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“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.”

Plus a farewell to the archaeologist who recreated ancient tipples

Author

Leonie Mercedes
October 14, 2025

Good morning, darlings. Here’s your three-part nudge for the day:

a prompt

Write on the following for 5–10 minutes:

Think about something you’re really into now (or were in the past). (For me, it might be watching GeoGuessr experts being incredible at the game.) What do you think makes (or made) it so attractive to you?

a thought

“Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” – Madeleine L’Engle, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother

farewell

Patrick McGovern, chemist and archaeologist (1944–2025)

“At the Pyramids, he mused that without the four-to-five litres of beer workers were given daily, they might not have been built. Indeed, beer was perhaps more vital than bread to human civilisation. You needed bread to exist; you needed alcohol to enjoy existing.”

Thanks for coming, dear makers and shakers. See you tomorrow ☕