The Journal is an online collection of articles and essays written and curated by Thomas W Coombs, published bi-annually.

Once you have read the issue, see the Curated Articles of Note section for some great words from elsewhere on the sartorial web.

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Issue 27; The Final Post of 2019, Christmas SMWT

Might as well finish off the year with the final Saturday Mornings with Tom Season 2, the Christmas special, where I receit Twas the Night.....in full.

Issue 27; Merry Christmas 2019

As Christmas is only round the corner, Wednesday to be precise, then it is time to say goodbye to another year of blogging and videos and generally keeping myself from going mad.  And the yearly question of do I continue?

Issue 27; The Visitor, A Short Story

written by @coombstw

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse......but Timmy was wide awake, laying on his bed with his huge eyes looking up at the moving clouds outside his skylight, shining with the moon's glow.  It was Christmas Eve and Timmy was way too excited to sleep, he loved Christmas, as any child should.

Issue 26; A Moment in Time

written by @coombstw

Created to a point at the, well, the dawn of time, was, Time.  How we know it now came into the world in 1847 in Greenwich, even though the concept and breaking the day down into blocks happened centuries before.  But now it rules our life in everything we do and I am glad we have time. Not because I hate being late and wouldn’t know this without time, but what would I put on my wrist and spend so much money on.

Issue 26; Perk up with Joe

written by @coombstw

The black liquid of the gods, slowly being made across areas of the world, keeping the western world going throughout the day. The feeling of wonder and joy it brings, that euphoric feeling of amazement. Of course I can only be writing about one thing, coffee.

Issue 26; Up and Away, The Aeronauts

written by @coombstw

My home town has the best cinema, it is a blast from the past, with small tickets that you got in the 50’s to art deco through out.  It is amazing and cheap. With all this in mind I try and go to everything I can if the film is one I even slightly may want to see it.  And this took me to see Amazon original film The Aeronauts.

Issue 26; Just Not Cinema

written by @coombstw

“They are just not Cinema”. You may have heard this comment recently from one of our all time great film makers, Mr Martin Scorsese, the creator of some of the best gangster and thriller films in his generation, or this one really as he continues to do great things.  There are lots of things that are not Cinema, overpriced popcorn, noisy food, rustling packets and cheese. But did the recipient of this comment deserve it?

Issue 25; Film Fan Rant - SMWT Episode 7, Season 2

Saturday Mornings With Tom #thefilmfanrant

I took some time looking at comments on film news and then couldn't stop. And I had had enough, this is my reply.


Issue 25; Just Call Him Bond

25.  The number of films in this series starting from 1962 to 2020, for now anyway.  This is no mean feat especially to have moved through the decades but keeping, mostly, to the original material.  Which we know was brought to us by the amazing Ian Fleming which first came to light in 1953, nine years before Sean Connery first uttered the now iconic phrase. And 53 years for the first book Casino Royal to come to the silver screen*.

Issue 25; The Old Man Coniston - SMWT Episode 6, Season 2

Saturday Mornings with Tom #oldmanconiston

From Saturday 9/11, a short video of when Grace and I climbed The Old Man in Coniston.  You can also check out my article on this here.

Issue 25; What A Blinder

written by @coombstw

It is fair to say that I have not finished season five of the BBC hit and that I was late to the party only catching up this year. It is also fair to say that I am obsessed with the Peaky Blinders. And even though I am obviously nowhere near this lifestyle they certainly had style, which got me thinking. Even though easy to get wrong but the waistcoat and baker boy hat are a great winter style and are not just for the 1920's.

Issue 24; A Drop of Red, BB&R

written by @coombstw

Now occasionally it is just recommended to treat yourself.  Whether it be that pair of shoes you have been eyeing for the last year or finally getting that cashmere scarf as we now come nearer to the icy months.  So with this in mind on a recent trip to London for work, a sadly rare occurrence, I popped to the 321 year old establishment, Berry Bros. & Rudd.

Issue 24; Wine Choice - SMWT Episode 5, Season 2

Saturday Mornings with Tom #WineChoice

From Saturday 02/11, I talk about a couple of bottles of wine I picked up from BB&R.





Issue 24; Fountain of Style, a Story of Ink

written by @coombstw

If you ask any historian they will surely come back with their own truth of when the first pen was invented, with hints to Ancient Greece, to an Englishman in 1806 to the use of one that was mentioned in a journal in 1663.  All I can say for certain is, at some point, we put away our quills and held the Fountain Pen up for all to see. These days less people use this writers sword and instead use a phone to text or if a pen is needed a rollerball.  After a recent visit to the local registrar's office to declare my upcoming wedding in which I was handed an ink pen to sign my name, it got me thinking that more men should have one ready to sign at all times.

Issue 24; Happy Halloween - SMWT Episode 4, Season 2

Saturday Mornings with Tom - #Halloween

I discuss four scary films that actually made me jump in a celebration of Halloween today.

Issue 23; A little trip to meet the Duke

written by @coombstw

Sometimes an impromptu jaunt on a train is just what is needed when a free Friday comes up and this is exactly what Grace and I did a couple of weeks ago.  And living in Kent there is only one real destination, London.

Issue 23; Kingswood Trek - SMWT Episode 3, Season 2

Saturday Mornings With Tom - #TheKingswoodTrek

Join me for a few minutes in SMWT from the 19th September 2019, with my trip round Kingswood in Kent, includes getting slightly lost on purpose and odd finds and a whole bunch of Deer.


Issue 23; Climbed a Hill, Came Down a Mountain

written by @coombstw

This is not a story of struggle in life, the title as they say is literal.  You may have noticed that I have taken up the very English hobby of hiking, known in certain circles as rambling (not my circle though), and have been pulling my ever agreeing better half along so we have “us” time. This is how we ended on a soggy Sunday climbing a hill but coming down a mountain.

Issue 23; The Best Layer

written by @coombstw

You may have noticed if in the UK that the weather has turned and those colder days and nights are creeping in.  With the clocks changing this weekend also it will soon be darker bringing that temperature down. With this in mind I thought I would say a little something about my favourite layer in winter. The sweater.

Issue 22; The Road to Ten Kilometres

written by @coombstw

Since the 70’s the art of running or jogging as you may call it became big and in June this year I joined one of the biggest pastimes in the UK.

Out of the blue my friend stated that we should do some sort of race, originally the choice was if one of these muddy ones with obstacles, but I mentioned that we maybe we should start with something simple. So after much deliberation (1 limp text message), I decided that a 10 kilometre race was more realistic, and achievable. But before we could start I needed to see if I could even road run.

Issue 22; Fashion Update, SMWT Episode 2, Season 2

Saturday Mornings With Tom - #Fashion

I discuss some of the new and some odd items of the cat walks for this season. So make sure you know what to expect from the fashion followers.

Issue 22; Hellboy, The Nerdy Note

written by @coombstw

After many moans and groans from the geeky massive and the del Toro debutants the newly rehashed Hellboy will never get a sequel. It was slightly short off its budget, by a mere 10 million, but I still had to see what the problem was. Turns out there wasn't one.

Issue 22; The Conyer Trek, SMWT Episode 1, Season 2

Check out the First episode of Season 2
(aware that season 1 is not on here)

Saturday Mornings with Tom - The VLOG of the blog, weekly episodes from everything from hikes to chats to fashion and lifestyle info.

Issue 21; Relaxed for Winter

written by @coombstw

Autumn and Winter can be great times to dress up, with the sweltering heat now gone you can start wearing shirts and jackets comfortably and you can layer to your heart's content, and add some great chunky dress shoes.  But this year I am taking a relaxed view.

Issue 21; Booty Time of Year



written by @coombstw

Before you get the wrong end of the title this articles has nothing to do with arse in anyway, except maybe where the leather may have come from.  With winter coming the boot is at the forefront of footwear and with lots of styles floating around there is a huge choice. So I have picked four styles to help you make a choice.

Issue 21; A 70 Year Old Icon

written by @coombstw

A style icon for seventy years and to truly understand, you need to go back to the beginning and Nathan Clark, the army and a design that took over the world.

Issue 21; Get Me A Stetson

written by @coombstw

My music taste is very eclectic and is like a river of lava, slowly moving from one place to another taking on everything in its path.  This is partly due to being a music reviewer for many years so it has bounced around quite a bit. I have moved from pop, rock, trance, hip hop, metal, back to rock, jazz and back again.  I now have settled on liking what I like no matter the genre, but one genre I had never gone near was country, but in the last month or so Country currently dominates my Spotify.

Issue 20; The Devils Kneading Trough


written by @coombstw

I have lived in Kent pretty much my entire life yet there is so much of it that I haven't seen so after @gracecmbs mentioning this place for the last three years I thought it was time we actually went there. So we packed up the hike gear into the car and headed out and in 25 minutes we had arrived.

Issue 20; Three Nights in Paris

written by @coombstw

Before anyone gets too excited, this is not anything to do with a sequel of the Paris Hilton porn scandal media hyped marketing campaign.  This is actually me talking about Paris, where @gracecmbs and I went for 3 nights. It was a trip of food, wine, heat, sore feet and rather shiny carbon.

Issue 20; The Long Way to Conyer


written by T W Coombs

This was my first long trek, I picked it as was close to where I live and quite flat, not much preparation was needed and could do in about six hours on a Saturday. It was also my first solo trek.

Issue 20; Now That Was Close

written by @coombstw

Doing my bit for the environment was my reason for the changing my razor and my this along with my skin has been a tale of not so much sweat or tears but a whole lot of blood.

Issue 19; Social Fatigue

written by @coombstw

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest the list is endless, but these four were my three norms, for business and personal interactions.  Sad really, but I have taken a step back. Get a coffee, sit back and let me explain how I got Social Fatigue.

Issue 19; Rock Show for the Ages

written by @coombstw

Being a child of the 80’s it is part of me that I must be inclined to enjoy on some level 80’s rock music.  The call of the wild for large hair and head-bands a plenty, the pop rifts that made a generation.

Issue 19; It's Gone All 90's



written by @coombstw

As the humidity rises and summer really does start to begin, I, unlike many have reverted to a TV dude from the 1990’s. I am regressing? Or is just casual style allowing this to happen?

Issue 19; Wedding Season Change Up

Linen by M&S
written by @coombstw

It is here, the behemoth of long arse days, drinking and socialising with your mates great aunt as she slowly gets more drunk to the point she will eventually start twerking right in front of you.  Where you will ultimately slink away to find out what standard and overly pretentious food is at the buffet and what to have that you won’t get down your clothes. So my wedding list goes like this, disturbing in places? Check, will you get bored at some point? Check, sweating heavily in your suit? Check, forgotten the names of all the guests on your table? Check, the inevitability you will have a wedding to go to this year? As much as Thanos clicking his fingers (That is a massive YES for non-marvel fans).

Issue 18; Holiday Skirmish, Which Traveller are You?

Written by @coombstw

The shuffling of feet, the dragging sound vibrating through your mind, the drone noise of the moaning.  You may think I am talking of a zombie apocalypse, close, I am talking travel.

Issue 18; Lets Talk Specs, Product Review

by T W Coombs esq.

Over the last few weeks I have had a great influx of sunglasses and glasses sent to me to try out and write about.  Firstly thanks for the products. I was Gifted these for review, but have not been paid for a good opinion.

Issue 18; Colour in My Life, Arlen Terry Sweater

by T W Coombs esq.

Orange, not a colour I normally associate with my clothes, I own a lot of black, white and navy across all forms of clothing.  And even the variants are still with these shades, except one light brown jacket.

Issue 18; Now What A Marvel, Film Thought

by T W Coombs esq.

11 years, 22 films, 1 ultimate story and for me my story has been told and ended.

Issue 17; Power of the Dog Trilogy, The Review

by T W Coombs esq.

A story that spans decades and took fifteen years itself to write has come to an end, with three epic novels of true life events turned into a fictional world.  Welcome to Mexico and the Drug Wars.

Issue 17; Modern Classic Twist, The Wallet

by T W Coombs esq.

I was a constant user of a card holder, I really don't carry cash with me in this world of touch cards and paying on your phone. But I did go back to a classic leather wallet when my small leather card holder broke due to use. But I find it so bulky, huge compartments for all that cash I don't carry, what a pointless waste but I like the leather, so how to have a classic leather style with a modern card holding power.  And I found it, on Amazon.

Issue 17; All The Compartments, The Bag

by T W Coombs esq.

So many bags, you can end up with so many for work, for weekends, for on the go writing, for outdoor activities, for different work and casual outfits, the list goes on. So many different styles, from record bags to now the horrid shoulder bag which is just an old fanny pack or bum bag in the UK, but it comes to a point when you want to put everything in one place. Rocking the commute, in the office and up a large hill.  You need litres of space to sort all these, to carry all your needs. And I have found the one that is perfect for me.

Issue 17; All in the Weave, The Knitted Blazer



By T W Coombs esq.

With spring here and summer creeping up on us, it is only fair to start looking at mixing up your look.  And one things I have wanted for sometime is finally in my wardrobe, the Knitted Blazer.

Issue 16; Functionality in Fashion, Long Read

I want to ask a question,  do clothes require a purpose of practicality?

I am of course aware they cover us, they keep us warm etc, but I can have two outfits that do this, so why do I have a whole closet of clothes to choose from.  Vibrant colours to muted shades, the various jackets/blazers I own, the different coloured brogues, the list goes on. Work wear has always been part of fashion, the denim jean, my go to trouser, came from hard working farm workers in America that needed a harder wearing cloth than the cotton they were used to using.  The military jacket that is high up this current spring as its name suggests came from the Military, again we can thank America for that also.

Issue 16; White on White, Sole Set

By T W Coombs esq.

I have been looking at getting a pair of white trainers for sometime now, for well over a year and beyond they have become a staple of the casual and smart casual look.  Being worn with jeans to full suits, so it was truthfully about time I got involved. I tried a few years back to be fair but the choice of trainer and my early style just made me look, well, lets just say not good.

Issue 16; #WTFF Part III, The Gucci Joke

By T W Coombs esq.

The first thing you will notice is that this is a watch, I know, an actual watch recently viewed at Basel World 2019.  Now there was some amazing watches at this show, but as this delight will show, some god awful designs.

Issue 16; Tick, A Summer Night, A Short Story

Tick, A Summer Night - A Short Story Written by T W Coombs esq.

Tick follows Tock, follows Tick, follows tick, then another tick, then the occasional tock.


Shit, I think, my watch is broken the noises are wrong. It must be, how do I know what the time is. God it is warm

Issue 15; Circa Waves, An Album Review

By T W Coombs esq.

I used to review music and want to add some into my blog when something truly cool comes up so here is the first one. Enjoy.

This month saw the release of the third album by Liverpool band Circa Waves and also the month that the band came into by view and subsequently my ears.  They can thank Spotify for this and I was surprised to find a full album that was just a delight to listen to.

Issue 15; Thread, My Thoughts

By T W Coombs esq.

I just want to start with that this blog is not about my favourite types of stitch in clothes, even though I am partial to a good Backstitch, kidding I had to Google that.  What I do want to give my thoughts on is online retailer Thread.com.

Issue 15; Gone to the Dogs

By T W Coombs esq.

I was looking at mixing up my skin care so checked over all the different moisturisers on offer that were not in the £40 plus area.  There is leap from around the £10 mark where I want to be right up to the this fifty and sixty pound mid-range area.