Just like last year, I’ll be taking a break over the next four or five issues, so this is a shorter issue than would normally drop into your inbox. I hope that you enjoy this selection of links and pics, feel free to get in touch, and look forward to catching up later in the summer.
We’re coming to the end of our stay in the UK, with just a few days to go. Back from Wales we are staying in East Preston on the south coast and trying to make up for some of those days lost to Covid when we had planned to catch up with old friends.
Thoughts are already turning to work. I woke up before six and lay in bed making lists and thinking about what needs to be done when we get back. I have been keeping notes and updating my planner. I have a few new ideas, and we have a super team in place to turn them into something. So, although I’ve enjoyed our stay in the UK, a part of me can’t wait to be back in Pittsburgh ready to get to work.
We have enjoyed being back though, traveling to see friends, and checking in with my network of colleagues here in the UK. I’ve enjoyed meeting and speaking with people, reminding myself a little of the countryside and breathtaking views in the North of England and West Wales. The sea was occasionally warm and freezing, but always great.
It has been interesting to consider the questions that people here in the UK have asked us; about our lives in America, about our futures, and the craziness of American politics. Without giving too much away, we are very happy at the moment, things are going great and although we miss family and friends back home we hope as things open up post-Covid that we’ll be able to visit and that people will come out to see us a bit more. About the craziness, in America, we have no answers, and we aren’t particularly impressed by the state of things in the UK, where rich, corrupt, ruling classes continue to hand titles and contracts to friends, fill their pockets and lie to the people they supposedly represent. A few people still believe that parties in the UK can reach a consensus on bipartisan issues, whereas the republicans just want to see that world burn and oppose anything the democrats propose, even if, like the infrastructure bill, it benefits their constituents. I might admit too that I was more comfortable talking politics, even with those that think Boris is an “okay guy”, or believe that Brexit will turn out to be a good thing, that I might be in the US where I might feel more intimidated and unsure. For the record, Boris is not okay, and Brexit is a total disaster.
I enjoyed my trip around the UK and reminded myself what artistic and cultural capital can be found here. I’m reminded when I see all these artists and makers on Instagram, people like Hannah Forward, John Pedder, or my friend, newly honored Dr.Mel Rose. Walking around the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, or standing in the presence of The Angel of the North and the many sculptures in Another Place; here is a conversation with the country that is rich, intriguing, personal, and reflective. There is toil and industry here, British modesty is quietly working away, unsure and exploratory, artists like scientists working away in solitary spaces.
Even music seems forged somehow, heads down and earnest, even when it is self-depreciatingly funny (see above) or street sharp (see below). British eccentricity is about working away even when you’re not sure where it’s going, and it feels so right while you’re doing it. This isn’t Britain that the Tories dream of when they’re choosing a leader, a muddled memory of the past, blended with images, of the white cliffs of Dover, frothy ale, and the sound of Jerusalem sung mercilessly over adverts for banks, dog food, and discount sofas. This isn’t that. This is diversity, creativity, wit, and intelligence, bringing on a new generation to sort it all out.
I think I’m feeling refreshed, although maybe you should tell my body this. I’ll let you know one thing that I’ve found, decent pillows are a rare thing, people that we know and love and who we have stayed with can have terrible wafer-thin empty pillows of nothingness. I need my head to be adequately propped up, and can’t cope when there’s anything less than firm for sleeping on, last night I had to roll the pillow into a sort of burrito just so that I could have any type of thickness to put my head on. Just saying…
Thank You
Just to let you know that I think I’ve covered everything that I wanted to talk about this week. I quite understand if you’re looking forward to regular programming which should return in the next few weeks.