WINTER 26 NUTRIENT

Nutrient: (noun) a substance that provides nourishment essential for the maintenance of life & growth. 

Here are Jolene's for Winter 2026/

The London Review of Books

A couple of years ago our flat was used as a location for the TV adaptation of Andrew O Hagan's book Mayflies (yup, Ashley Jensen has been in our bed!). I don't really read much fiction, but bought and devoured the book, and then went to see him speak a few months back and he is such a beautiful human and wonderful raconteur (he was promoting his book called 'On Friendship' which I also highly recommend). I heard he is the editor at large at the London Review of Books, and so decided, as an act of rebellion against the fast-paced, digital, non-human-created world we are all living in, to subscribe to "Europe's leading magazine of culture + Ideas". What I (secretly) love most about the LRB is not the very clever long form essays, but the very entertaining classified ads in the back. 

The Change, Channel 4 

I am writing this as a hormone depleted 49 year old who just tried to get into a gig at the Art School in Glasgow using the Tesco club card on my smart phone's 'wallet' app as my ticket, so it is no surprise that I absolutely ADORED Bridget Christie's two part sitcom The Change when I finally got round to watching it (Mil loved it too). I especially love the fact that after years and years of rejections for acting roles & commissions, Bridget got this green lit the year she turned 50. There's a lesson there! It's emotional, witchy, has a great sound track, and touches on themes that are so relevant to modern life, as well as being very funny and featuring such a great cast. I know I'm probably late to the table, but if you've not already watched it, GO! 

Birdvox (music) 

The gig I mention above was my wonderful pals Birdvox (who happen to wear our PJs as their stage gear). As a former wannabe pop musician who has played countless gigs in countless venues, it still feels radical to have all women in a band. If you like the sound of "Born from a mutual love of birds, harmonies and kitchen discos" then check them out. 

Here are Mil's for Winter 2026 

Essex Road Trip

It's been a busy few months, and since we last posted I have given up teaching, which has been a big part of my identity (and income!) for the last 25 years. I have always enjoyed it, but the time felt right to dedicate myself more fully to ISP, so we celebrated my new-found 'flexible-working' potential by driving south (on the hottest day of the summer?!) to cat-sit for 2 dear pals who kindly lent us their home in Essex for a week. We planned to work on our new Irregular Business School (just about to launch... watch this space) and thought it would be fun to do this in a new space, without the regular distractions of packing orders, studio admin etc.

We broke the journey for a night in Leeds (which immediately felt great) after a visit to Salts Mill, a massive former Victorian woollen mill complex, just outside Bradford. Wow! Now renovated into an amazing mixed use space - gallery/retail/food&drink/workspaces - Salts Mill houses an incredible collection of original David Hockney pieces (he seems to have been heavily involved in the restoration) alongside the work of others. It was lovely to be reminded of his endless fascination to explore new media and technologies... an early example was the large scale collaged artwork (many metres tall and wide) which resulted from his exploitation of the fax machine (1970s?) to send individual 'tiles' from one coast of USA to the other in real time, the artwork assembled in real time in the recipient gallery space!

Also went to a fun show of work by Phill Jupitus at the excellent Minories Gallery in Colchester, where we bonded over our love of Barney Bubbles, thanks to my brass 'DIY Splash' badge.

Fashion, Music...

I have just bought a copy of 'On His Royal Badness: The Life and Legacy of Prince's Fashion' by Casci Ritchie which I'm looking forward to reading, and it turns out she is giving a talk about this at Edinburgh's excellent Dovecot Gallery on Dec 3rd... maybe see you there? (Jolene and I saw Alexis from Hot Chip doing a DJ set at Glasgow's SWG3 venue a month or so ago, and he ended with a mix of His Royal Badness's 1981 banger 'Controversy', which is obviously massive... I vividly remember seeing the video for this when it came out - I was 14: yup, I'm that old - and feeling simultaneously confused and excited. Still do!)

We recently caught the excellent Everybody Digs Bill Evans at the cinema. In case you dont know that name - I'm sure you do - he was the guy whose distinctive piano playing set the tone for Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, and led his own groups with a string of impeccable albums until his untimely death, aged only 51, in 1980. This stylish biopic features great performances, great cinematography and obviously a great soundtrack. Dig it, hepcats!

... & Design

I've just discovered the new podcast series 'That's a Keeper' from the beautifully curated 'I cant afford this but perhaps she can' the long-distance shopping list of French artist Malika Favre and British creative George Wu, two close friends and fellow design lovers. The premise of the podcast is that George and Malika interview a creative maker/designer, with a focus on 3 objects which they hold dear... currently enjoying the very fun John Booth, whose work we love.