Corners

Finding sites for an expanding business is not an easy thing. The good ones are few, highly sought after and in our case must tick a lot of boxes before making the short list.

Remarkably, our little site at the corner of Redchurch Street and Club Row was a breeze. John who owns the building, is a fountain of wisdom and lives in a little village in deep Wales. I write to him candidly about life and work frequently. He trusts us with his bricks and always encourages us and congratulates us on our success. He has become like a distant uncle, someone you never see but always has your back. 67 Redchurch St occupies a corner, has a tree for shelter and gets the sun in the morning. The Holy Trinity manifesto for site finding.

Corners are intersections. And where paths cross, people do too. And when people cross, they talk, tell their stories, share, even for just a moment, they become fundamentally human. The old way.

We have set out benches outside that corner of Shoreditch to encourage this intuitive and fast disappearing simple act of face to face conversation between strangers. We find it beautiful.

Like breaking bread with someone (where the noun "companion" finds its roots) talking to a person you don't know is often deeply rewarding, revealing unexpected wisdom and serendipity within a casual exchange.

I have often been fascinated by watching people strike a conversation on the bench by the window, and an hour later, still seeing the same people talking. It is magical.

This inspired us to create "The Bench Series" where I will have impromptu chats with random people who sit next to me while we sip our morning coffees and watch the world go by. With their blessing, we will be transcribing this collection of street talks from time to time in the Stories section of our website and hope it brings you joy and insights.

Maybe you and I will talk soon at one of life's corners.

Be kind, listen, share.