May, in pieces
My favourites from a month of heatwaves and high culture
A scorcher of a bank holiday weekend and a run of some of the best cultural events London puts on all year - May has been one of the most fun months I've had this year.
Here’s a roundup of my faves of the month - and for members - the things that got me thinking.
Favourite Book
This month I continued my read into the Booker International Shortlist and those books were good (you can see my thoughts on them here)- one in particular was great but it was a re-read of The World is Full of Foolish Men by Jean de la Fontaine* that stands out as my favourite read this month.
A whole set of short fables on human nature dressed up as animal stories. My favourite this time was The Little Fish and the Angler, which ends with:
"A bird in the hand is reckoned Worth two that you haven't yet shot. The first bag's certain, the second Is not."
Is this where the saying “bird in the hand” comes from?
Favourite Lecture
I went to a handful of in-person lectures this month from fairy tales and folklore to whether AI is an existential threat. All of these got me thinking but it was a 10 minute Youtube documentary that was the most useful: Hard Problem of Consciousness by David Chalmers.
If you have been following the AI consciousness debate at all and feel a bit lost about where to begin, this is the place to start. He splits consciousness into two kinds of problem. The 'easy' ones - how the brain processes information, why we pay attention to one thing rather than another - we can at least get a handle on. The hard one is the one nobody can crack: why there is any subjective experience at all. Why it feels like anything to be you. Watch this and you’ll have enough to hold your own at any dinner party conversation that turns to whether AI is conscious.
Favourite Day Out
Team, I did it. I’ve finally given in to the old lady inside me, and spent an entire day in 30-degree heat at the Chelsea Flower Show. It was one of the three big events in London I made it to in May (more on the others below), and honestly it was perfect. Plants, Pimms, a brass band playing the Spice Girls. I’m not sure what would have made it more whimsical (and yes, I think the word here is entirely justified).
I came home with sunburnt shoulders, a journal page full of plant names I will never actually grow, an unnecessary purchase (confessed below) and the smug satisfaction of someone who has finally accepted who she is.
From the Dressing Table
Guys the heat is REAL and so I have been on the hunt for a SPF spray that can go over makeup. My requirements are quite specific here: it can’t cast a white film over my face; it can’t be too heavy; it must be SPF50 (that image of the man with half a sun-aged face will haunt me forever); and it must be cooling.
I think I found it. The best one I’ve come across is the cheapest as well - from Boots. If you have any other suggestions please let me know!
From the Desk
I’ve been loving my Delphonics* pouch recently.
It may be the colour, or the way it fits everything. Either way, being able to pop all the bits and bobs in semi-organised is genuinely helpful, particularly for long days and evenings in the park when all I leave the house with is a tote.
The rest of this post is for members of the Studio and includes the things that got me thinking this month - from essays and exhibitions to my favourite comment of May
To celebrate my birthday week (and yes, I celebrate for a week) I'm offering 10% off annual subscriptions for anyone looking to make a bit more room for their own thinking this year.
