KW-46 Sweet November Jam

and a message from our sponsors.

I often start to write these newsletters by reading the one from last week to see what wild claims I might have made for the workload this week. Mostly because it is 6am and I have no idea what I did this last week. I know I did a lot, because my left shoulder is a bit frozen. But we have tea and toast and home made jam, so we’re all good on that front.

This has always been one of my favourite trees on the barracks. It stands alone, in the shade, just outside the loft. This photo is 5 years old.

I did make jam this week. This might seem like a weird thing to do in November, especially in a year which was as awful as it was in the fruity parts of the garden, but I can explain! Way back in July when we were picking gooseberries and redcurrants and rhubarb, before the frost damage to the orchard was apparent, I thought that jam making might be a thing that we would do together at the Collapse Laboratory. There are always many more ideas for activities than there is time to do them, and we eventually decided against it. But not before we had filled the freezer with about 20 kilos of berries. We did have a moment at the Lab which required people to self select into two randomish groups for an activity the next day and we did this by offering either a green or a red smoothie shot. The one you chose determined your group. Cunning like a berry loving fox, eh? Other than that, they have been sitting in the freezer waiting jamification.

Generally speaking, I don’t like using freezers. I wouldn’t like it if we had a surplus of electricity generation and storage enough to last the whole winter. It has always struck me as an off way to carry on. If you are relying on an uninterrupted power supply to make sure you don’t die in the winter, then I would say there is a gap in your philosophy.

Otherwise, I spent the majority of the week lumping wood from one place to another and raking leaves. The daughter thinks that this might be related to the frozen shoulder. I think I’m just getting old.

same tree. Today

Looking back over the work list from last week, I also made mention of planning for the Collapse Lab next year. This happened, and went well. I had nearly all of the calls that I meant to, just dropping one right at the end. Sorry Brian. We shall call very soon!

And also: There is another “collapse lab” adjacent project that took a step forward this week, more than excitingly. And I might need some help with it. I am going to need a (remote work) person who would like to donate maybe two hours a week to the Barracks. I don’t want to say exactly what it is, because jinxing and all that, but if there is anyone out there who would like to help with a really exciting (potential) project spanning time and space, then get in touch. It would be helpful if you have some experience co-ordinating tech and live performance. If you have spent time as a DJ, if you have run a desk in a theatre or a recording studio, or if you have any experience in radio, that sort of thing, then absolutely you are the sort of person that we need. Or, if those things sound like something you want to get into, and you have ideas and are committed to doing something in the sphere of deep adaptation or collapse philosophy, then it’s definitely you.

And so next week.

• I rather like the idea of documenting the last 6 years of the barracks through the visual medium of tree photos. I’ve planted over 1000 of the things since I have been here, and they all have stories, some of them have memories, a few have meaning. I think that would be nice. Sadly, I’m not a great photographer, and tragically, my camera is shite. But we might give it a go

• I did clean out the wood store as much as I wanted, and I got within a hair’s whisker of making the shelves for the tools. So, progress towards round wood timber frame fabrication. Onwards with the same!

• More calls and discussions and planning. I think we are going to design a poster to try to advertise this newsletter. Get the word out. Like I said, the best way to get paid subscribers here is to get free ones. So I’m all about adding free subs, and letting them make up their mind after that. If you have access to a printer, and an idea where you could put a poster in the view of people who might be interested, let me know! Also, if you want to design the poster. Hehe :)

Finally, a word from reality.

This newsletter is deliberately non-political. Or rather, it attempts to exist in a world beyond the headline-inflected troubles of a civilised life, and instead to enjoy the troubles of a very ordinary, boring one surrounded by vegetables. But this life of mine is an attempt to be authentically connected with the questions of climate collapse, and when the biggest democracy in the world goes and appoints someone of such profound climate ignorance¹, then it kinda needs to be addressed. Once, once only and fleetingly. I promise, other than the fact that a life lived is inherently political, this is not going to become a newsletter overly concerned with what makes it into the news media. And so -

At the Collapse Laboratory this year, the participants, genuinely and without leading or direction from me, after a week of pretty intensive immersion into the subject of collapse, came to one primary conclusion amongst many other insights. And that is that it might actually be better for humanity if collapse happens suddenly as opposed to attrittionally.

I guess my thoughts this week have very much been You should be careful what you wish for.

I hope you can forgive this uncharacteristic political adjournment with a cute photo wot I took of a rather skinny duck

Between this week and next week, I trust that I can rely on you all to take care of each other. And if I may, some pirate advice. Don’t talk politics. It’s not worth it with people you agree with, and especially not people you disagree with. Hug it out, folks. Life is lovely.

As ever, your loving

Pirate Ben

xoxo

Currently Reading

The Overstory by Richard Powers.

I’m maybe 100 pages in, and we have had a whole bunch of independent family and circumstantial histories of people who appear to be more or less contemporaneous and with some powerful connection to a tree. So far, it appears to be the book that I have been looking for. High expectations.

1. Also a lying, swindling, racist, rapist, grifting plutocratic reality tv star.

Damn. I promised myself not to go there.