Monthly Meander May '25: The F Word
But which one? Plus a welcome defence of meandering...
Thanks so much for joining me on this meandering tour through my life and work in the month just gone, as I document a time of personal & professional reimagining. If you enjoy my writing, do feel free to leave a comment. And of course I'd love it if you'd consider subscribing to get all my posts delivered straight to your inbox or the Substack app 😊
Hi friends,
And just like that, another month has pirouetted on stage, briefly dazzling, before sashaying off into the wings again. Sadly though, I can't say I was really able to appreciate the show May had in store for me, as most of the month was spent dealing with illness.
We'd scarcely recovered from the dramas of my daughter's trip to the children's emergency department with 'tonsillitis-not-appendicitis-thank-god', when both my son and my other half developed a Fever which took both of them out of action for several days and also brought me down, though thankfully in my case it was only for about 24 hours.
My son rallied enough to go into school for a fun week of SATS testing(!) but then promptly came down with some sort of gastro bug which I then caught as well. While my poor partner seemed to slide effortlessly from the first bout (possibly Covid) straight into the second stomach-pumelling one, with a final helping of post-viral rash for good measure. Fun all this was not.
Happily though, I did manage to eke out a little bit of fun elsewhere (even if not as much as in other years), because, in the wonderful city I call home, May is Festival month. I find something to love in all four seasons here in our little stretch of the English coast, but May is definitely up there as one of my very favourite times of year, as there's just so much vibrant art and culture to enjoy, from the Artists Open Houses scheme, the Great Escape music festival, the Brighton Fringe and, granddaddy of them all, Brighton Festival - the largest annual multi-arts festival in England.
Somehow, around all the sickness we were battling, I managed to take my daughter to a brilliant storytime and crafts event with children's author Sital Gorasia Chapman, making a kindness tree inspired by her new book Kindness Comes Back and both kids to another crafting session at Brighton Theatre Royal where they were aiming to make 218 paper birds in honour of the theatre's 218th birthday this year.
And my daughter and I also attended a clay modelling workshop making 'Creatures of the Deep' at Fabrica, an inspiring and inclusive arts space in a converted church in the heart of the city centre.1 Check out the disco whale she made - definitely worthy of several F-words in its own right (feathery, fabulous, flamboyant!)
Plus, I got to spend a couple of hours listening to the city's former Green MP Caroline Lucas and one of my favourite political writers, Rebecca Solnit, discussing hope and radical collective action, to mark the UK publication of Solnit's latest essay collection, No Straight Road Takes You There.
As the title alludes to, one of the things she's been thinking about is how the journey to a better future is rarely straight or even clearly observable whilst it's happening, but instead only fully emerges when looking backwards. To my delight, given my own obvious attachment to meandering as a mode for living (see the titles for my monthly updates and this publication’s original name), she spoke positively about the meandering path several times in their conversation. And when I got home and opened the book, I was thrilled to discover her essay, 'In Praise of the Meander'.
In barely more than 5 pages, she elucidates and defends a non-linear structure for non-fiction writing just as much as fiction, taking inspiration from natural examplars like rose bushes, trees and mushrooms:
"Why not explore the terrain rather than cutting a swathe through it? Why not meander and see what lies alongside? Such books are concerned not so much with what happens but with what it means; they are less about destination than meaning revealed along the way."
And of course this approach holds for life too. At a time when my own destination is still not yet in sharp definition, I take great comfort in the reminder that, in Solnit's words, "you're not trying to get somewhere else but to know better where you are."
WORK WINS THIS MONTH
And so to work. It's been gratifying to look back and - just as Solnit proposes in fact - see the outline of progress that did occur, even when, for much of the time it felt like I was floundering (not to mention that it was half term, so pretty much a write off for work for one out of the four weeks!) Here's what I've got in the win column for May.
1. Filing and Finances
With my energy and motivation running so low from getting ill not once but twice, I really didn't feel up to much in terms of working on creative ideas. But feeling at such a low ebb did have an unexpected bonus - I finally did some filing! The sofa bed in our home office has been gradually getting swamped by printed out pieces of paper, which I'd persuaded myself were in some sort of system but really were just a sprawling, disorganised mess masquerading as organised piles.
Gently sorting through all this, recycling as needed and putting into the relevant ring binders and filing cabinet drawers, provided a comforting sort of tedium in my malaise and for now at least has resulted in a pleasingly tidy work space. I doubt it'll last for very long but I'm definitely enjoying it for now.
On a similarly dull-but-satisying vein, I finally forced myself to sit down with my invoices and expenses to get everything together for my accountant who'll be doing my tax return soon. And I had a meeting with a financial advisor (whom I consulted a while back for free thanks to my union - join your union folks!) to talk about my long-neglected pension and life insurance which I recently realised was due to run out several years before the mortage did. To quote a very wise cartoon dog:
2. Recorded a conversation with one of my fave Substackers
Still on a financial tip, I also managed to squeeze in a video call with the bestselling novelist and all round good egg Keris, who very kindly agreed to talk to me about my recently-published confessional on the honest numbers behind my feature doc release.
It was something of a first for us both (I've done a couple of other video things now on Substack but this was the first involving someone else apart from me) but we managed to navigate the tech and I loved talking to her. I'll be sharing the video later this month so keep an eye out for that and in the meantime, I strongly suggest checking out Keris's writing at her money Substack
or her author ‘stack .3. 'Art in the Nuclear Age' online discussion of The Atom: A Love Affair
Right back at the start of the month, I was honoured for my film to be the chosen subject of the latest bi-monthly discussion group organised by the nuclear history/ culture hub for artists and researchers, 'Art in the Nuclear Age'. There were many familiar faces there as well as some that were new to me and I found it so invigorating to hear the responses to my work from such thoughtfully engaged nuclear practitioners and observers.
If you've been enjoying my atomic interviews I'm sure you'll find AiNA's work interesting too so do check them out at https://www.art-in-the-nuclear-age.org and I'll be sure to flag up their next discussion group when it's announced, as all are very welcome to attend.
And on top of all of that, I somehow managed to have one of my most prolific months of publishing on Substack with 6 posts going forth out into the world, from my big re-brand announcement at the start of the month, to my latest Atom & Us interview at the end and a midpoint celebration of the Five Years since my film's pandemic cinema release, back in May 2020.
Here's everything I published in May if you want/need to catch up:
And now here we are in June already and my cup is being filled up by the gorgeous abundance of nature bursting forth all around me. I’ve had a lot more focus in the first few days of this new month and my energy levels are being kept up by excitement as we get closer and closer to the announcement of my new project for the second half of 2025… yes, Film Club is coming!
I’ll be back in your inboxes with all the sizzling details on that before you know it. But before I go I’ve got a couple more final F words to hit you with - and those are a Favour and a Freebie.
So firstly…
Would you be willing to write a testimonial to let me know what you enjoy about my work and what you get from being a subscriber to Vicki Lesley is…Documental?
Apart from giving my ego a massage (always needed!) any kind words you can share will be a huge gift in helping me tell new people about what I’m doing in this space and why they might want to check it out too.
You can hit REPLY to this message if you’re reading in email or send me a DM if you’re in the app. Or just leave me a note in the comments that you’d be happy for me to share. Thanks in anticipation! 🙏
And secondly…
Would you like a month of free films on MUBI?
If that sounds appealing, I’ve got a referral link which will give you a whole month of this cornucopia of indie, art house and world cinema for free.
It’s honestly a real treasure trove - I’ve lately been enjoying some quirky 1960s French fare with Jacques Tati and my Watchlist includes goodies like the inside-gaming doc Grand Theft Hamlet, Pamela Anderson’s acclaimed The Last Showgirl, Elizabeth Sankey’s essay film Witches, Joshua Oppenheimer’s postapocalyptic musical The End and 80s cult classic Escape from New York. Just click the button to sign up.
And that's it for now. I hope life is being good to you as we hurtle rapidly towards the pivot point and as always I'm so grateful to you for reading my words.
Till the next time, in a while crocodile, toodle-loo kangaroo, keep it sweet parakeet (ok I'll stop it now!)
Vicki xx
PS Sorry if I led you to believe there'd be an F bomb or two dropped in today's post! Whilst I'm pretty potty mouthed in real life and no stranger to a bit of 'effing and jeffing' (as my dear old Nan used to call it), it really was as simple as realising that so many of the things that characterised this past month for me started with an F (did you spot them all?!) And then I just couldn't resist the title. I can but humbly and sincerely beg for your clickbait forgiveness on this particular occasion!
Watch my film on Netflix & Disney+ (UK/Europe only) or Vimeo-on-demand - or see trailer, reviews & bonus content HERE
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This was a half term event, not strictly part of the Festival, but very much in keeping with the creative spirit of Brighton in May
I absolutely loved this month's meander, Vicki. Your resilience, warmth, and creativity shine through it all. From fever to festivals to fabulous disco whales, you somehow make chaos feel purposeful. :)
All the best from Melbourne. The two of us are in the midst of a thankfully mild dose of something caught from a grandchild.