This was my second Electromagnetic Field, a beautifully weird biennial festival in the shadow of Eastnor Castle that I frequently find very difficult to explain to people. The best I can usually come up with is “gathering of nerds”, but I worry that sounds a little disparaging.
Maybe a better explanation is that it’s a field full of interesting people sharing their interesting things - in the form of talks, workshops and installations. I tried this year to be a little more comfortable with missing stuff, because there’s frankly far too much to see in just four days.
It’s also one of the friendliest places I’ve ever been. Rarely do I find myself somewhere where I feel I can strike up a conversation with anyone, but I can (and after a couple of beers, do) at EMF.
In 2024, I came away thinking I needed a new side project that I could take and show off this year, and then I did precisely nothing about it. I have this blog now, so I’m committing in writing to having something to share in 2028 - hopefully this’ll keep me in check this time round.
I am knackered (two festivals back-to-back was, in hindsight, a questionable decision), but I’m happy - the world needs more events like this.
Pictured: a giant LED Rubik’s Cube (as crafted by Lex) that I tried and failed to solve several times. I can solve a normal-sized one, honestly.