Patrick Allies

To misquote Keynes: when the clocks change, I lose my mind

My 3-yr-old serenading me this morning: “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, Merry, merry… Christmas?”

De Zerbi’s a genius, I’ve always said this

About to see the first opera commissioned by a female composer at the Met in 100 years

Incredibly, £46k has already been raised from almost 800 donations! But the total sum needed is likely to exceed this, so the fundraiser is staying open if anyone is able to chip in.

Fantastic tenor Nathan Vale has been involved in a serious accident leaving him with multiple severe injuries - two broken legs, a broken arm, ribs & collarbone. While the outlook for his recovery is positive, he and his family face a substantial loss of income. Please consider helping if you can.

If they're naming storms after female authors, I expect we'll be at Storm George Eliot by mid-March

Fantastic tenor Nathan Vale has been involved in a serious accident leaving him with multiple severe injuries - two broken legs, a broken arm, ribs & collarbone. While the outlook for his recovery is positive, he and his family face a substantial loss of income. Please consider helping if you can.

Educate, inform, and white noise

"Statey funes" should be illegal

If you don't receive this card please let me know.

St Michael, patron saint of geometry

St Michael, patron saint of geometry

Facebook algorithm really keeping me on my toes this morning

Let's have a toast, a celebration, get a glass out

Just spent an hour on the phone to my energy supplier. Please can AI do this stuff instead of writing poetry, music etc

Dear tv and radio producers. Thankyou for the invitation. But, no, I do not want to appear on your show to defend the idea that I am English, after 50 years of living and working here, because the increasingly feral right want to turn this into a "debate" and you cannot see how you're being played

Robert Jenrick of Reform on why he wants a debate about who is not ethnically English, not just a debate about cultural integration. But it is deeply illogical to claim insisting that Rishi Sunak + Marcus Rashford can't be English is driven by a concern about too little integration!

I genuinely mean this. I cannot imagine a more bleak dystopian notion than the idea of all art being turned into slop designed to coddle my exact perceived intentions. The point of literature, film, music, and art is to be exposed to the interior lives of others. Who are these people.

If you care about the British Library, consider applying to join the Board! apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9596?n...

Hey folks. In total honesty my tour is NOT selling well. I’ve sold 30 tickets in a 400 seater in Birmingham, and not much more elsewhere. If you like musical comedy, if you like standup, then please come see my show! And spread the word! The Rachel Parris Songbook tour starts in Nov! Link in bio! 🎶

Oh nooooooooo

And is this election victory in the room with us now?

"My unread emails are like buses" "You mean you always have 2 or 3?" "No, 393 or 476"

Not sure what to do with this information

The cafes in Bloomsbury are once again full of talk about communist revolutions (university term is starting)

You must forgive me for not writing for so long, but I just wanted to be on my own for a couple of years or so.

Niche Monteverdi merch…

I accidentally spent £17,700 on 400 subscriptions to the LRB for Home Office staff and now the Life in the UK test is asking applicants to rank Derek Jarman films from most to least emotionally resonant?

This gives me the heebie-beegees

The civil service is at a crossroads

Reading were docked 18 points in total for 4 offences between 2021-24. At 4.5 points per offence, I make Man City in line for a 513 point deduction.

My birthday today! The big 4-0. And yes, before you say it, I don't look a day over 49. Have loved being in my 30s, but keen for whatever comes next.

i wish baseball teams could resolve their differences without resorting to baseball

Jobs For Medievalists The Department of History at Johns Hopkins University invites applications for a full-time position in Medieval European and/or Mediterranean History (400-1500) at the rank of Associate Professor (with https://www.themedievalacademyblog.org/jobs-for-medievalists-346/

Oxford Street to be pedestrianised from October 26th www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Want to feel old? These days freshers' week typically involves a "y2k party" featuring music from 7-8 years before they were born.

stag stag stag

The Inbetweeners is the closest my generation has to the 7up documentary. This looks like a bunch of 40yo dads at the nursery open day.

Never been to the opera before? Now’s your chance. We’re giving away 70,000 free tickets to the @metopera at the iconic Lincoln Center. Go to on.nyc.gov/opera to enter the lottery. There’s not a bad seat in the house.

I give you, once again, the UK choral scene

“Haec Dies” by Leonora d'Este #nowplaying #radio3

There’s always money in the ice cream stand

UK-based postdoctoral – or equivalent – researchers in the humanities and social sciences can still apply for the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. The deadline is 4 Nov for institutional applicants and 28 Oct for independent scholars. Find out more: https://bit.ly/4iwQQtI

Botley Road has reopened at the railway bridge after 1,258 days. The new bridge includes cycleways on each side and enough headroom for a full-height double decker to pass. An extra rail span on the western side will give access to a forthcoming Platform 5 at Oxford station.

On my way to Pembrokeshire to lead a week-long workshop on 16th-century polyphony from the Netherlands. Feeling very fortunate that this is (a nice part of) my job.

How are we all celebrating Earth, Wind, and Fire 🔥 day on Monday? I, for one, would like to have a large horn section added to my seminar.