The pain of abandoned projects - I totally share this feeling. But your friends may be right when they say that, despite it all, a ton has been achieved. Keep going Tom!

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · yesterday

... to friends about this on a walk the other day their opinion was that I need to cut myself some slack and realise how prolific I've been. I do agree with them. But I also feel the pain of abandoned projects, the pain of not writing when I should have been writing because I had to clean up a mess.

766 companies had a list with me on it This afternoon both Meta and LinkedIn sent me emails saying that my exports were available to download. So I downloaded. The Meta files were huge! About eight years ago, I stopped doing much on Fac… https://flintoff.org/766-companies-had-a-list-with-me-on-it

A Little Bit Wild Most evenings, Peanut rises out of slumber and gets A Little Bit Wild. There may be a bit of fake snarling. Bit of jabbing a paw at someone. Standing and staring at a person right in the eye, no blinking. Then she goes out of the house f… https://flintoff.org/a-little-bit-wild

a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes

LinkedIn came back - without my posts The first export is back. LinkedIn returned a lot – but not, as far as I can tell, the posts themselves, which were the main thing I wanted. I definitely opted to download everything when given the chance,… https://flintoff.org/linkedin-came-back-without-posts

I asked Facebook for everything I ever posted Like many people, I look back on the social media years as somewhat lost. I posted enthusiastically for years, and the platforms got crummier and crummier. This morning I set a timer for twenty-five m… https://flintoff.org/asked-facebook-for-everything

Somebody wanted to buy Hunter A couple came in who did, in fact, buy a portrait of somebody else. But for quite a while they were occupied with Hunter Davies, at the bottom of whose portrait I had written that it was an artist proof – and for a good stret… https://flintoff.org/someone-wanted-hunter

"kind of like the noise two pigs would make if they’d been eating hot gravel then opened a newspaper at a page that offended them" Thank you for this @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 2w ago

"As your local badger, I reject your allegation that I run like an old neglected footstool which has just discovered its own sentience."

A kind of domestic altar There can’t be many places in a house more important to the people who lives there than the mantelpiece. Discuss. On this one: two clocks, two cats, and two framed photos. Work in progress on a portrait of a couple in a … https://flintoff.org/a-kind-of-domestic-altar

75 secs on Instagram I made a video recording of my Instagram feed. I opened the app, started scrolling, and captured exactly what appeared for one minute and fifteen seconds. Then I watched the video back, pausing at every item, and made a tally in my n… https://flintoff.org/75-secs-on-instagram

A room full of other people's rooms On the morning of the private view, I was unavoidably delayed at home for reasons too boring to go into. Early in the afternoon, I received an email from the gallery asking, er, was I coming in soon because the pict… https://flintoff.org/contain-multitudes-wrap

Susan, who is currently doing the Micro-Memoir course, sent me a note saying her story doesn’t contain a lot of emotion. I replied: It was just something fun that happened flintoff.org/just-somethi...

Poetry landscape I Forever and ever amen. Felt like doing something with a more obviously “wrong” line. A bit of a relief. Colours are vibrant. Trying not to make a big deal about – whatever! https://flintoff.org/poetry-landscape-i

A band on a missile First published (with permission): 28 August 2026 Last updated: 28 August 2026 Recently, I received a finished piece of work from Richard Varhman, a participant on the Micro-Memoir course. His book Greenham Uncommon is a fictionalise… https://flintoff.org/a-band-on-a-missile

What you never see coming Flynn Coleman, on enjoying what data can’t: A life turns on what it never saw coming… We can chart the movements of the sun and moon with astonishing precision and still be mesmerised when one disappears behind the other. … https://flintoff.org/what-you-never-see-coming

Come fly with me This morning I turned into a bird. But don't worry, I'm ok. https://flintoff.org/come-fly-with-me

Worse than Trump tariffs? A petition for small businesses selling into and across the EU: It is now easier, cheaper and less bureaucratic for an independent artist to ship a parcel across the globe than to send a letter to their neighbour within the… https://flintoff.org/worse-than-trump-tariffs

A small staff of my own Not exactly a tool, not exactly an assistant. LLMs give you access to categories of labour, Craig Mod wrote recently, that individuals like him and me would otherwise be priced out of. Specialists you couldn’t otherwise afford t… https://flintoff.org/a-small-staff-of-my-own

A memorable part of our day Please tell me it’s not fake. I just got this message on Instagram: Hi John-Paul! My name is (redacted) – I live in New York and was recently on vacation in London with my fiancé. We took a day trip to Hampstead and h… https://flintoff.org/a-memorable-part-of-our-day

Is £80 a lot for a book? Kev Green, on LinkedIn, about A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown Why so expensive? £80 is cost prohibitive for many. I’ve no doubt from the reviews it’s a great book but even I’d be hard pressed to pay that for a largely unknown. Please f… https://flintoff.org/why-so-expensive

The picture I couldn't frame Leaving the portrait of Hunter Davies on a table at the gallery, with no frame, turned out to be a really good idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing it earlier. That’s the artist’s proof, with its tissue peeled back.… https://flintoff.org/hunter-on-the-table

I couldn't post about it in my own street Teresa is one of my neighbours, a very encouraging woman. She works as a coach, which isn’t the point of this, and she has a picture I made for her some years ago. She is on my mailing list, so she knew the… https://flintoff.org/teresa-and-lyndale-avenue

My parents came to see the show My parents came to Burgh House this week. It’s the first time either of them has seen my work on a gallery wall since I was 14. Like other visitors, they didn’t go round in any particular order but zigzagged – stopping at on… https://flintoff.org/parents-at-the-show

The G-Wiz gets its comeuppance At the private view of my portrait show at Burgh House this week, a man walked in who was at one point going to produce a television film about me driving my G-Wiz from John o’Groats to Land’s End, or possibly the o… https://flintoff.org/the-g-wiz-gets-its-comeuppance

I wouldn’t want one I’ve had some lovely conversations in the last few days but today has not started well: Soon after opening, two people walk round the empty gallery, look at every picture but don’t once look at me – and as they walk out one says “I would… https://flintoff.org/i-wouldnt-want-one

Gallery visitor, peering closely At Burgh House, Hampstead. He seems taken with my portrait of Mark Stephens. https://flintoff.org/gallery-visitor-peering-closely

Nearly thirty years later My mother was a lawyer. As a small boy I used to sit under her desk, keeping out of the way of visiting senior partners. So when I got my first staff job in journalism, at Legal Business magazine, the language of the profession was alre… https://flintoff.org/mark-stephens

Atproto Spaces could become a Substack killer 🤞

AT Protocol Developers@atproto.com · 4w ago

The most significant extension to the protocol since launch—atproto spaces—is now officially alpha software you can start testing with. Here's more about the goals and how to start testing. atproto.com/blog/atproto...

I concede Van Gogh is quite good flintoff.org/checking-out...

What might I find by querying a 30-year writing database (of my own writing)? flintoff.org/what-thirty-...