Simon Smith
@simonsmith.bsky.social
Journalist. Ex-Trinity Mirror, Manchester Evening News, etc. ‘I don’t know the sort of people who know the date’
MDANT in Madrid. Pop music mainly.
MDANT in Madrid. Pop music mainly.
Perhaps all the sneering broadsheet columnists aren’t as influential as they think?
Goalhanger exceeds 250,000 paying subscribers. The Rest Is History production company making £15m a year from subs. pressgazette.co.uk/paywalls/goa...
Goalhanger exceeds 250,000 paying subscribers
Goalhanger subscribers total now exceeds 250,000 for shows including The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics.
pressgazette.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Perhaps all the sneering broadsheet columnists aren’t as influential as they think?
Reposted by Simon Smith
I follow. You flee. Remind me who the criminals are again. What is it you can’t do when we’re watching, Stephen?
Miller: "In MN, the insurrectionists are confronting our officers on the street. They're being arrested. This is a natl security priority. Arrests of insurrectionists are made every day, and each provide us an opportunity to learn about the network from a law enforcement & natl security standpoint"
January 15, 2026 at 9:25 PM
I follow. You flee. Remind me who the criminals are again. What is it you can’t do when we’re watching, Stephen?
Basically, I think I’d like a political party to write a manifesto using AI entirely trained on nothing but Half Man Half Biscuit lyrics.
Seems fair?
Seems fair?
Litter, dog shit, fare dodgers, no public toilets, public clocks not working, potholes, unreliable buses. All very bad things and should be government priorities.
What's your most Keir Starmer coded opinion?
For me, it's that Play by Moby is a very good album of electronic music
For me, it's that Play by Moby is a very good album of electronic music
January 15, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Basically, I think I’d like a political party to write a manifesto using AI entirely trained on nothing but Half Man Half Biscuit lyrics.
Seems fair?
Seems fair?
Litter, dog shit, fare dodgers, no public toilets, public clocks not working, potholes, unreliable buses. All very bad things and should be government priorities.
What's your most Keir Starmer coded opinion?
For me, it's that Play by Moby is a very good album of electronic music
For me, it's that Play by Moby is a very good album of electronic music
January 15, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Litter, dog shit, fare dodgers, no public toilets, public clocks not working, potholes, unreliable buses. All very bad things and should be government priorities.
Not sure I knew this about Nat King Cole until now. From Kliph Nesterhoff’s excellent book ‘Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars’
January 14, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Not sure I knew this about Nat King Cole until now. From Kliph Nesterhoff’s excellent book ‘Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars’
Help me. Music ‘educator’ woman. UK, 1980s. Guessing started in 70s. Had a big band/small orchestra. Looked a bit hippy. Toured small theatres and released albums. Might have been her ‘magic orchestra’ or similar. I saw at Chorley Town Hall, if that helps.
I’m getting the name ‘Matilda’. But not.
I’m getting the name ‘Matilda’. But not.
January 13, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Help me. Music ‘educator’ woman. UK, 1980s. Guessing started in 70s. Had a big band/small orchestra. Looked a bit hippy. Toured small theatres and released albums. Might have been her ‘magic orchestra’ or similar. I saw at Chorley Town Hall, if that helps.
I’m getting the name ‘Matilda’. But not.
I’m getting the name ‘Matilda’. But not.
Sounding the ‘purple first’ klaxon!
Connections
Puzzle #947
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Puzzle #947
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January 13, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Sounding the ‘purple first’ klaxon!
Connections
Puzzle #947
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Puzzle #947
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“Beginning with the slaughter of a goat in honor of the spirits, the festival is filled with singing, dancing and the imbibing of liquor, especially gin”
participants from Benin's Vodun Day Festival, celebrated every January 10th.
January 13, 2026 at 6:56 AM
“Beginning with the slaughter of a goat in honor of the spirits, the festival is filled with singing, dancing and the imbibing of liquor, especially gin”
The Plaza on Bolton Street, Chorley. Saw Star Wars and ET there. Shared an awkward moment in my dad’s car seeing ‘The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas’ being advertised.
#ChildhoodCinema
#ChildhoodCinema
January 12, 2026 at 9:44 PM
The Plaza on Bolton Street, Chorley. Saw Star Wars and ET there. Shared an awkward moment in my dad’s car seeing ‘The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas’ being advertised.
#ChildhoodCinema
#ChildhoodCinema
There’ll be a social media ban for children in the UK by the end of the year. Willing to bet my VG+/Mint Slowdive albums on it. Kemi Badenoch would be smart to push it. Blue water between her and Reform.
January 12, 2026 at 9:25 PM
There’ll be a social media ban for children in the UK by the end of the year. Willing to bet my VG+/Mint Slowdive albums on it. Kemi Badenoch would be smart to push it. Blue water between her and Reform.
I was putting newspaper stories on Twitter when we were getting thousands of interactions. Absolutely no reason to do it now.
The DG of the BBC said this week that it remains on X because it has to reach a worldwide audience.
40m followers....
40k views and 92 likes.
A local Facebook group has more reach.
40m followers....
40k views and 92 likes.
A local Facebook group has more reach.
January 10, 2026 at 12:06 AM
I was putting newspaper stories on Twitter when we were getting thousands of interactions. Absolutely no reason to do it now.
Sending pdfs of newspaper pages to the printers down a phone line. And, when that failed, burning them onto a CD and driving to the print plant.
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Sending pdfs of newspaper pages to the printers down a phone line. And, when that failed, burning them onto a CD and driving to the print plant.
They hate women who don’t do what they tell them.
The ICE agent who shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago tried to goad her out of her car.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
He said “do something b*tch” and shot her 5 times.
The ICE agent who shot Nicole Renee Good did the same thing. Stood right in front of her vehicle and yelled “f*cking bitch”.
They hate women & it shows.
January 9, 2026 at 11:40 PM
They hate women who don’t do what they tell them.
Yeah, this was clearly a misogynist hate killing. Would not have happened if the sexes were reversed.
He didn't shoot her in the head at point blank range because he felt like he was in danger. He shot her in the head at point blank range because he was furious that she wasn't afraid of him. He shot her in the head at point blank range because he felt emasculated.
January 9, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Yeah, this was clearly a misogynist hate killing. Would not have happened if the sexes were reversed.
Queen.
This is the Iranian version of "Russian warship, go f*ck yourself!"
Cool and brave. A symbol and a challenge for the Iranian regime.
Cool and brave. A symbol and a challenge for the Iranian regime.
January 9, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Queen.
As a citizen of a normal continent I have literally no understanding of the concept of ‘jaywalk’. Still, no excuse.
Connections
Puzzle #942
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Puzzle #942
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January 8, 2026 at 10:58 PM
As a citizen of a normal continent I have literally no understanding of the concept of ‘jaywalk’. Still, no excuse.
Connections
Puzzle #942
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Connections
Puzzle #942
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Finally catching Seth Rogan’s The Studio, and oh lord that drive-by-shooting of Roman Polanski and Woody Allen is brutal. In three seconds of dialogue. 👏
January 8, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Finally catching Seth Rogan’s The Studio, and oh lord that drive-by-shooting of Roman Polanski and Woody Allen is brutal. In three seconds of dialogue. 👏
Share some walkie talkies, radios, stereos.
Radio Raheem in ‘Do The Right Thing’.
Radio Raheem in ‘Do The Right Thing’.
January 8, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Share some walkie talkies, radios, stereos.
Radio Raheem in ‘Do The Right Thing’.
Radio Raheem in ‘Do The Right Thing’.
And no slight on hairdressers, obviously. Spend a lot of time talking to strangers. There’s that great scene in Pixar’s Soul for example.
The importance of ‘job’ is always massively overplayed. It’s becoming a traitors trope. Hence the joy when the hairdresser appears to nail it.
January 7, 2026 at 10:52 PM
And no slight on hairdressers, obviously. Spend a lot of time talking to strangers. There’s that great scene in Pixar’s Soul for example.
Well I’ve had a miserable day. So here’s some Sarah Records punk rock to spur me on.
youtu.be/ObLUuRMctVQ?...
youtu.be/ObLUuRMctVQ?...
Art Student (Sarah Records Single Remaster)
YouTube video by Action Painting! - Topic
youtu.be
January 7, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Well I’ve had a miserable day. So here’s some Sarah Records punk rock to spur me on.
youtu.be/ObLUuRMctVQ?...
youtu.be/ObLUuRMctVQ?...
Pet Shop Boys. Discography. Pick a side. I’m going for 2.
January 1, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Pet Shop Boys. Discography. Pick a side. I’m going for 2.
Team Thurston, obvs. But nobody should have ‘350 records of the year’.
Noted that over on Twitter Thurston Moore posted a link to his top 350 records of the year 🤛 and the bloke from Portishead said that not one single piece of music moved him other than that which he released on his own label 👎.
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Team Thurston, obvs. But nobody should have ‘350 records of the year’.