Vanessa Thorpe
@vanessathorpe.bsky.social
The Observer’s arts and media correspondent
Reposted by Vanessa Thorpe
Beautiful piece by @TimAdamsWrites on the brilliant Observer journalist Rachel Cooke who could write wonderfully about anything, has died tragically young and will be hugely, hugely missed by so many people.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Remembering Rachel Cooke | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Beautiful piece by @TimAdamsWrites on the brilliant Observer journalist Rachel Cooke who could write wonderfully about anything, has died tragically young and will be hugely, hugely missed by so many people.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Director General and BBC news chief resign after this string of bias claims…..https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/bbc-losing-grip-warn-staff-after-bias-row
BBC losing grip, warn staff after bias row | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Director General and BBC news chief resign after this string of bias claims…..https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/bbc-losing-grip-warn-staff-after-bias-row
Helen Garner: ‘Writers need to have their arse kicked around the block’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Vanessa Thorpe
‘Over the last 150 years, human intervention has had a disproportionate influence on nature… The paradox is, though, that by causing planetary warming, in some ways we have unleashed the full power of nature.’
Sunil Amrith talks to @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Sunil Amrith talks to @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
The prizewinning author who almost lost his nerve
This week the prestigious British Academy book prize went to The Burning Earth, a ‘magisterial’ study of mankind and its relationship with nature. Its au...
observer.co.uk
October 26, 2025 at 8:41 AM
‘Over the last 150 years, human intervention has had a disproportionate influence on nature… The paradox is, though, that by causing planetary warming, in some ways we have unleashed the full power of nature.’
Sunil Amrith talks to @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Sunil Amrith talks to @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Dance steps in …https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/i-envy-people-who-can-walk-writer-kureishi-mourns-loss-of-movement-through-ballet
Writer Hanif Kureishi mourns his loss of mobility by chor...
The Buddha of Suburbia author broke his neck three years ago – and has filmed a dance to document the aftermath
observer.co.uk
October 26, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Dance steps in …https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/i-envy-people-who-can-walk-writer-kureishi-mourns-loss-of-movement-through-ballet
Convinced? I learn Delft holds the key to Vermeer’s masterpieces - and a kinder way of life observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring finally gets a name
Historian Andrew Graham-Dixon has a radical new theory about the life and beliefs of the Dutch master
observer.co.uk
October 19, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Convinced? I learn Delft holds the key to Vermeer’s masterpieces - and a kinder way of life observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
Listening to The Archers Omnibus? Take a trip to early Ambridge…..
observer.co.uk/culture/thea...
observer.co.uk/culture/thea...
Haywire: an entertainingly meta take on The Archers
Plus, the squelchy sounds of rural life in Cow/Deer at the Royal Court
observer.co.uk
September 14, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Listening to The Archers Omnibus? Take a trip to early Ambridge…..
observer.co.uk/culture/thea...
observer.co.uk/culture/thea...
Trace back those wry, sentimental suburban settings observer.co.uk/culture/book...
How Raymond Briggs found his style | The Observer
Two rediscovered early works show how the beloved author of The Snowman and Father Christmas perfected his blend of the fantastical and ordinary
observer.co.uk
September 12, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Trace back those wry, sentimental suburban settings observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Reposted by Vanessa Thorpe
Academics are very concerned that the BBC is changing access to its archival material by releasing material in an orchestrated way rather than allowing researchers to ask their own queries. Very worrying development and a good overview by @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to...
Critics say new limit to trove of information sounds knell for independent research
observer.co.uk
August 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Academics are very concerned that the BBC is changing access to its archival material by releasing material in an orchestrated way rather than allowing researchers to ask their own queries. Very worrying development and a good overview by @vanessathorpe.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa... Or buy tickets for the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at Cadogan Hall in London tomorrow night
Anna Netrebko’s Putin problem looms over Royal Opera return
The Russian soprano says she doesn’t support the war in Ukraine but her Tosca this week faces a chorus of critics
observer.co.uk
August 28, 2025 at 8:31 PM
observer.co.uk/news/nationa... Or buy tickets for the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at Cadogan Hall in London tomorrow night
Any loose change to donate?https://observer.co.uk/culture/art/article/the-campaign-to-save-a-very-british-sculpture
The campaign to save a very British sculpture | The Observer
A unique Barbara Hepworth sculpture inspired by the tension of wartime London and the comfort of the Cornish coast could soon leave the country. But a pu...
observer.co.uk
August 15, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Any loose change to donate?https://observer.co.uk/culture/art/article/the-campaign-to-save-a-very-british-sculpture
Who took the risk and bought this today?
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Grasshopper relic for sale. But was it stolen from King T...
Some argue that the artefact up for auction should be returned to Egypt
observer.co.uk
July 27, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Who took the risk and bought this today?
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
observer.co.uk/news/interna...
Friday 13th coming - watch out for aesthetes on the streets….
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
In the footsteps of Mrs Dalloway: taking to the street to...
Dublin marks Joyce’s Ulysses with Bloomsday every summer. So, on the centenary of the publication of Woolf’s treasured book, isn’t it time for an annual ...
observer.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Friday 13th coming - watch out for aesthetes on the streets….
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
observer.co.uk/culture/book...
An AI app summoned up the author of The Weft of Nettles for @hayfestival.bsky.social Is she the future after the Data Bill? observer.co.uk/culture/book...
The literary battle against AI is on: ‘Real words from real people are so much better’ | The Observer
Book lovers weren’t best pleased when The Observer presented them with a new debut novel created by ChatGPT at the Hay Festival this weekend
observer.co.uk
June 2, 2025 at 6:50 AM
An AI app summoned up the author of The Weft of Nettles for @hayfestival.bsky.social Is she the future after the Data Bill? observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Are action films escapism or do their apocalyptic plots drive us on to the brink? Cannes, haunted by tariffs and the new world order
observer.co.uk/culture/film...
observer.co.uk/culture/film...
Tom Cruise rocks La Croisette – but the real mission is to stop Trump’s movie tariffs | The Observer
Postcard from Cannes: the tariffs loom like a spectre over financial deals brokered in the plush hotel bars, “wreaking havoc”, as one industry journal puts it
observer.co.uk
May 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Are action films escapism or do their apocalyptic plots drive us on to the brink? Cannes, haunted by tariffs and the new world order
observer.co.uk/culture/film...
observer.co.uk/culture/film...
Reposted by Vanessa Thorpe
JonathanRomney’s TV film picks in Observer New Review - Sun: THE APARTMENT (1960) Sky Cinema Cult Classics 12.20pm; Tue: BIRDS OF PASSAGE (2018) Film4 1.20am; Fri: REBECCA (1940) @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social 3.40pm; Sat: NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977) BBCTwo 10.40pm
May 18, 2025 at 8:20 AM
JonathanRomney’s TV film picks in Observer New Review - Sun: THE APARTMENT (1960) Sky Cinema Cult Classics 12.20pm; Tue: BIRDS OF PASSAGE (2018) Film4 1.20am; Fri: REBECCA (1940) @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social 3.40pm; Sat: NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977) BBCTwo 10.40pm
Jennifer Lawrence puts her raw #DieMyLove performance down to Lynne Ramsay, her dream director @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social
May 18, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Jennifer Lawrence puts her raw #DieMyLove performance down to Lynne Ramsay, her dream director @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social
Harris Dickinson @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social -ahead of acclaim today for his directorial debut #Urchin - explains his work with East London rough sleepers and addicts
May 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Harris Dickinson @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social -ahead of acclaim today for his directorial debut #Urchin - explains his work with East London rough sleepers and addicts
Pedro Pascal urges people to fight back against a scary US regime by not being fearful and so not “letting them win” #Eddington @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social
May 17, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Pedro Pascal urges people to fight back against a scary US regime by not being fearful and so not “letting them win” #Eddington @cannesfilmfestival.bsky.social
The floral soul of the man who created unforgettable costumes for Audrey Hepburn and Margot Fonteyn: observer.co.uk/style/fashio...
Review: Cecil Beaton’s garden party | The Observer
A new exhibition reveals how the fashion photographer's stage outfits, which mesmerised the West End for half a century, were inspired by his perennials
observer.co.uk
May 11, 2025 at 9:56 PM
The floral soul of the man who created unforgettable costumes for Audrey Hepburn and Margot Fonteyn: observer.co.uk/style/fashio...