gimaju.net

On baking

I’m not much of a cake eater (most of my cakes are made in order to use things up) but I do enjoy baking, and the new series of The Great British Bake Off being screened on BBC2 has rekindled my cake-making enthusiasm. I don’t really enjoy watching the programme – there’s too much opportunity for public humiliation for my liking, and I haven't really learnt anything from it, other than that Paul Hollywood appears to consume a great deal more salt than I do – but the final results look fantastic and you can always pick up an idea or two about new ingredients.

• books
• cooking
• creativity

Type high

I’ve just returned from a three-day course at Central St Martins in London. I went last year on their 100 Design Projects week-long course and I found it very… challenging, shall we say. It confirmed my feeling that I am not an artist but a designer who needs to create within certain constraints.

This year’s course, run by Helen Ingham of Hi-Artz Press, was much more to my taste. A short introduction to letterpress printing, with a chance to try out compositing, printing with metal and wood type and using a couple of different machines, it most certainly provided constraints to work within!

• creativity
• design
• print
• typography

In memory of my friend Kay

It’s been longer than I’d like since I last posted here, but the last couple of weeks have been a little odd. Nearly a fortnight ago my friend Kay Dekker died, and I’ve been trying to put something about him into words. continue reading

• friends

On camping

We have just returned from a few days’ camping in Wales. Camping is an acquired taste, I know: some people love it, some can’t bear the idea. When I was 10 I went camping with the Guides in Knebworth. When I returned I sat with my mother at the kitchen table and said: ‘I don't care if I live to be a hundred. That is the worst weekend I will ever spend in my life.’ continue reading

• cooking
• holiday

A genealogical map

A few weeks ago Dave and I went to London to see Peter Brötzmann play at Café Oto in Dalston. It was a great night (except for the fact that the pre-gig interview overran somewhat and left us no time for a proper meal), and we’d booked a hotel not far away so we had a relaxed wander back there and didn’t have to rush for the last train. The next day I insisted that we walk into central London along the New North Road, Shepherdess Walk and Bunhill Row. It was a lovely sunny day, and I wanted to see some of the streets where my ancestors had lived and died. continue reading

• creativity
• design
• family history
• maps

On beginning a blog

One reason I’ve not started a blog until now is that I have never been particularly happy with my prose. I don’t enjoy writing where you can see the join. With some writers you can see the cogs working: you can visualise them sitting at their desk, pen in mouth, staring out of the window, reaching for the thesaurus, grasping for the right word. With some you could even describe their prose as laboured. continue reading

• creativity