Forests and oceans act as carbon stores, buffering the atmospheric increases caused by human activity. Those stores are now faltering and making the prospect of more extreme climate change a real possibility. These issues aren’t solely down to buildings, of course. But while the construction industry can’t do much about vehicle emissions or global farming practices, there is a solution it can adopt which will help begin the long process of turning the ship around.
Read MoreBefore the Collapse?
One tweet shared around a bit might receive a thousand views, yet the number of people who go to the trouble of clicking through and visiting a link in that tweet is astonishingly, pathetically small. Small as in, single figures small; and a stark reminder that however 'social' our media is, often we are basically talking to ourselves.
Making a Concerto-ed Effort
Which just goes to show that no matter what length of career you’ve enjoyed, what milestones you've reached or achievements you’ve unlocked, sometimes a creative task has to be reduced to its basic components.
Age is Just a Numbers Game
Few people get excited at the prospect of watching their twenties recede into memory. Most worry about the loss – however symbolic – of things like 'youth', 'freedom' and 'carefreeness'. They see their hopes, dreams and potential disappear over the horizon, careering all the while toward a middle age perceived as inescapably mundane.
Time Waits for No Writer
Summer can’t ever have lasted long enough for our hunter-gatherer ancestors - though I’m sure early humans were grateful not to have to alter their sun dials twice a year - but I wonder if their perception of time was similar to ours.
Getting Funny About Rejection
I had no God-given right to be judged near the top, of course. But where this competition differed was that We Said Go published every single one of those five hundred entries on their website. People had the chance to read what I submitted, and positive feedback led me to think that I’d made a breakthrough. This time, maybe, I was in with a shout.
The Glamorous Writing Life
Assuming our only time off is weekends, 20+ holidays and the occasional public holiday, then we have to work all day and write when we get home throughout the year. In which case, is it better to have a dull job that doesn't challenge us or a job that requires us to use our creativity?
Write on Time: a Blog Under Construction
TheWritingMan.com has gone live - which I guess means the blog has too! As befits a man who works in the construction industry, I'm still laying the foundations for what The Writing Mandate will become.
East End Enchantment
I’m here to watch two films about food, ironically (though neither mentions yams). The second one is a Danish film about a French chef who cooks for a puritan religious community. The first is my favourite, however. An American documentary about the most celebrated sushi chef in Tokyo: Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Read MoreAin't No Mountain High Enough
A hail shower came and went, as if simply teasing us into thoughts of turning back when it knew we would force ourselves forwards. Small accumulations of snow had found a way to grow between the rocks. Imperceptibly the scene changed and we trekked across the ice planet Hoth toward our goal.
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