Clarity in simplicity [536]

Greetings from The Borders...

Aug 15, 2025

A wooden box-type structure sits on stilts next to a silo. No idea what it is for. Perhaps it's a crude water tower. Either way, it looks cool. — After seeing this I want a shed on stilts

I’m Christian Payne, professional over-sharer, photographer and writer. In this particular weekly dispatch, I start with a random photo I snapped this week that bears no relation to the content, then try to bring it back as I seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going. Thanks for joining in.

#TheAction

What with a broken lawnmower finally away to be fixed, an ongoing ‘discussion’ with the council tax people, a film crew potentially trashing/losing some audio gear I loaned them and worst of all… our poorly dog needing an minor operation… It’s certainly not been a normal week.

Then yesterday the village was filled with the sound of sirens as a fire quickly spread across a neighbouring field.

In perfect timing I was reminded by my friend David Charles that you may not get to choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you meet it.

So I hopped on my bike to go and investigate. After a meandering cycle and a fascinating chat with a Dutch cyclist who was camping in a nearby field, I found that the fire which started a five minute walk from my house, had now spread to some more fields over the ridge from ours.

four photos of the scene of a farm fire in a field

The crop had been windrowed, so the fire, with the help of the wind, had spread down the rows extremely fast. I got there after it had left the first field and carried onto the next with fire engines in pursuit.

Although Scotland has the right to roam, there isn’t the right to piss off the emergency services dealing with a fire which is at the whim of a changing wind. So I kept my distance, took a few snaps on my phone and left.

In the bottom right photo there is a piece of burnout machinery. Possibly the cause of the fire. It could be that hot bearings or exhaust sparks from a bailer were the starting point. In the bottom left, possibly the farmer or a contractor was on their phone. Calling the insurance perhaps? The machinery should be covered, as should any liability to other landowners fields. But I was told crop fire cover is a bolt-on and sometimes ignored.

Obviously this escapade sent me down a rabbit hole and after a quick chat with a local hay supplier it looks like those large round bales of straw can earn the farmer £25 each at the moment. Thankfully the main crop value had gone as the grain has already been harvested.

Thanks to Peter at Lothian Small Baling who also told me that this was the perfect time for farmers to get their hay and straw in as hay if bailed damp can spontaneously combust in storage. He also went on to explain the difference between Hay, Haylage and Silage (basically pickled grass) but I'll save you any more Agrostological explorations… For now.

#ThePictures

I tend to drop audio related stuff below but as this is video (about audio things) it’s going here.

I’m often asked what reasonably priced portable audio recorder I would recommend for storytelling in the field and for the money it would have to be either the Zoom H1n or the Zoom H1e. The video shares my thoughts that you probably won’t need to upgrade to the more expensive of the two.

Still using Flickr? I am. Well, very rarely. I’m not so much using it as paying for it. Have done for ever as I get told if I stop paying, my pictures will disappear. So I keep paying the ransom. It was once a very special place and a buzzing community.

I’ve been on it for 18 years and still hope that it will rise from the ashes and be a contender again. If you are still active, here’s a blogpost from them about how to get more engagement on it.

A great story behind an amazing photograph.

I found this video in Andy Adam’s FlakPhoto

#TheWords

Boredom is a contemplative state inviting us to engage with life more viscerally.

My more nerdier newsletter is about radio. Here is a post from yesterday.

#TheSound

Midweek I attended a workshop called Berwick Radio 101. I was there as much to meet locals as to learn new skills. The sign-up details spoke a lot about community radio, which I quickly realised wasn’t really the focus. On arrival, we were told we’d be learning how to make podcasts.

I’m always interested in audio storytelling, something I’ve dabbled in since making a fake radio shows on cassette tapes 40 years ago. But, as is often the case now, the “podcast” studio we were shown was aiming for a breakfast TV look. Two Blackmagic cinema cameras and a coppice of LED panel lights dwarfed the three microphones on the table.

Yes this is what the modern podcast has become. Expensive, complicated and with more of a focus on video.

For me, and I suspect I’m not alone, audio-only over just talking heads can offes more advantages than video. Especially for community driven projects that want to get started quickly alongside their writing and photography.

Screen-free audio fits easily into a busy life. You can listen while driving, walking the dog, cooking, or exercising.

Without visuals to distract, it’s more “lean-in” media than “lean-back.” Listeners engage their imagination, building the world they hear. This makes the experience more personal and immersive, while the focus on the human voice fosters trust and connection.

In regards to accessibility, the production of audio-only is far cheaper, faster and simpler, requiring less equipment, fewer people and less technical knowledge.

Audio is also easier to produce. It's cheaper, faster, and simpler, with less equipment and minimal technical knowledge. Files are smaller and quicker to download, ideal for areas with patchy internet. Plus, freed from lighting, backdrops, and studio setups, recording can happen anywhere. And let’s not forget some people freeze in front of a camera, but will happily open up in conversation around a microphone.

I get where video comes in. Algorithms favour it, as do advertisers. Especially on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. But does a community project really need to aim for a global audience from day one? Or is its strength in starting small, building trust locally and creating content that matters to the people who will actually use it?

There’s time to chase reach later. Pandering to algorithms too soon risks diluting focus. Aa well as draining resources and bending the project to a platform’s demands rather than what the community needs.

When the time comes, audio can easily be repurposed into video. With a still image (sonic postcard), an animated waveform (audiogram), motion graphics, or all of the above with b-roll, photos and captions.

Starting with audio keeps the project nimble, approachable, and sustainable, attracting an audience that values heartfelt storytelling over surface-level spectacle.

Rant over. I know language moves on, trends reshape meaning. But I can’t help feeling something’s being lost in the process.

Outside of the early surprise of there being no actual radio station, it turned out to be a great day. The moderation was excellent, the conversations fascinating and the stories genuinely inspiring. I met fellow creatives I hope to stay in touch with. Who knows, this could well be the beginning of a brand new community.

Advice on microphones for the travelling field recordist.

#TheConsumed

While visiting a local pub that used a lot of locally sourced ingredients in their menu, I spotted something i’d not tried in a long time. Pigeon.

An elaborate dish of pigeon salad sits on a plate

It’s not often you see pigeon on the menu. Let alone pigeon with roast pears, asparagus, candied pecans, pink great fruit and a blue cheese dressing.

The last time I had wood pigeon i’d shot it with a catapult after a bushcraft course where I’d been shown the best way to dress it if you have no tools. It was just a swift movement with your thumbs. Having just trawled YouTube to find an example I failed and would not recommend going looking for it. There appears to be a hundred ways to ‘dress’ a pigeon.

But that night in the woods, over a weekend where we could only eat what we foraged, stuck on a stick and roasted on a fire, it was truly delicious. Probably only handy should you ever find yourself in an end-of-the-world scenario.

And at the other end of the spectrum… I was gifted loose leaf tea this week. An Isle of Harris Gin Tea and a Yellow Gold Oolong tea.

I’d not heard of Eteaket before and although both teas were great drinking, there is so much more i’d like to try of their Scottish inspired blends. I know. You are more than happy with your Yorkshire tea. And that is also fine. :-)

#TheFound

I had to take my metal detector out of the garden to find something coin shaped and interesting.

To the trained, or even untrained eye, it’s an 1865 or 1867 Victorian penny. And yes. I’ve seen better examples. The 1867 was far more common than the 65, so let’s go with that. Bronze of course. 95% copper, 4% tin, and 1% zinc.

I uncovered it on Spittal Beach while walking with friends. Years of salt and sand had worn it almost to anonymity. The once sharp portrait of Queen Victoria and Britannia now little more than a feint outline. And yet, in its almost-not-there-ness, my friend and I marvelled over it.

We had expected a bottle cap but got this. A kind of treasure. Loose change minted a century and a half ago, passed through countless hands, before being dropped on the sand, where it waited for us.

#TheThings

After being let down by a garden equipment company who shall not be named, I mentioned in passing to the fantastically helpful Lawnmower Centre in Duns that our electric ride on mower (Lovingly called Mowbi-Wan) was not taking a charge.

They immediately came out to pick it up, found the fault, recognised that it was a part recall issue and we’re now waiting for parts to arrive from what days later appears to be very far away.

In the meantime we are borrowing a neighbours battle warn Husqvarna.

an orange ride on mower sits in the garden between roaring

It’s fast, loud, aggressive, eats dirt and occasionally screams at me. But with the grass growing faster than ever, it’s a godsend. I lovingly call it Sodzilla.

This multi purpose trowel by Kent and Stowe could well be the one trowel to rule them all.

Why? The handle is made from FSE certified ash, it has a stainless steel business end, an end cap (good for hamming stuff that needs a good thwack) and feels rock solid.

Also the blade of the trowel has a depth gauge for planting and a serrated edge for cutting through small roots or compost bags. If this isn’t enough it’s also guaranteed for 20 years.

Whether or not I’ll have enough of my already dwindling marbles to remember to call Kent and Stowe’s customer service by the year 2045 isn’t really an issue, as it feels solid enough to out live me.

It is called the Capability Trowel and costs £12.99 from MarshallsGarden.com. Which coincidentally is where my photographer friends works who gifted me this very trowel.

It’s also good for metal detecting. ;-)

It doesn’t have a name but i’m open to options.

#TheThanks

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#TheWeb

Why LLM’s can’t really build software.
The Documentally community map still looks like I don’t have any friends locally.
A fascinating US focused article on homesteading for free.
The brain fires up immune cells when sick people are nearby.
Some of my other places include these… plus my audio RSS feed that stores random recordings, Vivino for questionable wine reviews, LinkedIn for… not sure what that’s for, YouTube for vlogging, Mastodon for decentralised social, foto for random photos, or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire. Supporting subscribers also get access to a Discord server. Message me for a link. 👍🏽
Looks like Apple’s blood oxygen monitor is back.
Teenage Engineering’s FREE computer chassis has unsurprisingly sold out.