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Brightoniana: Aubrey Beardsley

Brightoniana: Aubrey Beardsley

I'd never seen this plaque on Buckingham Road before yesterday. It's commemorates the all too brief life of the artist and illustrator, Aubrey Beardsley who was born at number 12. It's such a shame that it has a spray can squiggle on it. Not least because such artlessness seems totally at odds ... Read more »
The Great Escape Festival 2009, Brighton. Day 1.

The Great Escape Festival 2009, Brighton. Day 1.

The Great Escape is an annual music festival held in Brighton. It’s not really like a festival (in the sense of Glastonbury) because it’s not communal: we all go elsewhere to shit, shower and shag*. The City doesn’t really notice The Great Escape is happening. I think of it as an un-festival. ... Read more »
Reading List

Reading List

This is a bit of an aide memoire for me and a solicitation for suggestions. Are there any books I should be reading? Fiction preferred this week, I think. Here are some suggestions I've received recently: I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've never read anything by the brilliant Terry ... Read more »
Southern Railway Passenger Playlist

Southern Railway Passenger Playlist

Southern Railways usually do a pretty good job of running trains to and from London and Brighton. But the past few weeks have been horrendous. I'll forgive snow disruption reluctantly (although not the website being down due to demand as people were desperate to get info) but signal failures, ... Read more »
2008: My Top Five Favourite Songs

2008: My Top Five Favourite Songs

Last year I started what I suspect will become a bit of a tradition. I named my 5 favourite new songs of 2007. I was loose in my definition of new. This year, 'new' means new: all but one of the songs was published in 2008. So here you go: my top five new songs of 2008. Vampire Weekend: Oxford ... Read more »
Mark Steel: What's Going On?

Mark Steel: What’s Going On?

Mark Steel is the Jeremy Clarkson of the left. Just cleverer. And funnier. And not so naff. And much better dressed. Steel's book, What's Going On? is hilarious but as a humour book it's strangely unsatisfactory. It's about the degeneration of a relationship, the decline of the left as a force ... Read more »
The X-Factor: Hallelujah.

The X-Factor: Hallelujah.

When it comes to showbiz, I like schmaltz. I've liked schmaltz even more since I learnt it was a jewish/yiddish term for goose, chicken or pork fat. That's what you need to add a bit of fun, luxury, shine and excitement to a dish. Showbiz is the same. I like schmaltz. So, I've been enjoying the ... Read more »
You're the Top

You’re the Top

Very much the "Anything Goes" version of the Cole Porter classic. Rather than any of the rude ones where, well, anything ... Read more »
Today's motivational spur...

Today’s motivational spur…

This morning I learnt that a school chum has published a novel. Not a close friend or anything but being a curious kind of person I popped over to Amazon buy it: Who is Charlie Conti? by Claus von Bohlen. And while I was there I tought, "well, I'd better get Richard Mason's new book too." Richard's ... Read more »
Venn you're in love with a beautiful woman...

Venn you’re in love with a beautiful woman…

Blame my mum for the fact I know this song. She had a Dr Hook tape and I think it got played quite a lot when I was wee. Well, blame my mum and Radio 2. Radio 2 still plays their tape. So, here's my homage to that great song 'When you're in love with a beautiful woman'. Responsibility for the ... Read more »
Something Changed

Something Changed

Pulp. I just love Pulp and one song will come to that desert island when I'm famous enough and I think it's probably gonna be this one. Oh Jarvis. Where would I be now? Where would I be now, if we'd never never met? Would I be blogging this song somewhere else instead? And I'm blogging it not ... Read more »
Nightswimming

Nightswimming

After the great song from REM, that I listened to way too much in 1993: Part of my ongoing homage to Graphjam and ... Read more »
Who gives a fuck about an Oxford Comma?

Who gives a fuck about an Oxford Comma?

... Read more »
Costa Book Awards Sanction a Typo

Costa Book Awards Sanction a Typo

I'm not that proud for noticing this: I'm not the lovely Lynne Truss and I fully accept that we all make typos. In general, I'm pretty forgiving. But I couldn't resist pointing out this tiny mistake from the Costa Book Awards. They really ought to know better after ... Read more »