I bought some Fiio Snowsky Anytime Bluetooth ANC headphones from Advanced MP3 Players. They are nothing transformative, but are a very nicely designed headset that sounds a lot better than the £28 list price. If you are looking for a stylish, faff-free commuter headset, give them a listen.
Bought me some Nanoleaf Solar Garden Lights. Very nice. I’ve set them as dim as I can so as not to disturb the local pigeons.
Crucial Track for 31 May 2025
"Home" by David Byrne & Brian Eno
When I was a kid, I remember standing on a pebble beach on the south coast with my dad as the Isle of Wight hovercraft glided in to, uh, land. I got pebble-dashed. I loved hovercrafts - I was so excited when my parents sprung for the much-more-expensive-than-the-ferry hovercraft across the Channel to France. I wasn't much older when I discovered ekranoplans - screen-gliders (ground effect vehicles). Something better than hovercrafts, and proper mysterious behind the Iron Curtain.
I had just started in secondary school when our biology teacher told us about birds flying in ground effect. That wasn't in my bird-watching book! So I watched the coots and the gulls more closely...
Life was, life was hard at that time - but the coots ran across the water, screen-gliding: close but free. I came to hear music in that way: how close were my wingtips to the water?
Crucial Track for May 24, 2025
"The Giver" by Chappell Roan
What's not to like about this country and western lesbian anthem from Chappell Roan? Bold, on point and laugh out loud. It's nice and concise, so I just played it twice. It gets the job done.
Crucial Track for 24 May 2025
"The Giver" by Chappell Roan
What's not to like about this country and western lesbian anthem from Chappell Roan? Bold, on point and laugh out loud. It's nice and concise, so I just played it twice. It gets the job done.
Kettles are important for me - they are always in view in the kitchen, and are the first thing you’ll use when entertaining visitors. This one is from Ottoni Fabbrica.
Immigration is not the UK’s problem. Using immigration to drive growth and offset the impact of an ageing population while leaving capital formation to “the market” is the problem, and that is entirely on the ruling class.
Yesterday a Labour prime minister insulted my community, my coworkers, my friends and my family by blaming immigrants for 40 years of failed neoliberal policies. Today I call on Labour politicians and party members to reflect on why they went into politics, and to take action before it is too late
Less than a year in Labour throws in the towel. Labour knows its policies won’t deliver affordable housing, cut waiting lists or generate inclusive growth so it’s time to blame the immigrants.
Keir Starmer promises net migration will fall ‘significantly’ by end of this parliament