First of a new era

I haven’t written much on here this year – and I miss it. I’ve largely been writing on LinkedIn about work stuff, where it is much easier to get attention. I understand from my ex-Channel 4 colleague Jen Topping of Business of Television that Google has rendered blogs practically invisible – I can’t tell if that deprioritization is true. Whatever the case, I am in the mood to write again, whether it’s for the void or not…

I was in Waterstones in Sutton High Street, Sarf Lunden the other day, just mooching around with my Other Half, enjoying the lemon-coloured walls in some rare December sunlight, the exotic tea and the option to flick through the books whilst sipping it, when I came across a book of Stoic philosophy comprising a quote a day plus commentary. ‘The Daily Stoic’ is probably useful at this particular juncture in human history and television evolution but I didn’t agree with a lot of the thoughts of Seneca, Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius that had been selected by Ryan Holiday (author of ‘Ego is the Enemy’ which seemed a bit amateur when I started reading it but perhaps he is a more serious writer than I give him credit for). However, what the quotations lacked by way of inspiration, the format made up for. It gave me the idea to try to write a post here a day from now till next Christmas Eve with a not-the-usual-suspects quotation and a short commentary. So here’s the 1st. I spotted it on Facebook on that mooching day… 

a Nick Cave quotation

I was struck by the realisation of just how powerful live music is – that a group of individuals can come together and concoct a sound unique to them, and that people can connect with that distinctive vision as if it were their own experience. I could feel its moral quality – how this singular force has the capacity to repair the world with its goodness.

Live music is something very close to my heart. Here singer-songwriter- musician Nick Cave is recounting going to see one of his first stadium concerts, Radiohead at the O2, London. (As it happens, seeing Nick Cave at the O2 was one of my live music highlights in 2024.) Among a crowd of 20,000 he “was stunned by the depth of love in the room”. His reference to its “moral quality” really resonated for me, as did his phrase “repair the world” which reminded me of the Hebraic phrase “repair the world”/Tikkun Olam which involves acts of social justice, improving society, and restoring divine light in the world. It derives from rabbinic texts and prayers, rather than the Bible itself. The concept emphasises humanity’s role in creating a better, more just world through acts of kindness and service. 

With Midnight Mass just five hours away and this very challenging year limping across the finish line, this seems like the perfect time to focus on kindness and service, and goodness.

May 2026 be a year of goodness for us and our world…