07.01.2026 13:11
👍 6178
🔁 2203
💬 17
📌 31
An elevated-view photograph looking across a patch of grassland towards a multi-lane road on a gloomy, overcast day. In the background is a construction hoarding featuring the text "wearenorthampton.com" and, behind that, is a plot of bare land.
This is forecast to be completed in 2032, nearly 20 years after people had to leave their homes to help the "regeneration" of the town. Does it take most places 20 years to build an office/hotel/residential development?
Also, the conversation about zombie developments in towns hit home for me, not just because of the large patch of wasteland in the middle of Northampton where a bus station used to be 12 years ago but also because my flat overlooks a whole street that was knocked down for a development 13 years ago.
I think it was called Hum Tum and I mostly remember it for a great dance sequence they'd filmed at the Eiffel Tower.
A nostalgic monstrosity for me. As a kid, going to "the pyramid" to see a film was incredibly exciting. Then, Northampton got its first multiplex and I didn't go back until the early 2000s and a friend from 6th Form wanted to see a Bollywood film they were showing.
Just tried to watch the para biathlon sitting sprint races from this morning on C4's YouTube channel but the world feed was a mess. The commentary dropped out, the pictures were glitching, and, eventually, they just seemed to abandon the broadcast altogether. Not a great start.
#WinterParalympics
A series of red plinths arranged in a circle. On each plinth is an anatomically correct white ceramic heart, each slightly different from the last.
Ooh, I saw the models of those hearts at the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025!
#Paralympics #WinterParalympics #Expo2025
OK, panic over, I have a ticket! I'm going to be seeing Orville Peck on 29th June. Yee-haw! 🤠
Well, I don't think this is going to go my way. I got to the front of the (15 min) queue, tried to add a ticket to my basket and it threw me back into a (27 min) queue. 😩
Greg: What was the wording on the task?
Alex: Make Achilles invulnerable by dipping him in the Styx. Most invulnerable Achilles wins.
Greg: Dip the baby. The whole baby. They’re not going to hang onto a heel or anything stupid like that.
Alex: First, let’s see Thetis’ attempt.
Oh, shiiiiiit, Orville Peck is playing a gig in London this summer! I've been waiting for a UK show for ages. We'll see how I get on in the pre-sale. 🤞
This is a fun idea for a quiz!
🎯 FAR OUT — Mar 2
Q1: 🟢🟢🟢⚪⚪ -8
Q2: 🟢🟢🟢⚪⚪ -5
Q3: 🟢🟢🟢🟢⚪ -3
Score: 84/100 🔥
Play at faroutquiz.com
Reform win a seat: The true Volk have spoken and we all must listen.
Greens win a seat: Early reports that Muslims may have ‘voted’ (an ancient Islamic practice designed to steal elections). How severely should the franchise be limited in response?
What a result! All five superfinalists were only covered by six percentage points. I'm so happy about the winner, though. Sal's performance has such infectious joy and warmth to it.
#Sanremo
Very pleased with this as a top 5!
#Sanremo
We've just reached the point of tonight's broadcast where my TV has paused to ask me if I'm still there.
#Sanremo
Going into the final night of #Sanremo, the top 22 of Spotify's daily chart for Italy are competing in the festival. Samurai Jay, Sayf, and Fedez/Masini are leading the way on streaming.
Some of the songs that have been emerging as my favourites across this week:
* Stella stellina
* Tu mi piaci tanto
* La felicità e basta
* Per sempre si
* Resta con me
* Magica favola
There's a whole other pack of songs I'd be happy to see do well tonight, too.
#Sanremo
INTRODUCING! Hannah Spencer The new Green MP for GORTON & DENTON Green Party Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of The Green Party, both at PO Box 78066, London SE16 9GQ
Introducing Hannah Spencer MP 💚
📷 EXPO PICTURE OF THE WEEK 📸
Two icons of Osaka meet. The mascot of #Expo2025 Osaka Kansai now sits in front of the Tower of the Sun in the #Expo1970 Osaka commemorative park
#ExpoPictures #Osaka #MyakuMyaku
Blimey, I've started the season with a pair of 9(6)s! Law of averages suggests I've got some lean times ahead.
#LL108 #LearnedLeague
I swear that, one year, I'm going to remember to book #Sanremo week as annual leave and I can sleep in each morning. 😅
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to listening through the songs again tomorrow while I work to see if any of them start to separate themselves from the pack.
Fucking hell. With the help of AI, you too can turn your prestigious cultural institution into an acid-fuelled nightmare.
#Sanremo
It's the first live show of Sanremo 2026 this evening, and the first chance for the public to hear the songs. A long but enjoyable week of music begins, and @dudepoints.fun sets up the story of this year's festival.
...and, helpfully, it turns out they made a live album (recorded over two nights, a week later than the ticket I saw on display): www.discogs.com/release/6431...
If I'm honest, I'm a bit tempted to get myself a copy. 😅
Fourteen paper tickets, with text in Japanese and English, mounted in a glass frame. One of them reads "San Remo Festival Expo 70".
One of the displays was of tickets for events that were held during the Expo and, while I got a clear sense of a pretty awesome cultural programme that year, the performance that caught my eye was, naturally, the Sanremo show.
I was kinda curious who might have made the trip over...
To celebrate the beginning of Sanremo week, here's something from the meeting point of a few of my interests. When I was in Osaka last year, I went to a museum commemorating the 1970 World Expo.
#Sanremo #SanremoMusicFestival #WorldExpo #Expo70
Ariston Theatre at night
FELICITA!
IT IS SANREMO OPENING DAY!
What did Carlo Conti bring for all the good children this year?
FIND OUT TONIGHT on Rai for approximately 4 hours (give or take)
World Cup action resumes for Alpine Skiing on Friday, Cross-Country Skiing and Luge on Saturday, Skimo on 4th Match, Biathlon on 5th March, Snowboard Cross on 7th March. In Curling, the Women's World Championship starts on 18th March.
#WinterOlympics #ClosingCeremony #MilanoCortina2026
Gorgeous performance from Achille Lauro. Well worth the wait.
#WinterOlympics #ClosingCeremony #MilanoCortina2026