New members
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we now have a new co-ordinator in charge of membership. Here’s a message from the man himself...I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself to the members of 26. My name is
Richard O'Connor and I’ve just finished a degree in music at Oxford Brookes University. Primarily, I work as a freelance musician and a Suzuki violin teacher and am extremely passionate about both.
We have a new PO Box set up, so any mail (including cheques for new membership or renewals) can be sent to:
26 Characters Ltd PO Box 59103 London NW2 9EF I hope to live up to the high standards set by Julie Potts and look forward to meeting many of you at future events. If you need to contact me for any reason you can email me at oc.richard@gmail.com
More news on new members next month....
Latest offers from Cyan Books
‘A Whole New Mind: How to Thrive in the New Conceptual Age’ by Daniel H. Pink
Currently selling like hot cakes – 100 copies a month via amazon.co.uk alone – this is one of those zeitgeist books in the tradition of
Blink and
The Tipping Point. It makes a compelling case for the importance of ‘right-brain’ skills in the new conceptual age, the successor to the left-brained ‘information age’ of the past. Dan Pink will soon be in London for the Leadership in London conference – check out his website for more details.
www.danpink.com
List price £12.99 discounted to £8.99 for 26 members.
‘Mine’s Bigger Than Yours: Understanding and Handling Egos at Work’ by Susan DebnamA straight-talking examination of the ego at work – full of entertaining and practical advice on how to survive and thrive alongside even the most narcissistic and power-obsessed colleagues. Why do these people behave the way they do? Why do size and status matter to them so much? How can you cope with their behaviour – and even start turning it to your advantage?
List price £9.99, discounted to £6.99 for 26 members. To order either or both of these titles, send a cheque made out to ‘Cyan Communications Limited’, to Cyan Communications, 119 Wardour Street, London W1F 0UW. Please include your contact details and the address you’d like the book(s) sent to. Alternatively, contact Cyan at 020 7565 6120, or email orders@cyanbooks.com. Please mention you’re a member of 26.
Our next events
An eventful month for 26 is capped by tonight’s
Common Ground launch at The Globe in London. All 26 members are welcome. If it’s anything like the Edinburgh launch, it should be a great evening.
September is also set to be a busy month, with 26’s
fourth birthday bash coming up on Wednesday 27 September at the
Old Truman Brewery. Please bring along any friends/associates/long-lost cousins who might be interested in joining 26 – it will be a good chance to meet new faces and make new connections, which is what 26 should be all about.
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, the birthday event will also incorporate the
26 sayings exhibition, designed and produced by Pentagram’s Domenic Lippa as part of this year’s London Design Festival. More events are in the pipeline and we’re always open to new suggestions, so keep them coming.
Arts Council backs 26
This month has seen a seriously exciting breakthrough for 26. The Arts Council has just agreed a five-figure sum to fund a series of events around the country linked to our
Common Ground project. This is a really significant step in the development of 26. It means we’ll be able to go ahead with a series of high-profile talks and events, including Penny Williams on Bill Tilman in Falmouth in October, and Stuart Delves on George Mackay Brown in the Orkneys on the winter solstice – plus many other events all over Britain. Thanks to John Simmons and Tim Rich for many hours of painstaking work in steering the application through, with indispensable guidance from Tom Wilcox. And thanks also to Sarah McCartney for her continuing support in making it all happen. Watch this space for more news about
Common Ground events...
Edinburgh's biggest ever book signing?
Still on a
Common Ground note, this month saw the launch of the book itself at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The event was a spectacular success, selling out the 190-seat venue, with more eager punters waiting outside for returns. Chaired by Jamie Jauncey, the panel included John Simmons, Stuart Delves and Whitbread Prizewinner Ali Smith. With fellow contributors Richard Medrington, Lorelei Mathias and Sarah Burnett all in the audience, this led to a rather unusual seven-handed book signing after the event – a first even for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It was good to see the whole concept really firing the imagination of the audience, who were all keen to chip in with their own suggestions for authors with whom they felt ‘common ground’. Great stuff. Next stop The Globe...
First sight of the new site
In a development that surely merits a newsletter all of its own, 26’s new website has recently emerged blinking into the daylight. Thanks to Jim Davies and Elmwood for their sterling work – it’s another big step forward for 26. The site is still a work in progress and there will be more news shortly, including advice on how to create and update your member page. In the meantime, feel free to have a browse around while we apply the finishing touches. We’ll keep you posted on developments...
http://www.26.org.uk
26 members recommend for August
www.davidhughesillustration.co.ukGreat work, great website. Especially the ‘Private View’ section, which shows images from his ‘The Boy Who Was Cruel To Insects’ show, with some of the comments it inspired when it appeared in Charleston, South Carolina. ‘David, You must be very disturbed, if you are married I feel sorry for your wife and family.’ That made me laugh. And so did: ‘I think this artist is mentally derranged. I can't believe I wasted 2 dollars to see it.’
TR (Editor's note: no relation to the designer of this newsletter.)......................................
'My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes' by Gary Imlach, Yellow Jersey Press, £7.99 or £3.99 on AmazonStuart Imlach was a footballer of some distinction, a Scottish international and FA Cup winner, while gracing the Nottingham Forest side of the late-1950s. His son Gary, a sports journalist of some distinction, didn’t really ‘know’ him; the downs of his career, the conditions he worked under, the struggles he faced. This book is attempt to find the footballer in his father, away from the press clippings and newsreels, and instead through those that knew him: former teammates, managers and coaches. Part memoir, part biography, part social history and part detective story, Gary writes with a clear eye and crisp phrases. There is bite in his judgements on the blazers that ran the sport at the time, but this is not a bitter tale – instead, one filled with love, affection and bags of heart.
RD......................................
'Bonjour Laziness' by Corinne Maier, Orion, £6.99 or £3.99 on Amazon… a bored No Logo… … a flip, hip The Corporation… … a pretentious Dilbert… if I was lazy I’d leave it like that. But… Corrine Maier (who as an economist and a psychotherapist is not so lazy herself) has splurged a philippic of a slackers' guide, referencing Freud, Foucault, Marx and Debord amongst others. While French in orientation, there is plenty that is applicable to the Anglo-Saxon corporate world. She is viciously good on the bankruptcy of modern business language. It is destined to become a bible for those caught in the hell of middle management.
RD......................................
'99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style' by Matt Madden, £12.99 or £8.57 on AmazonIn which the resourceful Matt tells the same short 8-frame cartoon story in, you guessed it, 99 different ways – manga, fantasy, Bayeux Tapestry etc. It's a remarkable lesson in how to turn the most unpromising source material into something exciting. Now all I need to do is read Raymond Queneau's 1947 work of the same name which does exactly the same thing but with words.
RH......................................
'Unspeak' by Stephen Poole, Little Brown, £9.99 or £6.59 on AmazonInteresting analysis of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which language is used as a political weapon, focusing on those acts of naming that are designed to warp or close off an argument before it has even taken place. A whole lexicon of phrases come in for close analysis – pro-life, natural resources, road map, community, surgical strike, war on terror. The book has a definite political point of view (generally not hugely enamoured of George Bush), but it’s full of revealing research and insights – particularly for anyone whose trade is using words as a persuasive tool.
NAThis month’s plugs by Tim Rich, Rishi Dastidar, Roger Horberry and Nick Asbury. These are not necessarily the views of 26, but we hope they’re not far off the mark. Any contributions gratefully received.
