Lord Steerforth
@lordsteerforth.bsky.social
Former bookseller, cast into the wilderness. I enjoy nerdy posts about books, classical music, travel and where the 21st century went wrong.
Nicola Barker's Darkmans is a flawed masterpiece: brilliant, maddening, hilarious, absurd and strangely profound when you least expect it. As a reader, it's like being kidnapped by a charming madman. Tucked away in the novel, on page 461, is a pretty good description of her approach to writing:
January 6, 2026 at 11:08 AM
Nicola Barker's Darkmans is a flawed masterpiece: brilliant, maddening, hilarious, absurd and strangely profound when you least expect it. As a reader, it's like being kidnapped by a charming madman. Tucked away in the novel, on page 461, is a pretty good description of her approach to writing:
I'm watching Alexander Korda's 1939 film 'The Four Feathers' and all seemed well until this jaw-dropping WTAF moment:
December 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I'm watching Alexander Korda's 1939 film 'The Four Feathers' and all seemed well until this jaw-dropping WTAF moment:
The Hammersmith and City line yesterday, during rush hour. Have I missed a memo?
December 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
The Hammersmith and City line yesterday, during rush hour. Have I missed a memo?
An absolute fantastic Vaughan Williams double bill from the LSO and the London Symphony Choir, with Antonio Pappano. From the ethereal beauty of Flos Campi to the visceral excitement of Dona Nobis Pacem, I'm so grateful to have heard these neglected gems. #halfsixfix
December 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
An absolute fantastic Vaughan Williams double bill from the LSO and the London Symphony Choir, with Antonio Pappano. From the ethereal beauty of Flos Campi to the visceral excitement of Dona Nobis Pacem, I'm so grateful to have heard these neglected gems. #halfsixfix
This is a hugely entertaining video, full of gossip and uninhibited schadenfreude. Interviewed by his son Fred, photographer Harry Borden isn't afraid to dish the dirt on some of the awful people he's encountered during his career.
youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8-...
youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8-...
I Photographed Isabella Blow (And It Was Awful)
YouTube video by Fred and Harry Borden
youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
This is a hugely entertaining video, full of gossip and uninhibited schadenfreude. Interviewed by his son Fred, photographer Harry Borden isn't afraid to dish the dirt on some of the awful people he's encountered during his career.
youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8-...
youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8-...
I'm back in Morocco for the first time in 45 years. I expect things to be different, but I wasn't prepared for how similar they'd be in other ways. Lots of people still travel in donkey-drawn carts and the clothing seems to be as traditional as ever. It's still the country I loved back in 1980.
November 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I'm back in Morocco for the first time in 45 years. I expect things to be different, but I wasn't prepared for how similar they'd be in other ways. Lots of people still travel in donkey-drawn carts and the clothing seems to be as traditional as ever. It's still the country I loved back in 1980.
I don't think the author of this phishing email has quite grasped the rudiments of cyber crime.
November 15, 2025 at 12:11 PM
I don't think the author of this phishing email has quite grasped the rudiments of cyber crime.
The subtitles in this film are really helpful.
November 12, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The subtitles in this film are really helpful.
I got lost today (a common occurrence) and ended up having to walk along a main road back to my car. On the verge, I found a series of abandoned pages from a photo album. How and why did they end up here, and what would the album's owner have made of this odd destiny 43 years ago? So many questions.
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
I got lost today (a common occurrence) and ended up having to walk along a main road back to my car. On the verge, I found a series of abandoned pages from a photo album. How and why did they end up here, and what would the album's owner have made of this odd destiny 43 years ago? So many questions.
Well, that was two hours of my life I'll never get back. Described as a thriller/comedy, Die My Love had few thrills and no comedy. It could have been a good drama about post-partum psychosis, but ended up being both boring and depressing. The cast were great, particularly Jennifer Lawrence.
November 7, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Well, that was two hours of my life I'll never get back. Described as a thriller/comedy, Die My Love had few thrills and no comedy. It could have been a good drama about post-partum psychosis, but ended up being both boring and depressing. The cast were great, particularly Jennifer Lawrence.
This is one of the finest (and funniest) documentaries the BBC has ever produced. It's also incredibly painful to watch if you're English. Watching this as a teenager was my first experience of national shame: youtu.be/PfU6XX5XU4M?...
1983: A Package Holiday to Benidorm | Forty Minutes | Classic BBC Documentary | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
This is one of the finest (and funniest) documentaries the BBC has ever produced. It's also incredibly painful to watch if you're English. Watching this as a teenager was my first experience of national shame: youtu.be/PfU6XX5XU4M?...
I usually like Apple TV dramas, but my wife and I had to turn this off within minutes. I didn't even get to the part where I had to overcome my aversion to Emma Thompson. Maybe it got better, but to compress so many 'quirky' clichés into three minutes doesn't bode well.
November 2, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I usually like Apple TV dramas, but my wife and I had to turn this off within minutes. I didn't even get to the part where I had to overcome my aversion to Emma Thompson. Maybe it got better, but to compress so many 'quirky' clichés into three minutes doesn't bode well.
Ivan Klima's death has come as a shock, as I thought he'd died years ago. Overshadowed by Kundera and Havel, he's been neglected in recent years, but I thought his novel 'Judge in Trial' was one of the best accounts of living under communism I've read. Glad he outlived his oppressors by 36 years.
October 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Ivan Klima's death has come as a shock, as I thought he'd died years ago. Overshadowed by Kundera and Havel, he's been neglected in recent years, but I thought his novel 'Judge in Trial' was one of the best accounts of living under communism I've read. Glad he outlived his oppressors by 36 years.
Finished Blue Lights last night. What a brilliant drama! It's hard to pick out why it's so successful, as there are so many elements that make it work, but if I had to choose one, I'd say it was the characters. Each person is so well-drawn, in a way that leaves other series in the shade.
October 25, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Finished Blue Lights last night. What a brilliant drama! It's hard to pick out why it's so successful, as there are so many elements that make it work, but if I had to choose one, I'd say it was the characters. Each person is so well-drawn, in a way that leaves other series in the shade.
My son listened with genuine, open-mouthed amazement as I explained that in 1970s SW London, nobody celebrated Halloween. I then compounded the shock by explaining about kids asking for a "Penny for the guy" (shortly killed off by a double-whammy of inflation and health and safety) for November 5th.
October 23, 2025 at 9:19 AM
My son listened with genuine, open-mouthed amazement as I explained that in 1970s SW London, nobody celebrated Halloween. I then compounded the shock by explaining about kids asking for a "Penny for the guy" (shortly killed off by a double-whammy of inflation and health and safety) for November 5th.
1986 and 2025. My wife and I found an old-fashioned photobooth in the Photographers' Gallery, just off Oxford Street. As we were waiting for the photos to dry (remember that?), I recalled that we'd done this once before, 39 years ago. Luckily, I still had the original...
October 18, 2025 at 8:36 AM
1986 and 2025. My wife and I found an old-fashioned photobooth in the Photographers' Gallery, just off Oxford Street. As we were waiting for the photos to dry (remember that?), I recalled that we'd done this once before, 39 years ago. Luckily, I still had the original...
@profilebooks.bsky.social Is "Armerica" a typo, or am I being a bit thick and missing something profound?
October 16, 2025 at 8:42 AM
@profilebooks.bsky.social Is "Armerica" a typo, or am I being a bit thick and missing something profound?
I'm one of the last people to discover #BlueLights, but better late than never. And to my great surprise, our older son, who NEVER watches terrestrial television, is addicted to it. If every BBC drama was this good there'd be no debate about the licence fee.
October 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I'm one of the last people to discover #BlueLights, but better late than never. And to my great surprise, our older son, who NEVER watches terrestrial television, is addicted to it. If every BBC drama was this good there'd be no debate about the licence fee.
Neil Hannon's new album may be preoccupied by ageing and loss, but at tonight's Barbican concert he was still a sprightly whippersnapper, bristling with energy.
@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social
@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social
October 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Neil Hannon's new album may be preoccupied by ageing and loss, but at tonight's Barbican concert he was still a sprightly whippersnapper, bristling with energy.
@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social
@divinecomedyhq.bsky.social
Good to see that a Teddington pub now celebrates the life of one of its finest sons.
October 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Good to see that a Teddington pub now celebrates the life of one of its finest sons.
I'm reading my first Nicola Barker book and it feels like nominative determinism in action. But after a few intial pages of "What!?" I've grown to love the rich, gently crazed world of the Barkerverse. She really is a one-off.
October 8, 2025 at 7:46 PM
I'm reading my first Nicola Barker book and it feels like nominative determinism in action. But after a few intial pages of "What!?" I've grown to love the rich, gently crazed world of the Barkerverse. She really is a one-off.
My hotel in Lithuania is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a refreshing change from all those bland business chains, with their depressing conference rooms.
September 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
My hotel in Lithuania is probably not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a refreshing change from all those bland business chains, with their depressing conference rooms.
Raynor Winn is starting to become the charity shops' new Da Vinci Code. If she'd published them as novels, she wouldn't be in this pickle now.
September 26, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Raynor Winn is starting to become the charity shops' new Da Vinci Code. If she'd published them as novels, she wouldn't be in this pickle now.
For sheer comic value, Nicholas Courtney's performance in this 1974 Doctor Who clip is worth watching.
September 25, 2025 at 5:21 AM
For sheer comic value, Nicholas Courtney's performance in this 1974 Doctor Who clip is worth watching.
As everyone seems to be doing their 10 favourite TV comedies...
1. Peep Show
2. The IT Crowd
3. Rising Damp
4. Frasier
5. Father Ted
6. Butterflies
7. Only Fools and Horses
8. Is It Legal?
9. Camping
10. One Foot in the Grave
Nearly all are well-known, but 'Is It Legal?' was underrated.
1. Peep Show
2. The IT Crowd
3. Rising Damp
4. Frasier
5. Father Ted
6. Butterflies
7. Only Fools and Horses
8. Is It Legal?
9. Camping
10. One Foot in the Grave
Nearly all are well-known, but 'Is It Legal?' was underrated.
September 21, 2025 at 8:16 AM
As everyone seems to be doing their 10 favourite TV comedies...
1. Peep Show
2. The IT Crowd
3. Rising Damp
4. Frasier
5. Father Ted
6. Butterflies
7. Only Fools and Horses
8. Is It Legal?
9. Camping
10. One Foot in the Grave
Nearly all are well-known, but 'Is It Legal?' was underrated.
1. Peep Show
2. The IT Crowd
3. Rising Damp
4. Frasier
5. Father Ted
6. Butterflies
7. Only Fools and Horses
8. Is It Legal?
9. Camping
10. One Foot in the Grave
Nearly all are well-known, but 'Is It Legal?' was underrated.