Surprises, Waste Banana Bars and Home
Happy Friday!
Thanks for your feedback on that bizarre snippet of my Camus-inspired novel last week. It really helps me adjust my sextant and set course for the future. I'd like to work on the synopsis and send it in to Someone.
As you may have gathered, I'm going through something of a renaissance this summer. As well as righting my thyroid, I'm learning how to code through Free Code Camp and studying social science statistics at the University of Amsterdam through Coursera.
I'm reading the classics of short story and essay writing, and looking into living on a barge.
There's a why in there somewhere. For now I'm enjoying the exploration, with an eye on the answer to an often unasked question: What does home mean to me?
It's not too hard to summon up a vivid sense of home. What sights or sounds, people or places come to mind when you think of home? What sets your internal sextant?
Because shouldn't we all build our lives around supporting a home that nourishes us and encourages our flourishing?
It might be stating the obvious, but this is the first time I've formulated these questions and the first time I've ever seriously examined the consequences of their answers.
HOME.
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THREE THINGS THIS WEEK
1. Go and surprise your loved ones by unexpectedly showing up at the airport / their house.
2. Phone, text or email Samaritans. 116 123. They don't just "do" suicide, they offer a sympathetic ear whatever your trials and tribulations. Only 17.1% of their calls are from people who feel suicidal.
3. Buy delicious waste banana bars from Snact. They're trying to raise £10k to launch the product nationwide, but you can get in at ground level by supporting their crowdfunder. £20 gets you 15 yumcious bars in three flavours. (DISCLOSURE: My housemate Marta works for Snact. She brings home samples. I'm buying this big time.)
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THE FINAL EPISODE OF FOILED SERIES 1
Sadface. Tomorrow at 1pm on BBC Radio Wales. Everything's Games guest stars the talents of Olivia Nixon. Olivia plays Sabrina's cousin Daisy, back in Wales after a lengthy sojourn in Shanghai. But will they get on quite as well as Sabrina remembers? Obviously not because that'd be boring as hell.
If you missed Episode 3, don't panic. You can catch up on iPlayer. Featuring the wonderful Felicity Montagu (the redoubtable Lynn from Alan Partridge), it's a cracker!
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SOUNDTRACK TO WRITING THIS EMAIL
Pretty Lights, A Color Map of the Sun
I'm 3 years late to the circus, but this is still big top electronic entertainment.
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That's all I've got this week. I'm going to go now and climb a pair of ancient hills, occasionally known as Mother Dunch's Buttocks.
As you may have noticed, we're back to rich text email. The text-only version was beginning to look very spammy with all those links. Sorry to those who liked that simplicity, but I promise to keep this as brass tacks as possible.
Now go and surprise someone!
- dc
p.s. Life To The Lees: Cycling Around Britain is still on sale.
p.p.s. Oh, nice! You can forward this email to a friend! *|FORWARD|*
www.davidcharles.info