23s

The number 23 carries some significance for me. Many of you will know that my son Isaac's birthday was the 23rd November and he died in 2021 aged 23. In the year following his death the number 23 started appearing in front of us frequently (I'm aware of confirmation bias and understand this was more liekly coincidence than cosmic but even so...). Eventually the three of us, me, Lou and Isaac's sister Eliza, decided in a fairly spur of the moment decision to all get a 23 tattooed on us. My 23 is on my left forearm and I see it all the time. 

23 has a pop culture significance too- William Burroughs highlighted the 23 enigma in the 1970s, it's central in Discordianism, has a significance in KLF mythology and to Throbbing Gristle and it occurs elsewhere- 23 Skidoo. If you've been keeping up with recent celebrity news you might be aware of the controversy around David and Victoria Beckham and their now estranged son Brooklyn. David wore number 23 when he left Manchester United, possibly in connection to Michael Jordan. When Isaac was very young, a baby, we were at the fairly recently opened Trafford Centre, an enormous shopping centre on the outskirts of Manchester and a ten minute drive from our house. As we pushed Isaac in his pram along the upper deck a couple with a pram passed us heading in the opposite direction- David, Victoria and Brooklyn. 

Four 23s have presented themselves to me in the last couple of weeks. Recently we found ourselves near the Trafford Centre again and called in at a popular fast food chain (don't judge me, we don't go there often but every now and then it fulfills a weird need)...

In the week either side of that a pair of musical 23s cropped up, the first was sent by my friend Ian, a nineteen minute long piece of soulful, minimal house music from the middle of last year titled Spirit Of 23 by Melchior Productions Ltd. It was new to me and very nice, a chilled and hypnotic way to spend twenty minutes.

The week after Ian sent that to me this came up via a friend on social media, a track from August last year by Auntie Flo (Brian D'Souza), Paradise 23, from his Birds Of Paradise album- Roland drum machines, vintage synths, birdsong, tropical ambient with grooves. 

Then, to turn a 23 trio into a quartet, Jesse sent me the photo at the top of this post just a few days ago. Four 23s so far in January 2026- and having noted all these coincidences this post then mainly came together in my head while driving home from work last Friday... 23rd January.