Happy flippin' new year

Hey ho, faithful reader!

It is I, the writer of a newsletter so infrequent you may have forgotten that you'd subscribed to it. I hope 2026 finds you thriving but I expect it finds you hanging on by your fingernails and using curse-words on the regular - or is that just me?

Anyhoo, it occurs to me that you might need a little cheering up (or at least a calm space in the swirling vortex of shite that we all find ourselves in) so I've assembled some things that might just take the edge off a bit? No promises. The only promises I make these days are of the dark sort you mutter under a full moon while filling a hollowed out potato with the toenail clippings of your mortal enemy. This isn't that. I promise.

Unhinged? Moi? Well, who could blame me? We live in interesting times.

But I owe you some cheerfulness so here's what I got.

Not all heroes wear capes

Late last year something whimsical and unexpected started to happen in a local park that I walk through on my way to work, indeed the same park in which I encountered The Toddler Who Would Not Be High-Fived.

These odd little chalk drawings started turning up.

One, and then another. Sometimes there were 3 or 4 of them dotted along the path that skirts the edges of the park. Always the same cutesy style. Always with a punny and uplifting message.

Before you know it I was actively looking for these on my daily commute. Sometimes parking my bike up for a few seconds so I could snap a picture. Work colleagues would alert each other to the presence of a new one and then go out looking for it. For a brief moment in time we had our very own highly-localised chalk-based analogue Pokémon GO.

Now, I will admit that these things were extremely twee and everybody's twee tolerance is different (there are people who enjoy Wes Anderson films, for instance whereas I, look, I just can't) but the overwhelming vibe of these was just... charming?

And then they stopped.

The last one I saw, a little while before Christmas was a happy sun wishing me, and everyone who saw it a "sun-sational day".

Eventually it rained and the sun disappeared.

No happy ladybugs or upbeat vegetables, or inspirational canned goods replaced it. We had, it seems, had our time.

I like to imagine this mysterious chalk artist loping along with a wooden stick slung over their shoulder, a bandana filled with chalk pieces knotted to its end, making their way to another suburb, spreading their cutesy joy in a different park like some kind of artsy Littlest Hobo.

The artwork is obviously gone but the thing that has stayed with me is simply this; somebody took the time to make something that would bring joy to others. They did this anonymously with no expectation of thanks or reward or renown. They made silly little drawings with the thought that they might make someone smile. They bothered.

As cynical as I can sometimes be, I found myself surprisingly touched by this. Moved, even. And I genuinely got a little lift from these on days when I really needed it.

It can be really easy to give up and not bother in the face of overwhelming awfulness (says the woman writing a post for the first time in months) what with all the soul-destroying cruelty and ennui and whatnot. But sometimes it really is as simple as listening to the chalk donut telling you not to give up, or the coffee cup telling you to "espresso yourself".

Be the chalk art you want to see in the world, I guess?

More flippin' whimsy - Fashion edition

At the age of 51 I have purchased myself a ridiculous pink tulle skirt that fills me with unexpected amounts of joy. I'm telling myself this counts as "re-parenting" since 7 year old me would be thrilled.

It's the sort of garment best suited to a garden party, or a ballroom dancing competition. Naturally I am wearing it to the supermarket, the school run etc. I invite you to find whatever your version of this is and lean the fuck into it.

In the picture below I have paired The Skirt with a t-shirt from Dinosaur Therapy.

Have I mentioned that I go hard when it comes to Christmas?

This is the most Christmassy outfit I have ever managed to put together and that's saying something because I don't typically hold back. Sequins? Bold colours? Antlers? Accessories that jingle? All par for the course. This below is my festive Magnum Opus.

Also, just in case I need to go to any protests that are anti-fascist in nature I thought I better be prepared.

And I tell you what, looking at myself in the mirror and indeed, busting out some dance moves in the outfit below induced a solid half hour of hysteria of the best possible kind. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I haven't worn this one to work... YET.

So yeah, I hope that this has helped for a moment. Still a lot to be getting on with, of course. But it's not a luxury to look for and find these moments of respite, it's a necessity, dear friends.

If you feel inclined, chuck anything that you're finding joy-inducing in the comments. I reckon we all need it.