Tim Rding
@timrding.bsky.social
I spend most of my time teaching. Outside of that I read an awful lot, watch old movies, and love Doctor Who. I also like walking, cathedrals and eating well. As Rocky once said: “I’ve got gaps”
What a strange, unsettling, gorgeous book.
November 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM
What a strange, unsettling, gorgeous book.
This was a great watch. Lovely thriller with an unsentimental view of the movie industry, a compromised lead character and little need for subtext. Donna Reed is gentle and George Sanders is smarmy: perfection!
November 16, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This was a great watch. Lovely thriller with an unsentimental view of the movie industry, a compromised lead character and little need for subtext. Donna Reed is gentle and George Sanders is smarmy: perfection!
So very sad to read of the death of Rachel Cooke. An indelible, witty, generous writer.
Dipping into this book to get a sense of herself self; I was drawn to these words she had chosen from Anne Sexton
Dipping into this book to get a sense of herself self; I was drawn to these words she had chosen from Anne Sexton
November 14, 2025 at 8:30 PM
So very sad to read of the death of Rachel Cooke. An indelible, witty, generous writer.
Dipping into this book to get a sense of herself self; I was drawn to these words she had chosen from Anne Sexton
Dipping into this book to get a sense of herself self; I was drawn to these words she had chosen from Anne Sexton
Found this a real slog. Lots and lots of interminable conversations. Every now and then the book sparks into life… but then it’s back to the conversations.
November 14, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Found this a real slog. Lots and lots of interminable conversations. Every now and then the book sparks into life… but then it’s back to the conversations.
An excellent charity shop find! There’s something about the little details of her life that Cooper captures so well. It feels intimate in a way that Howard would have embraced(?) I devoured it.
November 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM
An excellent charity shop find! There’s something about the little details of her life that Cooper captures so well. It feels intimate in a way that Howard would have embraced(?) I devoured it.
Reading a biography of Elizabeth Jane Howard and it mentions that she found the process of working on this film very unsatisfying. So, of course, I had to watch it.
(it’s very anti-cinema; playschool acting and terrible, distracting editing).
(it’s very anti-cinema; playschool acting and terrible, distracting editing).
November 2, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reading a biography of Elizabeth Jane Howard and it mentions that she found the process of working on this film very unsatisfying. So, of course, I had to watch it.
(it’s very anti-cinema; playschool acting and terrible, distracting editing).
(it’s very anti-cinema; playschool acting and terrible, distracting editing).
Loved this. Like a provincial precursor to Vertigo. Perfect Saturday afternoon film.
November 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Loved this. Like a provincial precursor to Vertigo. Perfect Saturday afternoon film.
Still loving this series. James has an excellent sense of place and the peculiar English eccentrics who chose to live there.
October 31, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Still loving this series. James has an excellent sense of place and the peculiar English eccentrics who chose to live there.
Breath and Dawn and Gull and Yesterday; the rhythm of these poems was wonderful.
Another great month of poetry from Faber.
Another great month of poetry from Faber.
October 30, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Breath and Dawn and Gull and Yesterday; the rhythm of these poems was wonderful.
Another great month of poetry from Faber.
Another great month of poetry from Faber.
Extraordinary film. Miserable and terrifying and grotty in a way that very few films can hope to be; the horror of being terminally alone.
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Extraordinary film. Miserable and terrifying and grotty in a way that very few films can hope to be; the horror of being terminally alone.
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media.
October 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media.
Brookner on the Kindle… Stout Robin in the glass… Fleetwood Mac on the stereo… Doctor Who’s coming back…
Sometimes life is alright.
Sometimes life is alright.
October 28, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Brookner on the Kindle… Stout Robin in the glass… Fleetwood Mac on the stereo… Doctor Who’s coming back…
Sometimes life is alright.
Sometimes life is alright.
Courtney Marie Andrews was incredible at the Norwich Arts Centre tonight
October 27, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Courtney Marie Andrews was incredible at the Norwich Arts Centre tonight
This was fine. He’s a great director and very charming, but it races through the misses to present a bit of a hagiography. He’s made better documentaries, that are directly or indirectly about himself in the past.
October 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
This was fine. He’s a great director and very charming, but it races through the misses to present a bit of a hagiography. He’s made better documentaries, that are directly or indirectly about himself in the past.
…I’m listening to Electric Nebraska…
October 23, 2025 at 7:37 PM
…I’m listening to Electric Nebraska…
Great set. Lovely to have everything in one place. You forget how much the deleted scenes are like a whole second movie.
October 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Great set. Lovely to have everything in one place. You forget how much the deleted scenes are like a whole second movie.
The trains were up the spout so I couldn’t get to the cricket today, so I treated myself to this excellent double-bill:
August 18, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The trains were up the spout so I couldn’t get to the cricket today, so I treated myself to this excellent double-bill:
“You tell him I’m coming…”
R.I.P. Terence Stamp
R.I.P. Terence Stamp
August 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
“You tell him I’m coming…”
R.I.P. Terence Stamp
R.I.P. Terence Stamp
I went for an 8-mile walk and I am now replicating this all-time great double-bill using the new 4K discs. Today feels like a bank holiday!
August 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I went for an 8-mile walk and I am now replicating this all-time great double-bill using the new 4K discs. Today feels like a bank holiday!
And in one of those weird moments of synchronicity, I visited this last week
August 9, 2025 at 12:37 PM
And in one of those weird moments of synchronicity, I visited this last week
I wasn’t entirely convinced by Faber’s poetry subscription at the start, but it’s really stepped up a notch in the last two months.
August 9, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I wasn’t entirely convinced by Faber’s poetry subscription at the start, but it’s really stepped up a notch in the last two months.
David Lynch (1946 - 2025)
January 16, 2025 at 6:51 PM
David Lynch (1946 - 2025)
Doctor Who and The Dæmons.
In pen and ink by me.
In pen and ink by me.
January 16, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Doctor Who and The Dæmons.
In pen and ink by me.
In pen and ink by me.