Neil Appleby
@theboyonabike.bsky.social
Books, bands, bicycles and tofu
Book 1 of ‘26
There’s a stark horror to The Director, a fictionalised account of a real-life art house film maker who finds himself in the clutches of the Third Reich. He’s subversive until the drive for perfection renders him complicit. Dark, twisted, terrifying yet narratively satisfying
#Booksky
There’s a stark horror to The Director, a fictionalised account of a real-life art house film maker who finds himself in the clutches of the Third Reich. He’s subversive until the drive for perfection renders him complicit. Dark, twisted, terrifying yet narratively satisfying
#Booksky
January 7, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Book 1 of ‘26
There’s a stark horror to The Director, a fictionalised account of a real-life art house film maker who finds himself in the clutches of the Third Reich. He’s subversive until the drive for perfection renders him complicit. Dark, twisted, terrifying yet narratively satisfying
#Booksky
There’s a stark horror to The Director, a fictionalised account of a real-life art house film maker who finds himself in the clutches of the Third Reich. He’s subversive until the drive for perfection renders him complicit. Dark, twisted, terrifying yet narratively satisfying
#Booksky
Final culture of the year with the multiple Olivier-winning Fiddler on the Roof at the Birmingham
Alex. Not sure it won my awards but the staging and choreography were terrific and its conclusion quietly beautiful.
Alex. Not sure it won my awards but the staging and choreography were terrific and its conclusion quietly beautiful.
December 30, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Final culture of the year with the multiple Olivier-winning Fiddler on the Roof at the Birmingham
Alex. Not sure it won my awards but the staging and choreography were terrific and its conclusion quietly beautiful.
Alex. Not sure it won my awards but the staging and choreography were terrific and its conclusion quietly beautiful.
Book 35 of ‘25
The Wren, The Wren felt very ‘writerly’, beautiful prose, a mother-daughter relationship and some awful men. Not huge on linear plot, but cuttingly contemporary, powerful of mood and ultimately optimistic, I hung in and it was worth it.
#booksky
The Wren, The Wren felt very ‘writerly’, beautiful prose, a mother-daughter relationship and some awful men. Not huge on linear plot, but cuttingly contemporary, powerful of mood and ultimately optimistic, I hung in and it was worth it.
#booksky
December 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Book 35 of ‘25
The Wren, The Wren felt very ‘writerly’, beautiful prose, a mother-daughter relationship and some awful men. Not huge on linear plot, but cuttingly contemporary, powerful of mood and ultimately optimistic, I hung in and it was worth it.
#booksky
The Wren, The Wren felt very ‘writerly’, beautiful prose, a mother-daughter relationship and some awful men. Not huge on linear plot, but cuttingly contemporary, powerful of mood and ultimately optimistic, I hung in and it was worth it.
#booksky
I’m damp-eyed and emotionally wrung out after a glorious Christmas Eve matinee of The Sound of Music at the lovely Leicester Curve. We even got to give one of the nuns a lift to Birmingham.
December 24, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I’m damp-eyed and emotionally wrung out after a glorious Christmas Eve matinee of The Sound of Music at the lovely Leicester Curve. We even got to give one of the nuns a lift to Birmingham.
Book 34 of ‘25
The 640 page Caledonian Road requires patience. Initially I found it glib, but gravity seeped through till we were in a state of the nation trek through Russian money, modern slavery, street violence, the value of art, political corruption and Shakespearean falls from grace.
#booksky
The 640 page Caledonian Road requires patience. Initially I found it glib, but gravity seeped through till we were in a state of the nation trek through Russian money, modern slavery, street violence, the value of art, political corruption and Shakespearean falls from grace.
#booksky
December 20, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Book 34 of ‘25
The 640 page Caledonian Road requires patience. Initially I found it glib, but gravity seeped through till we were in a state of the nation trek through Russian money, modern slavery, street violence, the value of art, political corruption and Shakespearean falls from grace.
#booksky
The 640 page Caledonian Road requires patience. Initially I found it glib, but gravity seeped through till we were in a state of the nation trek through Russian money, modern slavery, street violence, the value of art, political corruption and Shakespearean falls from grace.
#booksky
Horror as a random check on my £140 self-scan shop implies I had failed to register a £1 loaf. Temptation to leg it was subdued by fear a 5 year sentence would then become 19.
#24601inTesco
#24601inTesco
December 12, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Horror as a random check on my £140 self-scan shop implies I had failed to register a £1 loaf. Temptation to leg it was subdued by fear a 5 year sentence would then become 19.
#24601inTesco
#24601inTesco
The only thing more bourgeois than descaling the coffee machine would have been getting the housekeeper to do it for me.
December 3, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The only thing more bourgeois than descaling the coffee machine would have been getting the housekeeper to do it for me.
Last gig of the year and a brilliant evening of song and anecdotes with Thea Gilmore At Kings Heath Hare and Hounds. We even got to sit down! Born like a tsunami, a one woman army, took a pharmacy to calm me… and a new gorgeousness breathed into Echo and the Bunnymen’s Killing Moon.
December 1, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Last gig of the year and a brilliant evening of song and anecdotes with Thea Gilmore At Kings Heath Hare and Hounds. We even got to sit down! Born like a tsunami, a one woman army, took a pharmacy to calm me… and a new gorgeousness breathed into Echo and the Bunnymen’s Killing Moon.
CMAT at the Brum O2 Academy, a mesmerising performance from a brilliantly literate megastar, but a venue so jampacked, had I fainted I would’ve remained upright. While I started crazymad for it, I have to conclude it’s no Eurocountry for old men… unless in the balcony.
November 29, 2025 at 11:58 PM
CMAT at the Brum O2 Academy, a mesmerising performance from a brilliantly literate megastar, but a venue so jampacked, had I fainted I would’ve remained upright. While I started crazymad for it, I have to conclude it’s no Eurocountry for old men… unless in the balcony.
Book 33 of ‘25
Dream Count charts the aspirations, actions and disappointments of three middle class, worldly Nigerian women hitting middle age coupled with the troubling story of a Guinean woman of poorer background. Huge in ideas if modest on plot, the writing is gorgeous and engrossing.
#Booksky
Dream Count charts the aspirations, actions and disappointments of three middle class, worldly Nigerian women hitting middle age coupled with the troubling story of a Guinean woman of poorer background. Huge in ideas if modest on plot, the writing is gorgeous and engrossing.
#Booksky
November 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Book 33 of ‘25
Dream Count charts the aspirations, actions and disappointments of three middle class, worldly Nigerian women hitting middle age coupled with the troubling story of a Guinean woman of poorer background. Huge in ideas if modest on plot, the writing is gorgeous and engrossing.
#Booksky
Dream Count charts the aspirations, actions and disappointments of three middle class, worldly Nigerian women hitting middle age coupled with the troubling story of a Guinean woman of poorer background. Huge in ideas if modest on plot, the writing is gorgeous and engrossing.
#Booksky
Our date, after the frenetic yet fabulous National Theatre production of Hamlet, was fortunately with Horatio, beautifully played by the brilliant Tessa Wong, as pretty much everyone else had pegged it.
November 19, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Our date, after the frenetic yet fabulous National Theatre production of Hamlet, was fortunately with Horatio, beautifully played by the brilliant Tessa Wong, as pretty much everyone else had pegged it.
Reeling from my first experience of Afternoon Tea, served on something like what we bought our mum in 1972 to house her Whimsies collection. I’ve had to check myself in to rehab from sugar overload while the lack of crusts has caused my curls to straighten. What fresh hell of Englishness is this?
November 17, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reeling from my first experience of Afternoon Tea, served on something like what we bought our mum in 1972 to house her Whimsies collection. I’ve had to check myself in to rehab from sugar overload while the lack of crusts has caused my curls to straighten. What fresh hell of Englishness is this?
Terrific gig from English Teacher at Nottingham’s Rock City, moving from gorgeous chamber music to thrashing, chanty roof raisers. Lily Fontaine is at the centre of everything, literate, mesmeric, rabble-rousing, melodic. A lean 75 minutes left me thoroughly nourished.
November 13, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Terrific gig from English Teacher at Nottingham’s Rock City, moving from gorgeous chamber music to thrashing, chanty roof raisers. Lily Fontaine is at the centre of everything, literate, mesmeric, rabble-rousing, melodic. A lean 75 minutes left me thoroughly nourished.
Sitting in bed, awaiting the delayed Booker Prize ceremony livestream, impatient because I’ve got some serious reading to get on with.
#Booksky
#Booksky
November 10, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Sitting in bed, awaiting the delayed Booker Prize ceremony livestream, impatient because I’ve got some serious reading to get on with.
#Booksky
#Booksky
Just back from the premier (really!) of our debut big screen appearance. We had gone in as emergency ‘extras’ but emerged fully credited ‘background artists’. Currently googling “weather Cannes May”.
#ThePause
#ThePause
November 6, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Just back from the premier (really!) of our debut big screen appearance. We had gone in as emergency ‘extras’ but emerged fully credited ‘background artists’. Currently googling “weather Cannes May”.
#ThePause
#ThePause
10 minutes I’ll never get back, trying to decide between Asda’s ‘Extra Special’ and ‘Exceptional’ caramelised onion chutneys.
#sweatingthesmallstuff
#bringoutthebranston
#sweatingthesmallstuff
#bringoutthebranston
November 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
10 minutes I’ll never get back, trying to decide between Asda’s ‘Extra Special’ and ‘Exceptional’ caramelised onion chutneys.
#sweatingthesmallstuff
#bringoutthebranston
#sweatingthesmallstuff
#bringoutthebranston
During the last 3 months I’ve roamed extensively through Albania, China, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, North Korea,Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela. Pick up a book and experience the world.
#BookerPrize long list
#booksky
#BookerPrize long list
#booksky
November 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
During the last 3 months I’ve roamed extensively through Albania, China, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, North Korea,Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela. Pick up a book and experience the world.
#BookerPrize long list
#booksky
#BookerPrize long list
#booksky
For once I’ve read the entire Booker Prize long list before the judges pronounce. For the record:
Should win - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Next best - The Land in Winter
Should’ve made the short list - Seascraper
Weirdest read - Audition
Left me coldest - Universality
#booksky
Should win - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Next best - The Land in Winter
Should’ve made the short list - Seascraper
Weirdest read - Audition
Left me coldest - Universality
#booksky
November 5, 2025 at 7:59 PM
For once I’ve read the entire Booker Prize long list before the judges pronounce. For the record:
Should win - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Next best - The Land in Winter
Should’ve made the short list - Seascraper
Weirdest read - Audition
Left me coldest - Universality
#booksky
Should win - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Next best - The Land in Winter
Should’ve made the short list - Seascraper
Weirdest read - Audition
Left me coldest - Universality
#booksky
Book 32 of ‘25
Last of the Booker 13, The South is a coming of age story set in an economically troubled Malaysia. Though light on plot and disjointed of narrative, it delves perceptively into family, class, gender and sexuality. Not a page turner but worth the investment.
#Booksky
Last of the Booker 13, The South is a coming of age story set in an economically troubled Malaysia. Though light on plot and disjointed of narrative, it delves perceptively into family, class, gender and sexuality. Not a page turner but worth the investment.
#Booksky
November 5, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Book 32 of ‘25
Last of the Booker 13, The South is a coming of age story set in an economically troubled Malaysia. Though light on plot and disjointed of narrative, it delves perceptively into family, class, gender and sexuality. Not a page turner but worth the investment.
#Booksky
Last of the Booker 13, The South is a coming of age story set in an economically troubled Malaysia. Though light on plot and disjointed of narrative, it delves perceptively into family, class, gender and sexuality. Not a page turner but worth the investment.
#Booksky
Flued up and heavily medicated with Jim Beam, BC Camplight and terrific band still treated the lovely Norwich Arts Centre to a cracking 90 minutes, Just Because I Love You, a mid-set highlight, Last Rotation of Earth and A Sober Conversation, a triumphant, thunderous finale. Get well soon!
November 4, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Flued up and heavily medicated with Jim Beam, BC Camplight and terrific band still treated the lovely Norwich Arts Centre to a cracking 90 minutes, Just Because I Love You, a mid-set highlight, Last Rotation of Earth and A Sober Conversation, a triumphant, thunderous finale. Get well soon!
“It’s strange, Ive never like walking. If I’m going to a party, I’ll just run it.”
Old bloke with complaining legs seeks to return to running after two decade gap under the solicitous gaze of Benjamin Zephaniah, who used to run everywhere.
Old bloke with complaining legs seeks to return to running after two decade gap under the solicitous gaze of Benjamin Zephaniah, who used to run everywhere.
November 4, 2025 at 12:50 PM
“It’s strange, Ive never like walking. If I’m going to a party, I’ll just run it.”
Old bloke with complaining legs seeks to return to running after two decade gap under the solicitous gaze of Benjamin Zephaniah, who used to run everywhere.
Old bloke with complaining legs seeks to return to running after two decade gap under the solicitous gaze of Benjamin Zephaniah, who used to run everywhere.
Rewarding ourselves for finally making it to Coughton Court for the final timed entry on the very last day of National Trust management of the property. (Left: vanilla, right: rum ‘n raisin, both equally popular in Tudor times).
November 2, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Rewarding ourselves for finally making it to Coughton Court for the final timed entry on the very last day of National Trust management of the property. (Left: vanilla, right: rum ‘n raisin, both equally popular in Tudor times).
Book 31 of ‘25
and 12th of the Booker 13, Love Forms is a quietly contemplative account of 40 years of regret and self-blame of a woman compelled, when aged 16, to surrender a baby to adoption. Set against the changing social context of modern Trinidad, it grew on me considerably.
#Booksky
and 12th of the Booker 13, Love Forms is a quietly contemplative account of 40 years of regret and self-blame of a woman compelled, when aged 16, to surrender a baby to adoption. Set against the changing social context of modern Trinidad, it grew on me considerably.
#Booksky
November 1, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Book 31 of ‘25
and 12th of the Booker 13, Love Forms is a quietly contemplative account of 40 years of regret and self-blame of a woman compelled, when aged 16, to surrender a baby to adoption. Set against the changing social context of modern Trinidad, it grew on me considerably.
#Booksky
and 12th of the Booker 13, Love Forms is a quietly contemplative account of 40 years of regret and self-blame of a woman compelled, when aged 16, to surrender a baby to adoption. Set against the changing social context of modern Trinidad, it grew on me considerably.
#Booksky
Back at the glorious Wolverhampton Civic, where I last saw them in 1993, Counting Crows continue to peddle an atmospheric Americana that starts somewhere in the dusty middle and spreads to the sunnier edges. Covers of Teenage Fanclub and Taylor Swift leaven the mix.
October 30, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Back at the glorious Wolverhampton Civic, where I last saw them in 1993, Counting Crows continue to peddle an atmospheric Americana that starts somewhere in the dusty middle and spreads to the sunnier edges. Covers of Teenage Fanclub and Taylor Swift leaven the mix.
I’m thrilled to announce that after a lengthy hiatus I’ve returned to the quest to mail myself a card from every Edward VIII mailbox in the nation before I shuffle off this mortal coil. Today, within the space of 30 minutes, numbers 7 and 8 in Sandown and Shanklin Isle of Wight.
October 28, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I’m thrilled to announce that after a lengthy hiatus I’ve returned to the quest to mail myself a card from every Edward VIII mailbox in the nation before I shuffle off this mortal coil. Today, within the space of 30 minutes, numbers 7 and 8 in Sandown and Shanklin Isle of Wight.