It’s Sunday evening and the noise of Margate’s Soul Weekend has faded away, the street parties shut down and just a blur of noise from a distant soundsystem somewhere out along the coast. More interestingly, it was also Margate Carnival today — the one event in the year that brings together all of Margate’s many and mixed and sometimes messy communities. It was Margate Zine Fair, too, as part of the Margate Pride Art Map. The Zine Fair is a coming together of writers, artists, and makers in search of a better way of doing things. Put all those events, and a dozen others that happened this weekend, together and it is a many-layered couple of days, a reminder that a town like Margate isn’t one thing or the other, but a dirty, noisy, chaotic, glorious confusion.
A quick catch-up with The Ragged Optimist’s recent work -
Writer-in-Residence on Sittingbourne’s Steam Railway. Read the stories here.
The Whitehawk Great Map is on show in Brighton, after a UK tour.
The Cross Channel exhibition at the Pines Garden Visitor Centre at St Margaret’s, near Dover.
And now, this week’s list -
In Queer Religion, photographer Frances Marshall has taken portraits of religious leaders of all faiths. The work is currently on show at St John the Baptist Church as part of Margate Pride, and The Ragged Optimist will be in conversation with Fran on Weds 5th August, from 7pm.
Beaver news! Baby beavers have been born in Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands for the first time in about 400 years.
And - baby pine martens have been born on Exmoor for the first time in more than 100 years, too.
Keeping secrets from the robots. New font designed to be read by humans, but not by AI.
The Tree Council and Defra are working in partnership to deliver the Trees Outside Woodland Fund, to establish trees outside woodland. Open until 31st October.
Diggers & Dreamers has been following those living the dream of communal living for more than 35 years. The 13th edition of their directory of UK intentional communities, including urban, rural, spiritual, secular, cohousing, and low-impact living models, is out now.
A three-bedroom home on a back-garden site at the rear of a Victorian terrace. “We see community and citizen-led housing delivery as a way to deliver more sustainable and better housing, and it could be the future of housing delivery for urban densification.”
Eight lovingly reworked songs from Exotic Monsters, the 2021 debut Penfriend album, are released (or re-released?) as Monstrous Exotic.
And finally - solar power made up a record share of Britain’s electricity mix in July, and there’s been a surge in new installations (including The Ragged Optimist’s dad).
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I hope it's not just me, but link #3 doesn't seem to be working?