Words about Words - February 2021
Hello all,
Welcome to February’s edition of ‘Words about Words’ - where I share some of the things I’ve found interesting, entertaining or useful over the past month. Read on…
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Interesting, entertaining or useful
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The rad women’s surf communities of Scandinavia
Wavelength profile three women surfers and their communities who lie far outside the glamorous, sunny stereotype often portrayed in surf culture. Visiting Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, this spotlight looks at women dedicated to getting on the water despite cold conditions and mushy waves… LINK
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A whistle-stop tour of great online legacy promotion
Melanie May writes for fundraising.co.uk on recent, strong examples of charities’ legacy giving campaigns. Worth a read for anyone involved in a charity that wants to make the most of this oft-under-appreciated source of donations… LINK
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Ursula K. Le Guin on being a man
Thanks to Matt West from Artful Scribe for putting me on to this 2014 article by Maria Popova for brainpickings.org, in which she annotates Le Guin’s 2004 essay on gender… LINK
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No logo, no likes: New York’s offline DIY culture embraces lockdown limitations
Edward Helmore writes in The Guardian about the thriving lockdown DIY local newspaper scene. Perhaps I could start the Richville Road Review for a hyper-local take on life in Shirley, Southampton?… LINK
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Bad Hand Coffee - Sustainability Report
OK, so it’s not the usual sort of thing you’d expect to find me posting here, but I was so impressed by Bad Hand’s sustainability report that I wanted to share it. Bad Hand are a coffee company from Bournemouth that go far beyond what the vast majority of companies do when it comes to looking after the planet. This report should inspire anyone who wants to do ‘better’ business… LINK
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My work
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#NotJustNCVO
I share my thoughts on the recent (and ongoing) #NotJustNCVO campaign to call out bullying and oppression of marginalised groups within the charity sector… LINK
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Books for writers
These are my favourite books about writing. In particular, I’d recommend Joe Moran’s First you write a sentence to anyone who has to write anything, and DBC Pierre’s Release the bats for fiction writers… LINK
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Lonely Goat
A handful of my pieces have gone up over the past month, including articles on ‘plogging’, running without a watch, running with your partner, and an interview with Dame Kelly Holmes MBE… LINK
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That’s it for February’s edition of ‘Words about Words’. Keep an eye out for March’s edition, arriving in your inbox on the last Thursday of the month (if you’re a Substack subscriber), and appearing here the following day.
Thanks for reading,
Jonathan x