Shani Beer (@shanibeer)
arts culture writing environment nature | making gardening
Meet Hive | Saturday 17 October 2026 | Central London | UK
> One of the disused platforms, featured in Holborn Station Hidden London Tour on About London Laura. Yes, we have a free venue in Central London. (I say free: there's a tip jar). A meeting room, l...
Nine Years on the Chain! | 1 August 2026
Yes, nine years ago, on 17 July 2017, at 16:40pm, I joined the Chain. Magic. Happy HPUD!
Niche Blogs | Postcard Designs | @taintedlove, @mortgagedland
Last month, I wrote about a niche blog, @over60health, talking about SEO planning for the blog and ideas about how I would use postcards for outreach. This month I am back talking about two other n...
SEO Planning for a New Niche Health Blog
Back in September, I wrote about bringing new users to Hivethrough outward-facing niche blogs, including one called @over60health. Health has long been an interest of mine. I studied human biology...
Book review: The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman I'm dog-earing the corners of my book and my brother-in-law has told me off. I explain I'm marking quotes, it's an airport book and I'll be tearing it up for...
On Travel | Sunday 10 May 2026
Screenshot from Too Long in Exile playlist on Youtube. Strangely reminiscent of the The Great Gadsby. > Field Notes It's a cool morning here, with a cold front coming in from the northwest bringing...
No Begging or Pleading | Monday 29 March 2026
First day of BST, Sunday 28 March 2025, 19:48 just after sunset. Sat with the balcony door open on this lovely evening. > Field Notes No begging or pleading was a sign over the public bar in a pub ...
End of Year Clothing Audit | 2025
Still my favourite item of clothing, found in TKMaxx, somewhere around 2013-14, on one of those rare days when I was ready to do battle. I still love the labels and the shade of blue makes me happy...
On Knitting like Writing | Monday 29 December 2025
Code: keeping track of stitches, increases, rows. Turning two dimensions into three, creating a tube without a seam. > Field Notes Attention is low in this the fag end of the year. I hadn't realise...
saturdaysaversclub | 2025 End of the Year | End of an Era
Saturday Savers Club This is the last week of Saturday Savers Club for 2025 and in an hour I'll be wrapping up the votes for the Savers for the Year Award and running the prize draw for 500 HIVE fo...
On How to Read Better | Saturday 6 December 2025
Perfect crackling on this belly pork which came with a mushroom and tarragon sauce. Far too much for me, the leftover pork, soft and succulent, came home for sandwiches. From The New Inn at Minster...
On The Future is Already Here | Monday 1 December 2025
A 1951 grocery bill of Dylan Thomas’ from J Eric Jones in Camarthen. Featured in The Guardian 28 November 2025. > Field Notes Having passed the nadir of the transition, the arc continues, time appe...
On False Starts and Fragments | Tuesday 28 October - Monday 10 November 2025
> Mock up for a zine - a sheet of A4 or A3 cuts and folds into an eight-page booklet. This is the outer face that creates the pages of the zine, and there is an inner face, a secret hidden place wh...
On Tea at the Tate Modern | Monday 17 November 2025
> Manuscript of poems, (January 1936), by Pablo Picasso, facsimile. Exhibit included in Theatre Picasso, 2025-26, Tate Modern, London. > Field notes After an early start meeting a friend online, aw...
On Loss, Grief and Origin Stories | Monday 20 October 2025
> Front cover of The Painter of Modern Life and Other Stories by Charles Baudelaire (1964), published by Phaidon Press. The title essay first appeared in the Figaro in instalments on 26 and 28 Nove...