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.
New members
Please excuse us, but we're in a period of transition. The wonderful
Julie Potts, who has looked after subscriptions, the 26 members' database and much more, has left us to return to the hard-hitting world of commerce. So it's good luck and effusive thanks for her sterling efforts and firm but fair way with recalcitrant members.
Richard O'Connor will be taking over the hot seat, and there will soon be a new PO Box to send correspondence and cheques. If your subs are due for renewal, please hang on for a month while we get our house in order. Hopefully, we'll have the long awaited web site up by then, and you’ll be able to do it online.
We'll publish the list of new members as usual in next month's newsletter.
Cyan Books Offer
This month Cyan would like to offer 26 members all their current books at a 30% discount, and if we spend £20 or more then we also get free postage and packing. There's the unmissable 'FAQs on Marketing' by Philip Kotler, David Kean's guide to winning pitches 'How Not to Come Second', plus many and varied books by 26 members including one which you absolutely must read if you haven't already, 'Search Me', by Neil Taylor. It's all about Google; if you thought there wasn't enough about Google to fill a book about then you haven't met our Neil.
To get a complete list of all the Cyan books, email sarah@littlemax.co.uk.
Our next events
Whitbread prize-winner
Ali Smith, as well as 26 stalwarts Stuart Delves, Jamie Jauncey and John Simmons will be taking the mike at the
Edinburgh Book Festival, talking about their contributions to 'Common Ground', the latest book from 26, on 20 August at 4pm. If you're up that way, why not pop in to support the cause?
There’s also a special launch of the book in London on 31 August starting at 6.30pm at
the Globe Theatre, all members of 26 are welcome, so please polish your best shoes make a note of the date in your diary. We’ll be sending out more details nearer the time and announcing our next book project, which has a distinctly Shakespearean flavour.
Read on to find out more about Common Ground...
Writers define places, places inspire writers. What would Dorset be without Thomas Hardy? Imagine the Scottish Highlands without Robert Louis Stevenson. And what was the effect of Hackney on Pinter, Kent on Dickens, or Laugharne on Dylan Thomas? Which writer captures the spirit of your area? How have the local landscape, people and stories influenced them? And what effect has this had on you?
We asked 30 of Britain's liveliest writers to consider those questions and write about the common ground they share with another writer. This book brings together their extraordinary responses, and provides a unique, informative and thoroughly entertaining tour of literary Britain.
Featuring pieces on... Paul Abbott Burnley. Rev. W Awdry Wiltshire. Julian Barnes Middlesex. Hilaire Belloc Sussex. John Burnside Fife. Mary Butts Dorset. Charles Dickens Kent. TS Eliot City of London. Jasper Fforde Swindon. Alan Garner Cheshire. Patrick Hamilton Earl’s Court. Thomas Hardy Dorset. David Lodge Birmingham. FW Lister Middlesbrough. Richard Long At large. George Mackay Brown Orkney. Hugh Miller Cromarty. John Milton Buckinghamshire. Stuart Murdoch Glasgow. Harold Pinter Hackney. Will Self M40. William Shakespeare Stratford. Giles Smith Colchester. Robert Louis Stevenson Scottish Highlands. Dylan Thomas Laugharne. Edward Thomas Cotswolds. Major H.W. 'Bill' Tilman Cornwall. Van Morrison Belfast. Keith Waterhouse Yorkshire. Virginia Woolf Sussex.
Photo finish
On 16 July, at least two 26 members took part in an around London photography quiz organised by
Shoot Experience and supported by the Mayor's Office. The winning photographs will be part of a week long exhibition at County Hall from 31 July. Our team, The Famous Four, were awarded the Shoot London Lite 'Best Overall Photograph' which can be seen, top right, at the
Shoot Experience Website.
The team plans to take part on the Shoot Clerkenwell event on 20th August. To take part you need a reasonably decent digital camera, a brain to solve the clues and the ability to spot a photo opportunity. To join in, go to
www.shootexperience.com. A highly recommended day out. (Note to non-Londoners: they do other places too.)
Sarah McCartney
26's Birthday Party at the London Design Festival
26's
London Design Festival event is on Wednesday 27 September at
Truman's Brewery, kicking off at 6.30pm.
On display we'll have the results of this year's collaboration between 26 and the London Design Festival, 26 Sayings, all designed and produced by Pentagram's
Domenic Lippa, bless him. This is not just an exhibition; this is 26/London Design Festival exhibition with a massive get-together to celebrate 26's third birthday and to meet some 26-ers you've never met before.
We know what it's like; we all come to an event then drift towards people we already know to update the stuff we chatted about last time. We've had a couple of emails from people who feel that they are not really in the thick of things at 26, even when they've had a chapter or two published in our books and been to a couple of events. This is going to be as thick as it gets, so please do your best to get here; we're going to organise a small entertainment and a bit of networking so you can meet another stack of 26-ers to drift towards at the next few events.
Please bring your friends; we want to turn 26 into movement and to do that we need more members.
You’ll find the Old Truman Brewery at 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL.
Basic yoga for creative types
A quick reminder about our summer special:
Sarah McCartney, qualified in
Mr. Iyengar's method of teaching yoga, will take two 90-minute classes this August to teach some basic
asanas (yoga postures) and relaxation to help you to stay lively but focused as deadlines approach.
If you have questions or injuries that Sarah should know about in advance, please contact her. The usual back, neck and knee problems which come from sitting at a desk aren't an issue. Inflexible people are welcome (as long as its only their bodies which suffer).
Dates and times: Thursdays 10 and 24 August at 6.30pm
Venue: Elmwood: 8-9 Carlisle Street, W1
Price: Free to 26 members, £10 for guests
Contact: sarah@yogateds.co.uk
26 members recommend for July
'The Golden Gate' by Vikram Seth (Faber & Faber, RRP £5.99 or
£4.79 on Amazon)
A word to the quick in this faltering stanza;
In the space of the lines left here
Let me attempt to convince you of a bonanza
To be found in sheaves not so dear.
A novel in verse, startling and bold
First written in 1986, and yet not old
A meditation on what makes life pleasurable and true
At first appearance flighty, and yet you do
Soon discern the depths within
Characters well drawn, rounded
Musing on art, love and sin
In tetrameter well-crafted, not hounded
Into life by Vikram Seth, 'The Golden Gate' is to be praised
Buy it, and enjoyment will be raised.
RD......................................
'Words Fail Me' by Teresa Monachino (Phaidon, RRP £7.95 or
£6.36 on Amazon)
This is a delightful look at some of the exasperating quirks of English. Monachino has collected some of those oddities that can baffle a non-native grappling with the language: why is abbreviation such a long word? Why does monosyllabic have so many syllables? There are things that will make you chuckle out loud, and the book is set beautifully, a delight to look at.
RD......................................
Shakespeare's Sonnets and Kandinsky's paintingsBoth have a feeling of abstraction, though the Sonnets are about and addressed to real people. Kandinsky puts marks, colours, outlines in his paintings that suggest reality. In fact they suggest a number of possible interpretations. That line there could be a horse, a hill or a human. Or all three. In the same way, Shakespeare suggests multiple possibilities in every line. You have to work at the meaning but in the end you stand back, look at the overall picture, and simply admire it without understanding every nuance or layer of meaning. You can see 'Kandinsky: The Path To Abstraction' at Tate Modern until 1 October. You can read Shakespeare's Sonnets any time. JS......................................
Howies jeansPardon? I just bought a pair in their summer sale. They're made from organic cotton and washed with an 'eco ball' to go easy on the world's dwindling supply of pummice. One of the back pockets is stitched to reveal the coastline of Cardigan Bay in Wales, where Howies is based. Inside the waistband it says (in large) "Life is sweet", and underneath (in small) "terms and conditions apply". A long white label on the inside is printed with a detailed and disturbing story about cotton production headlined "100% cotton. 73% true". It explains that the avearge 100% cotton T-shirt contains 73% cotton – the rest is chemicals. That cotton is the world's most sprayed crop, accounting for quarter of the world's pesticides. That's why they use the organic stuff. I love the way Howies use every opportunity to express their point of view, to connect, to create a dialogue. Their words are always well put – well said and well placed.
JD......................................
The Stories of English by David Crystal (Penguin,
£6.49 Amazon).
If you're a very vigilant reader of these recommendations, you'll know that this is the second time this has had a mention. However, I make no apologies about this. It’s an amazing, compendious survey of the development of our language from its earliest influences through to its current international diaspora. And just in case you’re daunted by a 600 page, closely typed book on language, the title is accurate. It’s a compelling set of narratives, a story in its own right. Finally, I can say no more for it than that I’ve been left with an even greater respect and love of English than I had before, and I’ve got a store of insights and quirky facts that will serve me well for the years ahead.
ML......................................
The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri (Picador, £6.99, or
£3.99 on Amazon).
Camilleri's irascible, emotionally stunted and enormously likeable Inspector Montalbano returns to solve two interwoven murders in Sicily. His misanthropy provides black humour and wry insight while he goes about dealing with Tunisian gangsters, the Italian Secret Service and – worst of the bunch - the victims' families and neighbours. The deliciously spare prose is spiced with heaps of Sicilian food and police banter, but haunted by a slow-burning loneliness.
TR......................................
'The English: A Portrait Of A People' by Jeremy Paxman (
£7.19 on Amazon).
OK, it's been around for a good six years and in some places it's showing it's age, but on the whole this book is an excellent, entertaining and engrossing analysis of who the English are and how we came to be as we are (I'm speaking for myself here). Some chapters are better than others, but his point about how Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries destroyed a whole tradition of medieval art but simultaneously opened the way for a culture built on words is masterful.
RH......................................'The Ship: The Art of Climate Change'Timely exhibition based on the experiences of a group of international artists and writers who, over the past five years, have travelled to the Arctic as part of the Cape Farewell project. The aim was to bring the realities of climate change to life in a way that even the most alarming statistics often fail to do. The results are fascinating, beautiful and often deeply worrying. Food for thought as the temperatures keep rising. Natural History Museum, 3 June - 3 September 2006.
NA......................................
'The Brand Gap' by Marty Neumeier (New Riders, RRP £13.95,
£9.20 on Amazon).
One of the clearest and most entertaining books on branding around. It sets out all the fundamentals of what a brand is and how you go about bridging the gap between logic (the strategic stuff) and magic (the creative stuff). Begins with one of the most sensible definitions of the word ‘brand’ I’ve come across: "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's not what you say it is. It's what they say it is."
NA......................................The Friday ThingThe Friday Thing is the scurrilous weekly email newsletter that recently eviscerated Noel Edmonds over his 'cosmic ordering' obsession. It will keep you up to date with news items such as a piece on the Lebanon that "aims to offend everyone", the latest on the Church of the SubGenius, and what to do in hot weather - "Wait until it cools down in the evening before you hold that dog fight".
www.thefridayproject.co.uk FT......................................Bad Design AmnestyAs part of the London Design Festival,
Purpose Design are inviting submissions for a 'Bad Design Amnesty'. This is an exhibition (and, later, a book) of the most hated pieces of design – graphic, product, architectural or whatever. A fun project and a great excuse for some well-worded rants. For more, go to
www.purpose.co.uk.
MR......................................WordCount™Warning! WordCount™ can be addictive. This brilliant web site is an artistic experiment in the way we use language, showing the 86,800 most frequently used English words. 'The' is at no.1, with ‘conquistador’ at no. 86,800. 'Love' is in the 300s, while 'hate' is in the 3000s – surely something to celebrate? Check out your ‘name neighbours’ (e.g. ‘honestly julie campaigns’) and invent new slogans like 'Resurrect denizens northbound!'. Or indulge in covert swearing. 'Khmer calorie' anyone?
www.wordcount.org FT
......................................
The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (
£7.79 on Amazon).
Hands up everyone who knows their cumulus from their altocumulus. Or their
stratus from their nimbostratus. Well, quite. This enjoyable little book
from one of the chaps who brought us 'The Idler' magazine is as light as
its subject matter but don't let that put you off. Surprisingly interesting
once you get into it. Honest.
RH......................................This month’s plugs by Jim Davies, Roger Horberry, Nick Asbury, John Simmons, Rishi Dastidar, Martin Lee, Fiona Thompson, Mike Reed and Tim Rich. These are not necessarily the views of 26, but we hope they’re not far off the mark. Any contributions gratefully received.
