The work on Salisbury’s new riverside walk has been a nuisance, especially for the wonderful Elai restaurant, but its great that it’s open again now and i think its going to be great

Only 13 more CLs and Chelsea will actually be level with Real Madrid ⚽

This Blinken chap has got something about him

As we reported earlier, Russia has accused the White House of trying to “eliminate” a political rival in Donald Trump.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Prague, was just asked about the comment.

“I would say that’s a classic case of projection,” he says.

BBC News - Donald Trump’s guilty verdict - we answer your questions live - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/live…

Another proposed entry for the next edition of The Meaning of Liff, this one for people of a certain age

Lydiard Tregoze: the amount of time it takes to realise that you’ve got the wring flipping glasses on

Proposed entry for a future edition of The Meaning of Liff

Lockeridge: the time spent staring into space, wondering what that password that you use every day might possibly be.

#TodayILearned that tomatos were thought very poisonous in North America until a chap called Colonel Johnson publicly ate one in 1820

You are there - Colonel Johnson eats a love apple youtu.be/n7_rdLNB6…

This has been one of my favourite reggae songs over the last couple of years

#TodayILearned, via Record Collector magazine, that ‘Niney’ was given that name as a nickname because he lost his thumb in an an accident

Blood and Fire by Niney The Observer songwhip.com/nineytheo…

I’d give this article a solid 4.5 :)

‘Entire evenings of my life have been shaped by the internet’s review culture’: why we’re obsessed with rating systems Joel Golby

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/26/entire-evenings-of-my-life-have-been-shaped-by-the-internets-review-culture-why-were-obsessed-with-rating-systems?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Recommended TV: Avoidance

The blurb says: “Newly separated Jonathan has no home, no friends and no ambition. Can a slightly useless single dad find some much-needed backbone? Warm-hearted comedy with Romesh Ranganathan”

I say: Very funny. I cringed so hard I could have slipped a disc or something.

Bette Davis on Jackie DeShannon’s song, Bette Davis Eyes

Bette Davis was also a fan. “She said the song made her cool to her grandchildren,” DeShannon says with a laugh.

From this month’s Record Collector magazine

I may be wrong, but I think that if we’d had more working-class people in the House of Commons, and fewer professionals, then we’d have more Bank Holidays

There hasn’t been a new annual holiday since the 1970s

Alan Shearer finishes every other sentence with ‘and rightly so’….and rightly so. ⚽

This is fun, although the first bit is a tad unfair on Rishi, who does seem to be a proper football fan ⚽

This is on Harold Wilson and Leonid Brezhnev

“So there was no posturing towards the common man in his carrying around a postcard of the 1924 team, but it was a bit weird how often he got it out of his wallet to show it to people.

Anyway, he did that to Brezhnev, and Brezhnev thought he wanted an autograph, and signed it for him. So after that, he was carrying his beloved team, signed by the general secretary of the Communist party. This is really Brezhnev’s gaffe.”

www.theguardian.com/politics/…

Hoping for wins for all the ‘S’s this weekend - Saints, Seltic and Siteh ⚽

I’ve been wondering whether I could come up with 47 reasons why the election’s on the 4/7…..I reckon I could do 20, but not 47

Music news.

I much prefer Shakira’s latest LP to Beyonce’s latest LP

I hope Beyonce won’t be too upset.

One guy I’ve not seen mentioned in relation to the vacancy at Chelsea

Hopefully I’ll be proved wrong when we win the Premiership at a canter next season……but letting Pochettino go seems like a daft decision ⚽

It’s been a while since I posted a picture of HobNob. Here he is with the Giant, as depicted in the mural by my footballing friend Fred Fieber

I think it’s important, on a Monday morning, to set one’s goals for the working week.

My goal for this week: stop spelling ‘Terraform’ as ‘Terrafrom’

There was a Crass poster stuck up at Salisbury station yesterday - not seen that in a while

I don’t know what ‘My Catholic Enemy’ is about

Listening to Rob Delaney on Sean Keaveny and Iszi Lawrence’s Your Place or Mine

Delaney is clearly a comedy genius, but his sensibly or sense of humour or something is such that I swear he’s an English guy putting on an American accent

He’s maybe even Sean Keaveny putting on an American accent

Rob Delaney: Eastern Massachusetts, USA Your Place or Mine with Shaun Keaveny www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/pl…

“Only the most grim-faced of churls would refuse to recognise the progress Mikel Arteta’s outstanding Arsenal side have made this season.”

Thinking of changing my bio to “the most grim-faced of churls”

#AnyoneButArsenal ⚽

Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the final day of the season

www.theguardian.com/football/…

Last night I was reminded that:

• jogging in the countryside, and

• being a man of a certain age who needs to pee fairly frequently, and

• it being the height of stinging nettle season

…is a bad combination

🏃

I’ve only discovered this podcast recently, but it seems very good

The blurb says

“[Lynsky and Dunt] “focus their attention on exploring a single over-used (and over-abused) word or phrase. Through a combination of historical, etymological and contextual analysis, they unmask the true meaning of our most popular misinterpreted expressions—giving listeners keen insight into the murky nature of political and societal communication.”

…but it’s an awful lot more entertaining, and usually less heavy than that

Origin Story - www.podmasters.co.uk/origin-st…

Origin Story - open.spotify.com/show/5Aog…