The Tour de France may have finished at the weekend, but I'm prolonging it by continuing to read some fascinating books about its history and iconic moments.

The most recent edition of the journal Modern and Contemporary France (34.3) includes an article about football and Celtic identity that I co-wrote with @paddyhoey.bsky.social . It's currently available via open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

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Forget Danny Murphy's cat Bob, France Télévisions coverage of Tour de France is outdoing BBC World Cup coverage for randomness. At end of stage 15 in Jura, a presenter asked spectators how they thought area's renowned cheeses would describe themselves on Tinder.

Football's World Cup is finished? I'll just have to watch the Tour de France instead this week...

Enjoying 'The Great Bike Race', Geoffrey Nicholson's fascinating book about Tour de France. Full of fascinating insights, such as how Tour's first UK stage in 1974 was primarily driven by Bretons' desire to boost vegetable exports and promote then new Roscoff-Plymouth ferry.

It's Bastille Day, and France face Spain for a place in the World Cup final. Our FootPol archive with @jonathanervine.bsky.social explores football, race, religion, national identity and why some French players speak out while others stay silent. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

Cwpl o wythnosau ar ôl rhoi papur am bêl-droed a hunaniaeth Geltaidd yng Nghynadledd Ymchwil @colegcymraeg.bsky.social yn Aberystwyth, ges i sgwrs gydag Aled Hughes ar @BBCRadioCymru am yr un pwnc (1:13-1:23): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Decent setting for reading a fantastic book about the last French winner of the Tour de France.

Last year, I wrote a chapter about France in this book about football and discrimination. Electronic version of full book can be downloaded for free from Taylor & Francis website. The Kindle version is currently also available for free from Amazon. www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...

Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia in European Footbal

This book examines the prevalence of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and Islamophobia in European football. It provides critical assessments of selected

taylorfrancis.com

France face Sweden today. How did French football become a political battleground? @jonathanervine.bsky.social explores identity, secularism and the national team in our latest FootPol archive episode. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

In Aberystwyth. Ran up a hill. It was a bit hot.

Yn Aberystwyth ar gyfer cynhadledd ymchwil y Coleg Cymraeg yn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru lle rydw i'n cyflwyno papur am bêl-droed a hunaniaeth Geltaidd yn Llydaw. Wedi dod â hêt fawr achos mae hi'n mor boeth.

Without wanting to go down a rabbit hole and spend hours listing Breton football teams with names connected to nature, I would nevertheless like to briefly mention Les Cormorans Sportifs de Penmarc'h. Couldn't resist including these words in an upcoming conference paper.

This is a big deal for us. Podcasts are saturated with football content, but ours is very different. We've found our audience and the reviews have been kind. But we want to achieve more. If you can help us do it by listening, sharing and subscribing, it would really help! www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/

The FootPol Podcast

The podcast that brings together football and politics. We'll be exploring the relationship between the two, both inside and outside the game.The podcast covers "Big Politics" like politicians, clubs,...

buzzsprout.com

The FootPol Podcast@footpolpodcast.bsky.social · last mo.

FootPol Podcast is now in the top 25% on Buzzsprout 🎙️ Of 100k+ shows, this marks steady growth for a small independent project built without funding or institutional backing. Thanks to listeners—subscribe or share if you can. It genuinely helps. Next stop: top 10%. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/

A diversion I can live with...

As France play their first match at the #FIFAWorldCup today, here's a link to a recent edition of the @footpolpodcast.bsky.social where I talk about football and identity in France. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

How France’s Football Became a Political Battleground ft. Jonathan Ervine - The FootPol Podcast

With the 2026 World Cup just weeks away, France once again enters the tournament as one of football’s superpowers — but what does the French national team actually represent in modern France? In this ...

buzzsprout.com

Delighted to be in Bristol for a conference about masculinities in France. I'll be speaking about sports journalism and misogyny. masculinityinthemetropole.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/conference-2...

I hope education policy makers take note of the points being made in this article --> 'Modern languages has a future – and it’s all about access' wonkhe.com/blogs/modern...

Modern languages has a future – and it’s all about access

Contraction of modern languages provision is often painted as a response to falling demand. For Ana de Medeiros and Marcela Cazzoli, if you look across the whole education system then HE starts to loo...

wonkhe.com

This was a great one to record. Living just inside France, it's great to know more about the game in the country here. And @jonathanervine.bsky.social was a really informative guest!

The FootPol Podcast@footpolpodcast.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Last episode: Curaçao, the smallest nation to reach a World Cup. Today: France, one of the favourites for 2026 and why its football is inseparable from politics, identity, race & nationalism. With @jonathanervine.bsky.social of @bangoruniversity.bsky.social 🎧 www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...

Just watched 'Everyone to Kenmure Street', a moving documentary about how a Glasgow neighbourhood came together to block two attempted dawn raid deportations by the UK Home Office in 2021. www.conic.film/films/kenmur...

Conic — Everybody to Kenmure Street

conic.film

I'm working on a project about humour and dementia. We're looking for people in UK living dementia and their carers who could complete a survey about this. More information is in the link. Please RT. app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/bangor/d-h

Exploring the role that humour can play in improving the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their unpaid carers | Jisc Online Surveys

Jisc Online surveys is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating online surveys. Run by Jisc, online surveys is used by over 300 different organisations in the UK...

app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk

Next month, I'll be participating in this conference 'Manhood in the Métropole: Representing Masculinities in Contemporary French Culture' in Bristol. Looking forward to it! masculinityinthemetropole.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/conference-2...

Been trying out CatGPT

Today I've been participating in a fascinating conference 'Toxic: masculinities and health/care'. www.irishhumanities.ie/news-events/...

"We have 25% of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300." Since when has $300 been cheap? Also means 75% of group stage tickets cost over $300. #FIFA2026 #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCupTickets www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Gianni Infantino: Fifa president offers $2m World Cup ticket buyers 'a hot dog and a Coke'

Fifa president Gianni Infantino says he will

bbc.co.uk

Later this week, I'll be presenting a paper about films that feature male synchronised swimmers at an online conference entitled 'Toxic: Masculinities & Health/Care'. I'm looking forward to participating in what looks like a fascinating event. www.irishhumanities.ie/news-events/...

Irish Humanities Alliance | Toxic: Masculinities & Health/Care

Dive into how toxic masculinity shapes health and care in this interdisciplinary online conference. Free and open to all.<br /> <br /> Toxic: Masculinities and Health/Care is an…

irishhumanities.ie

This evening, I've been teaching our cat to give fist bumps

Enjoyed going for a run around the Great Orme earlier this week. Legs still recovering.

Mae'r campws yn edrych yn grêt, ag rydym yn edrych ymlaen at groesawu ymwelwyr i ddiwrnod ymgeiswyr ar ddydd Sul! / The campus is looking great, and we're looking forward to welcoming visitors to this Sunday's applicant day!