Jack Reed

ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of the cultural, political and policy changes that are creating new economic opportunities through nature recovery. We introduce research being undertaken with an alliance of English local authorities in rural–peripheral regions to explore these opportunities and their implications for local and regional development paths.

In 1976, bicycle repairman and retired Baptist preacher Howard Finster became a visionary artist. It happened when he was repainting a white chassis, and a smudge of paint on his thumb took the form of a human face. The face told him to “paint sacred art.” And so he did. Finster may be the most prolific artist in American history. From 1976 to his death in 2001, Finster made 46,991 paintings, each signed, dated, and numbered—a rate of about five paintings a day.

This Thursday Jack graced the Herald offices with Stella Rose Tropical Mango, a flavored wine. The bottle, a twist-off, was $14.99 at Zachary’s on Elm. We’re normally a beer review, but, the Well pours wine on tap and I (Thea) like wine better than beer, so we’re expanding the range of this column. This fragrant, bubbly concoction smells not of the tropics, or mango, or even wine. It smells more like a Yankee Candle shop—intriguing if nothing else.