Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Here are ten things I thought were worth sharing this Easter weekend.
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1. One of the fun aspects of Substack is experimenting with different features, so I’ve been enjoying reading all the recommendations and ideas on this week’s Books chat thread.
Looks like this one is gonna run and run - click the image or button above to see what’s on there now and contribute by recommending your own recent reads
2. Last year Ross Edgeley (who I interviewed the night before he completed the Great British Swim way back in 2018), attempted to swim 100 miles non-stop in Loch Ness. It didn’t go well, and he’s now released a documentary about the entire adventure. I must say, personally I preferred homespun GBS Ross to the latest super-slick Gymshark incarnation, but the film is still well worth a watch.
3. Related: the swim troops are massing for the forthcoming Kinder Swim Trespass on April 23rd. Check the above post for info.
4. Congratulations to friend-of-the-show Christina Koch who has been chosen to go to the moon on Nasa’s next Artemis mission! Who’s up for another post-lunar mission chat with Christina?
5. The third and final AK leg of this season’s Natural Selection goes out ‘as live’ on April 26th. Can it possibly top the Revelstoke leg? More info here.
6. I grew up in Manchester and studied the industrial revolution at A-Level - but have never heard the city’s links to slavery made explicit until this extraordinary work of interactive journalism by the Guardian. I guess in hindsight the ‘Cottonopolis’ nickname was a bit of a giveaway.
7. Love this - a previously-unseen collection of 1980s Chamonix images by Patagonia contributor Gary Bigham. Click here.
8. Surfline has bought Magic Seaweed and the comment section isn’t happy…
9. Skier rescues an extremely lucky snowboarder from a dire position in a treewell. Prepare to feel very claustrophobic.
10. One of the most revealing things about the On Allyship thread the other week was the recurring, horrified ‘I had no idea about that’ sentiment expressed by the few men who did leave a comment.
I can’t help thinking this is why footage of the recent grim incident in Bali (which I’m not sharing, but which is really easy to find on Instagram) has gone so viral. Because for once an act of violent abuse against a women has been caught on camera, and is forcing everybody to reckon with it openly.
Ross Edgely is an extraordinary person. I think if I had to I could swim for 4-5 hours in summer southwest seawater. 40 hours in Loch Ness is beyond ken.
A good list of stuff for the weekend. Now when work and my family ask why I have I not gotten anything done, I will squarely point at you Matt. Lol.