Owen Sedgwick-Jell

@owenjell

Manchester-based lefty dad, folk singer, board gamer, bicyclist. Woodcraft Folk volunteer and staffer. He/him

381 Following329 Followers451 Posts

YouTube Bluesky

Is this your profile?Claim it and owenjell.dirty.social is yours.Claim profile

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 9

I have a library card, which lets me borrow books and also let myself in secretly to the library after it’s shut. My local library’s blueprints sank on the RMS Titanic, and I learned today our library service is twinned with the one in Melbourne, Australia. Libraries are incredible!

A display board in my local library reading “Manchester to Melbourne”, depicting scenes from both cities of buildings and parks. In the foreground is a selection of adults’ and children’s books by Australian and Aboriginal writers

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 22

Any reference to a sealed train = an excuse to post my favourite political cartoon…

A cartoon by Martin Rowson depicting Vladimir Lenin, a German military officer in a pickelhaube helmet, and a seal balancing a ball on its nose, captioned “Lenin is the victim of a dreadful muddle at the German High Command”. The officer is saying “The Kaiser’s complements, Herr Lenin, and here is your trained seal”, while Lenin holds his head in exasperation

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 10

“Generous and versatile accommodation”

The late, great Frankie Howerd in full-on Carry On mode, wide-eyed and clearly making a noise like an excited eider duck

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 7

This is Humphrey, who rules our local anarchist garden centre with a rod of iron, and also has warnings posted to customers about his short fuse…

Humphrey, a long-haired grey cat, stands in a woodland looking steely and determined

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· May 20

This is a cat checkpoint: hand over the most recent cat photo on your phone BOOP BOOP

Rosie and Lola, a pair of tabby cats with white patches at their throats, sit on a windowsill facing into the room. Trimmed green hedges and red-brick semi-detached houses are visible outside the window. Their poses mirror each other, looking like a pair of book-ends - the effect is only slightly impaired by Lola being significantly more chonky than her sister.

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· May 4

Looking forward to it! I have definitely been channeling Captain Flint this weekend, camping on Anglesey - would have put the audiobook on in the car on the way home if I’d have picked this message up sooner!

A reasonably well-pitched white bell tent stands at the edge of a grassed field, woodland in the background.

An Anglo concertina rests on an open music book. A broad-brimmed (though not particularly squashy!) sun hat is propped against them

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· May 4

Post your warning sign

A sign reading “have you paid and displayed” shares a post with a warning sign depicting a car toppling off a quay, implying steep penalties for non-compliance

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Apr 3

My relationship to organised religion is definitely *complicated* these days, but singing Sacred Harp in a Salford boozer was the perfect start to the Easter weekend (even if singing ‘hallelujah’ on Maundy Thursday was a bit jarring to the former church chorister in me)

A Sacred Harp hymnal (stencilled with ‘Manchester’ in big green letters) lies open on a pub table. A half-empty pint glass, a bottle of whiskey and a pair of altos are visible, though out of focus, in the background

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Mar 1

Diolch yn fawr! Found these very seasonal daffs growing on the banks of the young Mersey on my afternoon walk. I feel Dick Callum would have appreciated the cormorants and great spotted woodpeckers in evidence.

A cluster of bright yellow daffodils growing on a steep, grassed river bank. A stand of bare poplar trees are visible in the background

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Feb 28

Calling #Chorlton and South #Manchester folks - out first themed edition of the Dulcimer Singaround is happening this Tuesday, 3 March - bring and sing your songs of strong and empowering women for #IWD2026 (or just listen/sing the chorus) - upstairs at Dulcimer Bar from 8pm.

A graphic with text reading “Women in song for International Women’s Day”, surrounded by pictures of Grace Darling, Sybil Phoenix, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Maud Butler, “Rosie the Riveter” and Rosa Luxemburg

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Nov 3

If you’re not ready to bid farewell to Spooky Season just yet (and are within reach of South Manchester), join me and others tomorrow, upstairs at Chorlton’s Dulcimer Bar for our last themed singaround of 2025:

Singaround @ Dulcimer Bar: Supernatural and Spooky. Bring and share songs, tune and poems, or just listen. Tuesday 4 November, 20:00, 567 Wilbraham Road.

The above text is overlaid on an image of Gustave Doré’s decidedly uncanny etching “The Valley of the Dry Bones”

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Aug 25

This would be totally on-brand for Francis…

A seven-year-old boy approaches a plate of langoustines with a look of glee

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 16

Who would *you* have host Masterchef?

Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace, wearing expressions of confused terror and clutching a birthday cake with many pink candles. They are surrounded by a group of Cybermen, one of whom is thrusting a knife into the cake

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 13

1. Timothy (aka Squashy Hat), but the real one, not the armadillo they were expecting 2. Dick with the glasses, presumably John, and I’m guessing Nancy in the hat? 3. Prospecting for gold, on behalf of the Swallows, Amazons & D’s Mining Co 4. Pigeon Post Bonus pic of Slater Bob’s tunnel!

A low tunnel cut into the side of Coniston Old Man, with an arched roof made of densely-packed slates. The ground is covered in broken slates

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 8

Lucky enough to spot one of our local #BarnOwl family hunting over the Ees this evening

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 8

The title page of Jonathan Swift’s “A modest proposal”, which reads (in 18th century print where the s’s look like f’s): A modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people from being a burden to their parents or country and for making them beneficial to the publick

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jul 6

Another lovely afternoon singing with the Manchester Sacred Harp in the beautiful surroundings (and acoustics) of the Whitworth Gallery’s Grand Hall. We’re here the first Sunday of the month, from 2:00 to 4:30.

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 29

If you go to the show (which you definitely should), don’t miss the small exhibition, including original documents such as this election pamphlet from Len Johnson, whose campaign platform still seems pretty sound 76 years on:

A pamphlet showing Len Johnson, in a suit and tie, wearing round spectacles, seeking election to Manchester City Council in 1949 to represent Moss Side East. Text beneath the photograph reads “Len Johnson for houses, hospitals, schools, not tanks, planes, warships”

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 29

In a series of imagined conversations, brilliantly written and performed, personal and political tensions play out…the resonance of the performance happening in the room where Manchester’s fortunes were built on the exploitation of enslaved African people is powerful.

The ‘lunar module’ of the Exchangems auditorium, built from yellow tubular metal, is decked out in flags of African and Caribbean nations (South Africa and Jamaica are visible), and a giant hanging in Pan-African colours of red, black and green, decorated with an outline of Africa and a pattern of hexagons resembling a honeycomb, hangs centrally at first-floor height. There is daylight filtering through the glass dome of the original Royal Exchange building above.

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 29

Incredible night out at @rxtheatre.bsky.social on Friday for the first performance of ‘Liberation’: Monique Touko directs Zodwa Nyoni’s story of the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester. Press night isn’t until Tuesday, so you’ll just have to take my word for it until then…

A view of the ‘in-the-round’ stage at the Royal Exchange just before the (non-existent) curtain goes up. The set includes multi-level hexagonal tiles that imitate a parquet floor, while a display screen is suspended just above head-height, depicting typical 19th century Manchester buildings

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 8

Our ride leader has timed that cyclists and pedestrians are allowed a generous 14 seconds to cross at this junction. All the same, goodness me, how could such a thing have possibly happened, one could never condone such things, &c., &c. (@jontafkasi.bsky.social fecit)

A small sticker affixed above a push-button on a pedestrian/cycle crossing, which reads: “Been waiting long? That's because the council thinks someone in a car, a quarter of a mile away, is more important than you. They could make the lights change as soon as you press the button if they wanted, but they don't. Complain to them (a car moving at 30mph will travel quarter of a mile in 30 seconds).

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 8

Up and out despite the rain to join a community cycle ride to #LoveTheLanes - almost 100 riders making the best use of our local infrastructure

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 1

And a cracking result! Hats off to the Inner London Education Authority, and to Mrs Jenni Venugopal Nair, whose recipe this was.

A slice of dark brown banana bread on a plate, covered with a thin layers of double cream. The remains of the loaf are visible in the background.

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Jun 1

A spot of baking with the boy this afternoon - banana bread with the best political pedigree: the 1985 ILEA cookbook, an incredible compendium of multicultural recipes from school dining halls and home economics departments across London (submitted for the approval of @lccmunicipal.bsky.social)

A spiral-bound copy of the ILEA cookbook on a messy kitchen table. The title includes “ilea” in large, red sans-serif letters, and the “e” is wearing a chef’s hat

A page from the recipe book, a recipe for “Malaysian Banana Cake” - the book is well-used and the page is marked with grease spots

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· May 20

#Cholrton and South #Manchester people: @cafchorlton.bsky.social is in full swing, and my modest contribution is tonight. I and my shipmate Jude are hosting a singaround of Sea Songs and Shanties, upstairs at Dulcimer Bar from 8pm. All welcome to share songs, join in or just listen!

An event poster depicting a square-rigged ship sailing on a musical stave. Lettering reads “Shanty night - upstairs at Dulcimer Bar, 567 Wilbraham Road M21 0AE. Tuesday 20th May, 8pm. Come and join in the singing. Real ales and craft beer. A warm welcome. A Chorlton Arts Festival event.

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· May 14

If this is Meta AI’s attempt to feed me “relevant content” I think there’s still some way to go…

A list of suggested channels on WhatsApp that Meta thinks I might find interesting. Top of the list is “Maidstone United”, a topic about which I know little and care less

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Apr 24

In Berlin last week we were passed by a convoy of about a dozen of them - I think it was some kind of Trabi sightseeing safari for tourists…

A mural on Berlin’s East Side Gallery shows a white Trabi (with registration plate reading ‘Nov 9 89’) appearing to burst through the wall towards the viewer

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Mar 23

Post a warning

Two signs on the same lamppost in Fionnphort Harbour on the Isle of Mull, one reading “Have You Paid And Displayed”, and the other the standard triangular quayside/sheer drop sign, implying severe consequences for nonpayment

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Mar 23

Post a warning

A warning sign on the shore at Ravenglass, Cumbria, reading “It is dangerous to touch or disturb any shell, bomb, missile or strange object found on the sands or beach Please report its approximate position at the first opportunity to the establishment.”

Owen Sedgwick-Jell@owenjell· Mar 13

Lovely fire skills session with the Pioneers this evening - I thought there was a very @aransome.bsky.social vibe about this pic - though I’m not sure Susan ever made a ‘campfire doughnut’, or for that matter cooked over a repurposed washing machine drum, but both work very successfully!