Tobias Jones
@tobiasjones.bsky.social
Italy-based journalist & award-winnning writer: Ultra, The Po, Blood on the Altar, A Place of Refuge, The Dark Heart of Italy, Utopian Dreams etc. Carpenter, listener, teacher - always co-building communities (Windsor Hill Wood, Common Home etc.)
How "the system" (gov, unis) screws up the hopes of its young:
Here the (rightly tough) exams to enter Italian medical schools were leaked and copied before exams began. All results might now be annulled.
Honesty and meritocracy still steep challenges here.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Here the (rightly tough) exams to enter Italian medical schools were leaked and copied before exams began. All results might now be annulled.
Honesty and meritocracy still steep challenges here.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Ministero: "Pronti a annullare esami medicina se confermate irregolarità"
Segnalate alla Conferenza dei rettori foto di prove circolate prima di diffusione ufficiale
www.rainews.it
November 21, 2025 at 8:34 AM
How "the system" (gov, unis) screws up the hopes of its young:
Here the (rightly tough) exams to enter Italian medical schools were leaked and copied before exams began. All results might now be annulled.
Honesty and meritocracy still steep challenges here.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Here the (rightly tough) exams to enter Italian medical schools were leaked and copied before exams began. All results might now be annulled.
Honesty and meritocracy still steep challenges here.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Upsets this w/e. Nigeria out. Hungary folded.
But Italy losing 1-4 at home to Norway was almost unsurprising. The Azzurri will prob. be OK against old foes Northerns Macedonia or Ireland, but they last won a WC group game in 2006. More despair than upset here.
www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazio...
But Italy losing 1-4 at home to Norway was almost unsurprising. The Azzurri will prob. be OK against old foes Northerns Macedonia or Ireland, but they last won a WC group game in 2006. More despair than upset here.
www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazio...
www.gazzetta.it
November 17, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Upsets this w/e. Nigeria out. Hungary folded.
But Italy losing 1-4 at home to Norway was almost unsurprising. The Azzurri will prob. be OK against old foes Northerns Macedonia or Ireland, but they last won a WC group game in 2006. More despair than upset here.
www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazio...
But Italy losing 1-4 at home to Norway was almost unsurprising. The Azzurri will prob. be OK against old foes Northerns Macedonia or Ireland, but they last won a WC group game in 2006. More despair than upset here.
www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Nazio...
Thinking about books and what we share and how...
[with thanks to Tom Gauld for allowing me to use his cartoon and thus showing how it's done]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/ex-libris
[with thanks to Tom Gauld for allowing me to use his cartoon and thus showing how it's done]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/ex-libris
Ex-Libris
Ownership and book socialism
tobiasjones.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Thinking about books and what we share and how...
[with thanks to Tom Gauld for allowing me to use his cartoon and thus showing how it's done]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/ex-libris
[with thanks to Tom Gauld for allowing me to use his cartoon and thus showing how it's done]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/ex-libris
Cyclists have better lives... and socks.
Canale di Burana.
Canale di Burana.
November 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Cyclists have better lives... and socks.
Canale di Burana.
Canale di Burana.
Train at Parma station. Now I've posted this I guess I never will get back to the US.
November 8, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Train at Parma station. Now I've posted this I guess I never will get back to the US.
Thinking about all the off-desk aspects of the writing life: walking, gardening and, especially, table tennis.
[good people, subscribe: it's free, it really won't overwhelm your inbox]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/manual-lab...
[good people, subscribe: it's free, it really won't overwhelm your inbox]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/manual-lab...
Manual Labour
What are you picking up when you're not putting down words?
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Thinking about all the off-desk aspects of the writing life: walking, gardening and, especially, table tennis.
[good people, subscribe: it's free, it really won't overwhelm your inbox]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/manual-lab...
[good people, subscribe: it's free, it really won't overwhelm your inbox]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/manual-lab...
Doing the olive harvest. Hard work but always sociable & rewarding. [Not our land obvs, just helping friends.]
October 25, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Doing the olive harvest. Hard work but always sociable & rewarding. [Not our land obvs, just helping friends.]
Huge Palestinian flag at the Teatro Regio's Falstaff this evening.
October 16, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Huge Palestinian flag at the Teatro Regio's Falstaff this evening.
Back cycling along the Po* (aka. "Padus") The river in autumn is so mellow.
[*There's a great book called "The Po" in case you missed it... available in both English and Italian.]
[*There's a great book called "The Po" in case you missed it... available in both English and Italian.]
October 11, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Back cycling along the Po* (aka. "Padus") The river in autumn is so mellow.
[*There's a great book called "The Po" in case you missed it... available in both English and Italian.]
[*There's a great book called "The Po" in case you missed it... available in both English and Italian.]
The colours of autumn: the Christmas cake has to be prepared in early October and then be watered regularly with brandy!
October 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The colours of autumn: the Christmas cake has to be prepared in early October and then be watered regularly with brandy!
On the true crime beat in Rome.
October 6, 2025 at 8:29 AM
On the true crime beat in Rome.
Parma Lecce. In posizione.
October 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Parma Lecce. In posizione.
This story from Parma's lovely palazzo Tarasconi is hilarious: a Dali exhibition has 21 artworks confiscated, suspected of being counterfeits. Please, someone, commission me to do a long dive into wtf just happened!
www.gazzettadiparma.it/arte-e-cultu...
www.gazzettadiparma.it/arte-e-cultu...
Mostra di Salvador Dalí a Parma: sequestrate 21 opere ritenute false. Indagine dei carabinieri - Video
Mostra di Salvador Dalí a Parma: sequestrate 21 opere ritenute false. Indagine dei carabinieri: i dettagli e le dichiarazioni nel video del 12TgParma. [articlepreview id="896093" link="https://www.gaz...
www.gazzettadiparma.it
October 2, 2025 at 7:50 AM
This story from Parma's lovely palazzo Tarasconi is hilarious: a Dali exhibition has 21 artworks confiscated, suspected of being counterfeits. Please, someone, commission me to do a long dive into wtf just happened!
www.gazzettadiparma.it/arte-e-cultu...
www.gazzettadiparma.it/arte-e-cultu...
Parma v Torino. In posizione.
P need a first Serie A win of the season.
P need a first Serie A win of the season.
September 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Parma v Torino. In posizione.
P need a first Serie A win of the season.
P need a first Serie A win of the season.
Parma v Spezia (coppa italia)
In posizione
In posizione
September 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Parma v Spezia (coppa italia)
In posizione
In posizione
Very sad to hear that Claudia Cardinale has died. A sultry legend of Italian cinema. It always amazed me that Italian was only her fourth language, after Arabic, French and her parents' Sicilian dialect (she was born and raised in Tunisia).
Sit tibi terra levis.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Sit tibi terra levis.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
È morta Claudia Cardinale, aveva 87 anni
L'attrice era nella sua casa di Nemours, vicino a Parigi. Lavorò con Visconti, Fellini, Leone. Nel 1993 il Leone d'Oro alla carriera della Mostra del Cinema di Venezia
www.rainews.it
September 24, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Very sad to hear that Claudia Cardinale has died. A sultry legend of Italian cinema. It always amazed me that Italian was only her fourth language, after Arabic, French and her parents' Sicilian dialect (she was born and raised in Tunisia).
Sit tibi terra levis.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
Sit tibi terra levis.
www.rainews.it/articoli/202...
This is how to launch an opera festival:
Thousands of dancing children block the streets. Lots of oompah & giant versions of il Maestro!
Affordable (and expensive) tickets still available:
www.teatroregioparma.it/spettacolo/f...
Thousands of dancing children block the streets. Lots of oompah & giant versions of il Maestro!
Affordable (and expensive) tickets still available:
www.teatroregioparma.it/spettacolo/f...
September 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
This is how to launch an opera festival:
Thousands of dancing children block the streets. Lots of oompah & giant versions of il Maestro!
Affordable (and expensive) tickets still available:
www.teatroregioparma.it/spettacolo/f...
Thousands of dancing children block the streets. Lots of oompah & giant versions of il Maestro!
Affordable (and expensive) tickets still available:
www.teatroregioparma.it/spettacolo/f...
Thinking about extremism, fakes and points of view 👇
[Good people, do subscribe to my weekly column about books and how to read & write them: I'm offering a thousand top quality words every week, full of ideas, confessions, illustrations and fine music!]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/fascism-fa...
[Good people, do subscribe to my weekly column about books and how to read & write them: I'm offering a thousand top quality words every week, full of ideas, confessions, illustrations and fine music!]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/fascism-fa...
Fascism, Fakery and Counterfactuals
Why Philip K Dick is key to understanding both 2025 and how to plot
tobiasjones.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Thinking about extremism, fakes and points of view 👇
[Good people, do subscribe to my weekly column about books and how to read & write them: I'm offering a thousand top quality words every week, full of ideas, confessions, illustrations and fine music!]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/fascism-fa...
[Good people, do subscribe to my weekly column about books and how to read & write them: I'm offering a thousand top quality words every week, full of ideas, confessions, illustrations and fine music!]
tobiasjones.substack.com/p/fascism-fa...
Reposted by Tobias Jones
Ever wondered what 1,300 books like? Thanks @goldsborobooks.bsky.social and @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
Book out on 6 November. It tells the story of the real Dr Asperger - was he an amazing pioneer of autism research or a Nazi collaborator?
#fiction #historicalfiction
Book out on 6 November. It tells the story of the real Dr Asperger - was he an amazing pioneer of autism research or a Nazi collaborator?
#fiction #historicalfiction
September 17, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Ever wondered what 1,300 books like? Thanks @goldsborobooks.bsky.social and @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
Book out on 6 November. It tells the story of the real Dr Asperger - was he an amazing pioneer of autism research or a Nazi collaborator?
#fiction #historicalfiction
Book out on 6 November. It tells the story of the real Dr Asperger - was he an amazing pioneer of autism research or a Nazi collaborator?
#fiction #historicalfiction
“...leathery & marmaladey...”
As a Somerset lad, I reckon abundant cider is cause for good cheer. It's what gets us through the winter. But the taste this year will be bitter because we know the causes of the bumper crop: monsoon rains & furnace heat.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
As a Somerset lad, I reckon abundant cider is cause for good cheer. It's what gets us through the winter. But the taste this year will be bitter because we know the causes of the bumper crop: monsoon rains & furnace heat.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Cider to the power of 10’: bumper apple harvest has UK cider makers drooling
National Association of Cider Makers says warm spring and summer have produced special apples ‘full of rich flavours and natural sweetness’
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2025 at 7:03 AM
“...leathery & marmaladey...”
As a Somerset lad, I reckon abundant cider is cause for good cheer. It's what gets us through the winter. But the taste this year will be bitter because we know the causes of the bumper crop: monsoon rains & furnace heat.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
As a Somerset lad, I reckon abundant cider is cause for good cheer. It's what gets us through the winter. But the taste this year will be bitter because we know the causes of the bumper crop: monsoon rains & furnace heat.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...