simple pleasures

Today I've had a really good day. It was clear and bright outside, warm but not too humid, and I was able to wear my favourite flip-flops without slipping or sliding in the rain. I took the train over to Glasgow in the morning, venturing out with all the young revellers who were travelling over to the TRNSMT music festival taking place in Glasgow Green.

First I visited the Glasgow Zine Fest at the Centre for Contemporary Arts. There I learned about a rich and many-decades-old zine culture, about which I'd only ever been vaguely aware. In the theatre space there were dozens of zine creators selling their wares. It inspired me to check out the Mad Zines project, which “explores how Zines ‘craft contention’ about mental health – and can help to turn individual struggles into critical issues for society.”

From there I moved on to the Glasgow Mad Studies meetup group where I met with S. for a lovely long chat about work, siblings and family, states of mind, books and tv. It was a quiet meetup with just us two, but we enjoyed our conversation and I feel really happy to have made a new friend.

Simple pleasures in the land of Madreality: short and sweet, fun and fortifying. Here's to many more like today.