The Ragged Optimist 95
Would you like a space to write, with sea views? Dan Thompson Studio - who are behind The Ragged Optimist (surprise!) - are offering a desk at Marine Studios, Margate to a writer. You’ll have your own desk in the Writers’ Room, free-of-charge for three months, with 24 hour access, seven days a week. There are views over Main Sands, and the studio is a five minute walk from the station, and a few minutes from Turner Contemporary and the Old Town. You’ll be part of a busy creative community, with access to social events and a programme for writers, and Dan will help you with some creative coaching if that’s useful, too.
What you write is up to you, and there’s no expectation of any outcome - other than you write! We’d love it if you shared your work at a studio event, but that’s not an essential requirement. This package is worth around £500, so could be used as matched funding.
Email artistsmakers@googlemail.com by Friday 6th March - just introduce yourself, your previous work, what you’re working on now, and how often you’d expect to use the desk. There will be a decision in the week after.
As always - tell your friends. There’s a button here to make it even easier for you.
Thousands of new trees are going into the hills above a river as part of a big push to clean up the water before it reaches a popular swimming spot.
A new report from Always Possible looks at the economic impact of the South Downs National Park.
There’s a Seed Swap on Saturday 28th February, 10am to 12 noon, at the Sunken Garden, Westgate, Kent. This is their annual swap, with seeds harvested from plants in the Garden at the end of the year, including sunflowers and marigolds.
Until last week, experts believed there was only one wild beaver living in Pensthorpe nature reserve, outside Norwich. But just in time for Valentine’s Day, two were caught on camera going for a late-night swim.
Arda transform one of the world’s most abundant by-products - spent grain from beer and whisky production - into plastic-free materials. They’re leather-looking New Grain, they say, ‘isn’t an imitation — it is a new material language, designed for a more responsible future.’
The Ragged Optimist mentioned a new youth club in Grimsby last week - now there’s a new one in Preston. Decor inspired by the Hacienda.
In the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, Lake Kartal and the surrounding area has seen Rewilding Ukraine work across 18,000 hectares of land and water, removing dams and other barriers, clearing silted-up channels, and installing sluice pipes.
Thom Yorke’s flat in Rome is rather bloomin’ lovely. Inspired by wabi sabi, apparently. Lots of old materials incorporated into the redesign.
Tonight (Mon 23rd Feb), in Margate, mythographer Martin Shaw discusses his latest book Liturgies of the Wild, a vivid exploration of myth, faith and the oldest stories of all. The Ragged Optimist will be there if you fancy a catch-up.
U2 are back, with six protest songs. This one is to the memory of Sarina Esmailzadeh.