Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Looking Sideways: 10 Things
This week: a wondrous community festival, a powerful Booker Winner, live Creative Exchanges, and the internet randomly coming up trumps.
1. Our Creative Exchange sessions in London were a blast. I’ll be releasing both as episodes of the podcast, but huge thanks to the Db and ACM teams for organising, to the brilliant panelists for taking part, and to the hugely engaged and at times feisty audiences for being such great sports. Good times.
2. I’m just back from the wondrous Once Upon a Time in The Westcountry, a brilliant football and partying festival organised by a bunch of dear friends down in South Devon, and it made me reflect on the beautiful power of selfless community.
Thank you Paddy, Jess, Luke and everybody else for organising this life-affirming event, and to all the friends old and new we shared this lovely experience with.
3. It's truly incredible how quickly the AI world is moving. Apple's forthcoming Apple Intelligence update looks set to put a whole load of apps out of business, and place the AI circus at everybody's fingertips.
The best analysis I’ve seen of this so far was this piece by Charlie Guo in his excellent
newsletter (especially if you’re perpexed by the privacy implications, as so many people are).Whether you're ready for it, or happy about it, it is coming...
4. The hype about 2023 Booker winner Prophet Song is real. Anybody else read it?
What’s favourite entry this week? Have you seen anything you’d like to share with the Looking Sideways community? Let us all know 🤙
5. I loved seeing friends-of-the-show Tim Warwood and Ed Leigh's 2014 Olympic commentary of Jenny Jones' historic bronze medal-winning slopestyle performance featured in this Guardian roundup of the most iconic sports commentaries ever.
They're in great company on this list (check out the rugby league one 😱) - click the link to have a read.
6. Why, in this election cycle, are we focussing on the impact of the VAT increase on private schools (which will affect 7% of pupils), rather than the devastating (and ongoing) impact of state school cuts on the other 93%?
This Prospect story by Terri White bucks the prevailing narrative.
8. From Nick Cave’s ever-fascinating and endlessly surprising Red Hand Files - Cave on the appeal of cold water dipping. Complete with obligatory Roger Deakin reference.
9. The unexpected turns that life takes, part 834: regular readers will know I’ve been asked to be on the judging panel at this year’s Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Awards.
As part of that gig, they also asked me to be an expert guest on The Wilber Smith Show, for a discussion about the First World War (topics: the East Africa campaign, the Royal Flying Corps, and the post-Boer War South African political landscape) in Smith’s novels. Gulp.
In the spirit of pushing myself right out of my comfort zone, I said ‘Why not?’; and began furiously cramming. Six weeks flew past, and we recorded the episode the other day.
Considering I’d had about six hours sleep the previous three nights, and was off the back of a 7-hour drive back from Devon, I thought it went pretty well, and they’re talking about asking me back.
It’s out soon, so I’ll share the link when it’s done.
10. I've been obsessed with the wistful beauty of this song for the last week or so. So much so that it inspired me to pick up the guitar for the first time in years to try and learn the chords.
While looking for them online, I happened upon this lovely anecdote from Lloyd Cole, who was given the original chord sequence in a handwritten note by songwriter Paddy McAloon for Christmas one year. Lovely.
Plus! ICYMI - my pals at The Wave are the latest additions to HKC Discount Club! They’ve joined my other partner brands Finisterre, Stance, Albion, Vivo and Db to offer Looking Sideways listeners and readers yet another an exclusive discount code: this one offering 10% off ANY session at our favourite inland lake. Just drop the code SIDEWAVES10 at checkout to get the goods.