Alan Stewart

@laikaalan.bsky.social

1.4K followers 1.6K following 970 posts

Ex-goth, socialist, man about town.
Into Memorial Device before Mary Hannah joined. Communist family history stuff. Resist moral panics. Writing a biography of Dundee Comintern agent Bob Stewart.
#MDANT #JoinaUnion

Videos

History 41%

Art 18%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 9h

Have my 86 year old mother staying over the Christmas and I see that she’s taken a book off the shelves to read while she’s here and it’s ’The Balcony’ by Jean Genet and I don’t quite know what to make of this.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 22h

My kid’s just asked me if we had ‘Ziggy Stalin’ on vinyl.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 5d

Still have my vinyl copy from my teenage years.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 5d

Big Decision by That Petrol Emotion is a total banger.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 5d

But now walking across the city in the drizzle to pick up the car and feeling less glamorous.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 5d

I had the opportunity to drink my own weight in champagne last night and I seized it with both hands.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 6d

Have started the day playing ‘Christmas Wrapping’ by The Waitresses.

Reposted by Alan Stewart

Eddie McKenzie @eddiemckenzie1970.bsky.social · 8d

Oh, fuck off. We've been telling you this for years. How about you listen instead of "train" us.
EVERY SINGLE female teacher I work with has multiple DAILY tales of this, and they're ignored by management because that's the easiest path to take.

Reposted by Martin Paul Eve, Alan Stewart

Ruth Holliday @ruthholliday.bsky.social · 9d

Like if you are the public and you don’t understand this.

The Telegraph:

The NHS will have to go. The public understands this, when will politicians?

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 9d

I’ll put it on the list!

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 9d

I’ve just watched The Apartment for the first time and now I have a new favourite film.

a man sits at a desk in front of a typewriter that says fisher on it

ALT: a man sits at a desk in front of a typewriter that says fisher on it

media.tenor.com

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 10d

Not a moment too soon- if I had to carry on til Friday I’d be dead.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 10d

Me too!

Reposted by Alan Stewart

Rose Ruane @regretteruane.bsky.social · 10d

Agreed. Unpleasant attitudes to & conduct towards retail/hospitality staff has been the canary in the mine with several people I soon subsequently realised were total, seagoing, weapons grade cunts of the first water in every regard. It’s a litmus test that never fails, I think

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 12d

I love the Piece Hall.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 12d

Think so.

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 12d

Slightly tipsy and can’t afford it but should I book Sex Pistols with Frank Carter Halifax Piece Hall tickets?

Reposted by Alan Stewart

Andy Ross @andyross1962.bsky.social · 13d

How to play Marquee Moon complete playlist

youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Marquee Moon - YouTube

A deep-dive into how to play Television's masterpiece Marquee Moon.

youtube.com

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 13d

Hahahaha!

Reposted by Michael Cox, Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne , and 24 more Michael Cox, Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne, James M. Bullock, Steve Peers, Tom Shakespeare, Praveetha Patalay, Leigh Sparks, Catherine Baker, Lesley A. Hall, Alex Callinicos, Simon Wren‐Lewis, Alan Stewart, Rebecca Williams, Kate Lancaster, Margot C. Finn, Stephen Ryan, Steven Fielding, Aurélien Mondon, Stuart White, Katrina Navickas, Lukas Graf, Jon Dean, Christina Pagel, Farah Mendlesohn, David Neilson, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Robin Ince @robinince.bsky.social · 13d

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

This is the saddest day of my professional life.
Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage.
I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys.
I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show,
A show that I named and helped develop over all those years.
Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry.
These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices.
Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'.
•
I chose the latter.
It broke my heart.
I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make.
I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer.
I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence.
One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career.

I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more.
I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost".
James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice.
Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences.
I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness.
Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire.
I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal.
I am so sorry to let you down.
I hope that you can understand my reasoning.
I have to accept that I am not what the current
BBC expects of their freelance presenters.

Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not
"just a job"
I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world.
From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too.
The strawberry is dead.
Long live the strawberry. B

Reposted by Alan Stewart

Candy “Kane” Miller @iammilliam.bsky.social · 14d

RIP John Carey. This book changed my life, and I wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t true. 🙏

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 14d

Reading an obituary of Stanley Baxter and learning that the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was known as Every Night Something Awful has made me laugh more than anything else this week.

Reposted by Alan Stewart

CiCi @cici6923.bsky.social · 14d

RIP Stanley Baxter. At one point his TV show was the biggest on UK TV. A story goes that they were cancelled because so much of the budget went on his costumes! Boy, did he love to play dress up! Other than playing the dame he gave us Parliamo Glasgow.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0rg...

upatra burd's

YouTube video by cb76kfc

www.youtube.com

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 14d

Get in!

Alan Stewart @laikaalan.bsky.social · 16d

A year without seeing jamesyorkston.bsky.social live is a year wasted and I’ve wasted the last couple of years. Outstanding and emotional gig last night in Leeds.