Homunculi

I've just finished watching Mackenzie Crook's fabulous new TV drama Small Prophets. It'll come as no surprise that the man who brought you Detectorists has written and producd smething so magical (literally) and so endearing that you know people will still be talking about the show in 10, 20, 50 years time - and beyond. It's up on the iPlayer now; you really should give it a spin. You'll kick yourself if you don't. Pearce Quigley & Michael Palin will probably kick you as well; their performances are both off the charts.

Small Prophets (BBC) - official trailer (2026)

 

I've got a feeling you're gonna like the soundtrack too. The main theme is by Cinder Well - 'The Wiseman's Song' will probably become a heartbreaking classic (not my words, but those of Mackenzie Crook). And with his current run of form I certainly wouldn't bet against him.

XVI

At the start of 2010 I was looking to find a home for a thousand word piece on Ronnie Lane I'd recently written. Record Collector had commissioned me three months earlier but in the interrvening period the magazine had had a shake up at the top and the new editor no longer wanted it. Bastards. I rang round other mags/periodicals but nobody was biting. Fuck it, I thought, I'll put it out myself. So after a couple of conversations with my good friend Mondo (you can still find him & Piley at Ship Full of Bombs with their splendid radio show/podcast Podrophenia), he persuaded me to become a blogger.

I tought myself basic html coding and designed a website/blog under the banner 'Even Monkeys Fall Out of Trees' and on 15 February I went live. With no preamble I dropped the Ronnie Lane article into a world where everyone, it seemed to me, was blogging. Sixteen years later and I'm still here. 'Even Monkeys...' became 'Are We There Yet' a few years later and in all that time I've made countless friends and contacts (virtual & F2F) and (again, in my experience) I continue to find it both a thriving and all welcoming community. I still love writing my blog and reading others'. And I'll tell them that when I see many of them them In Leeds at BlogCon26 later in the year. 

(Not) Saturday Snapshots #2

Polish Parish of Our Lady of Częstochowa, Nottingham

It was too nice a day today not to go wandering. So, armed with nothing more than a camera and a spring in my step I ventured forth. Walking into town this morning was a joy, not a chore. The world looks different when the sun shines; just ask C over at Sun Dried Sparrows. 

Nottingham Trent University

I took dozens of photos but thought I'd share just a couple with you here; simply to prove to you (in case you were housebound today) that the sun really did shine all day and the sky really was as blue as it looks here. In stark contrast to the first six weeks of this year which appear to have been filmed in monochrome by mistake. Visage could have written a song about the first month and a half of 2026. 

...

I explained last time around that my Saturday snapshots are not to be confused with Saturday Snapshots; that's something else altogether. 

Visibility: moderate to poor

The weather was pretty atrocious over the weekend. We went out for breakfast on Sunday and afterwards made our way to the Castle. There's always an exhibition on and the annual pass is a great excuse/incentive to get out of the house when the weather is far from clement.

My friend Graham has a couple of his photographs currently on display so it was great to see them up close. Not that you could see much up close from high up on the Castle Rock. Normally the view could be termed commanding. Not so on Sunday. Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, admittedly eight miles away as the crow flies, normally dominates the skyline to the south west. Alas, not yesterday; though I did find the somewhat misty view I was afforded kind of atmospheric. Likewise the views over towards the Trent and Meadow Lane, home to Notts County FC, were equally shrouded. Note to self - I think I'll save that particular image for March's Photo Challenge.

The last bus is long gone

It's hard to get your head around the fact that Phil Lynott left us 40 years ago. He was just 36. No age at all. But I guess when you're addicted to heroin you tear up any long term plans you may be carrying. In the relatively short time he was around he wrote and recorded some seminal songs - songs that have become part of the rock and roll firmament. Walk into any self respecting rock club on the planet and it's only a matter of time till you hear the strains of Jailbreak or The Boys Are Back in Town. Bankers both.

But I loved it when he dropped it down a gear.. Dancing in the Moonlight was sublime. And, funnily enough, was always destined to be a jazz standard! If you don't believe me, take a listen to what Loah's done with Lynott's mini masterpiece. 

Loah: Dancing in the Moonlight (2026)

★

 Phil Lynott (1949-1986)