ICYMI: Arts Minister Chris Bryant says he 'cannot see any way in which DCMS is going to be abolished' buff.ly/a9yH2N4

And a great boss. At an election briefing when he was leader, I was perched on a cupboard at the back of a very full room. There was (obviously) a seat reserved for Charles at the front. He arrives, sidles up to me and whispers "can I have a little bit of your cupboard?"

More echos of the Slovak experience of populism, in the USA - pay close attention, we are seeing Farage's government playbook being written artsprofessional.co.uk/news/newsreel/…

First thoughts on spending review - nothing huge jumping out of the spending review for DCMS just yet. Could've been worse. Govt basically have no plan. But huge cuts in store for Foreign Office. British Council may have a heck of a fight on their hands for their £160m+ funding

Jump on the Royal Northern Sinfonia livestream ⬇️ youtube.com/live/xVwEP_QPP…

Pleasure to chair this session and thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and views

It was a real mistake for me to dip my beard in flour before taking to the stage. It creates the unfortunate impression that small areas of it are going ever so slightly grey in certain lights

ICYMI: Audience development is 35 this year. With standstill funding and cultural devolution on the horizon, The Audience Agency’s Anne Torreggiani says the case for regenerative audience development has never been stronger. buff.ly/QL6YiYP

A myth remade… Handel’s Semele returns to its Covent Garden home as a bold new production by The Royal Opera opens on our Main Stage tonight. Set in the decadent world of the wealthy and powerful, Oliver Mears’ darkly satirical retelling strips away the divine to reveal

Looking forward to talking pricing, queues etc at the STAR Seminar. Right now we are talking accessibility and it gives me an opportunity to say wow, what a difference being in a hearing-loop enabled space makes. Thanks Sadler's Wells!

I love Fingal's Cave so much. Rewinding to watch for the third time on a loop, which is perfectly normal #BBCProms behaviour OK?

Did not realise that Bradley Creswick played the Gateshead Bach & Mendelssohn Prom Royal Northern Sinfonia The Glasshouse International Centre for Music - they should send up a flare when he's in the house 🎆