Mark Braund
@markbraund.substack.com
Politics, Economics, Culture, Music & Wine (DipWSET, no less)
Writer of fiction:
https://bloomsbury.substack.com
and non-fiction:
https://markbraund.substack.com
https://winestories.substack.com/
https://theguardian.com/profile/markbraund
Writer of fiction:
https://bloomsbury.substack.com
and non-fiction:
https://markbraund.substack.com
https://winestories.substack.com/
https://theguardian.com/profile/markbraund
Lily Fontaine. Wow!
The rest of English Teacher were pretty damn good at The Roundhouse tonight too.
The rest of English Teacher were pretty damn good at The Roundhouse tonight too.
November 25, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Lily Fontaine. Wow!
The rest of English Teacher were pretty damn good at The Roundhouse tonight too.
The rest of English Teacher were pretty damn good at The Roundhouse tonight too.
As of this evening I've seen Black Country, New Road play live more times than any band other than Peter Hammill/Van der Graff Generator.
Which I guess makes them my second favourite band of all time.
Their set tonight at Brighton Dome was sensational.
Brixton Academy tomorrow night!
#bcnr #vdgg
Which I guess makes them my second favourite band of all time.
Their set tonight at Brighton Dome was sensational.
Brixton Academy tomorrow night!
#bcnr #vdgg
October 30, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Peter Hammill is now 76. Tonight at @rncmlive.bsky.social he sang and played like he was 26.
And he finished with Afterwards, a song, as he said, that he first sang in Manchester back in '68.
Remarkable.
And he finished with Afterwards, a song, as he said, that he first sang in Manchester back in '68.
Remarkable.
October 1, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Peter Hammill is now 76. Tonight at @rncmlive.bsky.social he sang and played like he was 26.
And he finished with Afterwards, a song, as he said, that he first sang in Manchester back in '68.
Remarkable.
And he finished with Afterwards, a song, as he said, that he first sang in Manchester back in '68.
Remarkable.
Not sure if I’ll get here again this season, September weather being what it is, but today Lord’s looked gorgeous in the autumn sunshine.
September 8, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Not sure if I’ll get here again this season, September weather being what it is, but today Lord’s looked gorgeous in the autumn sunshine.
Kind of thrilling to be staying in the beautiful Royal York Hotel in Toronto.
When it opened in 1929 it was the tallest building in the British Empire.
When it opened in 1929 it was the tallest building in the British Empire.
May 30, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Kind of thrilling to be staying in the beautiful Royal York Hotel in Toronto.
When it opened in 1929 it was the tallest building in the British Empire.
When it opened in 1929 it was the tallest building in the British Empire.
And here he is again, this time taken from the top of Mont Royal.
May 25, 2025 at 8:20 PM
And here he is again, this time taken from the top of Mont Royal.
One of the great Canadians, photographed from the top floor of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this afternoon.
May 24, 2025 at 7:50 PM
One of the great Canadians, photographed from the top floor of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this afternoon.
MAD! The new album by #Sparks is out today.
My verdict after one listen: it's a classic. Ron Mael's songwriting genius is undiminished, even at 79.
My verdict after one listen: it's a classic. Ron Mael's songwriting genius is undiminished, even at 79.
May 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
MAD! The new album by #Sparks is out today.
My verdict after one listen: it's a classic. Ron Mael's songwriting genius is undiminished, even at 79.
My verdict after one listen: it's a classic. Ron Mael's songwriting genius is undiminished, even at 79.
Great view of London this morning. Spring is definitely here.
Taken from The Point, Blackheath.
Taken from The Point, Blackheath.
March 31, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Great view of London this morning. Spring is definitely here.
Taken from The Point, Blackheath.
Taken from The Point, Blackheath.
Great to see Joe Hill-Gibbins' Figaro revived at ENO.
It only lasted one performance in 2020 before Covid shut it down.
Fabulous production. Hanna Hipp, back as Cherubino, the stand out for me. But great singing and acting all round.
Minimalist, modern-dress Mozart at its most enjoyable.
#opera
It only lasted one performance in 2020 before Covid shut it down.
Fabulous production. Hanna Hipp, back as Cherubino, the stand out for me. But great singing and acting all round.
Minimalist, modern-dress Mozart at its most enjoyable.
#opera
February 4, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Great to see Joe Hill-Gibbins' Figaro revived at ENO.
It only lasted one performance in 2020 before Covid shut it down.
Fabulous production. Hanna Hipp, back as Cherubino, the stand out for me. But great singing and acting all round.
Minimalist, modern-dress Mozart at its most enjoyable.
#opera
It only lasted one performance in 2020 before Covid shut it down.
Fabulous production. Hanna Hipp, back as Cherubino, the stand out for me. But great singing and acting all round.
Minimalist, modern-dress Mozart at its most enjoyable.
#opera
Very saddened by the death of Marianne Faithfull.
I'll never forget seeing her the night she fulfilled her lifetime ambition of singing at Ronnie Scott's back in 2016. It was quite a night.
This fabulous photo of her taken in 1978 courtesy of Sandra Lousada at Mary Evans Picture Library.
I'll never forget seeing her the night she fulfilled her lifetime ambition of singing at Ronnie Scott's back in 2016. It was quite a night.
This fabulous photo of her taken in 1978 courtesy of Sandra Lousada at Mary Evans Picture Library.
January 31, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Very saddened by the death of Marianne Faithfull.
I'll never forget seeing her the night she fulfilled her lifetime ambition of singing at Ronnie Scott's back in 2016. It was quite a night.
This fabulous photo of her taken in 1978 courtesy of Sandra Lousada at Mary Evans Picture Library.
I'll never forget seeing her the night she fulfilled her lifetime ambition of singing at Ronnie Scott's back in 2016. It was quite a night.
This fabulous photo of her taken in 1978 courtesy of Sandra Lousada at Mary Evans Picture Library.
Went to see Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love last night. It's one of my favourite plays: so clever, funny and poignant.
Excellent production, and I'm pleased to report that Simon Russell Beale and Matthew Tennyson are the equal of John Wood and Paul Rhys in the original NT production of 1997.
Excellent production, and I'm pleased to report that Simon Russell Beale and Matthew Tennyson are the equal of John Wood and Paul Rhys in the original NT production of 1997.
January 24, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Went to see Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love last night. It's one of my favourite plays: so clever, funny and poignant.
Excellent production, and I'm pleased to report that Simon Russell Beale and Matthew Tennyson are the equal of John Wood and Paul Rhys in the original NT production of 1997.
Excellent production, and I'm pleased to report that Simon Russell Beale and Matthew Tennyson are the equal of John Wood and Paul Rhys in the original NT production of 1997.
Just caught the first episode of the new series of #Severance.
Quite brilliant.
And after this week's news, so apparent how it couldn't have been conceived unless David Lynch had paved its way.
Quite brilliant.
And after this week's news, so apparent how it couldn't have been conceived unless David Lynch had paved its way.
January 18, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Just caught the first episode of the new series of #Severance.
Quite brilliant.
And after this week's news, so apparent how it couldn't have been conceived unless David Lynch had paved its way.
Quite brilliant.
And after this week's news, so apparent how it couldn't have been conceived unless David Lynch had paved its way.
And I don't care what the critics say, Wild at Heart was a brilliant film.
January 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
And I don't care what the critics say, Wild at Heart was a brilliant film.
"you will be visited by three spirits"
.... and their pets.
.... and their pets.
December 24, 2024 at 11:38 AM
"you will be visited by three spirits"
.... and their pets.
.... and their pets.
I presume the caption here has something to do with @theguardian.com's commitment to identity politics?
Always good to be clear about such things.
Always good to be clear about such things.
December 18, 2024 at 1:00 PM
I presume the caption here has something to do with @theguardian.com's commitment to identity politics?
Always good to be clear about such things.
Always good to be clear about such things.
Sorry for the ghastly photo, but here are four individuals determined to turn back the clock of civilization by several centuries.
Of if you prefer, scumbags.
Of if you prefer, scumbags.
December 17, 2024 at 5:41 PM
Sorry for the ghastly photo, but here are four individuals determined to turn back the clock of civilization by several centuries.
Of if you prefer, scumbags.
Of if you prefer, scumbags.
Lottie and I will be there tomorrow lunchtime, hoping it remains clear. Today, however, she decided she was a goat.
December 16, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Lottie and I will be there tomorrow lunchtime, hoping it remains clear. Today, however, she decided she was a goat.
I re-watched series 1 of Wolf Hall to warm up for series 2. I'm going to miss it terribly.
Mark Rylance was outstanding, but he couldn't have done it without Damian Lewis and a host of others, all superb.
It was a drama of one-on-one relationships, all featuring Cromwell. Remarkable television.
Mark Rylance was outstanding, but he couldn't have done it without Damian Lewis and a host of others, all superb.
It was a drama of one-on-one relationships, all featuring Cromwell. Remarkable television.
December 16, 2024 at 3:11 PM
I re-watched series 1 of Wolf Hall to warm up for series 2. I'm going to miss it terribly.
Mark Rylance was outstanding, but he couldn't have done it without Damian Lewis and a host of others, all superb.
It was a drama of one-on-one relationships, all featuring Cromwell. Remarkable television.
Mark Rylance was outstanding, but he couldn't have done it without Damian Lewis and a host of others, all superb.
It was a drama of one-on-one relationships, all featuring Cromwell. Remarkable television.
Good Lord. 250 hours listening to Spotify this year. A pretty accurate record I guess, certainly of my digital listening.
I have to admit to being badly seduced by The Last Dinner Party early on.
And On Your Side is definitely my song of the year. Abigail's voice on that track is sublime.
I have to admit to being badly seduced by The Last Dinner Party early on.
And On Your Side is definitely my song of the year. Abigail's voice on that track is sublime.
December 7, 2024 at 5:37 PM
Good Lord. 250 hours listening to Spotify this year. A pretty accurate record I guess, certainly of my digital listening.
I have to admit to being badly seduced by The Last Dinner Party early on.
And On Your Side is definitely my song of the year. Abigail's voice on that track is sublime.
I have to admit to being badly seduced by The Last Dinner Party early on.
And On Your Side is definitely my song of the year. Abigail's voice on that track is sublime.
I had a fabulous time visiting The Uffizi last week. And I think this was my favourite painting. There's just so much in it.
Calumny of Apelles by Botticelli, 1494-95.
Mind you, Florence seems a world away now I'm home.
Calumny of Apelles by Botticelli, 1494-95.
Mind you, Florence seems a world away now I'm home.
November 29, 2024 at 11:10 AM
I had a fabulous time visiting The Uffizi last week. And I think this was my favourite painting. There's just so much in it.
Calumny of Apelles by Botticelli, 1494-95.
Mind you, Florence seems a world away now I'm home.
Calumny of Apelles by Botticelli, 1494-95.
Mind you, Florence seems a world away now I'm home.
The Spire of Notre Dame by Robert Delaunay, 1909.
I saw this beautiful painting at the wonderful Palazzo Zabarella in Padova last week.
Delaunay and his wife Sonia were co-founders of the Orphism movement, an offshoot of cubism, and brilliant painters both.
#art #cubism #orphism
I saw this beautiful painting at the wonderful Palazzo Zabarella in Padova last week.
Delaunay and his wife Sonia were co-founders of the Orphism movement, an offshoot of cubism, and brilliant painters both.
#art #cubism #orphism
November 25, 2024 at 3:23 PM
Britain, it seems, has much to learn from a country we routinely disparage as the economic basket case of Europe.
What say you @seatsixtyone.bsky.social?
What say you @seatsixtyone.bsky.social?
November 22, 2024 at 10:22 AM
Britain, it seems, has much to learn from a country we routinely disparage as the economic basket case of Europe.
What say you @seatsixtyone.bsky.social?
What say you @seatsixtyone.bsky.social?