102: Potatoes in April
Hello and welcome to Border Crossing issue one hundred and two, thank you very much for supporting my writing, it means a great deal. Sorry this is a week late.
xx
gems
1
John Higgs’ new book Exterminate! Regenerate! The Story of Dr Who came out this week. It’s the first time Higgs has chosen a topic that I wasn’t already reasonably culturally interested in, but that hasn’t been an issue. His arguments and storytelling both always win — and this an absolute belter.
2
Ash Sarkar (at her best) with an exceptional full-length (90 minute) free-ranging interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates for Downstream.
3
Bill Addison’s essay for L.A. Times on the perfect martini. I have my opinions but a very enjoyable read.
4
In between other activities Twitch streamer Baino Baino Baino reads aloud the works of Virginia Woolf.
5
Carole Cadwalladr goes back to TED. Courageous or foolhardy or both. An important listen, though.
potato gem
• Aldi has recalled its ‘Inspired Cuisine Baby Potatoes’ (with herbs and butter), because of a milk allergy risk.
• Also this was funny, in The Onion: ‘Trump boys hook dollar bill up to a potato to mint crypto’
Worth a note: noticed around the UK a burst of new potato vans and jacket potato pop-ups. I’ve spotted various local items from Dundee to Norwich to Reading and other places, not to mention the other day walking past a jacket potato stall in Brighton that I’ve not seen before. Perhaps there’s a tangible connection between the ubiquity of spud franchises and global economic turbulence.
project basic potato
With the delightful Charlie Peverett of Birdsong Academy (who is now doing something important at Sussex Wildlife Trust as well) I’m attempting one of the most basic, entry level tasks of kitchen gardening, which any yoof ought to be able to do: growing potatoes.
We’ve both planted seed potatoes (Charlie picked them up I believe at Lewes Seedy Sunday) and will sporadically document the process. Here’s my setup for starters, a big cloth growing tub thing and a massive bag of compost. Charlie left both of these on our doorstep the night of our wedding anniversary party, which was an excellent gift to arrive home to, drunk.
Are you up for growing some potatoes along with us, especially if you haven’t grown food before? You’ll need to get on it quickly but if you give it a go, send me pics and I’ll include them here as we go along. If it works out, if we (and you?) succeed in growing, cooking and eating our own potatoes (in my case, for the first time) I’ll do a zine about it. We all win.
•
get in touch
email: chris@christt.com
Instagram: @cjthorpetracey
always there
Try my other newsletter Double Chorus which is irregular short essays. It’s what I think about when I think about music.
Check out the Border Crossing Press shop.
Find out about my Creativity Counselling service.
My Pact Coffee discount code is CHRIS-A8UKQG. Sign up for coffee bean delivery, use this code, you get £5 off and I get £5 off a bag.
Thanks again. Look after yourself and your people.
All my love,
Chris
x