Recently updated blogs

Regular readers might just remember that nine years ago, I posted a brief history of Anne Heap of Frogs, the hard rock band I was guitarist for in 1988. (Astonishing to think it’s nine years since I posted that!) Here once more is the photo of twenty-year-old me, on the left with the white strat; on the right is Andy Charles on bass. And here I am in 2024, playing …

A ‘Why am I reading this?’ post, because this is why I haven’t posted many reviews lately: I keep giving up on books I have nothing much to say about. Benjamin Myers, Cuddy Winner of prizes, lauded indie publisher’s saviour, the subject is a favourite (early medieval English religion and history), and wow was I … Continue reading Did Not Finish →

Twelve Horses and the Hangman’s Noose by Gladys Mitchell published 1956 This Gladys Mitchell book is very unusual indeed – because in terms of plot you could imagine a number of crime authors having written it. The major point of most Mitchell books is that no-one else in or out of their right minds would have tried to build a book round her imaginings. And certainly some readers (me: I …

Editor’s Note: Since I started providing legal advice to AKTI, I have loosened my no politics rule a bit to provide insights and commentary on legal issues related to knives. This is one of those articles. As with everything I write both for AKTI and here, this is all my opinion. It is not legal advice, which requires knowledge of specific facts. If you need a lawyer for a criminal …

One for fellow map nerds and London Transport fans. There is an excellent exhibition at The Map House showing the evolution of the tube map, the like of which I am not sure has been seen before. In the gallery room at the rear of the shop there is an arrangement of framed pocket maps that clearly shows how the tube map has been adapted as new routes and stations …

The pinnacle of that view of freedom, of course, is avant-garde jazz, which I find by and large a dead loss. It operates on the assumption that if you remove all constraints from people, they will behave in some especially inspired manner. This doesn’t seem to me to be true in any sense at all — not socially, and certainly not artistically. The point is that the typical jazz or …

I've spent today on a time-traveling adventure through 18th-century London. Standing in the bustling, tourist-filled Trafalgar Square, I opened up Allmaps Here and was instantly transported back to King’s Mews - an elaborate courtyard that stood here long before the Battle of Trafalgar was fought and etched its name onto London's streets. Suddenly the city came alive with elegant Georgian charm

wassup? i've been gone cos i accidentally accrued extra time on beeminder, the website/app i use to cajole myself into regularly writing weeknotes. today is the final day before I owe them $5 so write i must. usually i have been sitting down to write these and been full of beans and pep and thoughts! the last time I did, I think shortly before my talk, i thought "nope!!!!" before …

Two new warbands are set to be released for the new edition of Warhammer Underworlds. In this review and unboxing, we take a closer look at the Grandfather's Gardeners, a Mastery warband of Nurgle Daemons, as well as the Strike warband Jaws of Ixil from the reptilian Seraphon. Join us as we explore the new warband box format, its contents, and what might have been left out. The post Review: …

On this day, 1499, Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne, was hung for treason, bringing an end to one of the most significant threats to Henry VII’s reign. Dr Hannes Kleineke, editor of our House of Commons 1461-1504 section, recounts the story of the Warbeck Conspiracy. Some three years after Lambert Simnel had taken up his post as Henry VII’s kitchen boy, another claimant to Henry VII’s crown …

Photo via The Amorous Humphrey Plugg on Twitter https://x.com/SumsionMichael Fantastic night at brilliant Wanstead Tap in collaboration with the essential Newham Bookshop to talk about my new publication with Three Imposters – The Black Path. Hopefully be announce my next publication with Three Imposters in the New Year. A video of the full talk is available on my Patreon page (exclusive to Radical Ramblers) and to YouTube Members. I’m running …

A Native American Feast by Lucille Recht Penner, 1994. This nonfiction children’s book explains the traditional foods of different Native American tribes and how they were prepared. (Throughout the book, they are referred to both as “Native Americans” and “Indians”, but mostly, the book uses the term “Native Americans.” The focus is on Native American tribes in the area that is now the United States, but the book includes information …

What caught my eye this week. While the world potentially inched closer to World War 3 this week, Bitcoin fans had a more exciting horizon in mind. One where their love-hate digital asset finally boasted a six-figure price tag. Some $133m spent in election lobbying says Donald Trump will be a crypto-friendly president. Bitcoin was already having one of its bursts of enthusiasm, but Trump’s reelection was a lift-off moment: …

Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer and pubs from the past week. This time we’ve got festivals, malt, Kölsch and more. First, some news: AB-InBev is closing the Elysian brewing facility in Seattle. Now, we don’t generally jump on every item of news from the US (it’s not our beat) but, as Jeff Alworth explains, this is significant as a sign of a wider shift in …