The Ragged Optimist 7
More interesting things from around the world
Here’s another edition of The Ragged Optimist’s newsletter, a bunch of interesting things to help kickstart your week.
I started this weekly post because, frankly, it’s been a really difficult year. I’m facing a revenge eviction, for asking for basic repairs to make the house I rent habitable, and there’s nothing else to rent out there. So I know it’s going to get hard in coming months, and I started looking for hope, joy, and optimism to keep me going. Not long ago, I’d have found that on Twitter, but it’s not working for me anymore. So this is an alternative, and it seems to be working. If you think it is, too - pass this packet full of ragged optimism on to your friends. Thank you.
A citizen science project called Deep Time has harnessed the power of hobbyists to scour Earth Observation data, including high-resolution satellite and lidar imagery, and find a whole bunch of unknown archaeology. Their next project is looking at wild spaces and ecology, rather than archaeology.
It’s a year since artist Charlie Tolfree made this film Organ Failure, about his quest to learn to play the church organ. It was all sparked by me and him going to a Heritage Open Day at a local church.
According to research, 1000 rivers are responsible for roughly 80% of pollution entering the oceans. So the Ocean Cleanup gang have a plan to clean rivers and stop the mess getting into the seas.
Not new, but a friend sent me a link to these artworks made in skips from the things found in them, and I think they are beautiful. It’s the kind of work that fascinates me - I think I like the element of risk, of maybe starting this very public work and then getting stuck.
I love these Isle of Wight playing cards by artist Maria Ward. I am addicted to playing solitaire in quiet moments - I find it very calming. It’s a habit I picked up spending too much time away for work, and bored in hotel rooms. Should I treat myself to a new pack of cards, to replace my scrappy 1970s deck with a flamenco dancer on the back?
My favourite hotel is The Telegraph, Coventry. It’s gorgeous - would love to stay there a full week, and really have time to spend in Cov, which is a beautiful city. The worst hotel? Well, that’s for a different newsletter. It was in Leeds, though.
Mark Scott-Wood and Matthew Richardson have an exhibition of wall-based ceramics in The Assembly House, Norwich from 29th June – 24th August 2024. Check The Assembly House website for opening details. The two share a passion for exploring and experimenting with the unpredictability of clay as a material, and for ideas connected to superstition, myth, folk, archaeology and ritual. I love Mark’s work.
Me and my son had a trip to Dover Castle last weekend. It’s a brilliant place, if you haven’t been - with architecture from a Roman lighthouse to Cold War tunnels. It’s one of my favourite places. Planning a day at Walmer Castle next.
Rowan Moore talks about The Stirling Prize in The Guardian. I was lay assessor for the RIBA South East Awards (which feed into the Stirling) for a couple of years during Covid. I asked awkward questions, about the environmental impact of new builds and about the usability of some of the designs. They haven’t asked me back. But now, Rowan seems to be asking some of the same questions.
I’ll be at First Friday at Marine Studios, Margate on 7th June, with an open studio. We’re focusing on craft so I’ll have some of my studio pottery collection on show, and if you fancy a cuppa I’ll be using studio pottery tea pots, too. Would love to see you.