Thread by @artistsmakers

It's all a bit doom and gloom, isn't it? So - let's go back a bit. Twitter 10 years ago was a place of radical optimism and gentle activism. I want that back.

So, this week, I'm bringing you 100 happy & optimistic things.

No 1. Starting with my Leeds chums @PlayfulLeeds

If they were based in London, you'd all know them already. So - say helli, get to know them!

playfulanywhere.fun

No 2. From Northampton, @TheHappyHoodNN - all-positive community magazine, made with love.

thehappyhood.com

No 3. This has been cheering me up for more than 10 years. Build Me Up Buttercup.

No 4. When people ask if they can buy my book online (Pop Up Business For Dummies - yes, still in print) I always use a @hivestores link - shop online but support a local bookshop.

hive.co.uk/WhatsHiveallab…

No 5. Switch off your TV and do something less boring instead. But maybe watch @PotteryThrow first as it'll inspire you. Great to see something where contestants help each other and the judges are kind not cruel.

No 6. I know we all rubbished the Big Society, but actually it was about something important. Small, local charities helping fix local problems. Us doing it, not moaning about 'them' not doing it.

Making a real difference in Margate is @TheKitchen_CT9 - food waste cafe.

No 7. Twitter used to be real conversations, people finding common ground. It has collaborative not combative.

An early Twitter friend was @MarDixon who is doing brilliant work to open up museums. Give her a follow.

No 8. Over on the Somme is the @LochnagarCrater - a site preserved from the First World War as a site of peace, friendship and reconciliation. As a true memorial to the Great War, they want a Great Peace. Incredible place looked after by lovely people.

No 9. Another great friend made via Twitter is storyteller @betterussell - who after #riotcleanup gave her life to small acts of kindness.

She has made an arcade game with @arctic_sunrise which is brilliant and will get you out there being kind.

No 10. Another great little charity. @CrimsonWaveOrg in Rochdale are helping homeless women get what they need. Done with care and love.

So - that's ten optimistic, kind, caring things to follow, get involved in - or just enjoy the fact they're there. The world's not so bad.

No 11 - see RTs!

No 12. Cardigan is a small town of 4000 people. 400 of them used to make jeans. They made 35,000 pairs a week. For three decades. Then the factory closed. @hiutdenim reopened it. Brilliant story (I can't afford their jeans, though!)

No 13. Not saving factories, but saving independent shops are @1totallylocally - brilliant light-touch organisation that gives the power to local groups. Their beautiful aesthetic plus lots of experience makes a real difference to small town centres.

No 14. I believe that the arts have real power to change lives. I grew up, single parent family on a council estate. Local theatre @WorthingTheatre had youth technical crew - gave me purpose, place, friends, empowered me. So support local theatres like them, and @TheatreRoyal

No 15. And while we're on theatre - check out @ShopFrontCov. A theatre in an empty shop, championing new writers and genuinely engaging local people in their work.

And @NVBorderlines, from a long tradition of radical placemaking theatre in Newcastle, Staffs.

No 16. Local newspapers are dead, right? Here in Margate we have a NEW one! Went from online news to a brilliant, beautifully designed monthly print edition. Proper writing, good investigative stuff. @IsleThanetNews is an inspiration.

No 17. Keeps making the most beautiful books, that really celebrate what makes the East End special. In that celebration is a kind and gentle politics. Follow @thegentleauthor
and buy books here.

spitalfieldslife.bigcartel.com

No 18. Music is a great source of joy and optimism.

Follow @shemakeswar as she plays her last few gigs under that moniker. Great music, beautiful aesthetic.

shemakeswar.com/video-stargazi…

No 19. Follow @Dartford for some powerful poetry. Honest and raw.

No 20. @HooklandGuide is an incredible exploration of the politics of placemaking, finding the dark side of an imagined Englishness. Charming, quirky, clever but most importantly - entertaining.

No 21. Hard to become the flagbearer for a movement, but @soundcube and @SoniaBoue are waving the neurodivergent flag for so many of us. I love them both for being passionate, political, but still making great art.

No 22. About a hundred years ago, I started organising arts festival in Worthing. No budget, few contacts - what made it special were people like @caravangallery who took a chance, came for little money, helped raise the aspirations. Makers of best postcards ever.

No 23. Five years ago, I met a bunch of people in Stoke who planned to take a huge industrial building, turn it into arts centre and communal bakery. They did it, too. I love @_barts and @bread_in_common

No 24. At the other end of the scale, @gbPizzaCo started small, with a pizza oven in a camper van. Moved to shop in 2012. Still my favourite place to eat in Margate. But also big supporters of arts, of @MargatePride, of a kinder, more tolerant town.

No 25. @companyofmakers work with veterans to teach them skills to sew and make. They also make beautiful cushions from old uniforms, helping veterans talk about their service. Gentle, kind activism.

companyofmakers.com/shop/

No 26. 10 years ago, I was hanging out in London a fair bit. There were lots of people talking about being 'Changemakers'. Most of them tinkered with over-engineered vanity projects.

But the brilliant @LloydDavis rolled sleeves up, got stuck in, really understood.

No 27. If you're an artist you really should be an @an_artnews member. 25,000 members, it's a loud voice shouting about the real needs, concerns of artists - and a vital supporting framework for 21st century practice.

No 27. Another song to cheer you up.

Listen to this, and tell me it doesn't bring a bit of sunshine into a cold grey day.

No 28. Sharing great paintings every day. @EastLondonGroup have opened my eyes to artists I never knew.

No 29. Great little museum to visit, and brilliant at Twitter - you won't regret visiting or following @bexhillmuseum

No 30. Lots of attention at this time of year, but @PPUtoday fight for peace all year round.

No 31. There are some utterly brilliant people round the country, preserving niche archives and looking after overlooked culture and heritage.

If you're in Coventry visit the @ErnestBilko archive at @FargoVillage

No 32. I used to work with a genuinely brilliant graphic designer, Gez. He designed this branding for Revolutionary Arts (if it looks familiar, Obama Foundation stole it!).

He gave up design to do great things with Moleskine, Leuchtturm notebooks at @notedinstyle.

No 33. My favourite number! So have some more music. 6 Day Riot do Tusk.

No 34. I can't live without the seaside. And this book, from one of my favourite authors Travis Elborough, is charming, clever and will change how you see the seaside.

theguardian.com/books/2010/aug…

No 35. I mentioned Pottery Throw Down earlier. It's presented by the lovely chap @KBJWhitstable - who is a master potter, a real, honest craftsman.

His mugs are the perfect size for a good cuppa.

keithbrymerjones.com/mugs-cups/

No 36. I love people who love things. Really love things. Things others overlook. Ask @VintagePaperCo about Whatman paper watermarks. Go on, I dare you.

No 37. All that lovely vintage paper is in Orkney. So is @wrigleyandreel, set up by Wrigley Sisters. Supports young local musicians in a practical way, and provides a great live music venue, and does really good tea, too.

No 38. Imagine a really beautiful theatre, full of plays that are both relevant and entertaining, turning up on your doorstep packed in a lorry. Roundabout from @painesplough takes good theatre to places that don't usually get it.

No 39. I'm fascinated by the USA. It's both brilliant and utterly awful. Listening to @ThisAmerLife is a glimpse into the psyche of that strange place.

Here's a favourite recent episode, like an old Rolling Stone article but audio.

thisamericanlife.org/678/the-wannab…

No 40. A short comic tragedy. A writer pitches ideas to an unseen producer. @gbbrierley in 'Pitches'.

youtube.com/playlist?list=…

No 41. Grow your own.

inhabitat.com/ikea-launches-…

No 42. Another small charity making a big difference. @artsemergency want to get more Working Class people into the creative industries. Seeing more people like us raises aspirations, gives us wider horizons, let's us speak up and contribute more.

No 43. For about a hundred years, @lucysiegle has been gently nudging people to think more about the environment, and to take action. Not as dramatic as Greta, but with years of nudging has made a huge difference. Follow her for more good stuff.

No 44. The Great British Countryside. Not far from where you live is a field. Go and stand out there. N

No 45. Burn the books! Close the library!

One of the best bits of community organising, ever. As Leo said, 'don't accept the premise of the question'.

No 46. The only chance we have of reversing climate change? Incredible climate changing machines.

There are free ones here - you just need a small bit of land (small garden size) to install one.

tcv.org.uk/communities/i-…

No 47. Another brilliant organisation, @livingstreets run brilliant and effective walk-to-school programmes.

Have also made a good case for pedestrians being better for town centres than free car parking.

No 48. From the tragedy of Amy Winehouse's death came @AmysFoundation, run by her family with real love and care. Has done good work in schools, and supported lots of young musicians.

No 49. I think everyone in Sussex or Hampshire has been on a school trip to @WealddownMuseum. An incredible collection of relocated buildings, a repositry of nearly-lost skills.

No 50. Right now, we're witnessing the biggest, boldest pro-European movement the continent has ever seen. Never have people fought so hard, stood together, like this.

Celebrate with some lovely stuff from @tattydevine

tattydevine.com/collections/eu…

No 51. Lots of serious stuff in this list. Uplifting, enlightening, empowering but serious.

So, follow @IMcMillan for something lighter. A quirky look at the world. Makes me smile.

No 52. Another brilliant musician, but also asking powerful questions about national identity, heritage, culture.

And more recently, finding way to be artist and parent. @emmy_the_great is awesome.

No 53. Artist, writer, musician... all-round good chap. Follow @AdrianCrick.

No 54. A model of an arts organisation embedded in place. @MetalSouthend are behind @estuaryfestival and @villagegreenfes, offer great residencies for artists, support young musicians. Other people should learn from them!

No 55. Travelling a lot around the UK, I love a good indy bookshop. They are sanctuary for weary travellers and food for local minds.

Try @margatebookshop, @bigcomfybooks, @WithnailBooks (or tell me about your local one).

No 56. Another podcast. Back in the early days of Twitter (memories of which started this thread), @stephenfry was *our* celebrity. Engaging, witty, kind. This podcast is him at his best.

podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDov…

No 57. 'We were excited that the ordinary was coming back.' The English landscape is beautiful, but has been massively over-managed. Rewilding really excites me!

vimeo.com/371146029

No 58. One of my favourite books. Eddie Campbell's The Fate of the Artist.

goodreads.com/book/show/3484…

No 59. The future's here. 500 illuminated drones make incredible lightshow, like something from a Mick Farren scifi novel.

No 60. When artists and bees get together - you get local honey from @WildMargate.

Find some that's local to you - it's really good for you and you'll be supporting local ecosystems with your purchase!

No 61. Sometimes it's the simple things. Really good fish and chips, on the beach? Try @PetersMargate

No 62. Helping people activate empty shops and offices across the UK, @EastStreetArts are a national arts organisation, based in Leeds. Also managing beautiful studios in that city.

No 63. On the radio in the studio this morning, the ever-ace @cathyfitzg on the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00…

No 64. The UK version of the US thing (see: No 63) is the brilliant Ministry of Stories. Follow @Mini_Stories

No 65. This weird bit of telly from my childhood.

The point being - exposing children to genuinely weird stuff is good for them. Or something.

The Adventure Game -

No 66. I love the way anarchic ideas become mainstream. When I first found out that Guerilla Gardening was a thing (having done a few bits previously) it felt edgy. Now - everyone understands it. That's a brilliant thing.

guerrillagardening.org/shop.html

No 67. I love charity shops. Made with care, with a focus, and with their mission embedded in what they do every day, they can play a great role in reimagined High Street.

For a good one, follow @OxfamCastleSt in Swansea. Come on a bit since 1975...