The Ragged Optimist 53
"Let me tell you, hope can change the world." The Doctor
I’m enjoying being back in the middle of Margate - maybe the sleepy suburbs of Ramsgate weren’t really my thing after all?
Last week was a blur - the weekend market in Margate Old Town, a day as an extra (er … supporting artist) on a BBC thing filming in town, leading a history walk around Rosa Rankin-Gee’s book Dreamland (and - she turned up at the end of the walk, and signed books), seeing a dear friend for the first time since he’s been ill and having an incredible hug, lots of sketching in a new almost-turquoise Moleskine from Margate Bookshop. And I’ve been in the studio every day, planning this week’s First Friday.
We’re going to explore the history and the future of seaside towns, through a collective imagining of Margate, Ramsgate, and Broadstairs in 2045. We’ll have a go at screenprinting, there’ll be work by assorted artists on show, and we’ll hear a couple of poems from Connor Sansby’s new collection. Join us this Friday 2nd May, from 6-9pm, at Marine Studios, 17 Albert Terrace, CT9 1UJ. It’s part of the UK-wide Beach of Dreams Festival. I’ll be doing a walk through Margate’s rock ‘n’ roll history too, on the morning of Saturday 3rd May - starting at Marine Studios at 11am.
I must have a thing about the year 2045. Just realised it’s also the year I used in this, imagining a future for Stoke-on-Trent. This was published ten years ago, in my book It’s All About The Road.
"Those who know me well know I was eventually going to build a giant curlew. She's a real beauty. I wanted to represent curlews well because they're such a beautiful bird."
Which rather neatly leads to Robin Ince’s new book, Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal, which is out this week (1st May). I’ve been reading it, and it’s a lovely, gentle ramble through neurodivergent Britain. You should be able to order it from The Margate Bookshop.
Cornell researchers have developed a pair of small robots powered by mycelium, creating a "biohybrid" robot that can sense and respond to the environment better than a fully synthetic counterpart.
I've raved about bamboo in previous newsletters - floors, cups, maybe even a whole bamboo house if my plans come together. But how about fancy bamboo knickers?
Meanwhile in Indonesia, Singgih Kartono is the force behind Spedagi, a bamboo bike initiative. "The bamboo bike is not actually just about bamboo," he said.
"It is about the values behind the bamboo."
Surrey Wildlife Trust are fundraising to bring beavers back to the county after a 400 year absence.
Howgill Beck is a small river that was straightened more than 200 years ago, causing it to lose many of the natural features that benefit both wildlife and the landscape. In an ambitious project, led by RSPB Geltsdale Warden Jen Selvidge, a 1.8km stretch of the river was returned to a more natural state, by the creation of natural meanders and re-connecting the watercourse to its floodplain. It's just won a UK River Prize.
We’re one step closer to harnessing the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuel. “Inspired by photosynthesis in plants, scientists are designing materials and chemical processes that can convert sunlight into chemical energy using only components of air: water, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Directly producing liquid fuels from these abundant feedstocks would provide an efficient way to store and dispatch solar energy,” say LiSA, the alliance of US universities leading the research.
I love the jumble of windows in Mecanoo's housing for the University of Cambridge. Yellow brick, rambling courtyards, timber balconies - all looks lovely. The Key Worker housing development contains 232 affordable homes and communal spaces for researchers and key employees at the university.
And a bonus ‘Stop Press’ update - a digital zine for both trans+ people (whether you are out or stealth) and non-trans identifying allies.