For me 2025 has been mostly a year of spending time with family and with getting on with stuff, and with letting some stuff pile up while working on my next novel, provisionally titled Empire Time. Progress has been slower than I'd hoped, but my agent and my editor have been very understanding. It's now close to the end of the first draft, but I have a major plot thread to untangle and tie off, so that's my writing priority for now (immediately after sorting out some of the other stuff I had let pile up, mostly urgent admin and, well, literal stuff piling up).
Things I didn't write about but probably should have: I had a good time at Reconnect and at the first Pictcon, a one-day convention which was successful in every way and is scheduled for a return this year.
Some of the literal stuff piling up has been recent issues of New Scientist which I've yet to read, but the good people who work there weren't to know that when they asked me to be interviewed for their Book Club about Iain M. Banks and his novel The Player of Games, which I re-read with much enjoyment and talked about with enthusiasm, as you can see. Alison Flood was an excellent interviewer, and made it a relaxed conversation. My office as you see it in the video is after I had tidied it.
Looking ahead: I'm reading and being interviewed as part of the Beacon Book Festival in Greenock in February.
For local writers and readers I'm giving a talk on writing science fiction to the Greenock Writers' Club on 4 March. For members only, but new members are always welcome!
Looking back and ahead: in late 2024 my brother James came to Greenock to visit me and to give a talk, illustrated with slides and statistics, which went down very well with a large local audience. The topic of religious imagery on Scottish war memorials may seem narrow, even niche, but the way Professor James MacLeod handles it, I can assure you it's not. Now, everyone in the world who wants to and can spare £5 has a chance to see it online, live on 15 January. Tickets here.
Russian Troops Strap Starlink Terminals to Horses as Russian Cavalry Makes 'Historic' Return - Kyiv Post
A WWII propaganda film narrated as an "auto"-biography
Before the attention economy consumed our lives, "pursuit tests" devised by the US military coupled man to machine with the aim of assessing focus under pressure. D. Graham Burnett explores these devices for evaluating aviators, finding a pre-history of the laboratory research that has relentlessly worked to slice and dice the attentional powers of human beings.
Etchings of birds in a somewhat theatrical style.
Slides from twenty years of lecturing about the workings of the universe and the fate of the soul.
The memoirs of an aristocratic man revolutionised into an anarchist communist.
Each January 1st is Public Domain Day, when a new crop of works have their copyrights expire and become free to share and reuse for any purpose. Here's our highlights for 2026.
From sublime spheres to hungry cats, a rundown of the ten most read of what we published this year.
In mid-19th century Italy, two eccentric aristocrats set forth on parallel projects: constructing ostentatious castles in a Moorish Revival style. Iván Moure Pazos tours the psychedelic chambers of Rochetta Mattei, optimised for electrohomeopathic healing, and Castello di Sammezzano, an immersive, orientalist fever dream.
Still lifes by the artist who seemed to bridge expressionism with the baroque.
Illustrations of Abū Zayd and his adventures in double meaning.
First cloud taxonomer and a poem by Goethe.
Our End-of-Year Fundraiser is launched, and the new postcards theme will be Attention.
Bizarre sweet treats that resemble human and animal forms.
French lithographs of the Eiffel Tower and its environs, in the style of Japanese woodblock prints.
In the 17th century, emanating from Antwerp, a new genre of artwork came on the scene: paintings of paintings, works populated by a lush array of meta-images. From its origins in picturing private curiosity cabinets to its later use in documenting increasingly public collections, Thea Applebaum Licht charts the course of this alluring aesthetic tradition.
A past vision of the future. Domestic utopia? Or sanitised hell?
Adorn your body and coffee in PDR goodness! We've just added 8 new T-shirts and 13 new mugs to our online shop.
In 1899, Charles Godfrey Leland published Aradia, "the gospel of the witches", containing a goddess-orientated creation and saviour narrative, purported to descend from an ancient, hermetic tradition of witchcraft in Italy. A. D. Manns explores this text via an enchanting conjecture: that the writer, medium, and witch Roma Lister played a pivotal role in the formation of both Aradia and, therefore, a new form of paganism called Wicca.
The recommended cut-off dates to order from our shop by to ensure delivery in time for Dec 25th.
Selections from an artist whose phantasmagoric works defined an era.
Photographs from a costume ball featuring fairytale fables.
This Halloween week, a devilish dive into our archives to unearth some supernatural treats...
A novel about a woman who throws off the yoke of patriarchy to become a witch.
Of all the senses cultivated throughout the 19th century, it was the sense of hearing that experienced the most dramatic transformation, as the science of sound underwent rapid advancement. Lucas Thompson delves into a particular genre of popular acoustics primers aimed at children and amateurs alike, which reveal the pedagogical, ludic, and transcendental strivings of Victorian society.
A medical tract on the health effects of burying oneself alive in mud.
Dioramas avant la lettre that depict local life in Suriname.
Illustrations of supposed physiognomic affinities between humans and animals.
Partially banned upon publication and translated into English for the first time this year, René, or: A Young Man's Adventures and Experiences (1783-85) found new readers in the communist era thanks to its critiques of feudalism, capitalism, and the Catholic Church. Dobrota Pucherová introduces us to this hybrid work, which mixes the bildungsroman with the philosophical novel, the romance, the adventure story, the travelogue, the history book, and the orientalist fantasy.
Expedition accounts of aeronauts bravely venturing into the heavens on hot-air balloons.
A "living picture" film staging Botticelli's Birth of Venus with a twist.
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A Rapture that wasn't, in 2025 and 1844.
Paintings illustrating Pliny the Elder's account of the origins of art.
Accused of posing as foreign royalty to lure her young suitor into a bigamous marriage, Mary Carleton was the subject of dozens of pamphlets and broadsides published in the mid-17th century, including by Carleton herself. Investigating the fraudster's life, Laura Kolb finds a self-fashioning figure who both influenced the emergence of the English novel and serves as a strange precursor to our modern-day fascination with conwomen and counterfeits, like the heiress manqué Anna Delvey.
A compilation of historical gifting traditions in England, with a focus on the peculiar.
Identical photographs of the artist, each with a unique miniature painting at the centre.
A manuscript that pairs illustrations of cats with poetic descriptions and notes on what mystical benefits their owners might hope to accrue.
The Spirits #189: The Fireside Flip [ 23-Jan-26 4:02pm ]
~ THE FIRESIDE FLIP ~
Fresh ginger
15ml honey, loosened with a little hot water
25ml Scotch
25ml sloe gin
1 whole egg
Dash Angostura bitters
Freeze a diminutive cocktail glass. Peel a little coin of ginger and muddle it up with the honey and water in the bottom of your shaker. Now, add the spirits and the entire egg (yes, yolk and all). Shake once without ice for maximum froth. And now again with ice to cool it all down. Fine-strain the mixture into your diminutive glass. Drop the Angostura on top and swirl with a toothpick to make a pretty pattern. Sip by a hearth.
Some Fireside Flip Notes:
It's Burn's Night this weekend. And this excellent little drink from Ryan Chetiyawardana's Good Things to Drink struck me as rather apt for the season — a hearty cocklewarmer combining the warming whiskiness of the Penicillin with the plum-crumble-and-custard qualities of sloe gin and yes, an entire egg. Quoth Ryan (who is particularly good on Scotch cocktails, I find): "This Fireside Flip has comforting, malty notes matched with the fruity/nutty flavours of sloe gin, all tied up with a hint of golden spice from honey and ginger. It's at its best made two-in-a-shaker you you and a loved one."
I have entirely come round to whole eggs in cocktails. I think this one might just be the Great Chieftan o' the Eggy-race.
Speaking of which: you can read me in the Guardian's FEAST on Saturday again. I'm talking about Scotch this time; and the poetry of Robbie Burns; and the great Highland writer Neil Gunn; and the lamentable and somewhat paradoxical elevation of "single malts" to luxury marques; and how actually there's a lot more affordable fun to be had seeking out independent bottlers and sloshing blends around in cocktail shakers. It'll be online next week — so, buy a paper in the meantime?
The sloe gin edition of the Cabinet is also forthcoming; I've now cleared enough deadlines (and illnesses) to have no excuse not to have this opus ready for you by Monday.
WELCOME TO THE SPIRITS✨
The neighbourhood bar of the internet
The Spirits #188: The Sloe Gin Fizz [ 16-Jan-26 4:03pm ]
~ THE SLOE GIN FIZZ ~
45ml sloe gin
15ml gin
20ml lemon juice
10ml honey (loosened with a little hot water)
Dash Angostura bitters
~150ml fizzy water
Freeze a tall glass. Now, measure all of the ingredients into that new shaker you got for Christmas. All the ingredients except the fizzy water, that is! Add ice, apply the lid and exercise your shaking muscles. …
Five Cocktails for New Year [ 31-Dec-25 2:03pm ]
Hello friends —
I hope we all had good Christmases and didn't come down with the quademic? Mine was lovely, thank you. I got a Boston Shaker, among other items — a sign that it's time to get serious with this cocktail business.
The Spirits is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscri…
Everything that happened in 2025 [ 31-Dec-25 12:03pm ]
JANUARY
THERE is a momentary pause in the music and I repair to the kitchen to mix a strong gin and tonic before returning triumphant to the dancefloor. It is a New Year and we are all starting it as we mean to go on. Intentionally.
The King is Charles III. The Pantone colour is Mocha Mousse. Bradford is the city of culture. You laugh but Bradford's actua…
The Spirits Gift Guide 2025 [ 12-Dec-25 7:48pm ]Note: This might be "too long for email". So click on the link and head to the app.
Oh fuck. I have caught you at the precise pivot between "there's loads of time" and "there's no time at all", haven't I? You had all these organised, benevolent thoughts, three weeks ago, of what to get for Cora and Jim and Uncle Feather and the Aspen Girls; you planned s…
The Spirits #187: The Manhattan [ 05-Dec-25 4:36pm ]
~ THE MANHATTAN ~
50ml bourbon (or rye)
25ml Italian vermouth
Dash Angostura bitters
Lemon zest (optional)
Freeze your glassware. Combine the bourbon and vermouth in a mixing vessel, half-fill with ice and stir until a melancholy thought occurs to you. Now strain this mixture into the cold glass. Garnish with a cherry or an orange zest twist — though I actu…
How to throw a cocktail party REDUX [ 01-Dec-25 1:32pm ]The Spirits is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
What with it being the season and all, I figured it would be useful to compile republish some advice for those of you who are hosting over the next few weeks. And also, to provide some impetus for those of you who are thinking of hosting. Because as diverting as it is to prepare a Baby Turtle for oneself of a winter eve, it is 100x more fun to drink Baby Turtles with all of your favourite people in a room. It's sort of what Baby Turtles are for.
Some people fear hosting. I don't, I love it and see it as the logical endpoint of becoming good at making cocktails. I can't remember who it was who wrote that the most important thing about cocktails (alcoholic or not, I should add) is that they make people happy. "Honestly, people really light up when you offer to make them a cocktail. If there's one thing that you need to know to make good cocktails, it's that. Why would you not want that for as many people as possible?"
In other words, we're all coming to your house. Friday? Great.
Naturally, constitutions and temperaments differ. It may be that nothing less than a strangers having sex in corners type of party will do for you. It may be that throwing a few random acquaintances together is all the fun you need. In all cases, however, I feel you're aiming for a certain alchemy. A good party is exponential. It's what happens when spirits multiply and the bowl overflows. It's the work of a few moments — but you can feel these moments for days, weeks, sometimes years afterwards. Cocktails, says the authoritative volume quoted above "provide the feeling that this moment is special and that feelings and moments are important."
So I'm afraid there's no getting out of it. We're coming over. What there's no time before Christmas? Well, some of the best parties I've hosted have been in January. Step to it. Here's how.
1. Just fucking do it.
Seriously. There are 305 reasons not to have party. I mean, that horrible damp patch on your wall, for a start - no one wants to look at that! The size of your home, the reluctance of your children to go to bed in a timely manner... Also, do you know enough cool people? Is there enough time between now and Advent? Won't everyone be busy? What if everyone laughs at your drapes?
None of these are good reasons. The fact is, if someone says: 'Hey, we're having some friends over for cocktails - come?' You'll probably be quite pleased. Particularly if you know that this person has been talking about this great cocktail newsletter they subscribe to and how it had really upped their mixing game. You might even think it incumbent on this friend of your to have a few of the rest of you over for cocktails. Particularly as all you really need to do these days is create a WhatsApp group entitled "PARTY", add various acquaintances and hit send. No one will mind the damp patch on the wall besides you. Although you should think about changing your drapes.
2. Don't overthink the guestlist.
It's so tempting to curate. It's so easy to think, ah but what do these disparate people in my life have in common? And also, what if Terence gets talking to Diane, it will be a FUCKING DISASTER! But here's the thing. Your friends are adults (even Diane, technically) and they will have hopefully worked out how to be civil and interesting around other adults by now.
In fact, I would advise actively inviting incongruous groups of people from your life (as per this rather good Vox article). It's more generous, I feel? Try to include: someone you just met the other day who seems interesting; someone who has known you your whole life; one or more actual neighbours; someone who is on holiday in your country; someone who just got home after a long trip; someone who has recently moved to the area; someone who seems interesting but it would be a bit much to invite them over to dinner; the chief of the fire dept; a member of the clergy; two or three people who can perform a musical number in a tight spot; an ex-con; at least three people you fancy; and as wide a varity of ages as possible. OK, seriously, I suppose the main point is, if you JUST invite colleagues or people from the school gate - or solely members of the clergy - you will end up talking about the same boring stuff you talk about every day. Throw them all together and: gesundheit! Hopefully.
Naturally, you want to set a number that is within your level of whelm. I mean you don't want to be either over- or underwhelmed by guests. You will want to ensure three or four of your most reliable friends are available too - I mean those who can be relied upon to mix drinks, fix playlists, talk down Diane, etc. But be warned. No matter how pessimistic you are about RSVPs, the house is always 31% more full than you mentally envisioned.
3. Start making ice now.
Probably 70% of house parties founder on inadequate ice. A tray will not cut it and nor will a bag of supermarket ice. Clear a shelf of your freezer and begin ice production a week in advance. Continually freeze water in takeway containers, hack up these blocks into glass-ready sizes, freeze some more ice and so on. You might choose to leave some large lumps (e.g. for punch bowls) and some smaller ones to fit in glass. You never want to serve a drink that is supposed to be cold at room temperature. Trust me: this will make FAR MORE DIFFERENCE to the perception of your drink-making than, for example, the price of your booze.
While we're on the subject: make sure you have fridge space available for the inevitable beers, wines, soft drinks, etc when they start arriving on the day. You don't want them balancing on half-eaten lentil dishes.
4. Set expectations re: food
It may be that you are in fact Jesus and 5,000 hungry mouths are no problem to you. It may be that you are absolutely shit at cooking and somehow manage to burn even salad. Whatever: be absolutely straight with your guest's gullets beforehand. I don't think it's such a bad thing to say in a WhatsApp reminder message 24 hours before an event (see #5, below) "There will be some food but I'd recommend having dinner beforehand". I'd want to know that if I were going to your party.
But there should be some zakuski - as the Russians call "drinking food". It's just civilised. Nuts, olives, crisps, salty whatnots, THREE ESSENTIAL DIPS, and some celery sticks, bits of charcuterie, slices of Spanish tortilla, that sort of thing. Maybe not those marinaded anchovies because they're difficult to eat while remaining elegant. Oh, you know what would be a good idea though? A big plate of gilda pintxos. If you're thinking more substantial? I'm personally in favour of the handheld: samosas, empanadas, sausage rolls, boreks, pierogi, those little cheese pies you made last time, hell, you might even devil some eggs. But this should certainly not require you to go back and forth to the oven all evening, Mercy, no. You are a host not a martyr.
5. Make a playlist
I have just the playlist for you, in fact! Music is absolutely crucial and should not be left to the last minute. In fact, make two playlists. One for talking, one for dancing. Actually, I would add, make sure your GODDAM SONOS IS WORKING PROPERLY.
6. Send a reminder 24 hours before the party
You'll want a final head-count obviously and your guests will want to know your address, whether to eat beforehand (see rule 4), what to wear (if anything) and also what to bring.
Because: watch out! For some reason, even in 2023, the words "COCKTAIL PARTY!" seem to call forth random bottles of José Cuervo paint-stripper, expired Baileys, novelty liqueurs - and somehow never the artisanal vermouths and rare editions of Chartreuse one would ideally like. Even asking for something specific and useful like "gin" or "rum" can be perilous. I'll wager that you'll end up with spiced rum. Or worse: 25 bottles of spiced rum.
I suppose you could be super-specific: "Mount Gay Eclipse/Elijah Craig Bourbon/Antica Formula/Tarragona Chatreuse please!" But people will think you're an arsehole. And it's on you to provide the core alcohol. Ask your guests instead to bring wine or beer or "whatever you like to drink". Tactful when you have teetotallers coming. And also, beer and wine is good, because people can open it themselves. But probably the best injunction is: "Bring fizz." Most people will bring prosecco. Some might bring champagne. These can popped on the spot, saved as party currency for later in the season, or else incorporated into cocktails; see rule 7.
7. Make it easy on yourself
OK, this is super-important. You are not going to be making individual cocktails for people. Maybe you will towards the end - but don't plan this. Also your cocktails are unlikely to be served to your usual perfect standards. Embrace this. However adept you are at fixing Pisco Sours for yourself, it's really difficult preparing them for fresh waves of guests as they pour through the door. Even making cocktails for three is more of a faff than you think. You'll be separating the eggs for the Reverend and then Samantha and the girls will arrive demanding Negronis… and things will soon get out of hand.
Even if you are only having a handful of people over and want to try your hand at a range of live cocktails, please: squeeze lemons/limes in advance, cut the garnishes, freeze glasses, maybe even batch certain ingredients. But in all cases, you will need something ready to pour the moment they come in with their annoying coats. (It's winter. Have a coat strategy).
This isn't just about liquoring people up. It's about setting the tone. See 8.
8. Make a large quantity of something delicious
The way I see it, there are four options.
a) PUNCH. The best of these is the drink that is DESIGNED FOR PRECISELY THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. I mean punch. The basic RUM PUNCH is infinitely adaptable. Here are four further recipes if that doesn't cut it (my famous PNIN'S PUNCH; a CLARIFIED MILK PUNCH that I have served with enormous success at parties before; a non-alcoholic APPLE PIE PUNCH, remember those guys too; and the MULLED NEGRONI). A hot punch is a great idea in winter as it will fill the house with inviting aromas. Here is a tried and tested recipe for CARAMELISED PINEAPPLE PUNCH. Make a ritual of the preparation. And do this WELL IN ADVANCE so all you have to do is warm five minutes before the guests arrive. I can't tell you how much time it will save throughout the evening to have a big vat of something that guests can serve themselves.
b) A LARGE JUG. Other reliably crowd-pleasing cocktails that batch well include PALOMAS, JUNGLE BIRDS and variants, NEGRONIS, CAROUSELS (kind of a winter Negroni) and I bet you could figure out a cold weather version of the KING OF CUPS too. While punches should be served in bowls, these can be made in jugs and kept in the fridge - and perhaps withdrawn later - and maybe even thrown together live if you're in a tight spot. The GINGER ROGERS PUNCH is a good house party standby in this vein. For 12 people, muddle 8 mint stprigs with a bottle of gin (700ml), the juice of four limes, 1 litre of ginger beer, a heft glug of Angostura bitters and maybe a dash of sugar syrup (or something else sweet) if you feel it's required.
c) A FIZZ-BATCH. Remember! People are bringing "fizz". Use it. A good strategy is to make a base of something that can be topped up. For example: 50/50 Campari and Italian vermouth, well-iced in a jug. Top this up with prosecco in individual glasses and have yourselves NEGRONI SBAGLIATI. And I hardly need to tell you that you can top it up with fizzy water for Americanos (good for a long night drinking), gin for Negronis, bourbon for Boulevardiers, tequila for Rositas, etc…. The principle works with the Gin Sour too - top it with fizz and you have French 75s. Or even something like a Brandy Old Fashioned which becomes a Champagne Cocktail when fizz is applied.
d) A LITTLE SOMETHING. Oh and do keep something in reserve. I hosted a fun party this summer where I made a batch of MARTIKI and kept it in an old rum bottle in the the FREEZER. Alcohol over ~33% ABV or so should be "safe" to put in a freezer, so a Dry Martini, pre-made, not to much dilution, reasonably strong gin, ought to be fine too. You'll thank yourself when your remember it at 10.37pm.
9. If someone wants beer LET THEM
Seriously. One less mouth to feed. Enjoy the party. Individual cocktails are only to be made when there's five or six of you sitting around at the end.
10. Clear up systematically
The first thing is to throw away all food waste. The second is to gather all the recycling. The third is to put all the glasses/plates/cutlery by the sink or hopefully dishwasher. The fourth is to do any necessary washing up. Do this communally, with a co-host, with music on and gossip to share and it can actually be enjoyable. Assuming you tided your house a bit beforehand, it might all look quite respectable in surprisingly short amount of time - and it will have an additional party afterglow too. There's a reason they call it housewarming. And remember: hangovers, like cocktails, are best shared communally.
The Spirits #186: Blow My Skull [ 28-Nov-25 4:36pm ]
~ BLOW MY SKULL ~
50ml dark rum
25ml brandy
15ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
~150ml ale or stout
This is a species of punch - so make it in the glass. Introduce the spirits, and the lemon, and the sugar, and give it a stir. Add ice. And top up with beer to taste.
Some BMS Notes:
1) Some of you may remember Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Davey (1758-1823), the Devon…
The Spirits #185: The Baby Turtle [ 14-Nov-25 4:01pm ]
~ THE BABY TURTLE ~
50ml tequila (reposado)
10ml Campari
20ml grapefruit juice
20ml lime juice
15ml cinnamon syrup
20ml egg white
Pinch salt
Measure the ingredients into your shaker. Apply the lid and perform the action with unusual viguour. This is to froth up the egg white. Now stop. Add lots of ice and shake once more. Strain this admixture into a tumbler fi…
