Novus Incipio Blog

In January 2025, I attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I covered the show for the Somewhere on Earth global tech podcast, created by the team behind the former BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme. While at the show, I interviewed the visionary founders and CEOs of seven incredible early-stage tech-for-good firms and created a podcast series, now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . My (edited) interviews were also features on seven episodes of Somewhere on Earth, the first of which is on Spotify here or Apple Podcasts here . You can follow the series from there if you wish to hear all episodes containing my interviews.

Charities The Men’s Shed and Morsbags celebrated Movember together at Halesworth Co-op on 29 th November by holding a competition for best Movember-themed Morsbag. Morsbags members create reusable carrier bags from donated textiles at friendly social get-togethers. In Halesworth these are held at the Community Room at Halesworth Co-op once a month. Each Morsbag is given away free, with a mission to reduce the number of discarded plastic bags, promote sustainability and foster community spirit. To date, more than half a million Morsbags have been made and given away, around the world. Textiles can be donated at Halesworth Library or at Hetty’s Copy Shop in The Thoroughfare. Halesworth resident and Morsbags member Caron Stainton said that anyone is welcome to join their monthly social get-togethers. “Come along, [just] have a coffee and a chat, or sit and make Morsbags,” said Stainton. “We want it to be a fun, sociable affair. There are people here who can show you how to make...

Laurence Carter's new book ' From Grief to Love ' chronicles his cathartic 4,300-mile walk around England and Wales. The book carries readers on an emotional journey, from his early grief at the loss of his wife, to finding the courage to love again. But who is Laurence Carter? He talked with Jez Donaldson about his life, his walk, and his new mission. Laurence was born in Dar Es Salaam in 1960. "I spent the first ten years of my life growing up there. We lived about 100 yards from the beach. It was an idyllic time." When he was ten, the family moved to the Solomon Islands and then to the UK, where Laurence started school in Norwich. "After school I took a year off and did a range of odd jobs," he says. "I worked as a street sweeper in Norwich.” Melitta in 2007 By 1987, Laurence was working as a Transport Economist, advising the government of Malawi. It was there that he met his wife-to-be, Melitta, in a whitewashed colonial office building ringed b...

  The Halesworth Men's Shed has celebrated its 10th anniversary. The Men's Shed movement effectively started in the UK early this century when a young man, travelling in Australia, saw the impact that Men's Sheds were having there. He called his father in the UK and told him to start something similar here. At the end of 2013, there was a Breakfast Television item about Men's Sheds, which prompted a couple of men in Halesworth to investigate. This resulted in Halesworth Men's Shed being formed in 2014 as shed number 47.   There are now more than 1000 sheds open in the UK. In Summer 2014, the Halesworth Men's Shed was formally unveiled by Annette Dunning, then chair of Halesworth Town Council. The publicity resulted in around 30 men showing interest and around 5cwt of donated tools.   About 20 men resolved to meet every Saturday morning for coffee in Chinny's until they were eventually offered occupancy of the former Micropress bindery warehouse a few y...

  The children of Holton St Peter Community Primary School have been making bird boxes using kits made for them by Halesworth Men’s Shed. The bird boxes are to be put up around the school. The initiative was one of several projects suggested by the school’s Eco Council. Year 5/6 class teacher Liz Shepherd contacted Alan Furness of Halesworth Men’s Shed, who offered to make kits that the children could assemble in their woodwork class. “We were supposed to be doing sewing this term,” said Mrs Shepherd, “but we’ll always find time for woodwork.” She then designed a project around it and produced a plan that other schools could also use. “Alan was very helpful, as he used to work in schools,” said Mrs Shepherd. She then worked with the children to vary the design of the boxes, to make them suitable for different bird species. “We had to decide how big the holes should be,” said Nils, 9. “they need to be half-open for Robins and should have fairly big holes, for Nuthatc...

Stella and Tyrone Cattermole, managers of The Rumburgh Buck near Halesworth, Suffolk, were presented with a fourth ‘outstanding pub’ award on Saturday April 20th. Mike Davey, Chair of NE Suffolk CAMRA presents award to Stella & Tyrone Cattermole The pub, which hit national news following a visit by global superstar Ed Sheeran last November, has been voted 2024 Overall Pub of The Year by members of North East Suffolk CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) having won two CAMRA awards in 2023 and another in 2022. Mrs Cattermole took on the pub in 2019, just 6 months before Covid hit and all pubs were forced to close, while her husband continued to work as a butcher at Cleveleys, a local food business, helping in the pub at the weekends. He now works full time as the pub’s cook. The Rumburgh Buck is the first pub that the couple have managed. “It’s really exciting, to be recognised four times” said Mrs Cattermole, who had a career in Marketing before taking on the pub, in 2019, adding “It’s a b...

Bloomer, in the Old Bakery We stayed at The Orange Tree, Thornham for four nights, during the late summer heatwave in early September 2023. Our room, "Bloomer" comprised part of The Old Bakery, which is a charming old building a few steps away from the pub, away from the main road. Bloomer is one of the dog-friendly spaces offered by the pub. Having arrived and checked in, the friendly receptionist showed us to the room. We parked in the dedicated parking bay, opposite the entrance. This was quite tight, for a large car like a Land Rover, but achievable with care. There is also parking on the road nearby. Bloomer Entry to Bloomer is set away from the road, which was helpful with two dogs. Entrance is into a decent-sized hallway, with a soft chair, cabinet and a lamp. It feels a little empty for its size. To the immediate left is the bedroom, a good-sized room with a window onto the road. It has a walk-in wardrobe, with plenty of hanging space and shelves for shoes and folded ...

The Racehorse Inn, Westhall near Halesworth has been presented with the award for Rural Pub of the Year by North East Suffolk CAMRA Chairman, Mike Davey. Steve Gray (left) receiving award from Mike Davey   The award was presented on Saturday 20 th  May to Steve Gray, a co-founder of the pub. Mr Gray, 66, also works part-time in the local beer and wine business, with Adnams. He has good contacts in the trade, which were helpful when establishing the pub. “From humble beginnings, 3½ years ago, to Rural Pub of the Year is pretty good” said Mr Gray. “We started by running a bar at the village hall, once a month, then formed a committee focused on trying to buy the pub” Funding to buy the pub was obtained through the profits from the pop-up bar, from a share sale scheme and from the government’s Community Fund. “We opened just before Covid hit, then were closed down. We survived by doing take-outs. “Getting into the Good Beer Guide this year has been a boost”. Apparently,...

Lincoln-based author Nick Love's debut revenge thriller, '2600 Feet Per Second', follows ex-Royal Marine Commando Chris 'Laser' Beem as his military past catches up with him in spectacular fashion.  He talked with Jez Donaldson recently about his life, coping with rejection and the challenges of writing a novel with Dyslexia.  Nick is a bright, talkative, 61-year-old Piscean who has spent most of his life in Lincolnshire. Born in Sleaford, he now lives in central Lincoln with Delia, his wife of almost 30 years. However, his life hasn't been the insular, rural life you might expect. Nick served for a decade as a Royal Marine Commando, with active service in Northern Ireland and The Falklands. He subsequently spent over 30 years in the Consulting and Global Services industry, where he travelled the world and, in particular, India.  "I don't think I'm interesting, as a person. Some of the things I've done are interesting." he says, modestly. W...

Dyslexic author Nick Love’s debut novel follows the life of Chris ‘Laser’ Beem, an ex-Royal Marine sniper whose happy family life is turned upside down as his military past catches up with him in dramatic style. The story unfolds as Chris struggles to protect his family while he executes a grizzly series of assignments, set for him by a ruthless foreign pursuer whose motive is initially a mystery.  The wealthy heiress uses Beem’s finely-tuned military skills to carry out her decades-old vendetta against an apparently unconnected group of people, most of whom appear to live a relatively normal existence in the UK.  As the plot unfolds, the identity of the heiress and her connection to Beem becomes apparent, as does the connection between her victims.  The novel’s twists and turns keep the reader on the edge of their seat, right through to an exciting climax, which leaves the door open for the planned sequel, due for release later in 2023.  The book is a heart-thumping...

  Even the best educated and most wealthy people can be short-sighted or dismissive about innovations which subsequently change our lives. In 1943, Thomas J Watson, former IBM Chairman said: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers”. Microsoft founder Bill Gates reportedly said, while at the 1994 Comdex conference in Atlanta: "I see little commercial potential for the Internet for at least 10 years". In July the same year, former hedge fund executive Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com and the rest is history. Much has been written about the Metaverse, how it might impact consumers, how early investors such as Meta Labs (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft could control and profit from its growth potential. According to Peter Levine, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz: "The metaverse is the next big thing after the internet. It will change the way we interact with technology and with each other, and it will be a game-changer for business and society"...

  Having attended many cookery schools over the years (Rick Stein’s in Padstow, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saison in Oxfordshire and Gordon Ramsey’s in Chelsea, to name a few), I was more than excited to visit Italy for my first foreign residential course. Following a chaotic transfer from Pisa, we arrive at the venue. Villa Selvatelle is a pretty Tuscan villa, set amongst olive groves in typically stunning countryside. It’s roughly half-way between Pisa and Florence. The ensuite rooms are generously proportioned. Some have a balcony. Even in early May, the huge swimming pool in the grounds is inviting, particularly in the afternoon sunshine, when temperatures reach the mid-20s. There is a large common area with a long dining table, where the seven course attendees, and my wife, are served dinner each evening, with lashings of local Chianti. Apart from the Chef, I am the only man. The course, run by Flavours Holidays, is a four-d...

  The Demon Club , published in 2020, is book 22 in the Ben Hope series by Scott Mariani, an Oxford-educated Sunday Times best-selling Scottish author. Mariani’s hero, Benedict Hope, is the ultimate man’s man. Ex-SAS Major, combat-skilled and tougher than shoe leather, he ruthlessly eliminates the steady stream of crooks and assailants that cross his path. Yet his career began with a classical Oxford education, destined for the clergy, loves his dog, Storm, and profoundly regrets a series of broken romantic relationships. All the books follow the same basic plot: Hope, attempting to live a quiet life in rural France, stumbles into a situation involving a friend or innocent connection and an organised gang, or evil cult. Rather than involve the hapless police, Hope invariably dives in headfirst, using his fine-tuned SAS skills to save the victim and wipe out the ‘bad guys’. Despite the formulaic approach, Mariani injects a fresh twist and enthralling plot details into every b...

Ian Shepherd MSM, 67, smiles broadly and tightly squeezes my hand as we meet outside the Norfolk and Suffolk Air Museum, in Flixton, Suffolk. He’s a warm and enthusiastic character who looks a decade younger. We sit in the canteen, between a jet fighter and a missile system, and begin to chat. Ian, who lives with wife Shirley in the rural Suffolk village of Redgrave, was born into the tiny village of Cuerdley, near Widnes in Cheshire. “1955 was a great year” he quips. “The same year Lego was invented”. His first 15 years were spent around the farm. The hard, physical work shaped him into an athletic sports-loving youngster. Seeking a new direction, he decided to join the Royal Marines. “No-one in my family had ever been in the military. Through both world wars, they were farmers and miners.” Ignoring his father’s protests, Ian set off to the recruiting office in Liverpool. “I was first through the door” he says. The 6’2” Marine on duty was just removing his wet cape. “He lo...