Oh, people should get this! Andrew’s photography is always wonderful: he works out how to get just the right angle to make the buildings beautiful and sometimes abstracted to just a pattern.

Today is publication day for my new book. Bristol’s modernist & brutalist buildings are rarely celebrated. Some are listed, many are threatened, a few are already gone. This book is a record and an appreciation of the buildings and the era that made them possible. www.eberlin.co.uk/store/p/mode...

In this month's “Chance favours the pre­pared mind” Jotter: JR finds a camera Luck isn’t something that happens to you STRAT_SCRAPS The lucky timing of a George Shaw exhibition A heart-warming TV show Bread of Angels One shared instinct Work www.brighterside.co.uk/news/monthly...

With the NCP going into administration this 36 page zine, created in collaboration with Elliott Sargent and Tom Benjamin, is a very timely celebration of the car parks of Bristol. www.eberlin.co.uk/store/p/car-...

I could stare at this for hours. 450 rolls of film made into a psychgeographical collage of Venice by Sohei Nishino: www.michaelhoppengallery.com/viewing-room...

One of the most inventive photographers of our age, Jack Davison, made some portraits last November and they will be exhibited at the Cob Gallery (London) for the next month. Go if you can. He will help you see differently. www.cobgallery.com/exhibitions/...

I agree. 5* www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

Wow. One of the most joyful, imaginative and best gigs I’ve been to in all my long years. David Byrne at Cardiff Arena. And yes, he did play the hits.

In this month’s ‘getting lost’ Jotter: 10 lessons from an artist Design genius Margaret Calvert Stopping at a red traffic light can be good. We will never be ready for the next technical revolution A lightbulb moment Factory tours are good Cleaning www.brighterside.co.uk/news/monthly...

“Don’t come here looking for a good time – you won’t find it. But come looking for pure, unapologetic, undiluted, full-frontal love, grief, heartache and sadness, and you will end up feeling more feelings than you’ve probably felt for years.” www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

I liked the latest email from Bob Hoffman about marketing to Gen Z etc. "Dear Marketer, before you get all hysterical over the horses**t the hustlers and dimwits are peddling about Gen Whatever, please remember this: There's as much variation within generations as there is between generations."

I get lazy with looking. I glance at things and think I've seen them. I was reminded of this while reading Martin Parr talking about his photo, Conservative Midsummer Madness Party, in the final book published before his death, Utterly Lazy and Inattentive. www.brighterside.co.uk/news/i-get-l...

“… the Southbank Centre amply demonstrates, brutalism’s real power lies in its buildings: things of supreme heft, surprising beauty and audacious ambition.” www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

There is still some good news in this world. The "thrilling hodgepodge" of a Southbank Centre has, at last, been Grade II Listed. Well done @c20society.bsky.social for your persistent campaigning. Here's a few photos: www.eberlin.co.uk/buildings/so...

One of the earliest images taken for the project What Happened Here which then became the book. Available at www.takeagander.co.uk/-/galleries/... Note how the backing of the expired film I used has left frame counter marks and stippling visible in the sky.

Business is simple - have a great product, make your customers feel special and earn enough profit to carry on. All my favourite businesses follow this mantra. Heres’s my first - Vitsœ. www.brighterside.co.uk/news/busines...

Wayne McGregor: Infinite Bodies at Somerset House - an inspiring choice. It's good to visit a type of exhibition I wouldn't normally go to. An absorbing exploration of movement and music. www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/way...

After listening to Those Rio Snappers, I’m taking a nostalgic trip through mid 80s indie bands. Here’s the Chesterfield’s classic Ask Johnny Dee. I once saw them @arnolfiniarts.bsky.social supported by Automatic Dlamini (possibly featuring a certain @pjharvey.net) music.apple.com/gb/album/ask...

It's our first Bristol Modernist walk of the year on 20th Feb and you can book here: the-modernist.org/products/all...

Sometimes an unintentional thread weaves its way through the Jotter. This month’s links encourage you to write a postcard rather than text, volunteer rather than doomscroll, browse in a bookshop rather than buy online, go to a cinema rather than stream. www.brighterside.co.uk/news/monthly...

I’m three weeks into a very enjoyable Urban Sketching course. Taught by Andy Gray, who is both enthusiastic as well as very good at explaining how to sketch to people like me who haven’t drawn since Art ‘O’ Level. An extra-curricular drawing of The Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston

“When people first saw it, they couldn’t describe it. And if people can’t describe something, they become very uncomfortable.” The magnificent and quirky Gradel Quadrangels, Oxford: www.eberlin.co.uk/buildings/gr...

A revamp is better than demolition. (Photo July 2023).

For fans of Bath Fire Station (e.g @westcountrymodern.bsky.social), this will be a fascinating tour. www.curiousmindsfestival.co.uk/events/walki...

“We think democracy is the flag, the ability to vote, or words in the Constitution. It is not. Democracy is an idea, an ideal, an agreement. Once you decide evidence does not matter if it hurts your team, you have already lost the thing you think you are defending.” om.co/2026/01/26/d...

Excellent news. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Cheese Lane Shot Tower is perhaps the most unique looking building in Bristol. A striking landmark amongst the modern boxes on the banks of the Floating Harbour www.eberlin.co.uk/buildings/ch...

Another post-war Catholic Church in danger of demolition. Future generations will shake their heads at our idiocy if this mini-Liverpool Cathedral turns to dust.

Just announced - The Race For Space at Alexandra Palace, a 10(+1) year celebration. Join us if you can, please (and bring a friend). www.youtube.com/watch?v=udeP... Pre-sale starts 10am on Monday 26 Jan; general sale starts 10am on Thursday 29 Jan. FAQ here: www.patreon.com/posts/148198...

J. Willgoose, Esq. entertainingly explains why @psbhq.bsky.social are playing Ally Pally and why we all really should go: www.patreon.com/posts/148198...

The Grade II listed former Herman Miller Factory on the opposite side of the River Avon in Bath. Built in 1966 for the Bath Furniture Company, which became part of Herman Miller, until the late 90s when it was left vacant and vandalised. It now houses a Lidl and other retailers.

Bath isn’t all Georgian crescents. This is the Grade II listed high-tech Herman Miller Factory. Designed by Terry Farrell & Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976 as the ultimate flexible space. So much so that 40 years later it was transformed from a factory into the Bath Spa University School of Art & Design.

“If you were to remove ambition from the core of Robert Jenrick, he would collapse like a boneless chicken.” Matthew Parris.

In last week's newsletter I mentioned an exhibition in Bristol. The lovely people @themodernist.bsky.social are offering a guided tour in Feb. Extremely limited places. More details here: the-modernist.org/products/bau...

The first newsletter of the year is out! Would anyone like to buy a brutalist church in Somerset? Plus news of a 1930s cinema reopening and some exhibitions and events. Huge thanks to @eberlin.co.uk for permission to use his photographs of the Good Shepherd.

Always a good read.

Prompted by @westcountrymodern.bsky.social excellent write up, we had pit stop on our way back from Lyme Regis to appreciate The Amulet in Shelton Mallet. www.eberlin.co.uk/buildings/th...

Some golden tips for creativity here: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Here is what I have enjoyed listening to most while I’ve worked and played this year. www.brighterside.co.uk/news/favouri...

“When I go to the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol, Martin sits contentedly in the corner, looking at books, looking at photos, calling out questions, getting up to reach another book, then offering to make everyone tea.” From the introduction of Utterly Lazy and Inattentive by Wendy Jones.

A space with so many possibilities is for sale in Bradford on Avon: thespaces.com/who-will-tur...

If you’d like to show your support for saving the Church of the Good Shepherd as a community space, please sign this petition. Thank you. c.org/qCdhWyxBHG

Church of the Good Shepherd, Batheaston. Permission has mistakenly been granted to demolish this rare example of brutalist architecture in Bath. I was invited inside with a group of people who are exploring an alternative future for this empty church.

Wes Anderson Archives at the Design Museum. Do go. It’s very good. If you like him that is. If you don’t, you probably won’t.

Oh good, the albums of the year have started. Time to discover some good music I've missed.

Happy 40th birthday to The Point in Milton Keynes. Britain's first American style multiplex cinema and under threat from the wrecking ball... www.eberlin.co.uk/buildings/th...

It's a good one. The first of 24 essays from 'I thought about that a lot' chimes with my sentiments about where to spend time at Christmas: www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/2025/christm...

A little bit of variety is good for us all, which is why protecting one brutalist building amongst the Georgian splendour of Bath is a good idea.

A trip to Dulwich beckons. observer.co.uk/culture/art/...

“When I die, please say just that: that I died.” observer.co.uk/news/columni...