Matthew Hirtes
matthewhirtes.bsky.social
Matthew Hirtes
@matthewhirtes.bsky.social
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria's 1st resident UK broadsheet journalist, London lover, Chelsea FC fan (and former deputy editor of the official club mag), travel writer (covering all 8 Canary Islands and beyond), and news junkie.
Pinned
Are you looking for something new to read, 💙📚? How about Laars Head's Jack of All Trades: The Untold Lives of Jack the Ripper? This takes a knife to Ripper lit. Here's my review: www.linkedin.com/pulse/jack-a....

#books #jacktheripper #literature
Jack of All Trades: A Masterly Takedown of the Cult of Ripperology
Jack of All Trades is no history book. After all, as curator Laars Head declares in an introduction dated as being written in 1888: “Its purpose is…to expose the absurdities of bad Ripper literature b...
www.linkedin.com
Are you looking for something new to read, 💙📚? How about Laars Head's Jack of All Trades: The Untold Lives of Jack the Ripper? This takes a knife to Ripper lit. Here's my review: www.linkedin.com/pulse/jack-a....

#books #jacktheripper #literature
Jack of All Trades: A Masterly Takedown of the Cult of Ripperology
Jack of All Trades is no history book. After all, as curator Laars Head declares in an introduction dated as being written in 1888: “Its purpose is…to expose the absurdities of bad Ripper literature b...
www.linkedin.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:37 AM
When's a samosa not a samosa? When it's a singada (Bangladesh), samsa (Uzbekistan), or sambuu (Somalia). Other varieties are available elsewhere and its roots are actually in 10th-century Persia. This is Gran Canaria's Namaste Bharat's take. No wonder it's considered a cousin of the Cornish pasty! 😋
January 30, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Every good story deserves a book, 📚💙. Take the tale of Yunnan's guoqiao mixian. Aka crossing-the-bridge noodles. Once upon a time, a bridge led to an island on a lake that a wife crossed daily to bring lunch to her husband. In transit, noodles get cold. Adding them before serving birthed a legend.
January 29, 2026 at 11:28 AM
In times like these, we need photos like these! More than ever.

#photography #zeitgeist
January 28, 2026 at 11:38 AM
I don't need to tell you, 📚💙, what's the ultimate travel accessory, do I? It's a rhetorical question. But I would like to know your most recent travelling companion.

Mine was Elif Shafak's There are Rivers in the Sky. Hanif Kureishi regards her as "one of the best writers in the world today." Urs?
January 28, 2026 at 11:25 AM
What to read into the Numbeo Cost of Living Index 2026? The 479 global cities ranked reveals an overlap with tourism. Tourist boards now promote alternative destinations to combat overcrowding and boost less-known areas.

Play about with the numbers at www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livi....

#costofliving
January 27, 2026 at 11:04 AM
I had hoped to be in 🇮🇹 this week to watch Napoli play Chelsea FC. Circumstances have conspired against me however. So I ruefully look back to my pitchside seat at Atalanta-Chelsea. Imagine securing a similar one for the Napoli game! Conte in front of you. Pure theatre. #bergamo #football #italy
January 26, 2026 at 11:11 AM
When I see a blue sky in foggy San Francisco, I see hope.
Hundreds marched through San Francisco Saturday evening in solidarity with Minneapolis after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti. It was at least the third shooting involving federal agents in the city in three weeks.

🎥: Travis Monson
January 25, 2026 at 10:25 PM
What's up, @bsky.app? My first post, that's what. "The secret to the perfect cucumber sandwich is cutting the slices wafer thin with a mandoline and then wringing them delicately with a tea towel to extract moisture." I prefer 10 Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle's Spicy & Sour Cucumber. U? #chinesefood
January 25, 2026 at 10:13 PM