Looking Sideways: 10 Things
2024. Blimey. How did that happen? Here are ten things I thought were worth sharing at the beginning of a shiny new year.
1. Despite not posting for a few weeks, I’ve picked up a load of new subscribers recently, probably because I started posting on Notes a bit more regularly (hit me up on there if you’ve also experimented with the Notes format).
If you’re new here: welcome! And maybe start by reading this recent post (above). I took some time off over Christmas and New Year (had a lovely time in France with friends and family) but I’m slowly getting back to normal service (starting with a Looking Sideways episode with legendary skate photographer Skin, and a special listener-question episode with Thomas Campbell, both coming in the next few weeks).
2. This has been doing the rounds, but Kelia Moniz’s measured explanation as to why she’s leaving Roxy, and what this says about the state of the surf industry, is very worth watching.
3. Via the excellent Simple Magic, which is very worth a subscription: Heath Kirchart was on Hawk vs Wolf, and it was a little bit awks.
4 Congratulations to my pals Hannah Bailey and Lesley McKenna on their brilliant new film.
As I said after I watched the premiere at Kendal, ‘Thrawn is such a beautiful, generous, multi-layered piece of work. Sure, its about Aviemore, Scottish skiing, Lesley’s incredible influence, activism, and climate change. But it’s really just a joyous ode to community and friendship, and I’m so proud of Hannah for having the vision to bring it to life in such a lovely way’.
This is a must-see - watch it above.
5. Two contrasting snowboarding perspectives to consider: friend-of-the-show Chris Moran’s tongue-in-cheek article for Whitelines (read it here), asking whether snowboarding has peaked (which kicked right off on Instagram)….
6. …and this short from my friends at Db, which uses Ethan Morgan’s DIYX shindig as proof that snowboarding has never been in ruder health.
7. Congratulations to Pete Geall, one of our finest surf writers, on the publication of West, his new Cornish surf anthology. West includes short stories from Pete, and photos from fellow clever Cornish creatives such as Imogen Allen, Jack Johns and Luke Gartside.
Buy your copy here - it’s a tenner, and as I frequently say on the podcast or on here, supporting beautifully hand-crafted work such as this really is a vote for the type of creative world we want to inhabit.
8. Last November’s interview with Gavin Fernie-Jones, about his citizen-led activism, certainly got listeners thinking. Listen here if you’ve yet to hear it, and click here to read Gavin’s typically measured piece on the debate about artificial snow currently playing out among French Alpine communities.
9. At the time of writing, this Combined Sewage Overflow pipe (above) has been spewing a mixture of rainwater and sewage onto the beach opposite my local for over 200 hours. Surfers Against Sewage are organising a protest at the spot (Kingston Beach in Southwick) at midday on Saturday January 13th - hope to see you there. As a wise man once said, ‘whatever side you’re on, shit in the sea is not good’. Amen to that.
10. Finally - my thanks to loyal listener and reader Tim Russell for sharing this completely beautiful 1971 live version of Sweet Thing by Van Morrison. A proper January timeline cleanser, and no mistake.
Thanks so much for supporting Looking Sideways! It’s so appreciated. To say thanks, click the link below to get 20% off a paid subscription - forever!
Thanks for the share! May none of us ever invoke the wrath of the Kirchart glare.