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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

1250 optimistic things for you, and a Manifesto for Ragged Optimism. Start every Monday morning with optimism. This week's edition of The Ragged Optimist is out. substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Co-housing, cinema, cycling, and a coffin made of mushrooms

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Make a coat of arms for you and your chosen family, using symbols and colours from queer culture and history. Free , Margate. It's a collage workshop, all materials provided, led by Melo. Part of the Margate Pride Art Map. This Saturday, book here - www.eventbrite.com/.../queer-he....

eventbrite.com

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

My monthly substack about seaside heritage and culture is out. Folkestone Pride and Folk Week, news about a forthcoming Dan Thompson's Seaside History Club event, and for paid subscribers a sample of my new History of Margate pamphlet. danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/rich-and-s...

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

Rich and Strange

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

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

‘In memory of Pte William Gibson Clarke, 78th Btn C.I.F. who fell in France 10th Aug. 1918.’ The story of a once-forgotten First World War soldier. This year marks ten years of me sharing his story, after sitting on an old bench dedicated to his memory. mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2018/08/02/t...

mrdanthompson.wordpress.com

The life and death of William Gibson Clarke

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…

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Keith Harrison @keithharrison.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Really good to be at #WordsChangeThings (organised by @danthompson33.bsky.social) today. Got to talk about @thebaytrust.bsky.social #PinesCalyx, praise the #restoringnature aspect of @nationaltrust.org.uk 2035 strategy & show off @sulkrooms.bsky.social ‘Rewilding’ CD, among other things :-)

Margate Harbour Arm on a sunny day: Lightly rippling dark blue estuary waters, peppered with numerous bathing seagulls, form the bottom third of the image. From right to mid left, almost making a horizon, is a stone harbour wall with small colourful boats in front and a series of brightly coloured sheds on top of the wall. At the left end of the harbour wall rises a slender lighthouse. The sky beyond & above is various shades of blue.

Words Change Things Festival chalkboard: A wooden a-framed chalkboard forms the bulk of the image. It is set on a largely tarmaced pavement with weeds growing at the non-roadside kerb. A set of stone steps rises behind the board, to buildings on the left. The chalkboard advertises delights of the festival venue: Thursday 7pm John Grindrod. Friday Secret Postcard Auction 11am - 8.30pm. Writer’s Space 9.30am - 1pm. Lunch 1-2pm. First Friday 6-8.30pm. MORE SATURDAY!

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John Grindrod @grindrod.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Thank you so much Margate! What a lovely group of people, thank you for having me along, for @caracourage.bsky.social for the brilliant interviewing and @danthompson33.bsky.social for inviting us to the Words Change Things festival

Three people smiling and posing against some bookshelves

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Books, ideas, and actions - Words Change Things is a mini-festival in Margate this weekend. Robin Ince, Ellen Jones, Dougald Hine, John Grindrod, Travis Elborough, Emily Buchanan, Christopher Beanland ... mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2026/03/19/w...

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Ah, lovely to hear from you - you in Margate?

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

I’ve made a little one-off literary festival, just to prove something to myself. Robin Ince, John Grindrod, Travis Elborough, Ellen Jones, and a bunch more stuff being added still - but here’s the first bunch of listings. Margate, first weekend in May. mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2026/03/19/w...

mrdanthompson.wordpress.com

Words Change Things – books, ideas, action – Listings

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…

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

An incomplete map of public art in Margate, including temporary and lost works www.google.com/maps/d/edit?...

google.com

Margate Public Art - Google My Maps

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

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Words Change Things. For one weekend only, a festival about books, ideas, and action. 30 April - 3 May, Margate.

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The Bay Trust @thebaytrust.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

March is here, and so are the early signs of Spring. At The Pines Garden, we watch the seasons closely - paying attention to what's going on around us so that we can plant and grow with the natural rhythms of the garden. 📍 The Pines Garden and Cafe: Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10m - 3pm

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

“If we’re going to change the world, the first thing we have to be able to do is imagine a better world. Hope lets that imagining happen." danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/the-ragged...

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

The Ragged Optimist 96

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

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

The 94th edition of The Ragged Optimist's weekly newsletter - hope, joy, and optimism to start the week, every week. danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/the-ragged...

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

This is for a three month residency initially. We'll review it after that.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Email artistsmakers@googlemail.com by Friday 6th March - just introduce yourself, your previous work, what you're working on now, and how often you'd expect to use the desk. We'll make an offer to one writer in the week after.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

What you write is up to you, and there's no expectation of any outcome - other than you write! We'd love it if you shared your work at a studio event, but that's not an essential requirement. This package is worth around £500, so could be used as matched funding.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Would you like a space to write, with sea views? Dan Thompson Studio are offering a desk at Marine Studios to a writer. You'll have your own desk, 24 hour access, seven days a week. Views over Main Sands, the studio is a five minute walk from the station, Turner Contemporary, and the Old Town.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Lost Margate is open 11am-5pm tomorrow, and I'll be doing an exhibition tour at 1pm, talking about what I put in - and showing some of what I left out, too.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Tomorrow is your last chance to catch Lost Margate at Pie Factory Gallery in Broad Street. Mixing contemporary art and historic artefacts to look at how Margate always reinvents itself has inspired lots of conversations over the weekend.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

'If I could only quit my job I'd join the hippy elite' www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhG8...

youtube.com

Hippy Elite

YouTube video by Billy Nomates - Topic

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Sorry about the state of my studio - setting up exhibitions at St Margaret's Bay, University of Kent, stuff for Off Season, up to Cov for a board away day, and this week opening Lost Margate - been a bit of a busy month.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

In The Guardian, talking about Margate and Londoners - 300 years of gentrification. www.theguardian.com/cities/2026/...

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Making hope normal again. Ten things, every Monday morning, to inspire hope and give you enough optimism to last til ... well, at least Wednesday. The Ragged Optimist's newsletter, 92nd edition. danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/the-ragged...

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

The Ragged Optimist 92

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.

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The Bay Trust @thebaytrust.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

We are officially open! As of today, our new cafe and visitor centre is the place to start your visit to the Pines Garden (and end it, too!). It connects the work of the Bay Trust, the story of the Pines Garden, and the heritage of St Margaret’s. 🌱

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

'There are still things worth fighting for. La Resistance!' www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttq4...

youtube.com

Stereolab - French Disko (Live on The Word)

YouTube video by Stereolab

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I'm working on an exhibition in Margate, inspired by a collection of poetry. It takes the idea that different waves of people who’ve arrived in the town mourn a different version of the town, as it is constantly rewritten by newer arrivals. mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2026/01/10/t...

mrdanthompson.wordpress.com

The town that forgot itself

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…

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

View from my work digs this week. The White Cliffs. Although now it's dark, it's just a big fat moon, the rippling English Channel, the sound of waves on the beach. www.cottages.com/cottages/st-...

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Thank you - I shall try and spend more time on here!

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

It's not all shit. Incredible things are happening in the world - rewilding and nature restoration, new ways of doing things, people making the world better, lots of beavers. Get ten hopeful things in your inbox, every Monday morning, for free. You'll be happier. open.substack.com/pub/danthomp...

open.substack.com

The Ragged Optimist 88

It's getting better all the time

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Dave Barnard @dave2012barney.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

We have enjoyed mooching about Rochester today, bumped into @danthompson33.bsky.social and had lunch in Tiny Tim's.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Feel like you need hope and optimism and maybe even a little bit of joy? Every week, I collect together ten hopeful and happy news stories and drop them in your inbox. It's free, too. Subscribe for some ragged optimism. danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/the-ragged...

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

The Ragged Optimist 87

Have you got your 2026 diary yet?

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Margate Zine Fair at Marine Studios was F U N ! A bunch of great people, all doing interesting work.

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Dr Heidi Colthup @heidi-colthup.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

I'm really pleased that this year I introduced a zine making workshop (run by the amazing @danthompson33.bsky.social) into a Media module. Making stuff with your hands, writing by hand is more important now than ever if we want to fight against the ongoing enshitification of everything.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

I do turn up in some unlikely places.

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

It was a really interesting event - a very intense audience.

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Keith Harrison @keithharrison.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Really nice exchange with @jonwoolcott.bsky.social last eve. I only knew of his upcoming #HillFigures book thanks to a @grindrod.bsky.social repost… his Monstrosities Mon Amour series features @danthompson33.bsky.social who was working with me at @thebaytrust.bsky.social today. Happy linkages :-)

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Ian Middleton @ianmiddleton.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Lovely to catch up with @danthompson33.bsky.social at the Marine Studios in Margate and to meet all the other artists, poets and creatives working there. Part of the East Kent Open Houses project

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

The Ragged Optimist has published his 71st newsletter, a start-the-week bulletin full of hope, joy, and optimism - architecture, rewilding, science, art, music and other wonderful stuff so you can start the week in a good mood. danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/the-ragged...

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

The Ragged Optimist 71

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

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John Grindrod @grindrod.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Monstrosities Mon Amour is on a summer break, but will be back soon. In the meantime I can’t believe there’s already nine episodes! What a lot of cheery chat about unloved things johngrindrod.substack.com/podcast

johngrindrod.substack.com

Monstrosities Mon Amour | John Grindrod | Substack

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...

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Dan Thompson @danthompson33.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

It was fun to be on this. Even if the car ride was a little bumpy. Sorry, John.

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Voltage Poetry Project @voltagepoetry.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

The temptation to mention (again) that @danthompson33.bsky.social wrote the liner notes to my #WesternVerses EP is too strong… he’s guesting, not for the first time (see Arlington House in #Iconicon), with @grindrod.bsky.social in the latest of the latter’s Monstrosities Mon Amour.

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