It's important to check out any art in your local area, particularly when it's site-specific art. I'm fortunate to be able to visit Ely Cathedral regularly. At the moment, there is an exhibition of sculptures from Sean Henry.  I'm going to enjoy encountering these artworks numerous times over the coming months of the summer term. It's called 'Am I my brother's keeper?'. They are all figures of different scales made from a range of materials. Sean Henry says “I am very excited to be exhibiting my sculptures in and around the ancient space of Ely Cathedral and grateful for the opport ..read more

This is a classic book and in the top ten books I have read if I was pushed. This is the edition I have in paperback. It was written in 1967 by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I first read this book 40 years ago, the year after the author won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I read most of his other books as well. Some people prefer a later work 'Love in the time of Cholera' but there is a great deal of geographical interest in this book as well as the author's characteristic "magic realism". There are some remarkable descriptive passages and memorable characters: notably the mysterious Melquiade ..read more

  May the Fourth, and the Ordnance Survey has created a map of locations where Star Wars scenes were filmed ..read more

  I've been connected with the RGS-IBG for quite a number of years in various ways. In 2007 I became a Fellow of the RGS and Chartered Geographer (Teacher) and have been ever since. In 2008, I was awarded their Ordnance Survey Award for excellence in Secondary Geography Teaching. This was a proud moment and came at the culmination (I thought) of my teaching career as I was joining the Geographical Association and stepping out of the classroom. I didn't realise I'd be back again within five years. I had also spoken at the RGS as part of a student day - with Alastair Owens actually - altho ..read more

In 1982, I saw the Pat Metheny Group play live for the first time, on the 'First Circle' tour. In November this year I will see Pat for around the 12th time, playing solo in Barbican Hall for the London Jazz Festival.  Here's a few earlier tours of note: 'The Way Up' (2005) Song for Bilbao (2002 ..read more

A new version of the classic board game 'Catan' is coming out soon. Various websites give different dates. It can be pre-ordered from a number of places. I'm definitely interested in this... It’s the 21st Century and Catan is at a crossroads. Long gone is the agrarian society of the island’s Viking ancestors. Today’s Catanians need energy to keep society moving and growing, but pollution is wreaking havoc on the island. You must decide: Invest in clean energy resources or opt for cheaper fossil fuels, potentially causing disastrous effects for the island? CATAN – New Energies is a brand ne ..read more

  A reminder of the Zoom backgrounds that the BBC has shared which include sets from sitcoms and other locations, to add a cultural sense of place to your Zoom calls... Anyone recognise this hotel bar ..read more

A new website which will explore the geography of 'the North'. There's a Twitter account to follow as well ..read more

  Watched this tonight on MUBI. It's a lovely meditative film following the life of a toilet cleaner who likes routines, and noticing... and trees... His routine keeps getting interrupted by various events. There's plenty of little vignettes of the city... and a sense of lots of lives intersecting briefly... and other relationships built by repetition. Very much a quotidian story and a personal psychogeography of Tokyo based around toilets, an underground noodle bar, and the laundrette... and a weekly exchange of film and photographs. This review nails it: “Next time is next time, now is ..read more

I was entering reports onto the school system recently while listening to Spotify. I came across a song by a band called Andromeda which came into my feed. The song is called 'Survival of the Richest'. I checked out the lyrics. It talks about Boxing Day and a slate being wiped clean... and I realised it was referencing the Boxing Day tsunami. Refugee camps were set up for the local people whose houses had been destroyed by the water. Tourists were able to return home. Check it out ..read more