Gerard Alexander
@gerardalexander.bsky.social
How but in custom and ceremony
Are innocence and beauty born?
Are innocence and beauty born?
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 6, 2025 at 11:56 PM
How but in custom and ceremony
Are innocence and beauty born?
Are innocence and beauty born?
This is a quite wonderful piece. Associations are everything when bringing something to mind with love and tenderness for people and place: to be able to transmit the same to paper is remarkable. Transmute the same, because the effect is magical. The dreamy visit is quite something. ❤️
I'm not really starting a substack, I don't think. But 1 of the best things that happened to me this year was being shortlisted for the Anne Brown essay prize. The essay was on my great aunt, her house & her remarkable siblings. You can read it here, if you like. danigaravelli.substack.com/p/lepanto
Lepanto
LEPANTO
danigaravelli.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:56 PM
This is a quite wonderful piece. Associations are everything when bringing something to mind with love and tenderness for people and place: to be able to transmit the same to paper is remarkable. Transmute the same, because the effect is magical. The dreamy visit is quite something. ❤️
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Person who actually deserves a trophy is the artist who made the FIFA peace prize trophy look like everyone in the entire world holding their head in their hands out of secondhand embarrassment
December 5, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Person who actually deserves a trophy is the artist who made the FIFA peace prize trophy look like everyone in the entire world holding their head in their hands out of secondhand embarrassment
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
George Will: "Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself" www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | A sickening moral slum of an administration
Regarding Venezuela, Ukraine and much more, Trump and his acolytes are worse than simply incompetent.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:53 PM
George Will: "Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. ... The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself" www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
I'm thrilled that Upon A White Horse is going to be Radio 4's Book Of The Week. The first episode, which is on Stonehenge, will be on December 8 at 11.45am – and then there will be a reading from a different part of the book every day up to and including December 12. I hope you'll enjoy listening.
December 1, 2025 at 8:59 AM
I'm thrilled that Upon A White Horse is going to be Radio 4's Book Of The Week. The first episode, which is on Stonehenge, will be on December 8 at 11.45am – and then there will be a reading from a different part of the book every day up to and including December 12. I hope you'll enjoy listening.
Everything is telling me I go to work too early
December 1, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Everything is telling me I go to work too early
Quote I think is from The Real Thing. A play I read at university and that began my Stoppard completism, admiring him the wrong side of idolatry. Even his interviews were strangely quotable. I am feeling a bit bereft, a light has gone out
“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you when you’re dead.”
📸 Mark Gerson (June, 1969)
📸 Mark Gerson (June, 1969)
November 29, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Quote I think is from The Real Thing. A play I read at university and that began my Stoppard completism, admiring him the wrong side of idolatry. Even his interviews were strangely quotable. I am feeling a bit bereft, a light has gone out
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
my favorite passage of his
We shed as we pick up.
[farewell to the master]
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:46 PM
my favorite passage of his
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
"The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it."
Farewell to the great Tom Stoppard, whose masterpiece ARCADIA gave me a night at the theater I'll never, ever forget.
📷Alistair Morrison, 1988
Farewell to the great Tom Stoppard, whose masterpiece ARCADIA gave me a night at the theater I'll never, ever forget.
📷Alistair Morrison, 1988
November 29, 2025 at 7:05 PM
"The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it."
Farewell to the great Tom Stoppard, whose masterpiece ARCADIA gave me a night at the theater I'll never, ever forget.
📷Alistair Morrison, 1988
Farewell to the great Tom Stoppard, whose masterpiece ARCADIA gave me a night at the theater I'll never, ever forget.
📷Alistair Morrison, 1988
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
November 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Spot of paywall busting. Hugo Rifkind on Nigel Farage and Nazi "banter". The boy haunts the man.
November 27, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Spot of paywall busting. Hugo Rifkind on Nigel Farage and Nazi "banter". The boy haunts the man.
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Remembering Charles Schulz on his birthday 🎂
📷 Ted Streshinsky
"All the loves in the strip are unrequited; all the baseball games are lost; all the test scores are D-minuses; the Great Pumpkin never comes; and the football is always pulled away."
- Sparky
Bleak, but fair.
📷 Ted Streshinsky
"All the loves in the strip are unrequited; all the baseball games are lost; all the test scores are D-minuses; the Great Pumpkin never comes; and the football is always pulled away."
- Sparky
Bleak, but fair.
November 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Remembering Charles Schulz on his birthday 🎂
📷 Ted Streshinsky
"All the loves in the strip are unrequited; all the baseball games are lost; all the test scores are D-minuses; the Great Pumpkin never comes; and the football is always pulled away."
- Sparky
Bleak, but fair.
📷 Ted Streshinsky
"All the loves in the strip are unrequited; all the baseball games are lost; all the test scores are D-minuses; the Great Pumpkin never comes; and the football is always pulled away."
- Sparky
Bleak, but fair.
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
How great is this writing? (from The Rings of Saturn)
November 25, 2025 at 3:17 PM
How great is this writing? (from The Rings of Saturn)
A personal favourite. Sinatra was loved by my mum and dad. Sharp-eyes will notice older female member of string section. It’s Eleanor Aller, founder member of Hollywood String Quartet with husband Felix Slatkin, and when he died, Sinatra made sure she was always employed. youtube.com/watch?v=08D9...
Frank Sinatra - "Moonlight In Vermont"
YouTube video by CjamPhotography
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:02 PM
A personal favourite. Sinatra was loved by my mum and dad. Sharp-eyes will notice older female member of string section. It’s Eleanor Aller, founder member of Hollywood String Quartet with husband Felix Slatkin, and when he died, Sinatra made sure she was always employed. youtube.com/watch?v=08D9...
Beautiful song from 1939 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein ll. Challenging song to sing well, Ella Fitzgerald makes it sound effortless but it’s not. Paul McCartney may have subconsciously remembered it when he conjured up Michelle.
youtube.com/watch?v=OPap...
youtube.com/watch?v=OPap...
Ella Fitzgerald - All The Things You Are (with lyrics)
YouTube video by Cristin mce
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Beautiful song from 1939 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein ll. Challenging song to sing well, Ella Fitzgerald makes it sound effortless but it’s not. Paul McCartney may have subconsciously remembered it when he conjured up Michelle.
youtube.com/watch?v=OPap...
youtube.com/watch?v=OPap...
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Back to the musical: apparently, Frank Loesser, who wrote the lyrics and music for Guys and Dolls, had a half-brother, Arthur, who once described him as ‘the evil of the two Loessers’.
Based on short stories and characters by the one an only Damon Runyon. For some reason, my dad had the omnibus, and I devoured it. Fell in love.
Guys and Dolls—perhaps the quintessential Golden Age musical comedy—opened at the 46th Street Theatre on this date 75 years ago.
(The legendary Jo Mielziner did the sets)
(The legendary Jo Mielziner did the sets)
November 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Back to the musical: apparently, Frank Loesser, who wrote the lyrics and music for Guys and Dolls, had a half-brother, Arthur, who once described him as ‘the evil of the two Loessers’.
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Trump’s 28-point peace plan with Russia “is misnamed,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. “It is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future.”
The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War
Who will benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Trump’s 28-point peace plan with Russia “is misnamed,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. “It is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future.”
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
A small act of kindness by Archie Gemmill, impressed Italian in-laws and the hunt for tickets. Another punt for my @heraldscotland.bsky.social piece on following Scotland at the World Cup finals which appeared in the print edition today.
November 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
A small act of kindness by Archie Gemmill, impressed Italian in-laws and the hunt for tickets. Another punt for my @heraldscotland.bsky.social piece on following Scotland at the World Cup finals which appeared in the print edition today.
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
The BBC Scotland commentary for Kenny McLean’s halfway line goal is glorious. Stuff of dreams. 🔥
Congratulations #Scotland, see you at the World Cup.
Congratulations #Scotland, see you at the World Cup.
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The BBC Scotland commentary for Kenny McLean’s halfway line goal is glorious. Stuff of dreams. 🔥
Congratulations #Scotland, see you at the World Cup.
Congratulations #Scotland, see you at the World Cup.
Oh my God, that was great. 🏴Still catching my breath. 🏴 The most fluid of all the ball games works its magic again 🏴
November 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Oh my God, that was great. 🏴Still catching my breath. 🏴 The most fluid of all the ball games works its magic again 🏴
History has long, unironic reach. My Irish family arrived in Scotland during the famine, settling in Bright Street in Glasgow, a street named for the opponent of the Corn Laws. This is a judicious reading of hellish tragedy as it spirals beyond British Government capability, compassion and resolve.
‘The Great Famine was one of the first humanitarian crises to attract global attention and co-ordinated international relief.’
Niamh Gallagher on a new history of Ireland’s catastrophe.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Niamh Gallagher on a new history of Ireland’s catastrophe.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Niamh Gallagher · Carrion and Earth: Ireland’s Great Famine
Although Ireland had endured earlier famines – including one in the 1740s that, proportionally, claimed more lives...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
History has long, unironic reach. My Irish family arrived in Scotland during the famine, settling in Bright Street in Glasgow, a street named for the opponent of the Corn Laws. This is a judicious reading of hellish tragedy as it spirals beyond British Government capability, compassion and resolve.
On the road hone from netball, Daisy lets me hear what she’s listening to. Great pop song, a wee plea for emotional articulacy, and, quite the singer, Olivia Dean. Love seeing these young women emerge into their talent.
youtube.com/watch?v=oIv_...
youtube.com/watch?v=oIv_...
Olivia Dean - Man I Need
YouTube video by OliviaDeanVEVO
youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:38 PM
On the road hone from netball, Daisy lets me hear what she’s listening to. Great pop song, a wee plea for emotional articulacy, and, quite the singer, Olivia Dean. Love seeing these young women emerge into their talent.
youtube.com/watch?v=oIv_...
youtube.com/watch?v=oIv_...
Matthew Macfadyean as assassin Charles Giteau is clearly as crazy as his beard. Good series though
November 8, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Matthew Macfadyean as assassin Charles Giteau is clearly as crazy as his beard. Good series though
Beautiful piece of later Ellington. I will also love the 3-minute miracles of sprung expression of the 30’s and 40’s, but Duke in his entirety is an undiscovered country. There are finds everywhere
youtube.com/watch?v=22hR...
youtube.com/watch?v=22hR...
BEN WEBSTER: «The Single Petal of a Rose» (1964)
YouTube video by poncela50
youtube.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Beautiful piece of later Ellington. I will also love the 3-minute miracles of sprung expression of the 30’s and 40’s, but Duke in his entirety is an undiscovered country. There are finds everywhere
youtube.com/watch?v=22hR...
youtube.com/watch?v=22hR...
Reposted by Gerard Alexander
Turns out Ellington’s “The Single Petal of a Rose” is a pretty good song to work on when your dog really wants to be petted. And the one group of mistakes a couple of minutes in weren’t even his fault.
November 8, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Turns out Ellington’s “The Single Petal of a Rose” is a pretty good song to work on when your dog really wants to be petted. And the one group of mistakes a couple of minutes in weren’t even his fault.