🎬 Enjoyed The Beatles And India (2021). Learned a few new things where I previously thought there was nothing else to know about their trip. Fascinating to hear Indian perspectives. Shots of the Rishikesh ashram that blended footage from 1968 and the present day were wonderful.

📚 Finished reading The Pursuit Of Power: Europe 1815–1914 by Richard J Evans. As you would expect, there is so much packed into this. It is not just a catalogue of military conquests and events; it touches on so many other aspects of life during those times. A fascinating book.

What kind of UI nonsense is this‽

🎶 I’d forgotten just how good this is.

🎶 Magdalena Bay’s Mercurial World is so good. They keep pumping out one startling musical idea after another, and here they have stitched a whole set of them into something wonderful.

🎬 Schumacher (2021) is a wonderful, family-led portrait of the man. It isn’t perfect in that it misses some important events such as the Monaco incident in 2006, but that doesn’t really detract from reliving his accomplishments and remembering just how good he was. Touching.

📺 Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution was totally compelling. Recent history, but it feels so very far away. I first voted in the ‘97 election and went on the anti-Iraq War march in ‘03. Fascinating to remember those times and hear directly from the main characters.

Network Rail, I could have told you this wouldn’t work. #SipSaveRecycle

Stayed at the office late to join an online meetup. Great, engaging session but I’m longing for home. Now waiting 30 minutes for the next train from Euston. I don’t think I’ll prioritise meetups when I’m in London in future.

🎬 Watched Falling Down (1993) for the first time. I thought I knew what it was about from the memes that have been in circulation since it came out, but I was wrong. He’s not a normal guy who one day tips over the edge and loses it, he seems to have lost it long before then.

🕯 This monthly payment was £89 when I joined my energy supplier in 2017, rose to £114 and then £135 in 2018, went to £175 at the end of last year and then £183 in May. I’m sure some of it is down to increased consumption from working at home, but a 271% increase in 4 years is 😳

Wonderful write-up on the history of London’s Whitecross Street. I miss its eclectic food market being five minutes from my office.

Lunchtime! Whitecross Street Market is calling. What’ll it be? Falafel? Curry? Salad? Pasta? Sandwich? Love this part of the day :o)

— Andrew Doran (@adoran2) February 19, 2009

🎶 Picked this up for £2 from a market stall in town at the weekend. Sounding spectacular. What a voice. Such beautiful songs.

🎶 Really enjoyed Echoes, a two-part audio special on Gene Clark. Lots of his music peppered with chat between Indigo Mariana and Clark’s biographer John Einarson. I still have so much of his work to explore.

Third Wed in a row I’ve been to the office. More people again this morning, almost all masked. But the late train home had a slightly drunk woman one seat ahead of me asking who else wasn’t vaxxed, and started high-fiving those that said they weren’t. People are crazy.

Well, I didn’t expect to be moved by a YouTube comment on an 80s music video. 😢

🎶 Hosted Album Club in person for the first time in two years. Joe Jackson’s I’m The Man went down well.

Back into my London office for the day again today. One week on from my last trip in and there are noticeably more people with noticeably fewer masks.

Mrs D prepped lunch for us both last night. Giant couscous, mango, halloumi, leaves. Beautiful. Had my half from the fridge at lunchtime and thought ‘that was a bit heavy’. Went back to the fridge later and found my portion in a bowl. I’d eaten everything else. So stuffed.