TV trivia hive mind - quick question. Which was the first TV series to give the lead detective a quirky/funny pathologist to play off? Is it Original Flavour Morse? Or is it much older than that?
David Simpkin
@simplerdave.bsky.social
Fine words butter no parsnips. Once and future bookseller, currently based in deepest Nottinghamshire. @Simplerdave on all decent social media - find me here, there and almost everywhere...
I do like this film, even though it has one or two moments that are spectacularly "of its time". Lovely cast on fine form, from John Cleese to Harold Pinter and all points in between - and some really sharp satire on what media-driven politics would become.
film-authority.com@film-authority.bsky.social · 4w agoIt's my beat to write about films that have fallen out of fashion; David Frost produced The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer had zero reviews on Rotten Tomatoes until now. This didn't appeal in 1970, but this satire of right-wing spin seems relevant now. 3 out of 5 film-authority.com/2026/07/07/t...
They were just the very best at what they did: The Girl That I Knew Somewhere I'm A Believer Randy Scouse Git Pleasant Valley Sunday Early Morning Blues and Greens
Johnnie Johnstone@johnniejohnstone.bsky.social · 2mo agoThree to go - Day 48 #FiveAlive Select five pop classics from the prefab four.
A bookseller writes: Oh so very absolutely this. New or second-hand, a busy bookshop is a small act of healing...
Chapters Bookstore, Parnell St, D1@chaptersbookstore.bsky.social · 2mo agoA busy bookshop is a small act of public reassurance. People are still reading. Still browsing. Still thinking. Still buying books they absolutely do not have room for. Civilisation limps on, but at least the shelves are good. #IndieBookshopWeek @booksaremybag.bsky.social
Birding hive mind: I'm seeing a small brown bird in my Nottinghamshire garden: too big to be a dunnock; too plain & pointy & upright to be any kind of sparrow; good tail; seen hopping round hoovering up spillage from the feeder. Is it a linnet? Some sort of finch? All thoughts cheerfully received.
An independent bookseller writes: Oh yes. Oh so very much yes.
Jim Pickard@pickardje.bsky.social · 3mo agoit’s such shibboleth of modern politics to blame politicians for failing town centres when the primary driver is - surely - all of us buying more and more stuff online
Fascinating thing about #YourSacked* this year - they're all *far* too young to get any of Lord Sugar's jokes. *H/T Justin
I own the hardback of this - it's brilliant. So pleased that it's now coming out in versions that will actually pay Joel properly...
Joel Morris@gralefrit.bsky.social · 5mo agoPhew. Looks like Be Funny Or Die is going to be back as an ebook *this month*, courtesy of my lovely new publisher… (Revised edition in paperback to follow soon-ish…) But we rise from the ashes like a fart joke phoenix. AT LAST!
Matt and Gail are good people - please help if you can.
Gail Myerscough@gailmyerscough.co.uk · 5mo agoMy husband @mjowen174.bsky.social is very down and it’s difficult to see. He had a thriving writing business until AI came along but now he’s struggling to find work. Please repost this far and wide in the hope that he can find some writing work. www.mathew-owen.co.uk
Good result for the Greens, and I for one am looking forward to the endless stream of columns saying "This result confirms all my pre-existing prejudices"...
I am emosh. *Two* gold medals for Coming Down Head First on a Tea Tray. Go Team GB! #TheOlympics
This is a great book, and if this kind of thing interests you, I absolutely recommend it...
Tim Worthington@outonbluesix.bsky.social · 7mo agoFrom Kenneth Williams spoofing arts documentaries to Armando Iannucci's interval talks, it's The Larks Ascending - a guide to comedy on BBC Radio 3. Paperback or Kindle from here! timworthington.org/books/the-la...
So, The Night Manager (so far). Lovely twist, if slightly spoiled by the trailer (and, to be fair, by the executive producer credit). Now that we've heard about Roxana's father, do we all think that she will go all Inigo Montaya on either Teddy or [spoiler]?
@levparikian.bsky.social Could I please ask your help with a garden bird spot? Deepest Nottinghamshire; slightly larger little brown thing with a good tail - and quite dark brown; on the bird feeder, then down to the ground, then back up to the feeder and away. Thoughts?
Watching the last hour of the Last Crusade again because I can. It is still just completely magnificent.
A bookseller writes: I loved working in an independent bookshop on Christmas Eve. From about this time onwards, well-lunched men of a certain age would fall out of the pub & into the shop. They would say to us "I must get my wife something", & we'd sell them an armful of hardbacks. Merry Christmas.
Catching up with #Strictly - delighted for Kaz, but also really impressed with George. What's been great about both of them over the weeks is just how much they've thrown themselves into this. Non-dancers finding themselves and having a fabulous time in the process. This is absolutely what we want.
@moviessilently.bsky.social I'm sure you know about these - in fact I think I read a blog post once - but I thought you'd appreciate this: www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...
Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases review – on the hunt with Holmes in restored 1920s mysteries
From stealing a photo for the King of Bohemia to battling the Napoleon of crime on a clifftop, Holmes is witty and watchable in these early Conan Doyle-approved dramas
theguardian.com
Three of the finest books that I own are Parr's collections of Boring Postcards, which tell a splendidly subversive tale of post-war rebuilding in Britain, Germany and the US. Seek them out if you can - and farewell to a master of his art... www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Martin Parr, photographer acclaimed for observations of British life, dies aged 73
From sunbathers to Conservative clubs, Parr’s images were often in vivid colour with more than a dash of humour
theguardian.com
Currently watching San Ferry Ann (1965) on Talking Pictures TV. A silent-ish comedy of British tourists abroad, filmed on location in and around your actual Calais. Not least of its pleasures is the fact it's got *everyone* in it.
An actor friend of mine has had a brilliant idea: could we rename a theatre for Tom Stoppard? He suggested the National's Lyttleton - any other suggestions?
As a student, many thousands of years ago, I went up to that London to see the first run of The Real Thing, with Roger Rees and Felicity Kendal. For the cricket bat speech and for so,so much else besides, Tom Stoppard has had my heart ever since. Farewell to one of the best to ever.
Introduce yourself with 5 acts you've seen: Bellowhead (lots of times) Danny & the Champions of the World BNL (one time supported by KT Tunstall *and* Boothby Graffoe; one time supported by Colin James Hay; and lots of other times (...) Lizzie No (at the Gate to Southwell Festival) Peter Tork
Meepy@floweroflondon.bsky.social · 8mo agoIntroduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen. The Smiths Moondog Yehudi Menuhin Divine Comedy GnR