Panglossian Times #3 🚲
A monthly newsletter in which I share findings in design, tech, art, travel and business with the world. Sign up here
Have you been away? Drop me a mail! I’d love to hear about it.
I’ve loved this summer. I spent some time in Portugal in June, cycling the Camino from Porto to Santiago de Compostella. It was extremely tough. 6 days, 250kms, 9am-7pm, not set up for bikes at all in places. Having organised the whole thing I had no one to be angry with at the low points. Rather annoying. Nevertheless I had planned it wanting a challenge and ultimately it was a brilliant experience. You get stamps along the way from churches and cafes to prove that you’ve done the distance. A minimum of three stamps a day is required to get your certificate at the end.
The network spreads all over Europe. I later spotted the yellow scallop shell that marks the way in both Luxembourg and Antwerp. The route is well sign posted so no need to constantly pull out maps. I stumbled upon an initiative, Oikoten whilst planning — over 350 young offenders have walked the four month journey from Belgium. If they arrive, they’re allowed to go free; “A walk is medicine. Prison is not.’’

The last hurrah of my summer took place on Saturday. A big birthday needed celebrating so I organised for us to go to France for lunch. To get there we took a private plane, which sounds grand but because of wingly.io, it was surprisingly affordable. Essential the platform is Uber for planes / Bla Bla Car of the skies. It connects pilots who would be flying anyway (to keep up their hours) with passengers.
We touched down in Le Touquet from Woking in under 50 mins and then hired bikes to cycle from the little airport into town. Switching air space over the channel and suddenly hearing a French accent over the airwaves was pretty special. If you book, my recommendation is to read “Going Solo” by Roald Dahl before you go; an account of his time in Africa, followed by stories of flying for the RAF during WW2 with very limited training .

This week’s designer…

Malika Favre. Her clever, seductive illustrations create a world I always think is waiting to be brought to life. Which is what happens here [4.35 mins] WATCH

This newsletter is powered by Bread und Butter . Sign up to receive it here
