It felt important to put another link in the chain today even though I didn’t feel like talking much. Processing… processing… processing.
Shock is a weird thing, it will be interesting to look back on this once it’s passed. Thanks to all who came to Tuttle this morning to share their experience of shock, grief, acceptance, tolerance and love. More will be revealed!
Also I need to experiment more with this new camera so that I’m not all out of focus 🙂
Today I moved into Lower Marsh – this consisted of me showing up and acquiring a set of keys and having an introduction to the various security measures. Then there was lots of walking around the space, poking things, thinking, thinking about where stuff could go, thinking about what to keep and what we might need.
Then we (me, Rachel and Dan) wandered up and down the terrific array of street food stalls and settled on some Pad Thai which we ate at a little table outside the hardware shop while we got to know each other a little better.
I took a wander up and down after lunch and checked out which spaces in the street have free wifi. An important point – there are lots of places that only take cash, but there are no cashpoints/ATMs – bring cash with you!
We need to get the phone line and wifi working in the basement but otherwise we’re in.
Come and see me. I’m not keeping regular office hours yet but let me know if you’re going to be passing through Waterloo and if we can say hello, we should!
Resistance loves distraction – there are so many other things to think about, read about, talk about rather than sit down at the page and write something useful. But one anti-resistance trick is to write a little bit about resistance, at least that gets all my fingers on the keyboard at the same time and pulls me towards getting some thinking flowing in a unified direction. So in case any of them haven’t occurred to you and you’d like to pick them up yourself, my current distractions are (in just any old order):
OK. Let’s see if that helped.
From Monday 20th, all being well, I’ll be starting to work from the Concrete Basement in Lower Marsh (home of Anthony Epes and some new friends) – I know I’ve been down in the basement there before sometime, perhaps one of you can own up to also being there, to help me with my failing memory…
Lower Marsh is a great little street that’s feels like it’s been on the edge of gentrification for as long as I’ve been hanging out in London. That feeling might be accelerating a bit at the moment (key indicator: new, funky coffee shops) but isn’t that everywhere? And it’s been remarkably resilient given that it’s slap bang next to Waterloo Station. The other plus for me is that there are three major theatres and the Southbank Centre all in walking distance.
Anyway, that’s where I’m going to be hanging out for the time being. I shall kick off with some self-appointed Social Artist in Residence stuff, for the space and for the street, but I shall also be focusing on getting Tuttle consulting going again and hoping to use local venues for Open Spaces looking at the human experience of work, technology, economy ‘n’that. Other ideas for collaborative projects always welcome.
Please come and see me, bring exotic teas, stories of “one time, I was in Lower Marsh and…” and perhaps something small but inspiring to put on the wall or sit on my desk.
Five years ago, when I decided to go nomadic (and ended up living and working with others around the country for the next twelve months) it was largely because I’d realised that while I needed somewhere to live, the place I was in wasn’t working for me and it seemed that nothing in the market was really for me either. I didn’t want to move out of London for good, but I also didn’t want to stay. I didn’t want to live on my own and I didn’t want to move in with someone else (yet). I didn’t want to get a job and I didn’t want to work on my own. I wanted something else but I found it really difficult to articulate what it was. But I did find it over time. I found stimulation in the variety of people that I worked and lived with. I found rest on the road, knowing each time that I was moving again that new possibilities were opening up.
So now I’m settled, I like where I live, I’m married again, but I’m restless around work. I’m mostly working from the dining room table and sitting in coffee shops (or theatres!) and I’m feeling the need for a workplace that goes beyond the basic needs of desk, power, wifi. I need people and I need space to host in. I think of new invitations for open spaces and unconferences practically every day and they include working through some of the ideas around co-operative knowledge work with #tuttle that I wrote about before I went to America last month. I don’t know whether anything among the current crop of co-working spaces might be close enough – I definitely want to be part of a community rather than just another desk-renter.
I don’t know much more, but I was reminded by a wise friend yesterday that my best work comes when I express as much as I know and let others fill in the last 20% rather than trying to hide away until I have something finished.
So help me fill the gaps in this. Or y’know, put your earbuds back in and get back to what you were doing.
Perfect Path 