The September Jotter
A collection of things that have piqued my interest, sparked a thought, or inspired action.
Posted here or delivered safely to your inbox on the last Friday of each month.
01. Serendipity.
An article on being open to opportunities that can appear in the most unexpected ways. Exemplified by how happy accidents led to the discovery of penicillin, post-it notes, velcro and X-rays.
“Cultivating serendipity is first and foremost about looking at the world with open eyes and seeing opportunities others don’t. It’s not just about being in the right place at the right time and having something happen to us (blind luck), but rather a process in which we can be actively involved.”
Thank you Veronica Hannon for discovering this article.
Walking in London, I was ‘lucky’ to spot this…
02. Walking around London.
Each monthly jotter seems to have a reference to walking. And why not? It’s the most natural thing for us humans to do (even more so if you have a dog).
Footways London was launched on 17th September and is a network of quiet and interesting streets for walking in central London. So ditch the car, stay overground and feel free to stroll around the city streets.
03. Dr Steve Marshall on being a flaneur with a camera.
A new discovery - the musings of Dr Steve Marshall.
He writes of taking pictures within 1000 steps of his front door which has shifted his focus to the changing light of his ‘everyday’ surroundings.
“How much do we not see? I've come to adopt the pace of a rural flaneur as slow sauntering feels like an appropriate mode to observe and participate in my locale.”
I like the idea of being a flaneur. Charles Baudelaire described it as “a person who walks the city in order to experience it”. But what does it mean to be a modern flaneur?.
Thank you @feastandfables for leading me here.
04. A magazine - Inque
They say:
“An exciting new magazine to be published, one issue per year from 2021 through to 2030.
Ten issues, then we stop.
INQUE will be made of all the things we love: large in format with extraordinary writers and artists; unusual, opinionated and inspiring editorial; all wrapped up in stunning design, and only in print (no digital release).”
05. Sir Terence Conran (1931 - 2020)
“Sir Terence Conran had a greater impact than any other designer of his generation, revolutionising everyday life in contemporary Britain.”
06. Privacy corner.
06.01. Purity
For anyone involved in the digital sphere, privacy on the web is the biggest issue facing us. Spy pixels, tracking cookies and algorithms chase us around the internet recording every move we make.
If you have an iPhone, Purify App may be of help. They say “the simplest, fastest tracking and ad blocker for iOS. No more clutter. Just lightning-fast browsing.”
06.02 Backlight
Backlight is a real-time website privacy inspector from The Mark Up.
Enter the address of any website, and Blacklight will scan it and reveal the specific user-tracking technologies on the site and who’s getting your data.
07. Music
Spinning Away by Brian Eno & John Cale. A beautiful, mesmerising song that has been repeatedly played in our house during lockdown.
Discovered when I was compiling a tribute to the genius of Brian Eno for my Alternative Afternoons programme on West Wilts Radio.
08. Two tweets to love.
It's something like..
— Daniel Raven-Ellison (@DanRavenEllison) August 28, 2020
1% of us make and share original stuff
9% comment, maybe
90% just look at it
So, if you are in the 9% and say something negative about the 1%... consider how it might put-off the 90% from adding to the 1%.
Positive energy creates positive energy. 💚💙❤️
I do like my little corner of Twitter with its jokes and poems and puns and art. Sometimes I glance over the fence at the shouting and fighting and nastiness but then I turn back to tend my garden, hoping to raise a smile.
— Ian McMillan (@IMcMillan) July 26, 2020
09. Work
This may be a temporary pleasure, but the welcome return of meeting people in local independent cafes has led to all sorts of interesting conversations.
Meetings:
To discuss how a local business can use email marketing more effectively;
To make our online ticketing app more Gift Aid friendly for Berkeley Castle (building our own apps means we can adapt to the specific need of each business).
To update Peter Moore Lets website in readiness for the new student year.
To discuss the launch of a very exciting new venture in Bath. More on that in November…
We also started on a new website for a historic country house on the Isle of Wight. It will soon open its doors for exclusive use weddings and private parties.
After the meeting at Berkeley Castle, I took a sunny stroll around their beautifully tended gardens.
