Category: Misc

  • David Lynch

    David Lynch

    The first time I watched a David Lynch film I was 14. Dune had just come out, and I was a science fiction loving teenager who’d only just read Frank Herbert’s opus with a film tie-in cover. I lapped up the film, warts and all. Granted, Sting’s golden underpants didn’t quite sit right with me,…

  • Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery Make Peace

    Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery Make Peace

    Regular readers will know that I’ve been fascinated by what has been going on between Sky and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). In short, WBD is going to launch Max in the UK in 2026, but for many years now, there has been an output deal between WBD’s HBO and Sky. This has meant that massive…

  • Did Podcasts Win the US Presidential Election?

    Did Podcasts Win the US Presidential Election?

    In short: we don’t know. There have been several pieces that speak of the presumed importance of podcasts in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Even Elon Musk says as much. But I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Let’s start with a few figures. 47% of Americans listen to podcasts every month, and 34%…

  • When Should Big Concerts Go On Sale?

    When Should Big Concerts Go On Sale?

    Yes – two blog posts about an impending gig that I won’t be going to is probably two too many. But one of the things I’ve always wondered about is when should a concert put tickets to major concerts on sale? You’ve got to assume that tickets to an Oasis gig in 2025 won’t be…

  • Something Was Broken Here..

    I’m not sure what yet, but I will be fixing it over the next day or so… All fixed now. Cheers Jonny!

  • Clear Skies

    Clear Skies

    On Sunday, as I returned from a late afternoon cycle ride out in northern Enfield and southern Hertfordshire, I noticed the view from The Ridgeway, a road that as it suggests, is quite high up above London. (It’s all relative). Yes – you can normally look out to the City of London, and then across…

  • A Fresh Coat of Paint

    A Fresh Coat of Paint

    I thought that it was time for a new look around these parts, so over the weekend, I’ve been updating the look and feel of my blog. Longtime readers will know that many moons ago, this blog started out in Movable Type. In 2013, I transitioned to the much better supported WordPress, and I went…

  • Reclaiming Additional Industry Compensation from Thameslink/Great Northern

    If you get the train regularly, you may know that 2018 has not been the rail industry’s finest year. In particular, there was the disastrous introduction of new timetables across the whole network, but particularly hitting the Northern Rail and Govia Thameslink services. I know the former has probably been worse, but I was in…

  • Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy and the Avant-garde

    Anyone going to the Barbican’s latest exhibition is not going to go away short-changed with the number of exhibits on display. This is a massive exhibition exploring twentieth century artistic couplings – and sometimes triplings – that led to those artists feeding off one another creatively. If I came away with one thought, it was…

  • Chris Evans

    At this point, everyone in the industry and beyond has written about the seismic UK radio events of yesterday, when Chris Evans, presenter of the biggest breakfast show in the country, on the biggest radio station in the country, decided to leave after 8 years on breakfast there. Instead, he will take up the mantle…

  • Railplan 20/20

    Hooray! The new timetables began today, and although I had spent time looking at them previously, it wasn’t until they first properly kicked in today that I realised that on my section of the Great Northern rail network, we seem to have got something of the raw end of the deal, in two separate ways.…

  • Three New Exhibitions

    There are some really good exhibitions on at the moment in London. Actually, there are always really good exhibitions on. But over the weekend I went to three new ones, and all three were really good, and well worth visiting in their own rights. I spent a May Sunday visiting the three and using a…