Thursday 19 March 2009

Are you keeping calm and carrying on?




Nice story in The Guardian today about the spread of the poster you can see above – from Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland to the world…

You can read an account by one of the owners of Barter Books on her own blog too, which gives a bit more detail, including reference to the worst kind of approach to ‘intellectual property management’ by one of the copyists.

There’s something I love about this poster, something about it that captures an aspect of Englishness I cherish. (Just like Barter Books actually, a fantastic shop in an old railway station building.) There are times the Francophile in me wishes we were always jumping to the barricades and striking. But actually – perhaps as I get older? – I think there’s more to be said for persistence, stubbornness and simply cracking on and making sense of your part of the world in order to change the whole. It's very different from the 'stiff upper lip'. I could probably relate this to an acceptance of systems thinking and resilience if you really want, but time is short. (I will get back to resilience as promised but need to carve out a couple more hours!)

2 comments:

Mark Wallace said...

In terms of the Adaptive Cycle, I'd venture that the response above might be appropriate for the Conservation Phase.

But perhaps this one might be a bit better during the Release/Reorganisation Phases?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbeltjones/3365682994/

(and the artist released it under Creative Commons, too.)

Thanks for a continuing good read

Mark

Mark Robinson said...

Like it. There are lots of versions around - one of those endlessly adaptable formats. (i feel a list-poem coming on...)

Glad you enjoy the blog.