The Ragged Optimist 124

Welcome to a hot dry summery Rich and Strange, my monthly Substack about seaside towns and their culture.

William Gibson Clarke was born on 16th May 1891, in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Skipton is on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, south of the Yorkshire Dales and 26 km northwest of Bra…

I can't quite believe I'm here writing this. I AM RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON 2026! You are all probably thinking, why am I taking on the challenge of running the London Marathon 2026? The short answe

Words Change Things – listings 18_03_26 (1)Download Words Change Things is a one-off mini-festival of books, ideas, and actions, with Robin Ince, Sarah P Corbett, Travis Elborough, John Grind…

A map of public art in Margate, including lost (purple) and temporary (turquoise) works

“If we’re going to change the world, the first thing we have to be able to do is imagine a better world.

A map of public art in Margate, including lost (purple) and temporary (turquoise) works

YouTube video by Billy Nomates - Topic

Welcome, dear reader, to The Ragged Optimist’s 92nd newsletter, although I prefer to see them as pirate radio broadcasts from a hopeful near-future, only in text form.

At 7am this morning, with the streets still dark and empty, I loaded the bike pannier with six chunks of ice. Inside each was a splinter of pine from the cargo of the Ice Prince, which sank a year …

YouTube video by Stereolab

An exhibition inspired by a collection of poetry, which features international artists alongside some unlikely historic artefacts, will explore the impact of waves of incomers on the North Kent tow…

It's getting better all the time

Have you got your 2026 diary yet?

Hope, the Helm Wind, Harvest mice, and the Hastings Kelp Project

In Monstrosities Mon Amour we celebrate places and things that have been unfairly monstered in popular opinion. Host John Grindrod will be your excitable guide to a world beyond the lazy stereotypes o...

William Gibson Clarke was born on 16th May 1891, in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Skipton is on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, south of the Yorkshire Dales and 26 km northwest of Bra…

#9. John Grindrod meets writer and artist Dan Thompson to experience Terry Farrell's much overlooked Drum in Margate, and the secret joys of studio pottery teapots

From the history of Sittingbourne as a place of pilgrimage to the heritage of paper-making, a small but special steam railway is set to be at the centre of a new set of stories. Dan Thompson has be…

“Perhaps all places are ideas to those who don’t live there.” Jonathan Meades