Simon Read

I love this atmospheric photo of London's Embankment, taken in February 1933, one year after my dad was born just across the river.

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

"And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good"
My favourite track of the year so far is Bruce Springsteen's powerful protest song Streets Of Minneapolis.
youtu.be/wWKSoxG1K7w?...

It is Wanda

No, but the film had a vague fish connection

#Film trivia: Which film is this from?

Post your favourite "Lord of the Rings" character. Wrong answers only.

A rare home win for AFC Wimbledon yesterday as they beat Reading 3-2. It was the first goal(s) we'd seen Wimbledon score at Plough Lane for almost three months, and their second victory in a week has eased relegation fears. At least for the moment

Football: a salve for all troubles (unless we end up losing)

I had an interesting week. I hope you did too

Cheers Joe

We had sex in a Chinese hotel, then found we had been broadcast to thousands A couple who stayed in Shenzhen discovered their intimate moments were filmed as spy-cam porn.

Editor: there's only one person who can write this story. Send for...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today

Thursday pre-dinner #cocktail as the rain buckets down on the coastal town they forgot to close down is a pre-mixed Boulevardier by @whiteboxcocktails, a delicious blend of bourbon, vermouth and bitters. I'm enjoying a great book and this'll help me be happy in the haze of a drunken hour. Pip pip!

Postcard from Southend

Ted Read fundraiser for Cancer Research UK Help Simon Read raise money to support Cancer Research UK

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Ted Read (28/2/32 – 10/1/26) will be held at Southend Crematorium, 12.30pm on Friday 6 February. Afterwards there will be a toast to Ted at Chalkwell Park Rooms. Donations can be made to Cancer Research UK www.justgiving.com/page/tedread

Help Minneapolis Get a Nobel Peace Prize Students protest against ICE during a walkout at the University of Minnesota, on January 26, 2026 (Brandon Bell / Getty Images) The editors of The Nation are formally nominating the city of Minneapo...

Here's a Nobel Peace Prize nomination I can get behind actionnetwork.org/petitions/su...

Poem of the week: The Secret Day by Stella Benson Writing towards the end of the first world war, the poet, novelist, journalist and suffragist Benson here dreams of a secure peace

"So I have built To-day, the day that I desired,
Lest joy come not again, lest peace return no more,
Lest comfort come no more."
Love The Guardian's poem of the week by Stella Benson www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Video of West Northants leader 'getting in the bath' is deleted A council is accused of cover-up after James Petter appeared to get in the bath during an online meeting.

He went into politics to make a big splash
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trump: “ICE is removing some of the most violent criminals in the World from our Country”

Where is the foreign #beer that Brits are flogged actually brewed?
That exotic pint will be brewed in Manchester, Northampton, Wolverhampton, Tadcaster, Burton or Magor, South Wales by mega-brewers Heineken, Carlsberg, Molson Coors or AB InBev, which control global beer sales

Chimay makes some beautiful beers, whether blue, red, white or trippel

Leffe is also produced at the InBev brewery in Magor, South Wales

As far as I know, yes it's only brewed at the Scourmont Abbey in Chimay, Belgium.

Where your favourite foreign #beer is actually brewed, if you drink in the UK

Madri – Tadcaster
Cobra, Coors, Pravha, Staropramen, Blue Moon – Burton
Birra Moretti, Heineken, Fosters - Manchester
San Miguel, Carlsberg, 1664 - Northampton
Angelo Poretti, Brooklyn Lager – Wolverhampton
Corona, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Becks - South Wales
Estrella – Bedford

Where is the foreign #beer that Brits are flogged actually brewed?
That exotic pint will be brewed in Manchester, Northampton, Wolverhampton, Tadcaster, Burton or Magor, South Wales by mega-brewers Heineken, Carlsberg, Molson Coors or AB InBev, which control global beer sales

Thanks Hazel

Ted Read fundraiser for Cancer Research UK Help Simon Read raise money to support Cancer Research UK

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Ted Read (28/2/32 – 10/1/26) will be held at Southend Crematorium, 12.30pm on Friday 6 February. Afterwards there will be a toast to Ted at Chalkwell Park Rooms. Donations can be made to Cancer Research UK www.justgiving.com/page/tedread

Football can delight and exasperate in equal measure. I saw 2 games yesterday when the teams I support were terrible in the first half but produced much more pleasing performances in the second. AFC Wimbledon lost 1-0 while Chelsea fought back to win 3-2 late on. Football!

‘It’s ridiculous’: publicans bemused by rise of single-file queues to get served Bar owners say they struggle to dissuade people from forming a line as behavioural experts point to post-pandemic ‘new norms’

Boozers across the country, we need to rise up against the ridiculous trend of queueing in pubs. It's hitting pub trade as they can't serve people quickly enough. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...