Stateside, a gas station. I drank a frozen blue beverage too quickly, and was struck down by a punishment this entire nation knows, and accepts, and has named. The drink is called a slush. Ice, sweetness, and a blue that does not occur in nature. The day was hot. I was thirsty. I drank like a soldier at a river. The pain arrived in my skull like a war horn. Behind the eyes. Above everything. Total. I gripped the roof of my car. I may have made a sound. "Brain freeze," said the cashier through the door, with no urgency whatsoever. It has a NAME. The affliction is so common it has a household name, like a cousin. "Tongue on the roof of your mouth," called a man at the pumps. He did not look over. He prescribed the remedy mid-pump, casually, the way one mentions weather. I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth. The war horn faded. The healer nodded at his pump, finished, and was gone in a Chevrolet. In my land, punishment follows crime by way of courts and seasons. Here, the sentence is instant. Drink with greed, and the ice strikes the mind directly. No trial. No appeal. Perfectly fair. And here is what moves me. EVERYONE has felt it. The cashier. The healer. Children. Elders. An entire nation united by the same small lightning, all taught the same cure, all passing it on to strangers at gas stations, free of charge. You cannot fully distrust a country once you know it shares one pain. The freeze does not punish thirst. It punishes haste. I finished the slush slowly, like a scholar. Blue tongue. Clear mind. Then at the door I forgot everything, drank deeply, and was struck down again. "Tongue, hon," said the cashier, without looking up. Discipline is a journey.

An afternoon watching The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in honour of the great David Burke. RIP

My top 10 films of the 70’s The Godfather The Godfather Part II One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Star Wars Get Carter The Man Who Would Be King Taxi Driver The Sting Apocalypse Now Enter the Dragon Can’t believe I’ve left out Jaws!

Finally got round to watching the final season of Mr Inbetween after your recommendation a while back @SalvadorDafti Definitely not Neighbours or Home & Away is it!

#5albumsFinal The Stone Roses The Stone Roses arrived at the perfect moment in time. A meticulously crafted album infusing 60’s psychedelia and melodic pop with a punk attitude, spearheading the indie/rave crossover youth movement and soundtracking a second summer of love.

Now playing some Roses on the Dansette in remembrance of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield. One of the greatest bass players of his generation, a Manchester legend, and an all round good egg. RIP Mani 🙏🏻

Christmas is just around the corner...

Homemade chilli butter chicken breast kebab and spiced Irn-Bru for lunch today. Proper autumn fare to warm the cockles.

10 songs I will never tire of listening to 1. Strawberry Fields Forever 2. Paint It Black 3. She Bangs the Drums 4. Waterloo Sunset 5. Like a Rolling Stone 6. Sound and Vision 7. The Tears of a Clown 8. How Soon Is Now? 9. Love Will Tear Us Apart 10. The Killing Moon

Somebody put Goodfellas "shine box" dialogue over He-Man, and it's absolutely perfect 😅 (credit: IG Mylothecat)

This Paul Weller cover of the Bee Gees I Started A Joke is a beautiful thing! open.spotify.com/track/5jx7M…

Which of these ex-Spurs players is your personal favourite?

the cover of this saudi arabian Smiths bootleg is killing me 😭

Ashes to Ashes - Bowie Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division The Killing Moon - the Bunnymen How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush Take On Me - A-Ha Just Like Heaven - The Cure Sign ‘O’ The Times - Prince West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys April Skies - JAMC

I took my daughters to watch Olivia Rodrigo at Hyde Park on Friday, and now I’m letting them stay up late tonight to enjoy her all over again - with an added treat for me #OliviaRodrigo #TheCure #Glastonbury

Old man, look at my life I'm a lot like you were! #NeilYoung #Glastonbury