The Ragged Optimist 67

It feels like it’s been an optimistic week - there have been lots of hopeful stories bubbling up. This week’s edition of The Ragged Optimist was an easy write. And I had a fun week, too.

My event with The Margate Bookshop, talking to author Emily Buchanan about her debut novel, was a joyous, funny, full-house success.

I was asked to talk to

John Grindrod

about an unloved building for his Monstrosities Mon Amour podcast. I bundled him into the boot of my Austin Maxi and drove him down to Margate.

We had a good First Friday, too, creating - at Jenny Duff’s suggestion - a Camera Obscura in the Marine Studios meeting room. Connor Sansby found the resources to make it happen, and I kept going when it didn’t look like it was going to work. Playing, testing, exploring ideas together is what Marine Studios does best. Sitting watching an upside-down and out-of-focus Margate, Jenny said ‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’ Job done.

And on Saturday - escaping the din and mess of Margate’s Soul Weekend - I visited Upnor Castle, a beautiful fortress on the edge of the Medway, built by order of Queen Elizabeth I. Absolutely gorgeous, and reached by a short walk through an impossibly picturesque village. And a short drive away, there’s a Shorts seaplane in Rochester Cathedral. A wonderful way to get people engaged in local heritage, playful and inspiring and incredibly well executed, too.

Most of all, though, being back in the middle of Margate, I keep catching up with old friends. It’s been lovely to see Dean and Heather Thatcher, Lillian Henley, Tom Adams and a bunch of people who were part of my pre-Covid Margate life. Feels like coming home.

1. A record number of Purple Emperors has been recorded at the Knepp Estate in Sussex, as the species – and many other butterflies – enjoy a prolific summer in southern England.

2. Trailcams have captured a flock of Common Crossbill in a pool created by beavers, in the woods at Wild Ken Hill.

3. Volunteer Dorset divers are seeing summer of surging seahorses.

4. RSPB Northern Ireland has announced a significant new peatland restoration initiative, delivered in partnership with NI Water and supported by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s (NIEA) Peatland Challenge Fund. Peatlands act as natural water reservoirs, help mitigate flood risks, serve as filters that enhance water quality by removing pollutants - and despite only covering 3% of earth’s land surface, are the biggest carbon store on the land.

5. Montagu Harrier chicks have taken flight! The first success for Britain’s rarest breeding bird since 2019.

6. Test Valley council have formally recognised that the River Test has its own rights, including the right to flow freely and the right to be free from pollution. You can read more about the Rights of Rivers here.

7. Conham Bathing was founded in 2021 as a campaign group composed of swimmers and local residents who all wanted to address the pollution in their local river and gain Designated Bathing Water Status. “Our experienced and passionate small female-led campaign group is working to secure a better future for rivers in Bristol, improve access to nature and campaign for the rights of rivers.” They’re also touring the UK with a giant puppet they created to represent rivers

8. A tourist has discovered an ‘extinct’ jellyfish while rock-pooling in Outer Hebrides.

9. The Ecolab creates a meeting point for talks on the environment and on the biodiversity within Tramore Valley Park in Cork. It’s a simple structure, like an ancient temple made of rammed earth and thatch.

10. And finally - here’s the first piece for my time as Writer-in-Residence at Sittingbourne Steam Railway. It’s an exploration of the Swale’s beautiful landscape.