A lovely evening was had last night at a fundraising concert for Streetwise Opera, with Jennifer Johnston, Sophie Bevan (in gorgeous voice!), Elizabeth Watts, Ed Lyon and Jorge Navarro Colorado, & pianists Sebastian Wybrew & Roelof Temmingh. Oh, and Simon Callow!

The “back door” of Agamemnon’s palace - I imagine Elektra sitting right out there - “Agamemnon! Agamemnon!”

Moving and uplifting concert for @StreetwiseOpera at St Johns Waterloo last night creating a sense of community in song with some wonderfully apposite pieces from Britten, Handel, Rodgers, Schubert and Verdi amongst others.

My new New Cross history book now available from Books Peckham, who willl have it on their stall at London Anarchist Bookfair tomorrow - read about the 19th century anarchist club in New Cross Road and much much more!

Today our members and trustees are setting off to the #VicSocAgm. We are in Wales this year, in Llandudno. It is one of the great Victorian towns. We celebrate the remarkable Victorian & Edwardian heritage with 3-days of talks, walks + visits. 📷Bailey-Cooper Photography/Alamy

The New York Times ha finalizado su lista de las mejores series del siglo. Breaking Bad tomó el primer puesto.

Glyndebourne in Edinburgh? I hope the rumour is true! #WeHearThat from @operamagazine

At @BirmCons on Thursday October 29th, 7pm a centenary ‘opener’ with Jeffrey Skidmore and the RBC Chamber Choir. All very welcome. #joubert100 bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/even…

Bayeux Tapestry: “Stitched in Kent, preserved in Normandy, the embroidery makes plain that heritage is never congruent with the ground beneath your feet. It ratifies, in wool, that English history is European history and every native is also a foreigner.” nytimes.com/2026/09/11/arts/…

My review of this Joe Hill-Gibbins twofer for @WelshNatOpera has now been published by @bachtrack

Over 50 years ago, we rescued the church of St Mary's, Mundon from dereliction, saving this curious medieval structures and its beautiful array wall paintings for future generations. 1/9 📷 © Morley Von Sternberg

Good news in Folkstone, and bad news in Scarborough, respectively with their funicular lifts 🧵 Folkstone's Leas Lift on 9th September celebrated the return of its two historic carriages. (photo credits at end of 🧵)

On Tuesday I was at the official launch of the Westmorland & Furness Way in Sedbergh. This 120 mile walking route developed by the Council, connects Alston in the northeast with Barrow in Furness in the southwest via Kirkby Stephen. It is hoped that it will be enjoyed by residents and visitors bringing health benefits and economic development. Here is the report in the Northwestern Mail: nwemail.co.uk/news/26553345.… @NWEMlive @wandfcouncil @bandflibdems @libdems @johnmur @AnnSandell @EncounterEden @UpperEden @EdenViaducts

Jonathan le Prof Je passe une bonne partie de ma vie à enseigner des événements qui ont changé le cours de l’histoire. Aujourd’hui, j’ai eu l’étrange impression d’en regarder un se produire en direct. Le discours de Mark Carney devant le Parlement européen dépassait largement une simple visite diplomatique. Le Canada et l’Europe parlent maintenant ouvertement de se rapprocher davantage, de bâtir de nouvelles alliances et de s’adapter ensemble à un ordre mondial qui est en train de changer sous nos yeux. On ne sait évidemment pas encore où tout cela mènera. Les historiens ont ce luxe que les contemporains n’ont pas : celui de connaître la suite. Mais il arrive parfois qu’on sente, pendant que ça se passe, que quelque chose vient de bouger. Que le monde d’après commence tranquillement à prendre forme devant nous. Aujourd’hui, j’ai eu ce sentiment. Et pour une rare fois depuis longtemps, en regardant le monde changer sous nos yeux, j’ai ressenti quelque chose de précieux. De l’espoir. L’espoir que l’avenir ne nous condamne pas à choisir entre l’Amérique dépravée de Trump et la Chine autoritaire de Xi Jinping. L’espoir qu’une autre voie soit encore possible. Et qu’aujourd’hui, peut-être, elle ait commencé à se dessiner.

Have a break from doomscrolling and enjoy a TWANGLE culture fix... jessicaduchen.substack.com/p…

Mamdani has officially filled his 200,000th pothole since taking office on January 1. That means he's filling an average of around 772 holes a day.

The Kennedy Center’s Grand Foyer is 630' long and 63' high. The crystal chandeliers were hand-blown by @orrefors and an official gift by the Kingdom of @Sweden in 1971. The huge mirrors at left were a gift the Kingdom of @Belgium on behalf of its people and nation.

As if the album cover isn't inspired enough, take a peek inside the booklet of Cyrille Dubois' new Britten disc!! 🐸☂️

Terrific Don Giovanni @rbo_org tonight ❤️

Clearing out my mom’s house and found this 2019 NY Times feature she’d saved about @MattilaKarita joining Twitter 😍