The August Jotter
A collection of things that have piqued my interest, sparked a thought, or inspired action.
Posted here or delivered safely to your inbox (there’s a box you can fill in and a button you can press at the bottom of this page), on the last Friday of each month.
01. Why I walk.
I’ve always liked walking. It’s probably because I’ve had a spaniel as a companion for most of my life. Spaniels love to walk (and swim) in all weathers. Walking is a good way to unwind, chat and think.
Two articles on walking have piqued my interest this month.
Firstly, Rob Poynton wrote this lovely post about walking on the Some Good Ideas blog. Like him I grew up walking. My parents weren’t big on giving lifts so half mile walks to bus stops and mile walks to school were normal.
“Walking is the only way you can really enter a landscape. It is how we make the land our own.”
It’s the only mode of transport that is slow enough to allow you to take in what’s around you.
Between Bradford on Avon and Bath - a beautiful 8 mile stroll along the Limpley Stoke valley.
02. Trespass and the right to roam.
Secondly, this fascinating and motivational article in The Guardian encouraged me to think about the Right to Roam and the campaign to give people easy access to open space.
According to the article 92% of England is closed off to us. Nick Hayes’ The Book of Trespass is about the history of land ownership, trespass and the right to roam. It looks like a good read.
The campaign also acknowledges that with increased access comes increased responsibility and the need for an updated Countryside Code.
03. A local business: Doghouse
Bradford on Avon is a dog friendly town. Many pubs, restaurants and shops welcome dogs with open arms.
It helps that we have the Doghouse - an award winning emporium of food, toys and trinkets for our beloved hounds.
The Doghouse demonstrates that retail can succeed if you combine a great experience with a brilliant product range.
04. A publisher - RRB Photobooks
A Bristol based company who “publish overlooked, forgotten and underappreciated British photographers of the 1970s and 80s.”
Their books are well made and photographers well chosen.
Recent highlights include Early Sunday Morning by Peter Mitchell, Tony Ray-Jones, Early Works by Martin Parr, the John Myers trilogy and Polska Britannia by Czeslaw Siegieda.
05. A quote
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
Marie Curie
06. Ditch the elevator pitch
Jason Fried casts his knowledgeable eye over the elevator pitch. Good tips for anyone who goes to networking events (they may return one day).
“Relying on a one-size-fits-all description of your business means missing an opportunity to engage people rather than just speak at them. Instead of blasting out your script, first show that you’re curious about your audience. Ask them about themselves, what they do, what they struggle with.”
07. Design - Coventry City of Culture
Coventry, home to my favourite modern cathedral is the UK’s City of Culture in 2021.
Inspired by Coverntry’s brutalist and modernist architecture, their new identity was recently revealed.
08. Sustainable corporate gifts
If you like to have branded corporate gifts, Merchery may be worth a look. They source sustainable products and they have a very nice Aesop like website too.
09. Music
There were two releases in August which are highly likely to end up on my best album of the year list.
The first Voices by Max Richter - a beautiful piece of modern composition. The music is played by a ‘negative orchestra’ accompanied by readings of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The second is A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C. Guitar music can still be exciting.
10. Facebook and their algorithms
I always read John Naughton’s weekly column on technology in The Observer. This one is a must read if you use Facebook: Don’t post anything on Facebook unless you are prepared to face the consequences.
“One of the great things about social media in their infancy was the way they enabled people to reach out to others and find support and help when they needed it most. And maybe that still happens. In those early days, though, communications were not curated by algorithms designed to extract value from them. But the business model that we now call surveillance capitalism put paid to that, which is why you should never post anything on Facebook without being prepared to face the algorithmic consequences.”
11. Work
After launching six new projects last month, August has been more about updating and fine-tuning existing websites as businesses begin to return to some semblance of normality.
I met an interesting new business who have discovered that being at the Frome Independent market is the best SEO they can do.
In addition, work progresses well on a new website for Wiltshire History which we plan to launch by the end of September. We are also designing a series of infographics for our favourite employee ownership business and helping one of our very early clients migrate their business to G Suite.
