Simon Fellowes

Yes my take on the movie du jour... simonfspeak.substack.com/p/digger-a-s...

My thoughts on the Man City debacle. simonfspeak.substack.com/p/a-reason-t...

Very nice to hear a sane voice from Piddington. Serious respect to this woman, who is apparently already being othered by more bigoted villagers.

Me and everyone else on 9/11. simonfspeak.substack.com/p/doom-scrol...

An old man hopes. And why the hell not? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/06/geese-rock-music-perfect-soundtrack-age-of-disquiet-cameron-winter

Fascists love to dress in black. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cmwyzxlzxpzgt

simonfspeak.substack.com/p/auto-fiction

Looks juicy. https://youtu.be/BROAzK8oP9U?si=61IPImNfRpPBSoii

A room with no view. https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-08-19/paying-for-a-concert-with-no-view-bruno-mars-opens-the-debate-on-audio-only-tickets.html

Good Sunday read: https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-08-15/he-was-deaf-gay-and-cried-in-all-his-songs-johnnie-ray-the-brilliant-and-forgotten-rocker-who-paved-the-way-for-elvis.html

Only the English would reduce the terms hors d’oeuvres or snacks to ‘picky bits’.

Watching that Anna Chapman doc on C4. She ain’t all that. In a world of dorks however…

Eclipse on Primrose Hill.

On YouTube, Walter Matthau in Hopscotch. At least 4 or 5 laugh out loud lines. All of them throwaway. https://youtu.be/leHYPgI-9t8?si=K7C9xtFgrRIvBLWS

It’s days like these when you can really see how witch-hunts are a fundamental part of the American psyche.

Re: Fauci. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/23/covid-vaccines-dont-increase-risk-of-miscarriage-or-birth-defects-cdc-says.html

The two Zubaran paintings of Francis of Assisi at the National Gallery are fantastic but the light is so warped the only way you can see them properly is from an angle.

In dealing with the fires, Macron describing the French as people who “se serre les coudes.” In English literally - tighten themselves (together) by the elbows.

This is terrific. Jagger talks wisely and eruditely about matters only he, or someone in his position, can know. A primer for young performers. https://www.nytimes.com/video/podcasts/100000011022052/mick-jagger-isnt-sure-he-ever-lets-the-world-see-the-real-him.html

The teenage millionaire hacker from Tower Hamlets who took down TfL from his family’s flat - then was undone when he got hungry and bought a takeaway gift card. www.londoncentric.media/p/thalha-jub...

45 years ago today. Buried on page 20 on a holiday Friday just like this one, news that changed the world. www.nytimes.com/1981/07/03/u...

Kinda crazy that Republicans were prepared to accept Trump’s corruption as a price worth paying for being able to ram through their policies. But that’s where we’re at. The US is now a kleptocracy and its people powerless to stop it.

If nothing else Trump’s profiteering shines a light on the corruption at the heart of crypto. Governments and financial regulators take note.

40° is the new 30°

In an attempt to undermine Burnham the Telegraph gives its headline to the disgraced Simon Case. How soon Tories forget. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/28/civil-servants-furious-as-simon-case-dodges-sanction-over-partygate

Minimal coverage of this in the UK Media. Not that they should have given oxygen to the batshit speakers, but the financial backers and UK politicians in attendance should be noted. https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2026/06/18/mps-lords-oil-execs-far-right-figures-anti-abortion/

Hell, if the Royals don’t want to live in Buckingham Palace let’s turn it into a permanent museum/gallery of British Royal History. It would make an absolute fortune from tourists and all the money could go towards paying us back the cash we give them.

“… spearta … the theatre…” is truly one of the great comedy lines. As an 18 yr old I saw Rik at the Comedy Store. It was clear he was the genius in the room. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/25/rik-mayall-magnificent-bstard-review-sky-documentaries-now

War crimes. https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167790

Avoid. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333644/

Googling ‘plasma expansion’ - how the body naturally protects itself from overheating. Bad news. 3-5 days.

We need to park our relationship with America until this Trump administration is done. Do as little as we can with them. Tricky but the smart thing to do at this point.

I went to one of Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy parties one year. It was a very strange affair.

If England make the Final, and of course it’s a big if, every major FA football ground in the country should show the game on huge screens and let everyone watch for free.

When Trump got in a second time, the rest of the world scratched its head and wondered how the hell it could happen. I imagine they’re doing much the same regarding Starmer. But it’s the same reason. Incredibly wealthy people with vested interests.

Starmer brought down by a mixture of the Far Left Magic Grandpa Corbynites of his party, the Right Wing Media, and the fear/rise of Reform. Burnham with his further left of centre position will get battered by the Establishment. Ugly times ahead.

Roy’s getting grumpy and we haven’t even got out of the group stage. 😂 #ITV

The juvenile frisson that comes with a change of leader could well be diminished if Starmer does insist on an orderly handover waiting until September. Three months of the Right Wing Media bashing Burnham could result in a very different mood and landscape.

I think the word ‘schvitzing’ is going to get a lot of action over the next few days.

Starmer clearly playing for time. If Farage does step down then the threat of Reform is gone. The Tories are a non event, and the Green/Lib Dem coalition eminently handleable.

I’ll be glad when we one day look back and say to ourselves, what on earth were we thinking, going to see bands play in football stadiums.

Putin’s goons murdering all over Europe. https://www.dw.com/en/russian-dissident-artist-semyon-skrepezki-murdered-in-poland/a-77612911

Museum Of Youth Culture in Camden. Curated by kids. Worth a look.

So much joy around the world yesterday. The Knicks Parade, the Obama ceremony, World Cup fans from different countries all having a blast hanging out with each other. Refute the doom mongers!

Had MI6 paid a couple of thugs to firebomb Putin’s Moscow residence imagine the uproar. Same thing happens to the UK PM and only a collective shrug both by the Establishment and the Media. What gives?

Justin Webb calling Reform ‘centre right’. Christ the window has moved at the #BBC. Reform are the National Front. @BBCr4today

I’ve always been a firm supporter of the measured, technocratic and cool headed Keir Starmer, but if Burnham can decimate and eventually destroy Reform and their ignorant xenophobic band of followers, I say bring him on.

Looking forward tonight to English fans booing Trump, FIFA, Infantino, hydration breaks, and basically lowering the tone of this over-commercialised ‘carnival of football’, albeit with their traditionally raucous and irrepressible sense of humour. Flares up the bum anyone?