G M Thomas FRSA FRAS
@japanauthor.bsky.social
Fellow Royal Society of Arts. Fellow Royal Asiatic Society.
I have been sleeping but now awake and I saw this and started to read. Philip Larkin's poem, Aubade, was published in the Christmas edition of the Times Literary Supplement in 1977
December 18, 2025 at 12:14 AM
I have been sleeping but now awake and I saw this and started to read. Philip Larkin's poem, Aubade, was published in the Christmas edition of the Times Literary Supplement in 1977
Production designer Ken Adam's move into the world of James Bond very nearly didn't happen. midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/k...
Ken Adam and Dr No
The casino in Dr No, seen at the film’s opening when we hear for the first time ‘…Bond, James Bond.’ Ken Adam is synonymous with James Bond but in fact he only designed seven of t…
midcenturybond.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Production designer Ken Adam's move into the world of James Bond very nearly didn't happen. midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2023/03/19/k...
What have garden sheds and tat got to do with Christmas? Welcome to the UK abomination known as the Christmas Market. This example in Trafalgar Square last year.
December 17, 2025 at 10:07 PM
What have garden sheds and tat got to do with Christmas? Welcome to the UK abomination known as the Christmas Market. This example in Trafalgar Square last year.
You might be amazed to learn this is the Thames in the heart of London. Barnes on the right; Chiswick on the left.
December 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM
You might be amazed to learn this is the Thames in the heart of London. Barnes on the right; Chiswick on the left.
What's my burning literary question today? Where did James Bond live in London?
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/t...
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/t...
The Truth. Where did James Bond live?
And why Boyd and Pearson are wrong. Recently the continuation author William Boyd wrote a piece that appeared in the Times Literary Supplement headlined, ‘How I found James Bond’s Precise Add…
midcenturybond.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
What's my burning literary question today? Where did James Bond live in London?
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/t...
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/t...
Although they were not neighbours - as they lived on this terrace of houses at different times - I felt there were synergies oscillating between Gustav Holst and Ninette de Valois presence. And of course his music is today used in ballet.
I passed these today. Dec 2025.
I passed these today. Dec 2025.
December 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Although they were not neighbours - as they lived on this terrace of houses at different times - I felt there were synergies oscillating between Gustav Holst and Ninette de Valois presence. And of course his music is today used in ballet.
I passed these today. Dec 2025.
I passed these today. Dec 2025.
Anti-Sports Personality Of The Year. A good read but surely Gianni Infantino should have been included. www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/d...
The Anti-Sports Personality of the Year awards 2025
On Thursday night the BBC will honour the heroes. But here are the year’s best dark, devious and downright dumb sporting stories
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Anti-Sports Personality Of The Year. A good read but surely Gianni Infantino should have been included. www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/d...
This is not something I'd heard before about Allen Jones and Stanley Kubrick. An example many artists and writers et al come across in the commercial world: 'can you do it for free because it will be great for your career...'
marycigarettes.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/a...
marycigarettes.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/a...
allen jones and clockwork orange
that photograph above is mary in the mens toilets at the royal academy of arts. the lighting in this wonderfully well considered interior is so dramatic,it felt wrong not to take a picture of her i…
marycigarettes.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:28 AM
This is not something I'd heard before about Allen Jones and Stanley Kubrick. An example many artists and writers et al come across in the commercial world: 'can you do it for free because it will be great for your career...'
marycigarettes.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/a...
marycigarettes.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/a...
My virtual Christmas card view for this year. It is part of the series Miyako meisho nijūgo kei (Twenty-five Views of Famous Places in Kyoto). Artist: Morikawa Sobun (1847-1902).
December 17, 2025 at 7:15 AM
My virtual Christmas card view for this year. It is part of the series Miyako meisho nijūgo kei (Twenty-five Views of Famous Places in Kyoto). Artist: Morikawa Sobun (1847-1902).
My description of the background music in the Roi restaurant, Grand Hotel Kanazawa. It was written in 2000 but I'm struck by how similar it is to a pattern now adopted by #BBCRadio3 Unwind service. Namely tunes interspersed with the sounds of nature. grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2024/01/03/a...
A millennium Christmas on the Noto Peninsula.
A Google map of the Noto Peninsula that they have marked with the epicentre of the 2024 earthquake. Christmas 2000 We had chosen to come to the Noto Peninsula in part because few of our friends had…
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:08 AM
My description of the background music in the Roi restaurant, Grand Hotel Kanazawa. It was written in 2000 but I'm struck by how similar it is to a pattern now adopted by #BBCRadio3 Unwind service. Namely tunes interspersed with the sounds of nature. grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2024/01/03/a...
I'm afraid this is incorrect. The 'promise' was only to start negotiations.
Very interesting development in UK/US relations...
The US has paused its promised £31bn investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback - by
@ecourea.bsky.social 👇
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The US has paused its promised £31bn investment into British tech over trade disagreements, marking a serious setback - by
@ecourea.bsky.social 👇
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US puts £31bn tech ‘prosperity deal’ with Britain on ice
Pledge to invest billions in UK paused, with Washington citing lack of progress on trade barriers across pond
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:30 PM
I'm afraid this is incorrect. The 'promise' was only to start negotiations.
Other than the adage 'the old ones are the best ones' clearly The Guardian has no comprehension that narrative in any form is retelling and retelling. I mean as it never heard of the history of mother-in-law jokes?
Now that’s a callback! Could old jokes become the new trend for comedy?
Now that’s a callback! Could old jokes become the new trend for comedy?
Surprise is a key ingredient of standup but Jack Rooke and Joseph Morpurgo explore the potential of dusting down their hit 2015 shows for rare revivals
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Other than the adage 'the old ones are the best ones' clearly The Guardian has no comprehension that narrative in any form is retelling and retelling. I mean as it never heard of the history of mother-in-law jokes?
It is unsurprising that the organisation that mounted OsakaExpo 2025 continues to be inept.
December 16, 2025 at 7:32 AM
It is unsurprising that the organisation that mounted OsakaExpo 2025 continues to be inept.
Quality Street when the tins were big. From the 1950s. (For those not au fait with this Christmas tradition, buying a tin of the Quality Street assortment is still a big part of Christmas in the UK. However more recently the tins have started to shrink.)
December 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Quality Street when the tins were big. From the 1950s. (For those not au fait with this Christmas tradition, buying a tin of the Quality Street assortment is still a big part of Christmas in the UK. However more recently the tins have started to shrink.)
The Shikoku mountains Japan. More precisely the Iya Valley area. 2025.
#mountainmonday #landscape #scape
@bskyphotos.bsky.social
#mountainmonday #landscape #scape
@bskyphotos.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 3:03 PM
The Shikoku mountains Japan. More precisely the Iya Valley area. 2025.
#mountainmonday #landscape #scape
@bskyphotos.bsky.social
#mountainmonday #landscape #scape
@bskyphotos.bsky.social
My essay called Japan Never Changes is #1 in terms of viewings after it was published earlier this week.
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/j...
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/j...
Japan Never Changes
In Lafcadio Hearn’s book Kokoro, published in 1896, he made an attempt to predict what would happen to Japan during the course of, and by the end of the twentieth century. He foresaw a country that…
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 AM
My essay called Japan Never Changes is #1 in terms of viewings after it was published earlier this week.
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/j...
grahamthomasauthor.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/j...
Reposted by G M Thomas FRSA FRAS
Re-organised my print store into "collections". Adding more new images throughout this week. If you're interested in an original print by me on your wall. Or want to buy one for a gift, do take a look. And re-post and share this if you feel inclined. Every little helps. 🙏❤️
japanorama.darkroom.com
japanorama.darkroom.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Re-organised my print store into "collections". Adding more new images throughout this week. If you're interested in an original print by me on your wall. Or want to buy one for a gift, do take a look. And re-post and share this if you feel inclined. Every little helps. 🙏❤️
japanorama.darkroom.com
japanorama.darkroom.com
Released this week in 1971. Way before Ibeza became a thing:
"See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads."
What on earth was Bowie being prescient about? How did he know? Spooky.
"See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads."
What on earth was Bowie being prescient about? How did he know? Spooky.
December 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Released this week in 1971. Way before Ibeza became a thing:
"See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads."
What on earth was Bowie being prescient about? How did he know? Spooky.
"See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads."
What on earth was Bowie being prescient about? How did he know? Spooky.
First Fish Story and now Beyond the Infinite Two Minutesドロステのはてで僕らshare commonalities: the butterfly effect; the end of the world in 1999 and then 2012; Sci-fi and comedy.
BI2M is also low budget. In this instance very low budget. And also has a huge cult following youtu.be/FHNflgKa4UA
BI2M is also low budget. In this instance very low budget. And also has a huge cult following youtu.be/FHNflgKa4UA
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2022) | Official Movie Trailer
YouTube video by WatchLister
youtu.be
December 13, 2025 at 7:52 PM
First Fish Story and now Beyond the Infinite Two Minutesドロステのはてで僕らshare commonalities: the butterfly effect; the end of the world in 1999 and then 2012; Sci-fi and comedy.
BI2M is also low budget. In this instance very low budget. And also has a huge cult following youtu.be/FHNflgKa4UA
BI2M is also low budget. In this instance very low budget. And also has a huge cult following youtu.be/FHNflgKa4UA
Further to my earlier posts on Anne Coates, three photos of her from Pinewood Studios. #letterbxd 📽️
December 13, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Further to my earlier posts on Anne Coates, three photos of her from Pinewood Studios. #letterbxd 📽️
Christmas drinks #2. 2023.
December 13, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Christmas drinks #2. 2023.
Pat Marriott is now largely forgotten but she designed two particularly interesting covers for Fleming's Bond novels.
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/p...
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/p...
Pat Marriott – Bond illustrator
For the first three books, Fleming used Kenneth Lewis to execute the artwork but for Diamonds Are Forever (1956) he turned to the illustrator Pat Marriott as while Fleming liked Lewis’s typog…
midcenturybond.wordpress.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Pat Marriott is now largely forgotten but she designed two particularly interesting covers for Fleming's Bond novels.
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/p...
midcenturybond.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/p...
Planned as a dissolve the greatest cut of all time was due to David Lean playing with a temporary jump cut. 'David gave it back to me and said make it perfect,’' said Anne Coates. 'I just took two frames off the outgoing shot, and that’s how it is today. #Letterbxd 📽️
youtu.be/HlUFxO0wxVQ?...
youtu.be/HlUFxO0wxVQ?...
The most epic scene cut in film history (Lawrence of arabia)
YouTube video by carpe diem
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Planned as a dissolve the greatest cut of all time was due to David Lean playing with a temporary jump cut. 'David gave it back to me and said make it perfect,’' said Anne Coates. 'I just took two frames off the outgoing shot, and that’s how it is today. #Letterbxd 📽️
youtu.be/HlUFxO0wxVQ?...
youtu.be/HlUFxO0wxVQ?...
Reposted by G M Thomas FRSA FRAS
First year selling my art at Christmas without the Other site, where most of my sales came from, as well as losing US orders to new tariffs, so it'll be a tough one - I put huge work into every order, so even if you can't buy, shares help get them in front of eyes. GRMA! www.ciaraioch.com/artprints
December 3, 2025 at 10:05 AM
First year selling my art at Christmas without the Other site, where most of my sales came from, as well as losing US orders to new tariffs, so it'll be a tough one - I put huge work into every order, so even if you can't buy, shares help get them in front of eyes. GRMA! www.ciaraioch.com/artprints
Anne V Coates was born in Reigate, Surrey on 12 December 1925. Over her long career as a film editor Coates was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award, to sit alongside her five nominations and one win – for Lawrence of Arabia. #letterbxd 📽️ youtu.be/ODsDNDXFjvA?...
Well Scene - Lawrence Of Arabia
YouTube video by Scott Gemmell
youtu.be
December 12, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Anne V Coates was born in Reigate, Surrey on 12 December 1925. Over her long career as a film editor Coates was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award, to sit alongside her five nominations and one win – for Lawrence of Arabia. #letterbxd 📽️ youtu.be/ODsDNDXFjvA?...