If you’re in London this evening, my good mate @jonwoolcott.bsky.social is presenting his book The Tattooed Hills at @stanfordstravel.bsky.social in Covent Garden. A wise and witty tour of England through its astonishing chalk figures, TTH is great, and Jon too! www.stanfords.co.uk/event-jon-wo...

A piece by me just published in Critical Quarterly on the 'hidden history of unhappiness', from a GP's surgery in the Forest of Dean in 1966 to the present day - should be open access onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/NITYRJ...

A few months ago I took art students from Croydon College on an architecture tour to help inspire forms for this beautiful floor painting outside the college. Thanks to Art Streets UK, Iona Hodgson, Atma Studios, Culture Croydon and Cat Loriggio for involving me into your lovely project

sidenote: if you want my thoughts on Stevenage in general, as both a historian and someone who grew up there, then @grindrod.bsky.social was kind enough to invite me on his podcast a while back. we talked about how the town represents a future that never-quite-was. youtu.be/cpK86DUOxNo?...

Monstrosities Mon Amour: Stevenage with Gareth Edwards

YouTube video by John Grindrod

youtu.be

John Bull@garius.bsky.social · 15h ago

small, single corridor shopping centre in Stevenage Old Town. Called the 'Magnet centre' after the family that owned the land. odd nik-nak and dress shops... ...and in the mid-90s briefly, hidden at the back, the town's first comic shop. we discovered it as teens. it was like finding heaven /1

Walking round pointing at things in the Barbican later. If you see me, just some low key breaking and body popping, nothing elaborate.

Thought I was having a breakdown but turns out I’d just hit the Discover tab by accident

Bedroom has the breeze and lightness of a steamed pudding

The verges all look like Chris Packham’s hair in the eighties

Ah yes, the epic tale of Odysseus, from whom we get the word "odyssey" - and Telemachus, from whom we get the word "telemarketing."

Uzbekistan's modernist architecture has now entered UNESCO's listing as a world heritage asset. A little while ago I visited for @wallpapermag.bsky.social to see it for myself: www.wallpaper.com/architecture...

10 modernist architecture marvels in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The legacy of modernist architecture in Uzbekistan is in the spotlight, including in the country's upcoming pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025

wallpaper.com

Found this tomb somewhat disappointing.

They love the black-eyed susans

Watching the Commonwealth Games on BBC Alba with the sound off and Boards of Canada playing

Reggae Land, Europe’s biggest reggae festival, is taking place round the corner. A thousand SUVs left on the estate like a beach full of walruses

Oh god. I sobbed my way through watching this. Music, dancing, and people being beautiful and brilliant.

Mike Parker@mikeparker.bsky.social · 5d ago

Five minutes of utter joy: hundreds in central Birmingham singing and dancing their hearts out to ELO's Mr Blue Sky. They performed it live on TV, part of the handover ceremony to the city for the last Commonwealth Games. As they say on Insta, watch to the end. #brum www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU_x...

Saw Eels on their Daisies of the Galaxy tour and goddam right it was a beautiful gig #totp

The gorse of Dunwich Heath was so beautiful in flower

Such an enjoyable list recalling these incredible songs. Will also mean 3 weeks of Dead End Street as an earworm again www.theguardian.com/music/2026/j...

Dedicated followers of passion: the Kinks’ 40 greatest songs – ranked!

To coincide with a new exhibition in London about the Davies brothers, we rate the best of a band who brought a sociologist’s eye to hard rock, gentle pastoralia and so much in between

theguardian.com

Brighton! Birmingham! Southbank Centre! Ipswich! Loads more events have gone up on my site www.johngrindrod.co.uk/events

Be nice to watch the Commonwealth Games highlights without the narrator telling you who lost before the 17 second clip has aired

There should be an equivalent of Letterboxd for buildings you’ve visited.

Brighton! Birmingham! Southbank Centre! Ipswich! Loads more events have gone up on my site www.johngrindrod.co.uk/events

As a historian of Jodrell Bank, I agree! And the reason it is important is that it has been made to mean different things to different people at different times. Who's up for a mega thread on how and why? (I'm off for lunch now, but I'll do it after. I'll need the energy...)

John Grindrod@grindrod.bsky.social · last wk.

Really one of the most important postwar sites in Britain

Crikey. Alongside Peep Show, the Brit School and the David Lean Cinema I’m on East Croydon Cool’s list of 100 Great Things About Croydon (between IKEA and the podcast studios). croydonbid.com/guides/100-g...

The Union Chapel is advertising for a part-time archivist - it's a great job for someone. I've spent a lot of time there and the staff are great. The archive starts c.1820 and the postwar sections esp. are crammed with ephemera on all kinds of music and performance.

Really one of the most important postwar sites in Britain

C20 Society@c20society.bsky.social · last wk.

Extremely concerning news that Jodrell Bank in Cheshire is facing closure, after UKRI announced the end of their funding from 2028. Though the Lovell Telescope is Grade I listed, the best strategy for preserving this internationally significant site is surely to keep the observatory in active use.

I remember Cleese saying that your best comedy character is you without a sense of humour. Determined to prove it too, it seems.

My brilliant, funny brother Paul would have been 60 today.

Writing a thing about the Barbican refurb. V keen to chat to someone working on the refurb, and also someone who works on maintaining the estate currently. If this is you, or someone you know, do let me know. Ta! x

Go go Truro!

Rebecca Lambert (She/Her) ♾️🐭🍉@reblambert.bsky.social · last wk.

@grindrod.bsky.social look who I just bumped into at Waterstones Truro 🙂