iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I don't know why it was given to me, but a private room became available and - joy of joys - I am down the other end of the corridor again! Woohoo! ☺️ Stephen is off on his Peruvian holiday this week. So much planning!!!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

While I had my private room (in case I was infectious) I listened to some old Paul Temple cases on YouTube. Frankly most of them sent me to sleep despite my enjoying them! 😅

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Today I had a preliminary online interview with staff from the neuro rehab facility in Brixton that I'm really hoping to attend. They still have thousands of questions - mainly for my doctors - but Emily, my physio, assures me it went well. Out of my private room and back to the shared room. 😅

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Just spent a lovely afternoon with my friend Joan. We were at school together. While I may look a bit rough, I no longer look dead, thanks to a trim from Malane's son Paul. @joantaylor.bsky.social

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Tim and Dawn are wonderful neighbours!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I came home from work one day to discover Chumley feeling increasingly out of sorts. I paid friends who lived above me to take him out for a walk each day. When I rang, they admitted he'd been in a fight. I was furious they hadn't thought to mention this. Last time I paid them!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Not really. If you can hear an extra S when you say it, then you probably need one. E.g. James had some toys. They were James's toys. I covered this a couple of weeks back. I'm sorry if you missed it.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: possessives: where on earth does the apostrophe go? Part 4 of 4. Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/3

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I can't remember if you have Netflix or not. If you do, Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns is another worthwhile Tim Curry film.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

When you click on the link, you'll see an icon for my website's menu - those three bars at the top right. Click on them, then on Send for Octavius Guy, and you'll get a menu of further chapters. 😉

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Oh, my! Starting this Tuesday, an audiobook version of my fourth novel, Octopus: Octavius Guy and the Case of the Throttled Tragedienne, read by Beric Livingstone. I always think of it as my crossover novel because it brought in a whole new audience for me.

The book cover for my novel Octopus, Octavius Guy & the Case of the Throttled Tragedienne with a line of Covent Garden flower women selling their wares outside the rear railings of St Paul's Covent Garden, the Actors' Church.
Original photo by John Thomson

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

My friends in Red Mole did a sensous dance to JJ Cale's Cocaine involving marshmallows in what was originally a strip club that had lost its licence. I dragged my friends and family along. There was also a magician whose tricks all went wrong. There was a fab live band.

Cocaine was a sensuous dance between Debbie Hunt on the right and Sally Rodwell on the left.

NZ poet Arthur Baysting, who can be seen entering in the background, was the partner of artist Jean Clarkson, who generally sat on the door.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

4/4 Where it's still used is in the description of neighbours properties. Archie and Agatha Christie live at No. 19. They're the Christies. It's the Christies' house. Mr and Mrs Collins live at No. 20. They're the Collinses. It's the Collinses' house. Next week: the exceptions to the rules.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: possessives: where on earth does the apostrophe go? Part 3 of 4. Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/4

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

So was I. Some of my friends were younger than me but not many.

My friend Joan, who was at High School with me, is slightly younger than me She always thinks of me as being much older, though there's actually only a few months in it. She became a professor of No reason to New Testament studies at Kings College London.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I'm pretty sure Rome was based on Steven Saylor's Roma, even though he was never credited with any part of the writing. Shame!🔔 Saylor writes historical whodunnits set in Rome, mostly involving Cicero, which I LOVE.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

3/4 The same thing applies to singular nouns that sound like they end in S. Gabriel Garcia Márquez wrote One Hundred Years Of Solitude. It was Gabriel Garcia Márquez's most famous novel. The Sphinx posed travellers with a riddle. It was the Sphinx's riddle.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

2/4 People often start to doubt themselves when a singular noun or person's name ends in S. Say it out loud. If you can hear an extra S-sound, it'll need that extra S! Charles had a throne. It was Charles's throne. Cerys had a band. It was Cerys's band. Try these:

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: possessives: where on earth does the apostrophe go? Part 2 of 4 (or more). Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/4

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Oooh! Gorgeousness! 😋 I'm currently burning linen-scented candles every evening because, cleaned up, the jars hold exactly 250g (or 125g for whole leaf) loose-leaf tea.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

If you click on link on the top of this thread you can search for the programme you want - the search icon is in the lower rank of the header on the far right. Then click on the page's web address and copy and paste this into your reply. 🙂

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: possessives: where on earth does the apostrophe go? Part 1 of 4 (or more). Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/3

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Had you posted it before I could, you might have won a week with Kitty's favourite cardboard box!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

But you would have won a whole week in Kitty's cardboard box! 😉

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Here's how to stop them stealing your food...

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

2/2 Having mastered the litterbox from an early age, the kittens both loathe being referred to as Generation P. Why wasn't it Q? "What's in those bottles that Michael keeps refilling?" asks the boldest of the two. Join Kitty on Saturday from 11AM UK time for the next instalment of the Jukebox!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Kitty rips open the official letter that just landed on her mat. "Your liquor licence has been denied," she reads aloud before uttering curses at the landlord next door. Her young assistants hear her profanities and come running. "You're young! Generation P!" she shouts. "What would you do?" 1/2

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

His name is Alastair Riddell. He is beloved in NZ as a musician. I actually posted something about him on Saturday's Jukebox (to give myself some context) when someone responded to my Toy Love post. I lived at his place while I was learning photography at art school. I took many, many pics. 😁

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

2/3 Actually it's simple. If there's an apostrophe, it's ALWAYS short for "it is" or "who is" (or "it has" and "who has". If you're talking about something that belongs to someone, then it's always "its" or "whose". You wouldn't write "hi's", would you?

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: it's or its? Who's or whose? Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/3

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Do you know him? While I attended many of their gigs, I only met him once, when he was making a documentary about the Wellington music scene for Radio With Pictures. Among a host of other things, I founded Life In The Fridge Exists. I'm probably most famous for my pics of Alastair Riddell.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

You just know when you find your community on Bluesky.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Michael Landon, who played Charles Ingalls in the original, used to be Little Joe in Bonanza - if anyone else here remembers that. 😁

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

3/3 As for Blue Prince... Did a lot of donkey-work this week, puzzle solving with far less reward than it deserved. I did enjoy solving Herbert's journey. I couldn't snatch the paper crown (why would I even want it?) but I loved unlocking the Chamber of Mirrors. Just need to buy one more axe now!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Me, I'd plump for George Eastman as the father of modern photography. He came up with idea of the Kodak camera, preloaded with film for 100 shots. You sent the camera back, your film was printed, and you got your prints along with a reloaded camera by return post. Genius! The negs were round btw

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

4/4 Mogg's style sheet is a mishmash of bits of outdated grammar he learned in his youth. Do the choices you make when you write suggest that you use a conscious or subconscious style sheet? Or perhaps you already use one? Does it ever change? If so, why?

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: style sheets, the way to bring consistency to writing. Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/4

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Capybaras. The whole animal world loves Capybaras.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

3/3 As for Blue Prince... This week, on one single run, I: Opened the last two lockboxes in Vault Bought out Showroom (plus trophy) Revisited Study to acquire the floorplan I missed Increased my by Allowance by 11 by digging up trash for a science experiment Best day yet since Room 46!

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

2/3 When Netflix released Man On Fire a few months back I ignored it. The ad seemed violent and loud. Here to report that it *is* violent and loud in parts but also very engaging. I don't understand the relatively poor ratings and reviews on the IMDb. www.imdb.com/title/tt2733...

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Something for the Weekend is here for TV, films, and now video games in its regular Thursday slot! If you're willing to check out what others are posting on the thread, please feel free to reply with your own recommendation! Provide a pic if you can and tell us where to watch. 🙏 1/3

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

3/4 We don't need commas in speech. They only came about with the advent of the printing press to provide clarification. They've fallen spectacularly out of fashion in recent decades (especially for separating clauses), yet the debate over the Oxford comma still burns hotly.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

2/4 A large reading group I attended was encouraged to write short, 3-sentence reviews. I later noticed a fellow member going through them and doing something unimaginable. She was "correcting" our use of commas! Mostly she was separating clauses. Why? No one asked her to do this. I felt defiled.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Welcome to Sunday's Grammar Central, your weekly chance to have your say whilst grappling with the intricacies of the English language! This week: humble commas, the most divisive punctuation mark ever! Feel free to jump in but *please* keep your replies civil. 🙏 1/4

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Marlow (a town on the upper reaches of the Thames) has a bit of a history in English whodunnits. Paul Temple and his tall, glamorous, sophisticated wife Steve were lured there on one of his cases. That's Marjorie Westbury, the actress who played Steve, on the front right. Listeners adored her.

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

3/3 As for Blue Prince... This week I lowered Reservoir by exactly 1 unit, rowed the boat across, then lowered it again by the requisite amount to get to the secret space - all by using science experiments. Took me 2 days irl to find my way down to the boat! 😅

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

2/3 This week I bought Limbo and Inside for just over £1 and £2 respectively in the Nintendo Switch sale (till July 27th). Beautifully rendered, gruesome platformers both, with ratings to die for, though Inside is way superior visually and in terms of gameplay. So why so cheap? 🤔

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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Michael Gallagher @mtgallagher.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I adore Steven Saylor, a gay author who's famous for Ancient Roman whodunnits. I tracked him to Spain. He had a half-hearted Twitter account there. I followed him; he followed back. I even got to chat to him! It meant so much to me.

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