David Freedman
@freedmanhp4.bsky.social
The world’s softest grandpa and worst jazz trumpeter. Cricket, rugby, music, books, theatre, politics and - above all - family. You’d probably describe me as woke. And if you did, that’d be OK. I was (still am, for now) @freedmanhp4 in another place.
Still got DVDs, VHS, CDs, vinyl, a few cassette tapes and many books. I’ve got nothing against streaming films and music and online books, but they are curated by unreliable third parties and depend on technology which isn’t (or might not be) always available.
December 13, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Still got DVDs, VHS, CDs, vinyl, a few cassette tapes and many books. I’ve got nothing against streaming films and music and online books, but they are curated by unreliable third parties and depend on technology which isn’t (or might not be) always available.
Surely 304,762 guineas?
December 10, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Surely 304,762 guineas?
Looks a bit Bath & Wells-ish
December 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Looks a bit Bath & Wells-ish
Plastic sheeting? Pah! When I were a lad 15 of us had to huddle under t’window in old horse blankets we retrieved from the council tip at back o’ t’stables.
December 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Plastic sheeting? Pah! When I were a lad 15 of us had to huddle under t’window in old horse blankets we retrieved from the council tip at back o’ t’stables.
I have no Scottish blood, but always make porridge with water. Anything involving warmed milk is an invitation to vomit.
December 9, 2025 at 10:04 AM
I have no Scottish blood, but always make porridge with water. Anything involving warmed milk is an invitation to vomit.
That’s one good, if petty and ineffectual, reason not to use his products. The main one is that they’re all, in my experience, crap.
December 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
That’s one good, if petty and ineffectual, reason not to use his products. The main one is that they’re all, in my experience, crap.
….didn’t age well ☹️
December 6, 2025 at 7:23 PM
….didn’t age well ☹️
They’re called “New Universities” nowadays.
December 5, 2025 at 2:05 PM
They’re called “New Universities” nowadays.
Bluey is excellent and In The Night Garden has its merits. But there’ll never be a show like The Magic Roundabout.
December 5, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Bluey is excellent and In The Night Garden has its merits. But there’ll never be a show like The Magic Roundabout.
My point wasn’t about the use of a kettle, it was about the use of teabags.
December 3, 2025 at 10:34 PM
My point wasn’t about the use of a kettle, it was about the use of teabags.
If, and I say this wearily for the umpteenth time on this site, you’re using a teabag to make it then it’s going to taste like scum regardless of the device you use to boil the water.
December 3, 2025 at 4:23 PM
If, and I say this wearily for the umpteenth time on this site, you’re using a teabag to make it then it’s going to taste like scum regardless of the device you use to boil the water.
Yes. Sadly though (good cause though it is) the prevalence of volunteer-run Oxfam second hand bookshops in every town and city has led to the demise of many established and professionally-run shops which sold similar stock.
November 28, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Yes. Sadly though (good cause though it is) the prevalence of volunteer-run Oxfam second hand bookshops in every town and city has led to the demise of many established and professionally-run shops which sold similar stock.
Rather frighteningly, I remember this.
November 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Rather frighteningly, I remember this.
That’s very much a peeve of mine and for years I tried to stop colleagues from doing it. But I notice that it was commonplace in a great deal of 19th and earlier 20th century published writing (especially ephemera).
November 23, 2025 at 10:46 AM
That’s very much a peeve of mine and for years I tried to stop colleagues from doing it. But I notice that it was commonplace in a great deal of 19th and earlier 20th century published writing (especially ephemera).
That was the series, Ray Illingworth’s team, that first brought cricket into my consciousness; where it has lodged immovably ever since.
November 19, 2025 at 10:37 PM
That was the series, Ray Illingworth’s team, that first brought cricket into my consciousness; where it has lodged immovably ever since.
And See You Later Alligator is just a generic mid-tempo blues with added blandness ingredients for 1950s white kids.
November 19, 2025 at 10:08 AM
And See You Later Alligator is just a generic mid-tempo blues with added blandness ingredients for 1950s white kids.
I have been hit by a car doing that (on the M1) and then the driver proceeded on his merry way onto the exit slip road while I was left with damage and a degree of shock. Imprisonable in my view.
November 16, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I have been hit by a car doing that (on the M1) and then the driver proceeded on his merry way onto the exit slip road while I was left with damage and a degree of shock. Imprisonable in my view.
These are still “the days of brewing in teapots” unless you’re a complete barbarian.
November 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
These are still “the days of brewing in teapots” unless you’re a complete barbarian.
Well, there is that.
November 11, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Well, there is that.
I think the only logical conclusions to draw from this conversation are that:
a) it depends on where you live;
b) it depends on who your friends and neighbours are;
c) it depends on your attitude towards serendipity and the occasional bit of amiable time wasting.
a) it depends on where you live;
b) it depends on who your friends and neighbours are;
c) it depends on your attitude towards serendipity and the occasional bit of amiable time wasting.
November 11, 2025 at 9:08 AM
I think the only logical conclusions to draw from this conversation are that:
a) it depends on where you live;
b) it depends on who your friends and neighbours are;
c) it depends on your attitude towards serendipity and the occasional bit of amiable time wasting.
a) it depends on where you live;
b) it depends on who your friends and neighbours are;
c) it depends on your attitude towards serendipity and the occasional bit of amiable time wasting.