Hot take on the Observer under new ownership

I thought @theobserveruk was a decent read this weekend, the first under the new owners @tortoise.

It had plenty of the familiar writers that have made it my favourite Sunday paper - Miranda Sawyer, Barbara Ellen, Andrew Rawnsley, Eva Wiseman, Nigel Slater and John Naughton.

Shame there was no Stewart Lee or Carole Cadwalladr.

Sport seemed much reduced but match reports in a Sunday paper are a relic, really.

Getting Robert Harris back to do a piece on the Papal transition was a deft move, but getting Nick Clegg to write three pages felt like landfill.

I’ve been a @tortoise subscriber for a few years and liked how some of the best of their journalism made a strong intro. The @aleximostrous Tate investigation was another smart move.

Pat Nevin at Hebden Bridge Trades Club

Top night listening to Pat Nevin at Hebden Bridge Trades Club - loved his books, but got great bonus stories!

In the 1980s I was a real fan of the “accidental footballer” who stood up to racism and signed an open letter in support of the miners. Even forgave him for mullering Rovers in the 1988 playoffs.

Thanks for sorting our trip to Hebden (nor Las Vegas) Steven Lindsay and great to catch up.

I’ve been shortlisted for a journalism award

 I’ve been shortlisted for a journalism award.

I’m not going to come over all modest and humble, because I am chuffed to bits about this.

I had a rough couple of years before deciding to try and get back in the game and do what I love the most.

The faith that TheBusinessDesk.com have shown in a veteran like me will be forever appreciated. The day Lee-J Walker rang me to pull me in from the wilderness was a game changer.

The stories I submitted to the esteemed judges were a mixture of styles, and included crime, corporate analysis and mental health advocacy. If you follow me then you can probably guess what they were.