Issue 54 – The Japanese Issue
A Note from the Editor
‘Count your bruises one by one and laugh it off’ – The Flatliners
To say we live in uncertain times is an understatement. The past few weeks have made a distant and abstract fear a present and concrete reality for all. And while this should never be some perverse, top trumps game of human suffering, there are those who are sure to feel it more than others.
Over the years, we have had the fortune and favour of standing in the company of impassioned crafters, creators, freelancers and makers. We’ve forged friendships with small businesses that boast big plans and even bigger hearts. From bar top to showroom, factory to penthouse, atelier to ballroom, we’ve travelled far and wide to celebrate the narratives of every sector with warmth enough to open its doors to us. We have done so not for the size, scale or stature of the business, but for the convictions and visions of the people that stand behind them. All of which is to say that this is very, very personal.
Those immediate friendships are now more important than they’ve ever been, as are those altogether more tacit ties that bind us together as decent human beings. Now, more than ever, is a time to hold each other up and celebrate each other’s stories. If you’ll forgive me one momentary meander down memory lane, I’d like to let you in on a scene that’s very much stuck on repeat in my mind’s eye of late.
It’s 2017, and I’m in a sweat-soaked and sound-battered music venue in the heart of Manchester. Savages are on stage – strutting their stuff and dealing out their usual sonic stock and trade in spades – when a guy upfront loses consciousness and is swallowed by the crowd. Jenny Beth parts the audience and jumps offstage while the band plays on in a slow, steady-but-not-so-sure loop. ‘If one of us falls, we all fall,’ says Jenny as she helps the struggling stranger to his feet. The crowd, now cognisant, lends its collective strength in lifting the guy overhead to score a route to safety and room to breathe.
I know that we, as a nation, are renowned for our storied, stiff-upper-lip stoicism, but the truth is that we are simply stronger together. It’s true that the times ahead hold some rough seas to say the least, but we’re all in the same metaphorical boat. We’re in this together, and if one of us falls, we all fall.
So be nice, be patient, and help each other up when need dictates, occasion permits and strength allows. And no matter how low, how slow or how unsure the rhythm, always endeavour to keep that music playing in the background while you’re at it.
This, by the way, is our Japan Edition. We hope you enjoy it.
Will HALBERT
Editor
