EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 33

Greetings from a converted stable-block somewhere near Mileham in Norfolk, the venue for one of our regular reset weeks. We go in as a twitching mass of nerves, neuroses and barely-contained psychotic break-states. We emerge on the other side as human beings. The plan—light, air, good food, drink and company, a bit of history, a bit of culture, a reconnection to the nice parts of the world. Expect a bulletin on all that next week.

We’re off to the seaside today. Fish and chips are on the agenda. Might even have a paddle.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 32

Our trip into the capital last week was a real success. We ventured out on the hunt for interesting supplies and sundries to fuel C’s burgeoning passion for art. We are not alone — a visit to the new CassArts store in Kings Cross took half an hour to get to the tills, such was the crush of folks eager to make things with their hands. In a week when AI was all over the news for all the wrong reasons, it was healing and joyful to appreciate the simple pleasures of putting ink or paint down on smooth or nubbly paper. I used to draw all the time. C’s enthusiasm has got me wanting to pick up a pen again.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 31

Another busy weekend ahead, as C and I hit That London on a stationery hunt (in fact, I’m running my pre-launch checks on a Paddington-bound train) and visit an extraordinary garden in an unexpected site. More on that next time, but for now let’s crack on, shall we?

In this episode of your soaraway Saturday Swipe — how to make your own zines, a truly great sporting interview and the re-emergence of some Ninth Art gold. Be joyful! The weekend starts here!

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 30

A busy weekend ahead. I’m co-presenting a screenwriting module at Reading Writers’ Writers Day this afternoon, with an extra work shift in Sunny Slough booked for tomorrow morning. Go, Robbie, go. So let’s crack straight on with this week’s Swipery, shall we?

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 29

We’ve lived in Reading for over twenty years, and yet somehow the influx of younglings for the Reading Festival takes us by surprise every August Bank Holiday Weekend. The event has changed a lot over the years—far less rock and indie oriented, much more attuned to a young audience readying for college and uni who like their pop, dance and rap.

It’s bigger than ever, with an estimated attendance of 100,000 festival-goers over the weekend. I haven’t been in years, but always enjoy seeing the kids with their huge rollie suitcases and rucksacks, utterly unprepared for the experience which awaits them. Looks like this weekend is going to be a wet one. That won’t dampen the spirits—sometimes the rain makes for the most memorable experiences. I wish everyone heading off to Richfield Avenue a safe, fun time. Pro tip—the big Tesco on Napier Road might just save your life.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 28

The garden has suffered over the past few weeks, and we have had to be cruel. We simply can’t keep everything watered, so some pots and beds have had to be sacrificed to the sun god. We have to be practical in the face of the drought and a hosepipe ban which is likely to last till the end of the year.

Don’t think we’re admitting defeat, though. We’re looking to reset, retask. Even replant, getting some autumn and winter crops into a newly-vacated veg bed, taking bigger plants out of thirsty pots and into the ground where they’re far more likely to survive. It’s an opportunity to get more drought-hardy, structural plants like pittisporum and sedum in place. Gardening is all about adaptation, moving with the seasons. A change in the weather, however it presents, is a challenge we need to embrace.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 27

I’m working a night shift this week and let me tell you, Readership, it is absolutely as strange and destabilising an experience as you’d expect. As an avowed and long-time early bird, the revised hours have effectively flipped my schedule through 180 degrees — asleep when I should be working, working when every fibre in my body tells me it’s snooze o’clock. It does feel, weirdly, as if there’s more time to play with during the day. I’m finishing at 5, home by 6, sleeping til 1 for my necessary seven hours with the rest of the day as my own. Is it fun trying to kip during an intense heatwave? Well, no. But physical and mental exhaustion have a way of bullying the nervous system into submission.

Meanwhile, I’ve invested in a good sleep mask and some Loop Dream earplugs to shut the world out. The turnaround back to days is, I suspect, going to be brutal. I couldn’t do it long term. It’s scrambling my brain-meats enough as it is. So, if this week’s Swipe seems a little less coherent than usual, now you know why.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

Agamemnon‘s Hat

Everyone has an opinion on Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey. It’s become the great talking point for these few weeks of summer before the next cultural controversy comes rolling in.

Me? Yes, I’ve seen it. I thought it was a highly impressive visual achievement and a massive slog all at once. A film to admire rather than love. That is my opinion. Others are available. But there’s an interesting exchange of ideas going on around The Odyssey regarding a particular niche interest of mine. In fact, it’s something I get paid to have a good working knowledge about, so it amuses me no end to see folks chatting about it.

If you’ll forgive a guy for using his personal space to yatter on at length on a pet subject —let’s talk about aspects ratios and framing.

The Swipe Volume 4 Chapter 26

There was a tiny wash of rain this week. Barely enough to wet the ground and fill the air with the blessed scent of petrichor. But it was a moment of respite from this seemingly never-ending dry spell. C and I have already started rethinking some of the garden planting, embracing the idea of more drought-resistant varieties. In our runway of a plot, marching watering cans up and down for hours on end is not the best way to spend our time. We’ve already had to sacrifice some planters, and hope that the new border C planted up this year will be able to cope until the winter, after which it should be able to look after itself a bit more.

However, the tomatoes, squash and cucumbers are happy as anything, and we’re enjoying the slightly illicit thrill of poaching blackberries from the brambles looming over from next door’s garden. It’s a fruitful time, if nothing else, and helps us to spend more time outdoors, off our screens, awash in sunlight.

Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.

Two Gardens

Great Dixter has stood since the fifteenth century, a great rambling country pile surrounded by seventy-two acres of land. The house, carefully restored by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1910 to reopen the Great Hall, Solar and Parlour, is certainly worth a visit, particularly for the way the architect also included twentieth-century flourishes. But the thousands of folks who visit Great Dixter every season treat it as a decidedly second-place attraction. Like us, they’re here for those grounds and the incredible gardens they contain.