55: Change and Freedom
It's been a big week of personal change, and things are only going to get changier. It's odd that everything in the world seems to be in flux at a time when so much is being shuffled and reset in my own life. It feels like a natural break in transmission. Like lockdown was a temporary power cut, and as the lights flicker back on I'm looking around and seeing faces doing the same, noticing the world again.
Over the weekend I went into the Yorkshire Dales to go camping and I was worried about how I'd react to unfamiliar open spaces after so long in the same landscape. When we reached Malham, I realised how much I had missed green hills and limestone. I could have hugged every walker we passed in bright waterproofs. I can see my countryside again. We stopped talking for a moment, having not shut up for an hour, no radio on. We were both choked up by the sight of the steep valley of Wharfedale, and the thought of being free.
How melodramatic.
Other Stuff
A sensitive and interesting look at Virgina Woolf's letters to Violet Dickinson in the context of our current situation by Kamran Javadizadeh. "From where I sit today and write, Virginia’s desire to leave behind a climate of illness, to get up and go away, to be transported to a future one can’t quite see—and which may not exist—feels familiar and intense."
The joy and clear admiration in Rebecca May Johnson's voice when she recounts how Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum changed her life and outlook is invigorating. Like being stood out in a stiff wind, or standing in a room full of music up as loud as it can go.
Gay's The Word bookshop are running a scheme where you can buy a copy of Gender Explorers for somebody else. Call 020 7278 7654 if you'd like to buy one as a donation. If you'd like a copy of the book but aren't able to buy one at the moment, email gaystheword@gmail.com and they will send you a copy somebody else has purchased, subject to availability. (Remember to include your address in the email.)
Rachel Hendry has created something really special with her off-the-cuff but deeply-felt weekly wine emails. J'Adore Le Plonk is the wine and culture newsletter that cuts through the shit to the truly joyful stuff that you didn't know you needed. Here's the full archive and signup link.
I have said this before but Vittles is the fucking bomb. This week a newsletter contributed to by multiple writers focused on eating disorders and disordered eating, specifically during lockdown. Vital reading for anyone in the food and dining industry, difficult and relateable to many, important for everyone.
Incarceratedly Yours is a zine created by artists incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in California. This particular edition is about the worries and dangers posed by COVID-19 in the overstretched prison system, and asks why prison is seen as a suitable/functioning part of society in 2020. It's a stunning piece of work that invites action as well as education. There's a poem called Secret Ocean in it that really stopped me in my tracks.
The Windrush Posters by Rianne Jones are now available to buy on her website. All proceeds will go to the Anchor Windrush campaign.
Zinnebir, immortalised forever by Eoghan Walsh as the true beer of Brussels -- "the Brussels people's ale". You can argue, but you'd be wrong.
A profile and interview on Michaela Coel that's so good I don't know whether to be divinely inspired by her (and, fair play, the writer of the piece E. Alex Jung) or give up writing forever and move into a cave somewhere.
I'm reading Boy Parts by Eliza Clark and it's the first book I've picked up in ages that I can't wait to get back to.
My Stuff
I spoke to pro quizmasters about how to create the best pub quizzes so that I don't have to answer who Henry VIII's wives were in order ever again.
I submitted some short stories to Unbound as a collection. Will let you know if I hear anything back.
Tom and I are working on a very exciting project that I may be able to reveal more about in a couple of weeks. Before anyone "hilariously" asks, no, I'm not pregnant.
Do you like vegan food? Follow Vegan MCR on Instagram, we are gonna be working on something together soon.
Tonight I'm co-hosting a Graftwood Q+A for Manchester Cider Club. I'm worried I don't actually have any decent cider to drink for it (my cupboards are bare and I forgot to put an order in! Sob!) but you should join us! Zoom link here. Starts at 7pm.
Zinnebir by James Albon