Hello and welcome to Diagram Club #052.
This week: There’s a diagrammatic pep talk for you, and more Cafe News than you probably really want. Also a back-to-basics cycling picture, and newly-drawn line breaks, tending, as they tend to, towards the miscellaneous.
Thank you to Diagram Club Paid readers, who make this newsletter possible. If you can join them - I’d like that.
Cycling cartoon of the week
Nothing especially clever and profound about this week’s cycling drawing, but perhaps there doesn’t always need to be. This is a newly-edited version of ‘Why we love cycling’, from my book From A to B, published by Bloomsbury. I’ve been using this image for some work I’ve been doing this week, and I don’t think I’ve shared it here in the newsletter. Not that I have, say, a spreadsheet to tell me.
Pep talk cartoon
For whoever needs to hear it.
Feel free to send this to whoever - I’m planning to post it on my social media accounts soon. You can always share this newsletter!
Cafe News (1): Volunteering
I have, after a bit of a break, a double dose of Cafe News for you.
Part one: I did some volunteering, and annotated the photographs.
I am greatly privileged to have received team-issue kit, aka an Essex Wildlife Trust polo shirt, and an access-some-limited-areas lanyard, and this was its first outing. I was a steward for a theatre production, trusted with particular responsibility for uneven ground, and the avoidance thereof. I was free to use whatever medium to communicate this message to the public, and mostly chose words and mime.
We have a lot of fun it must be said, and I really did enjoy doing some in-person volunteering.
Cafe news (2): The final cup of redbush tea
My favourite afternoon beverage, as mentioned in Diagram Club #[look it up Dave] is sadly being discontinued at the Cafe. All [both] avid readers will remember that I’ve kicked up quite the fuss about this, but I’ve now accepted my redbush-less fate. This week was the final cup, which Sue kindly saved for me, but I did have to get in there quick before Fred sold it to some other Dave. To mark the occasion I asked for some Redbush feedback: Chloe tried a cup (‘It doesn’t taste as red as I thought it would’) and both Yasmine and Chloe agreed that it smells like Pets At Home (gerbil bedding).
The Cafe, with its brilliant staff and volunteers, is, in real life, Essex Wildlife Trust Langdon.
Please support your local nature Wildlife Trust location or other nature reserve. Why not become a member, or see what events they’ve got coming up?
Information about things happening at a festival you’re probably not going to
We’re off to the Greenbelt Festival this weekend. I thought I’d post a couple of things friends of mine (who also happen to write Substacks) are doing there this weekend, just too late for anyone who is actually going to read about them:
[Substack: Off the Rails] (who wrote the text to one of the most popular cartoons I’ve ever drawn) has a session titled ‘Waking the Women’, also the title of her book, which is about faith, menopause, and the meaning of midlife. Jayne has done a huge amount to support me, and this newsletter when I was getting going, and I’m so pleased she’s at the festival. [Substack: The Murmuration] is talking about ‘Can one person change the world?’, about a new book she edited, The Climate Diplomat. Grace challenges me (in a good way).And, as previously mentioned, I’ll be hosting an ‘In conversation’ all about the National Cycle Network with author and journalist
[Substack: Potholes and pavements - the bumpy ride continues] tomorrow at 12.30pm. Really looking forward to it. I’ll see (a few of) you there!
Various pretty minor (in the greater scheme of things) admin announcements
Explanation about my competition winnings
My competition prize from The Overland, as mentioned in Diagram Club #051, arrived in the post. I’ve not had time to photograph and annotate the contents of the package, and will do so another week, but in the meantime take a look at their range and sign up for emails, or follow them on Instagram. Thank you!
You can now upgrade to Diagram Club Paid through the app store
A new technological development. I think it might cost a tiny bit more, but this isn’t info I can look at, oddly. Diagram Club Paid makes this newsletter possible, so if you quite enjoy it and would like to support this endeavour joining Paid is the way you can.
Gift subscription button
It’s orange, as buttons here always are.
My church cartoons
You’ll find them on the Facebook page for my church cartoons, as posted by my ace team, who you don’t really believe exist, but actually do.
Colour of the week (filler), concluding paragraph
Redbush tea red [Editor: We might have had that. DW: It’s fine, no one will remember.]
Well, that’s about it for now. Thank you for reading. I hope you have a good weekend, whatever you’re doing. I’ll be in touch soon with number… let’s think, #053, I suppose. And that should be next week, all being well. See you then.
Dave
—
Sharing button you can skip past.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Diagram Club to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.