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Robert Burns used a mystery figure to help him edit all his early work, a new Glasgow University study claims.

An exhibition is going on display in London that brings together the works of famous artists who have been inspired by paintings by their predecessors.

Most of the Monty Pythons are still alive, and for 10 nights will be putting on a live show at the O2

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O2 Arena, London
Everyone wants the Pythons to do the classic stuff and so they did in a staggeringly lucrative reunion show that is unlikely to make any converts

Share your own Monty Python silly walks

Comedy's greatest supergroup, in fact its only supergroup, gathered at London's O2 Arena like the Gratefully Not Dead, undertaking their staggeringly lucrative reunion show in the same cheerfully cynical spirit as their Contractual Obligation Album in 1980. It was a golden-oldie recapitulation of their greatest hits, padded out with song'n'dance ensemble numbers from a chorus young enough to be the Pythons' grandchildren. Stephen Fry made a self-conscious live cameo. There will presumably be other, different walk-ons later in the run.

Back in the days of the Hollywood Bowl or indeed the 1974 Drury Lane show which first revealed the singalong popularity of the parrot sketch they couldn't have dreamed of this kind of cash avalanche for doing an old set. This show is reputedly for John Cleese's alimony bill but in truth the whole surviving crew Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones are submitting to the awesome power of market forces. A string of O2 shows selling out in seconds? When there's just so much to be made from doing I'm A Lumberjack or Every Sperm Is Sacred, you really can't say no. Perhaps only a new West End live production of Fawlty Towers with the original cast could be more sensational.

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Python flying as the famous five prove more golden than olden

England's theatres, orchestras, galleries and museums learn how much Arts Council England will be giving them in 2015-18

English National Opera is to have its regular public funding cut by £5m a year, one of the highest-profile losers in a high-stakes day of funding announcements which saw hundreds of arts organisations told of their settlements for the next three years.

was one of the most important days in the arts calendar as England's theatres, opera and dance companies, orchestras, galleries and museums heard how much Arts Council England would be giving them from 2015 to 2018.

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Michael Hogan admires the passion of this BBC Four documentary about famous Aussies

Tracey Emin's controversial My Bed modern artwork sells for £2.2m at auction at Christie's in London.

The English National Opera is facing a 29% cut to its funding as part of an arts funding shake-up.

The controversial artwork, put up for sale by millionaire collector Charles Saatchi, sells for £1 million more than the guide price

Matt Reeves's Apes sequel never allows extraordinary special effects to outgun intelligence, says Tim Robey

The must-read novels and short story collections released in 2014 so far. Updated weekly

What happened to Rolf Harris's portrait of the Queen?

This blend of influences doesn't always gel, says Ivan Hewett

£32500.00 per annum + benefits: HANDLE RECRUITMENT: Handle Recruitment is working with a major record label based in South West London to find a Company Secretarial Assistant to provide full administrative support to the Company Secretary. South West London

The must-read novels, memoirs and history books released in 2014 so far. Updated weekly

• Hi! My name is my name is my name is [chicka-chicka] Guide Daily
  
• Back from an unscheduled long weekend to bring you new music from Busta Rhymes feat Eminem, Bon Iver and Tricky, plus more on the Breaking Bad spin-off
  
• Why not be our Stan? Leave a comment below or tweet @guideguardian
  

5.15pm BST

Thanks for joining me today, even if you're new to Guide Daily and didn't really understand what was going on. We do this every day, so just bookmark the series page, come back tomorrow when Gwilym and Lanre will be your pop culture custodians and you'll soon get the gist.

Here's a little something for the confused commenter who's been waiting all day for a glimpse of Walter Smith.

4.52pm BST

Remember when we had to postpone our interview with rising Ellesmere Port trap star Evian Christ because he'd been summoned to model for a "global underwear brand"? Well here's the result: one minute of pretentious writhing interspersed with a few shots of currently hip musicians (Evian, Dev Hynes, Kelela) looking a bit perplexed.

Nice work if you can get it, though we're strictly Tom Ford round these parts.

4.18pm BST

Our Q2 Spotify playlist not enough for you? Behold some newer tunes to sate even the most voracious of musical appetites.

First up it's the return of our very favourite masked, maraca-waggling Swedish psychedelic voyagers Goat. Hide From The Sun will feature on their second album Commune, due in September.

3.50pm BST

Bit of a Game Of Thrones Season 5 spoiler here. Turns out Jon Snow marries Daenerys, their various exes come back from the dead to endorse the nuptials, and the leader of the white walkers proves he's actually a decent sort by cracking a few gags after the meal.

3.10pm BST

We're halfway through the year, time for another roundup of the best music to pass through the Guide's pages in the past three months. Here's a playlist featuring (almost) every Guide single of the week from April to June, plus key jams from artists we've interviewed during that period.

3.02pm BST

Having spent the last couple of TV years clad in wolfskin and pointing arrows at Jon Sneurrrgh, Rose Leslie actually an incredibly posh Scot rather than a Lancastrian comes south of the wall for the new series of Utopia.

As a really big fan of the first season, I thought it was a brilliant idea. It basically takes us back to the 1970s and shows us where it all began. We get to see Milner as a young woman, and we get to see why she turns into this ruthless killer. And we see what happens to Carvell as well, and how Jessica and Arby come to be. I was completely hooked by the concept. Its really a stand-alone episode, and a real treat for the fans.

12.33pm BST

There really aren't enough decent brother-sister feelgood comedies. In fact there are hardly any at all when I just searched for "brother sister relationship comedy" on IMDB, most of the results were completely baffling. The World's End? Bring It On? The Hangover?

Which is obviously why SNL alumni Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader have stepped in to fill the void with Skeleton Twins. Plenty of decent gags and wry facial expressions in this trailer, along with proof that lip-syncing to power ballads is still funny.

11.31am BST

Breaking Bad exec producer Peter Gould is a cheeky fellow. Yesterday he sent the geeknet into overdrive with some tantalising comments to New York Daily News about upcoming prequel Better Call Saul:

One of the great things about having a time line which is flexible is that perhaps some of it takes place before Breaking Bad, during Breaking Bad and after Breaking Bad. That gives us the ability to bring back characters that were killed on Breaking Bad.

To be honest, it's not gonna happen. There's rumours floating around that I'm going to be doing it, but that's simply not the case. I mean, we've joked around it, but it's a prequel. I have no idea how Jesse would show up. I'm much older now.

10.39am BST

Zach Braff's upcoming crowdfunded movie Wish I Was Here is sure to be the indiest / schmindiest / cringiest film ever. But he's managed to snag a lovely new track from hiatus-ing beardy crooner Bon Iver, so fair play.

10.15am BST

Morning all. Guide Daily is back back back after an unscheduled break that had nothing whatsoever to do with Glastonbury hangovers. If you're still keen on reliving your mad-splattered weekend at Worthy Farm, all the Guardian's Glasto coverage is here.

Meanwhile, we press relentlessly onward with a mighty collaboration between two grizzled rap veterans, Busta Rhymes and Eminem. Calm Down samples House Of Pain, references Van Halen and disses "internet bloggers" and that's all you need you know. Enjoy:

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Richard Bacon and Victoria Derbyshire, two of the biggest names on 5 live, are to leave the station later this year.

10 unexpected facts about everyone's favourite one-eyed sailor