I had a weekend trip to Lisbon, Portugal recently. It’s a beautiful, art-filled city, which I’d love to visit again in the future. Here are some pics I took. Most of these are of art projects found around the city – they’re everywhere – and the first one is by the artist, Helch, who sadly passed away, recently.

Some of the bands I’ve enjoyed most recently tend to hide behind facemasks, and they’ve all got great performances on KEXP. First it was Glass Beams, then came Angine de Poitrine. Now, here’s Austin TV.

This looks new to me but, I’m not a daily visitor to The Guardian so, perhaps not.

I spotted today that the front-page, main news article, “‘I lost my children, and I’m afraid of losing my baby again’: a day in the life of a pregnant woman in Gaza” features a highly emotive use of animation, instead of a regular image.

Working in web for 20 years, I am used to clients requesting animations and videos on homepage, and this seems an excellent use of the format. Perfect for the story behind it.

After 20 years of independent cultural journalism and with a very heavy heart, September’s edition of The Skinny is our final issue.

I'm currently on a family trip to Tenerife – hence the book updates on the site. I can't remember the last time I finished two books in a week.

Despite it being one of those places to which Britons the length and breadth of the country head, this is my first time on the Canary Islands. If you refocus your gaze beyond the tourist hotels and bars filled with the cast of Benidorm, it's a beautiful part of the world.

Back in the early 2000s, for work-related reasons, I started learning Spanish. I got to the point where I could have basic conversations and could travel around Spain, buying train and bus tickets and generally get by. I was very far from fluent, but I could hold a basic conversation.

As expected, I did not continue my studies; I haven't really spoken Spanish with anyone in years. That said, there's still some residual knowledge kicking around and over the past few days, I've tried my best to speak Spanish where I can.

And it makes a difference. I can only assume (and from what I can overhear) that most of the hotel staff speak English very well. If you ask a question in English, that's how they'll respond. But if you ask in Spanish, you fall into a conversation that doesn't seem to happen otherwise. It's a very stilted, broken-Spanish-based conversation but it happens all the same. And then the next time you ask the same member of staff a question, they remember you and help you with the language.

A lot of this is just down to the professionalism of hotel staff, but I feel a big difference in how easy it is to build up a relationship over the course of a few days if you're willing to get over the initial embarrassment at not being fluent in a second language, and just give it a go.

Nathan Coley's We Are The Monument looks like it just sprang up overnight in Glasgow, atop the Glasgow Dental Hospital. Admittedly, there is a Glasgow Life article promoting it, so it's not like it wasn't planned.

Innovative illuminated sculpture by internationally acclaimed Glasgow artist shines over the city

Newly installed in Sauchiehall Street, on the roof of Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, the illuminated text-based sculpture displays the thought-provoking phrase, WE ARE THE MONUMENT.

Coley has a bit about it on his Instagram, too.

“The Dead must be Remembered, but the Living are the Monument, the living who coexist in peace in ordinary times, and who save one another in extraordinary times”

I enjoy seeing some new art work in the city, and this one reminds me of Mary Ellen Carroll's It Is Green Thinks Nature Even In The Dark, which has left Glasgow residents scratching their heads for years now.

Coley studied at Glasgow School of Art, which is directly behind the Glasgow Dental Hospital, so I'm sure the location isn't an accident.

I also like his work The World Without, seen here installed in Abu Dhabi.