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Greg Buzwell

@gregbuzwell.bsky.social
1.1K followers 744 following 96 posts

Curator of Contemporary Literary Archives at the British Library. Co-curator of Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination exhibition. Loves literature, Doctor Who, the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and anything spooky.

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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Jigsaw puzzle of Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. Fun to do, even though it took quite a while. Possibly my favourite painting so in many ways it was a labour of love.
Jigsaw puzzle of Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergere.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Books read in August. The Maigret and Poirot novels were light relief amidst the cosmic and folk horror. The Knausgaard novel is terrific but deeply unsettling in places. Lost in the Garden and Solace House I loved, without ever fully getting my head 100% around either. Beautifully weird. #BookSky
Five novels - Solace House, Lost in the Garden, The Mystery of the Blue Train, The School of Night and Maigret’s Holiday.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Went to Ely over the weekend and as well as visiting the cathedral (of course) and Toppings (of course) I had a look around the Stained Glass Museum. So much beautiful artwork on display! The piece by Harry Clarke, from which this is a detail, being my favourite. I feel a new obsession coming on …
Detail from a stained glass window by Harry Clarke showing slender figures, wearing robes of green, blue, brown and orange. The glass itself can be seen at the stained glass museum in Ely.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Books read in July. It was a quiet month (too hot by half …) but these were all very enjoyable. The Ithel Colquhoun book brought back many happy memories of holidays spent in Sennen, close to Colquhoun’s beloved Lamorna. It’s a beautiful and fascinating part of the world.
Four books - The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston, Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, The Living Stones by Ithel Colquhoun and Holy Orders by John Banville.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Also in Crowland is this gorgeous old phone box which was saved and repurposed to house a little display on the town’s history. A lovely idea but, like so many of my generation, having been traumatised by a late-night showing of ‘La Cabina’ in my youth I just admired it from the outside.
Red telephone box, repurposed to house a display on the history of Crowland.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Made the trip out to Crowland the other day for a look at the abbey ruins. Grand and melancholy in equal measure, especially when seen beneath a low, grey sky. Plenty of butterflies and wildflowers though, which lightened the mood.
Crowland Abbey ruins, out in the wilds of Lincolnshire.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Books read in June. Definitely something of a landscape and countryside vibe going on as the hot weather drifted by. Hard to pick a favourite as they’re all excellent. #BookSky
Four books, Upon a White Horse by Peter Ross, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Weymouth Sands by John Cowper Powys and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Books read in May. I’d read the Agatha Christie novel before, but I wanted to see how she carried off the twist ( to which the answer is ‘beautifully’, to put it very simply ). All four books were excellent reads and I discovered so much from The Lost Folk in particular. #BookSky
Four books on a table. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, The Lost Folk by Lally Macbeth, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and A Summer Bird-Cage by Margaret Drabble.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Sunday, the day of rest. Admittedly every day on Planet Cat is a day of rest but even so Beanie likes her Sundays to be especially relaxing.
Beanie, a black and white cat, asleep on a bed with a paw across her face.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Beanie, demonstrating how she plans to spend #Caturday.
Beanie, a black and white cat, rolling about on a garden patio.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
The Lost Folk, by Lally MacBeth. My first read of May was a beauty. I learnt so much from this, from Maiden’s garlands to Kern babies via model villages and Pamela Coleman Smith. Just an absolute delight. Bonus point for the beautiful cover design and artwork. #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Books read in April. Lots to admire, from a tour of old churches to a history of Doctor Who via a 1950s seaside hotel and two mind-bending examples of speculative fiction. ‘Feed your head’, as the song goes. Here’s to a similarly impressive May. #BookSky
Six books, including Christopher Priest’s A Dream of Wessex, Exterminate! Regenerate by John Higgs and Church Going by Andrew Ziminski.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Books read in March. The standouts were probably The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble (never read her before but this was terrific) and the AS Byatt short stories in Medusa’s Ankles (only read half of them so far but I’ll definitely read the rest in April - they’re superb). #BookSky
Five books piled on a table: The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble, Medusa’s Ankles by AS Byatt, The Call of Cthulhu by HP Lovecraft, Super-Cannes by JG Ballard and The Public Image by Muriel Spark.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
The charity-shop gods were smiling today … #booksky
Four paperbacks bought in charity shops - The Making of Doctor Who, The Razor’s Edge, The Bachelors and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Happy #Caturday. Beanie, taking an afternoon nap earlier today.
Black & white cat sleeping in an armchair.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Books read in February. The House on the Borderland is an old friend - I must have first read it in a battered secondhand copy when I was about fifteen. The Priest volume contains short stories - all good with ‘The Miraculous Cairn’ and ‘The Watched’ being brilliant. #BookSky
Four books read in February, The House in the Borderland, Offshore, The Dream Archipelago and What we can Know.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Five authors by whom I’ve read at least five books Agatha Christie Graham Greene Iris Murdoch Rachel Cusk Thomas Hardy #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Books read in January. Quite a productive reading month for me, and reading The Girls of Slender Means after reading Frances Wilson’s biography of Muriel Spark certainly added to my appreciation of the novel.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
First read of 2026. Such a terrific book, covering Muriel Spark’s path to becoming one of the 20th-Century’s most interesting novelists. Spark is a famously enigmatic figure, but Wilson comes up with some terrific insights into her life. #BookSky
Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark, by Frances Wilson.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Ludicrously late as ever but here are my favourite reads from 2025. Some old friends in there - Iris Murdoch, Agatha Christie, Rachel Cusk - but plenty of authors who were new to me as well. Special mention to the Alan Garner book which is just so thought-provoking. #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
TV night, one of Tom Baker’s finest. Beanie, never a cat to blend into the background, has decided to keep me under close supervision just to make sure I don’t get too frightened.
Doctor Who, The Seeds of Doom, on the TV with a black and white cat helpfully sitting on the coffee table.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Figures on the side of the font at St Julian’s Church, Norwich. So evocative, somehow, of distant times.
Two carved figures on the side of a font. Julian’s Church, Norwich.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Beanie, relaxing on this chilly New Year’s Day. An extremely well-read cat …
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Went into town yesterday and bought a few secondhand books in the charity shops. Particularly happy with The Bell. I’ve got a first edition but those old Penguin copies of Murdoch’s novels with the orange spines are lovely. Good design, good quality paper. Couldn’t resist …
Five books: Maigret’s Holiday, The Bell, Monsignor Quixote, Cat’s Cradle and According to Mark.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
A bit of December colour on this morning’s walk.
Bushes with orange and red berries amidst the green foliage.A river, with a single swan. Bare trees in the background, fallen leaves in the foreground.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Beanie, feeling quite relaxed on this grey and damp #Caturday
Black and white cat, relaxing on a bed with all four paws in the air.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Books read in October, all of which I really enjoyed. As a side note the Alan Garner book contains a chapter called ‘The Valley of the Demon’ which is hands down one of the most unsettling (in a good way) things I have ever read. #BookSky
Selection of five books including Powsels and Thrums by Alan Garner.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Best season of Doctor Who ever? It has to be right up there. I watched the documentary on Ian Marter last night and was really quite moved by it. Beautifully put together and with plenty of insight but it’s incredibly poignant. #DoctorWho
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Books read in September. All terrific, and there isn’t one title here that I wouldn’t highly recommend, but Rhine Journey might be the standout. Beautifully written, very subtle and very perceptive. Great to see it back in print. #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Eric Ravilious jigsaw puzzle completed. Great fun to do with the woodwork being easy to complete, the upholstery being difficult and the landscape being somewhere in the middle. Such a beautiful, evocative painting.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Books read in August. It was a quiet reading month but these were all great. Bonus points for the two Maigret novels on the grounds that the cover designs are so beautiful. #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Went to see the Ithell Colquhoun show at the Tate but the same ticket gets you into the Edward Burra show as well. Quite a bonus! Loved his paintings of Jazz Age America. Also appreciated the way the exhibition highlighted Burra’s taste in music and literature and how that shaped his art.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Loved the Ithell Colquhoun show down at Tate Britain. Particularly enjoyed her paintings inspired by the Cornish landscape - a mix of stone circles and folklore viewed through a veil of magic and surrealism. It’s so good to see her work being brought to a new audience.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Beanie, demonstrating the correct way to spend a damp and windy #caturday .
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Charity shop finds from Friday. Some childhood memories in here in that I loved The Three Investigators books as a kid and I remember really enjoying the Ellery Queen TV series back in the day. Happy times …
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Suzan Farmer, born on this day in 1942. Such a talented and underrated actor, often playing the nice, pretty blonde girl opposite scene-stealing raven-haired vamps. Always a tough ask … Great in shows like The Saint and films like Hammer’s Dracula Prince of Darkness and The Devil-Ship Pirates. ❤️
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Inferno Carnival of Monsters The Pyramids of Mars The Seeds of Doom The Robots of Death I’d just like to put it on record that this was horribly difficult…
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Fashionably late, as ever, but here are the books I read in May. It was a quiet reading month but I enjoyed all of these. The Affirmation made me think, One Fine Day made me reflect and the two Christie novels were just brilliant fun.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Repost with five TV shows you’d happily watch for the rest of time as your sole TV diet. Doctor Who The Avengers The Saint The Professionals The Twilight Zone
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
My neighbour’s cat, just settling in for a little nap in my spare room. He wanders in most days if I’m at home, has a look around (including checking out the wardrobe - I have to open the doors for him) and then he has a little snooze before heading home. Sweet! #Caturday
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Had a visitor in the garden this morning …
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Books read in April. All great but purely in terms of enjoyment Table for Two, a collection of short stories and one novella, was probably the most fun. Towles has those old-fashioned virtues of writing elegant prose and of being able to tell a story superbly well. #BookSky
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
The World of the Romantics jigsaw puzzle. Really fun to do. Bright and colourful, with a few darker Gothic moments thrown in.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Absolutely loved this. It’s terrific on how John and Paul brought out the best (and occasionally the worst) in one another. Also loved the way it merges personal histories, musical genius and the cultural landscape when discussing songs like Eleanor Rigby and Strawberry Fields Forever. Fabulous!
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
I know they often get a bad press from gardeners who like a neat and tidy look but I must say I’m really rather fond of dandelions …
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Books read in March, all of which were terrific. Inadvertently I seem to have gone on a literary crime spree as even the Andrew O’Hagan novel deals with some shady characters. The Ross Macdonald has some great lines: ‘Come in. The place is a mess but then so are you’.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Went to the #TirzahGarwood show at Dulwich Picture Gallery today. Absolutely gorgeous, and well worth a visit if you have the chance. She obviously liked cats as they appear in several pictures, including this splendid creature seen here.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
#WorldBookDay So here goes with a few cover designs that I rather like.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Books read in February. Loved them all so it’s impossible to pick a favourite. Parade was the most challenging - I suspect I could read it a dozen times and still not reach all of its depths. The Poirot novel was fun, as ever. Cosy crime at its very best.
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Greg Buzwell @gregbuzwell.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Books read in January, all of which were excellent. I thought the Christie was one of her best and Sweet Dreams allowed me to relive some of my distant youth. The Girls was like Barbara Pym meets Stephen King ( in a very good way ) and the VanderMeer books will haunt me for months. #BookSky
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