Welcome to The Compartments, a regularly updated Blog from West London. There is something here for you if: You are over ten years old; You are able to read articles of 500 words or more; You have access to the web. Even if you are under 11 there is probably something for you here, on… Continue reading Welcome. There is something here for you
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during March 2026. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in March 2026
Here’s an idea I had never heard of before yesterday: St Totteringham’s Day. As this piece on the BBC website explains, it’s “an unofficial celebration for Arsenal fans that marks the date on which the Gunners are guaranteed to finish higher in the table than Tottenham”. Before this year, the earliest date that this had… Continue reading Word of the week: Totteringham
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during February 2026. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in February 2026
A few people I know observed Dry January: giving up alcohol for the first month of the year. In some cases they did it to make up for overdoing things in December. I did not follow their example, but I decided not to spend money on alcohol if possible. If anyone wanted to buy me… Continue reading A tale of two pints (ESB and Lucky Saint)
I return to the subject of Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish tennis player. His surname was a previous Word of the Week, back in June 2024 when he became the first player to win his first three Grand Slam tournaments on different surfaces: The US Open (hard court) in 2022 , Wimbledon (grass) in 2023 and… Continue reading Word of the week: cojones
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during January 2026. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in January 2026
Last year, in this piece (“Repertoire: A Summary for 2024”), I listed all the songs that I added to my repertoire in 2024. Here are the songs added to my repertoire in 2025. As with last year’s list, it “only includes songs that I have committed to memory and played in front of other people… Continue reading Repertoire: A Summary for 2025
My subject is memory. Occasionally names or concepts fail to come to mind when I want them to. Sometimes I have struggled to remember the names of actresses, like the one who played Bubble in “Absolutely Fabulous” and the woman who played Cassie in the original UK series of “House of Cards”. Similarly, about five… Continue reading Word of the week: Spiegelhalter
A year ago this week the actor and comedian Tony Slattery died. I wrote this piece about him the day we heard the news, recalling how he was a schoolfriend of my brother’s, and a family friend for many years after that. I have written many thousands of words about him since them, not finalized… Continue reading The champagne had turned to vinegar
Last September I wrote this piece (“Sports Channels and Smoking, an Analogy”) about cancelling all my sports subscriptions in the summer. I had already watched a few football matches in pubs but had spent less money on beer than I would have spent subscribing to the relevant channels. And I had saved plenty of time.… Continue reading Leeds United: One Match, 13 Nationalities
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