sees me out and about reading Thomas Bernhard or Dasa Drndic or whoever and considers that a sign that I am a potential sexual partner is probably in need of psychological intervention.

As someone who reads in public quite often - on trains, in pubs - I want to confirm here that I am doing it, not for attention, but because I want you to leave me the fuck alone.

Book 65: Leonora Carrington's The Stone Door.

Book 64: Jen Calleja's Fair - a @vocebooks.bsky.social purchase - and a Fuerst Wiacek Crab Hands. 🦀

Book 63: Joanna Pocock's Greyhound (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social).

A black and white photograph of disgraced Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe inspecting Jimi Hendrix's rather beautiful Flying V guitar (with a floral pattern on the body), while Hendrix explains the volume and tone controls.

Of course, say what you like about Thorpe, but I am fairly certain that no other party leader ever jammed with Hendrix...

She's one hovercraft away from being a full-blown Jeremy Thorpe tribute act...

I Have a Love — The Resurrection of Beer, Football and Community Under Dublin Floodlights — Pellicle On 15 July 2009, Stephen Clinch landed in Salzburg, tired and confused, after jetting from Dublin to Sioux Falls, Minneapolis, back to Dublin, and finally, to Munich. He’d been buying equipment for hi...

If you know me even a little bit you not be surprised to learn that I loved this, from @pelliclemag.com, on the interconnections of Dublin's craft beer and football scenes.

I went to Richmond Park (and Rascal's) last year and can confirm that "ramshackle charisma" nails it. A great little ground.

Hmmmm. If she has moved on, I hope the club are not going to let it pass without comment. She was a very important player for a long time!

Did I miss an announcement on Summer Holmes leaving as well? She's not mentioned in that article, but has disappeared from the squad list...

Book 62: Ave Barrera's Restoration (@charcopress.com) and a Vault City DDF Churros.

Book 61: Jacqueline Harpman's Orlanda.

Book 60: Sue Prideaux's Wild Thing.

Of course, Kane is hardly the first footballer to venture into breakfast foods: ex-Stoke City striker Mamady Sidibé used to run a patisserie.

Of course, as much as I love the original Spitting Image - and #ThatcherBham students have no doubt tired of me pointing out - this was true more broadly. A lot of the jokes about Thatcher were, at root, "the Prime Minister is a woman".

While probably not as effusive about it as I am, @williampurkis.bsky.social will agree that it's a good record.