Looking Sideways: 10 Things

Here are this week's ten things I thought were worth sharing

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1. One of the themes of this summer on Looking Sideways has been the difficulty of getting member of the action sports community to engage in issues such as climate change, or improving water quality. After all, there are a LOT of us out there. Imagine the impact we could have if we flexed our collective muscle?

So I’m a big fan of this campaign from Protect Our Winters UK, which is trying to galvanise the power of our community in the simplest way possible.

They’re asking the entire UK outdoor community to ‘send it for climate by sending a postcard’. Click this link to send a virtual postcard to ministers demanding the most ambitious party manifestos on climate action ever.

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2. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m heavily involved in Nelson’s Tour de Test Valley, the annual sportive fundraiser held every September to raise funds for CALM in memory of our much-loved and much-missed friend Nelson Pratt.

Main organiser and friend-of-the-show Marcus Chapman just released this new edit (above) explaining more about the history of the ride, and why it’s such an important annual gathering for the British snowboarding community.

I also took part in a special Tour de Test Valley London event earlier this month, at which I interviewed Schoph, Andrew Cotton and Helena Long - that’s being released as a special bonus episode soon, so keep ‘em peeled for that.

Ride on Nelly. We miss you brother x

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3. I’m not really how I’ve ended up encouraging the algorithm to serve me up a podcast about how human beings and five species of whales are the only animals to go through the menopause, but it happened, I listened, and it was really good. So I’m sharing it here.

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4. For some weird reason, musician Johnny Marr keeps coming up as future podcast guest. I mean I’m keen…and, incredibly, a mutual friend has apparently asked Johnny about coming on the show, and reckons he’s up for it. (I’ll believe that when I see it tbh).

In the meantime, here’s Johnny as a guest on the BBC’s brilliant Artist in Residence series, which I’ve been enjoying while out in Normandy this week.

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5. Friend-of-the-show Chas Smith’s film about Lisa Anderson is now streaming for free on YouTube.

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6. One for my British subscribers, but this film about Sussex free diver Eric Smith restoring a vital undersea kelp forest is lovely and surprisingly moving.

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girlspullupnotout

A post shared by @girlspullupnotout

7. Confirmation that there will be no female riders at this year’s Red Bull Rampage - check the comments on that post (and follow that excellent account while you’re at it) to get up to speed with the specifics of this particular brouhaha.

As ever (we discussed this topic at length in the latest Roundtable episode), I never cease to be amazed at how the level of debate on display here is literally years behind mainstream discourse (the Rubiales and Spanish Women’s World Cup debacle anyone?)

And how everybody, from the organisers, to the (male) commenters wheeling out arguments that were discredited literally decades ago, seems completely happy to display this ignorance so publicly.

Plus ca change, I guess….

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8. ‘How Men Muscled Women Out of Surfing: Why is the sport still stuck in the 1960s?’ asks this Atlantic Magazine piece. Read it here.

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9. Gymshark’s film about Ross Edgley’s recent attempt to break the world record for longest open-water swim is out now and has a typically restrained title.

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10. Finally - friends-of-the-show Gendle, Johno Verity and Hersha Patel have been working hard on a new comedy that follows Elyse Saugstad and Jackie Paaso as they navigate motherhood and their professional ski careers. Watch the trailer above.

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Got a story or link you think might work for my weekly Ten Things, which goes out to many thousands of readers each week? Let me know!