Al Bowlly

why?

This 1930s English crooner was killed by a parachute bomb outside his Jermyn Street apartment in 1941. His songs are timeless as they are magical.

The Tibetan monastery in Tintin

why?

This brief interlude in the middle of “Tintin in Tibet” is one of the fantasies that sustains scene in times of high stress. Waking from a horrid dream in a monastery? Bliss.

Groak

why?

The word for staring silently at people while they eat.

Pierre Boulez

why?

“Like a young lion flayed alive.”

Visions of justice in Melville

why?

“Hanging from the beam, Slowly swaying (such the law), Gaunt the shadow on your green, Shenandoah!”

Shiva

why?

The distinctive consort of Kali, this (male) Hindu deity is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance, in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.

Steve Andrew

why?

The U.K. Communist Party is fielding its first candidate in Sheffield South East since 1979. This 40-year-old father of one is a dark horse, but scene like. scene like very much.

Crocuses

why?

Spring?

Kroon hotties

why?

The men and women, oh the women, who lounge round Kroon Hall really deliver the woodsy goods.

Sweet, sweet, sweet air.

why?

Maybe it’s those red-framed specs, but the Paper Mag editor has spotted the coolest of the cool for decades.

Opening the windows

why?

Sweet, sweet, sweet air.

Finding a summer job

why?

Time is running out. And let’s face it, no one wants to be home all summer long.