Midsummer

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

How do you write a Substack? I was thinking about how I do it, and realised I think of it like cooking a meal. Sometimes improvised from what is in the cupboard and/or fridge (topics I’m interested in) and then I add what is seasonal out of the garden (what is happening in the world today).

I’ve promised a Substack on building trust (it is one of the things that is in my cupboard and not ripe yet). This one is mostly ‘garden’: a selection of positive stories I’ve been harvesting.

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In the UK we have a new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. While campaigning for his seat in parliament, and later to be Leader of the Labour Party, he focused on positive visions of the future - positive things that the country could do, not just what is wrong.

This is a welcome change from the usual narrative about how everything is hard and every government decision will be painful. Being in government is always challenging, perhaps even more so today in such a rapidly changing and complex world. This will be something to watch with interest as it plays out.

https://www.positive.news/society/come-dine-with-us/ About the Long Table in Stroud (from Positive News). The Long Table is local to us. We’ve eaten there (paying it forward), and we also contribute excess fruit, vegetables and jam.

I loved reading about what David Attenborough he says has helped him live to 100 – especially spend 10 minutes each day quietly in nature to your mind:

Although Attenborough no longer makes long treks through natural surroundings, as he did during his younger years, he still makes time for nature walks. During these walks, he engages in quiet observation in an effort to promote mental well-being.

(An image of David Attenborough in a natural setting | The Guardian)

“Sit down. Don’t move. Keep quiet. Wait ten minutes. You’ll be very surprised if something pretty interesting didn’t happen. Doing that in a woodland, if you haven’t done it, it’s extraordinary. Don’t get too impatient, either,” said David Attenborough.

If you can’t get into nature, you can still explore the sound of forests around the world from your computer or phone. Search on the map for the forest you would like to listen to and then just enjoy.

There is one from a forest less than two miles away from me and there are examples from parts of Indonesia I have visited. Do share where you listened and how it made you feel in the comments.

From The Progress Network:

More people worldwide say that their communities are accepting of minorities and immigrants, a long-term pattern of improving perceptions that is linked to a positive outlook on life overall.

From Fix the News a wonderful story about reclaiming the Gobi Desert in China. The project started in 1978 and struggled at first as they learned what would work. But then they learned from their failures:

Except, people learned. Mixed plots replaced monocultures with more suitable, climate-adapted trees and the government started paying local farmers to keep plantings in arid areas alive. The now-famous straw checkerboard technique was widely adopted, and the deserts started being pushed back. Fast forward to today, and China’s desertified land has shrunk by around 10% since 2000, and severely desertified lands have decreased by more than 40%. A cumulative 320,000 km² has been restored, equivalent to the size of Italy. It’s the greatest land restoration project of all time and we’re still waiting to see someone write about it in the New York Times.

And this from the BBC, about Hungary under new leadership:

Hungary’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar made good on the election promise to reform the media and “the end of propaganda forecasts”.

Hungary’s main public television channel has halted news broadcasts, while a state-run radio station has been suspended altogether, in a bid to make its media “independent and trustworthy”….

Both TV channel M1 and Kossuth radio station temporarily halted transmission on Tuesday afternoon, with the former displaying a message that read: “Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long”.

The message, which was shown in white writing on a black screen, continued: “Public media now will be reformed so it will be independent and trustworthy. Our news programme is currently suspended. Stay tuned!”

Global hunger is falling! Good news:

Global hunger fell for a third year running in 2025. The United Nations puts 645 million people below the hunger line, 7.8% of the world, down from 8.6% in 2022 and 14 million fewer than in 2024. Asia and Latin America drove the gains; Africa, home to 309 million hungry people, is only just beginning to stabilise. WFP

For the rest of July, I have plenty of harvesting (and processing the harvest) to do) which is always joyous for me, albeit often hard work.

Hoping that wherever you are, you’re finding some time to emulate David Attenborough and spend a little quite time in nature. Enjoy!