Londoners! Please come to this very special launch event for LESSONS IN HARMONY on November 10. Not just me talking about the book, but also @philippeauclair.bsky.social in the chair, and music by Ravel and Vaughan Williams performed by world-class musicians.

Jonathan Coe on Ravel and Vaughan Williams and the Music of Nations - Institut Français · Royaume-Uni

Jonathan Coe‘s new novel, Lessons in Harmony, imagines the unlikely friendship between the celebrated French composer Maurice Ravel and his British pupil, the rising Ralph Vaughan Williams, in Belle É...

institut-francais.org.uk

Kemi Badenoch wants to exempt the family home from inheritance tax. But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT. That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing. A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.

Giving children access to incredible art like this is wonderful. I'm glad that tradition is being upheld in children's in mags like Storytime and the Phoenix. Tho I'd like em darker and edgier, as you say, like this. This book does that for me: littletiger.co.uk/product/the-...

The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen - Little Tiger

I have a question.What’s the worst thing that could happen?Wait.Before you decide, let me tell you a story… Take a trip through the sideways door and let supernatural secrets come alive in these chill...

littletiger.co.uk

I feel seen (or haven’t seen) bsky.app/profile/ofal...

Olaf Falafel@ofalafel.bsky.social · 2y ago

I’ve never watched The Traitors and to be honest it’s not as good as never watching Love Island.

My local supermarket has done that annoying thing of moving everything round. But I note they have also substantially reduced the ingredients shop shelves to create more room for ready meals, pizzas, dips, chips etc. This is displeasing to me.

Only £47 needed to hit £2500!! 💚🍐🍏🥦🫛🥒🚌

Lucy Antal aka Grab Your Spoon@lucyantal.bsky.social · 4d ago

Sympathy card being played now. Am ill. 🥺 Please donate /share so I can feel better that we’re raising the funds needed. Some lovely people got us to £2366 this morning. Just £67 more with match & we’ll be at £2500 or 1/8th. Thank you as always! 🥒🚌🫛 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-keep-...

#VanityFair

Nick Park spent the '80s making A Grand Day Out mostly alone. It was a school project that got out of hand -- he wanted to quit many times. But Park stuck with it and fulfilled his dream of bringing a cinematic feel to stop motion. We explore: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/wallace-an...

I’m doing a live drawalong event in Bath on 2nd November as part of the literary festival! I think it’s going to be the biggest show I’ve done yet, and every attendee gets an exclusive poster. Here’s the flyer, that’s someone else’s hand, and here are the tickets www.bathforum.co.uk/whats-on/jam...

When they talk about reducing red tape, remember this image.

James Murray@james-bg.bsky.social · 5d ago

The pitch here seems to be, ‘we’ll build the houses and infrastructure we failed to build during the 14 years we were in government, but we’ll do it in the most damaging and lowest quality way possible’. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

A cartoon by Rose Anne Prevec.

Back to an Irish landscape #painting "Muckish from Falcarragh" Once upon a time I regularly had a 12 km cycle to buy milk when I'd made a pot of tea and realised I was without milk - again. This was a view on the rush back to the waiting pot. I lived in a cottage beside the gap. #SpéirGhorm #ArtYear

30 YEARS AGO TODAY: Paul Abbott, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Russell T Davies were all involved in Sky One supernatural soap Springhill, which went from angels to the Second Coming and required a five minute launch trailer. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XraX...

Springhill trailer

A trailer for the drama Springhill, created by Paul Abbott and Frank Cottrell Boyce, for Sky 1.

youtube.com

"This is Manchester, we do things differently here." We all know the quote, but where did it *really* come from - and what's it got to do with esteemed British character actor Cyril Shaps? Read on and find out... www.northernsoul.me.uk/24-hour-part...

I'm on at the Cheltenham Book Festival on October 15th at 6pm, just under two weeks from now. Come see me! I'll be the tall, tired one. Tix below. www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/patri...

Patrick Ness: Return to Chaos Walking | Cheltenham Festivals

Something is coming. Patrick Ness, an icon of YA Science Fiction, returns to the Chaos Walking universe which is still far from a utopia. A burning god tea

cheltenhamfestivals.org

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... Evening stroll soundtrack: this excellent edition of In Our Time on Casablanca. @bbcsounds.bsky.social

In Our Time - Casablanca - BBC Sounds

The classic 1942 movie that convinced Americans the Second World War was worth fighting.

bbc.co.uk

Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.

As per my previous blogging about real history being age-gated, a folk song merely about the 1966 Aberfan disaster now requires age verification. Which is a fairly awful irony. Chapeau @cjforms.bsky.social

Caroline Jarrett@cjforms.bsky.social · last wk.

This beautiful and affecting song about Aberfan is age-restricted. cc @heatherburnstech.bsky.social Written and sung by @sophiacollins.bsky.social's father Dave Collins who died recently.

New Lizards book! Out October 8th! Genuinely think it’s one of the best books I’ve ever written. Brilliantly illustrated by Tim Miller.

Play School is BACK www.theguardian.com/media/2026/s...

Ready to knock? Play School returns as BBC pushes quality children’s programming

TV heads hope the revamped show – back after four decades – will win over parents seeking quality shows amid concerns about addictive online content

theguardian.com

Just seen Danny Tommo referred to as "Captain Thugwash" and seriously, that's excellent work.

Amy Poehler's Perfect Chef's Kiss

ALT: Amy Poehler's Perfect Chef's Kiss

static.klipy.com

Engaging read on how the Bugs Bunny cartoon What’s Opera, Doc? was made. “To get the extra work done, Jones and his crew secretly shaved a couple weeks off other, easier films and faked their time cards. It was something they did on occasion.” [animationobsessive.substack.com]

Why ‘What’s Opera, Doc?’ Looks Like That

It’s one of the really famous cartoons. If you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve probably watched it yourself. After almost 70 years, What’s Opera, Doc? endures.

animationobsessive.substack.com

Oh my word, been a big reading weekend, just begun this wonder. Highly recommend! Fascinating and a MUST READ! Yesterday finished Cut him Out in Little Stars by Lucy Strange and oh! My heart!!! So good. Officially a teen book but my mum and her friend Vicky would have loved it

Colley Hill, Surrey: coffee break from birding the steep scrub. Love the plaque on the bench I’m sitting on

There are books where we make lots of notes. Then there’s this awesome book from @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social where there are so many notes and bookmarks 🥰 A must read for all teachers and parents - even more so for policymakers and politicians. #edusky

a comic by Russ Heath, who drew the comic one of Lichtenstein’s most famous panels was based on

I’m back on Start the Week on BBC Radio 4 at 9: Carlo Rovelli on philosophy and physics, Lavinia Greenlaw on difficulty in poetry, and James Graham’s new play about John Maynard Keynes. Stick that heady mix in yer podcast pipe. How lucky we are to have the BBC.

Four books that feature dogs - from the cute to the heartbreaking (teenage edition). More info in ALT text. #KidsBooksFriday

The first trailer for 'Animation Mavericks: The Forgotten Story of UPA' has arrived, and without a press release or marketing push, it has already drawn more than 40,000 YouTube views in a week. We can't wait to see it when it releases in early 2027. www.cartoonbrew.com/documentary-...