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An alternative A-Z of Empire

Last Sunday I went over to Norwich for a nice Sunday roast, and then to Norwich Castle. The long awaited keep restoration project has been delayed again and so it is still not open after around three years so far. I came across a piece which I hadn't seen before as it has been installed since my last visit, called 'An A-Z of Empire' by the Singh Twins that caught my eye. It's a light box with coloured panels offering an A-Z of Empire with some alternative facts and rhymes about places and events linked with colonialism. It would certainly make a talking point with groups. Here's a description from the Norfolk Museums service: The Singh Twins describe the concept of the jigsaw puzzle – a single image comprised of many separate but interlinked pieces – as symbolically representing the nature of colonial history as a global story; individual but interconnected narratives shaped by different experiences and viewpoints. The Singh Twins describe the purpose of the work a...
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Sport and Soft Power

Thanks to Bob Lang for the tipoff via LinkedIn to this post. Dr. Paul Widdop shared the 2025 Sport and Soft Power ranking following 15 months of research. The full report can be read here. The study examines the relationship between sport and soft power, the outcome of which is a global ranking of the world’s most powerful countries in this regard. The ranking, which is based upon the involvement of sixty experts globally, consists of twenty-five countries that have been assessed as being successful in accentuating their attractiveness through sport. Undertaken over a period of twelve months, ten criteria were used as the basis for this ranking exercise. Here are the Top 25 countries. Source, report and methodology:  https://publika.skema.edu/sport-soft-power-ranking/

Feedspot Top 40 Blog

Apparently Cultcha is one of Feedspot's Top 40 Geography blogs , along with my LivingGeography blog. I'm not sure how they work these things out. There's one blog included where the most recent post is dated in 2018 - naming no names ;)

Families like ours

I've blogged over on LivingGeography previously about Thomas Vinterberg's Danish series which looks at a very plausible future. The BBC have acquired the rights to show the series. Families Like Ours (7 x 60 minute episodes) is set in Denmark in a not-too-distant future where rising water levels can no longer be ignored and the country needs to be evacuated.  As people disperse in all directions, they must bid farewell to what they love, what they know, and who they are. Slowly but steadily, everything changes. All property becomes worthless, all fortunes shift, and luck favours only a few. Those who can afford it travel to affluent countries while the less well-off depend on government-funded relocation to more challenging destinations. Families, friends and loved ones are separated. Some are overcome by hatred and division, while others nurture love and foster new beginnings. Against this backdrop the story introduces Laura, a high school student in love for the first time ...

Author copies of new iGCSE book arrived

Good to see this arrive, and put it on the shelves of the GeoLibrary.  Well, it was over a year ago that we started work on the 4th edition of the Collins textbook to support the teaching of the updated Cambridge iGCSE Geography specification (0460). I worked with an excellent authoring team - who stepped up early on when it was reduced from the original size. Over the weekend, author copies of the book finally arrived. It's always good to have the physical object in your hands.  The cover is a little 'minimalist' for my liking but is the style used for a range of books for other subjects published by Collins. There were a lot of people involved in the production of the book including the author team who stepped up when we lost two authors early in the process. There have been many hundreds of hours of working on edits and updates and several drafts and proofs.  The textbook will be accompanied by a Teacher Guide and a Workbook. These are due to be published in April I be...

Sanctuary IV

Looking forward to hearing the 4th instalment of Robert Reed channelling early period Mike Oldfield with the help of the mighty Simon Phillips.

Tour de France to start in Scotland in 2027

Excellent to see that the greatest sporting event is coming to the UK again in 2027. The world’s biggest bike races, the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, will both take place in the UK in 2027, marking the first time both the men’s and women’s Grand Départs will take place in the same country (outside France). England, Scotland, and Wales are all set to host stages of this famous event in 2027, making it the largest free sporting spectacle in British history with millions expected to line the streets for the return of the Tour de France, and to witness the first ever staging of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in the UK. The men’s Tour de France will begin in Edinburgh, Scotland. Further route details for both the men’s and women’s 2027 Grand Départs will be announced in the Autumn, with the focus on maximising the opportunity to showcase Britain’s diverse landscapes alongside the nation’s enthusiasm for cycling and inspiring as many people as possible through ...