Cultural Geography Blog

I own quite a few items of clothing from Simon Carter. This is a clothing brand which was started in 1985, so is 40 years old this year. They feature quirky prints which are made in small runs often based on early printing blocks and designs. My brother in law has a shirt which I've borrowed a few times over the years. It was created in 2004 according to this piece in the Charles Close Society newsletter.  I've been looking for one for at least 15 years! Charles Close was a former President of the Geographical Association. The Ultimate Novely Suit Under this headline of 29 January reported that designer Simon Carter had teamed up with Ordnance Survey to produce shirts and suits decorated with OS mapping of the North Norfolk coast ‘with the addition of a few cheekily placed “Carter” locations’. He also offers a bespoke service tailoring clothes with maps of the wearer’s choice. The garments are apparently available from House of Fraser and, although £400 for a suit is beyond his...

I was sad to hear of the passing of the photographer Sebastião Salgado earlier this week: the Brazilian photographer and photojournalist. His work was amazing, and he took the time to explore several themes which were geographical in nature, whether the exploitation of mineral resources, the Amazon rain forest ('Amazonia') or the experiences of migrant labour. One of his most impressive projects was the book 'Genesis'. Between 2004 and 2011, Salgado worked on 'Genesis', aiming at the presentation of the unblemished faces of nature and humanity. It consists of a series of photographs of landscapes and wildlife, as well as of human communities that continue to live in accordance with their ancestral traditions and cultures. This body of work is conceived as a potential path to humanity's rediscovery of itself in nature. He was also the subject of a film made by Wim Wenders.

Out to Cinema City in Norwich yesterday to see the new Wes Anderson film on its opening weekend (and a week ahead of its UK opening). It was another typical Wes Anderson film, with his usual precision, symmetrical framing, brightly coloured cinematography, back-and-forth dialogue, detailed typography on signage and mapping, and unusual, dark humour.  The opening credits are a vertical look down at a bathroom where Zsa Zsa Korda, the main progagonist is bathing after surviving a plane crash - another assassination attempt. After these he briefly goes to heaven where he meets various characters including God, played by Bill Murray.  I also liked Michael Cera's performance as Bjorn. Source:  https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a64793713/wes-anderson-phoenician-scheme-sets/ Image: TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved. Here's the trailer, which gives little away of the actual plot. I also picked up a free film strip which were being given away on the op...

I've been adding posts to a blog about the GCSE Natural History since the specification was first given the go ahead back in 2023. It's had about 40 000 page views which is not too bad, given that the specification isn't yet approved. There's also a Facebook page  with over 800 members - the interest in the potential new specification is there. I've just posted the 450th post, which is cross-posted below. This is a visual representation of a thread that Mary Colwell recently posted on X (which I try to avoid linking to). She has started to realise what those of us involved in previous curriculum innovation know tends to happen when they come across the desks of those who shape it so that it will fulfil OFQUAL's thinking about what makes them examinable on a large scale.  The OCR Pilot GCSE Geography was the most innovative examination I ever came across, and had the chance to change things in the longer term. The people developing it were able to keep a great ...

Aimee Mann is one of my favourite musicians.  'Til Tuesday haven't performed live for over thirty years! This weekend they performed as part of a music festival which also included Nick Cave on the bill. His recent tour was epic in its emotional impact. Someone was there to video the set. Here's the final song, when the stage actually rotated as they played the final song, as they overran a little. I hope a tour will follow. It would be good to see Aimee play live again.

I've been watching Public Service Broadcasting play live for quite some years now... they keep getting better and their live shows have also evolved. Each album has a concept or theme. Their latest album: 'The Last Flight' tells the story of Amelia Earhart's last flight. This gig went on sale on Wednesday this week. I was in straight away on the pre-sale and managed to get seats before it sold out... this is going to be excellent. The month before I am going to see Sigur Ros at the Royal Albert Hall, also with an orchestra. What's your next live music going to be?

A few weeks ago, I went to London to see Yann Tiersen in concert at the Barbican Hall. His music has been described as minimalist, avant-garde post-rock. He started the concert with piano pieces from his latest album. This is an album of two halves: one solo piano and one electronics and beats. My son and I went to the Q&A he did before the concert where he talked about his music and his commitment to low carbon touring. He played one piece from the film that he is perhaps most associated with: the 2001 film 'Amelie'. My wife and I visited Montmatre where this was mostly filmed over the Easter break, I saw the film on release at an arts cinema in Sheffield and have loved it ever since. Follow your interests...

The maestro...  I've blogged about his music numerous times... here's a small taste...

In the paper today was an image from Zed Nelson's book: 'The Anthropocene Illusion'. It's a painted wall in a zoo, but who is the painting for? Not the occupant of the cage... On his Facebook page, Zed says: After six years of working on ‘The Anthropocene Illusion’, the project (and I) have won the Sony World Photography Award 2025 .  It couldn’t be better timed with the book coming out on May 15 (on pre-sale now) .  Lovely to get some love and real support at a nerve-wracking moment in the project’s launch. . The short summary is: ‘While we destroy the natural world around us, we have become masters of a stage-managed, artificial ‘experience’ of nature - a reassuring spectacle, an illusion.’ In a tiny fraction of our Earth’s history, we humans have used our power to exploit the Earth and other animals. Scientists are calling it ‘The Anthropocene’ - the age of human. Since the industrial revolution we have broken our ancient bonds with nature and devastated the natural...

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