Heritage, turbulence and resilience: this weekend’s culture and environment stories

The last lace mill: a dying craft preserved for the screen

In the Irvine Valley, once home to 20 lace mills, MYB Textiles Ltd now stands as the world’s last producer of patterned Nottingham lace woven on traditional looms. The Guardian’s photo essay captures the mill’s quiet persistence—its looms, some over a century old, now supply the film, theatre and television industries rather than the domestic market that once sustained entire towns. The shift is stark: where lace curtains once adorned British homes, the mill now tailors period-accurate fabrics for costume dramas and stage productions. The images, shot by Murdo MacLeod, reveal both the fragility of the craft and its unlikely adaptation to modern demand.

The story is a microcosm of Britain’s broader industrial decline. The lace industry’s collapse in the late 1970s, undercut by cheaper imports from Europe and Asia, mirrors the fate of other textile hubs like Lancashire’s cotton mills or Yorkshire’s wool towns. Yet MYB’s survival—albeit in a niche market—raises questions about how heritage crafts can endure. The mill’s current success hinges on its ability to serve a creative economy that values authenticity, even as it remains invisible to most consumers. For now, the clatter of the looms continues, but the future of this last bastion of British lace-making rests on whether the screen industries will keep demanding its handcrafted precision.

Clear-air turbulence: the invisible threat reshaping air travel

The near-disaster aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 in May 2024 has thrust clear-air turbulence into the spotlight. The incident, which left one passenger dead and dozens injured, occurred in seemingly benign conditions: no storms, no visible clouds, just a sudden, violent jolt as the plane encountered a convective column of water vapour over Myanmar. The Guardian’s investigation reveals how climate change is exacerbating this phenomenon. Warmer air holds more moisture, fuelling the formation of high-altitude turbulence that radar and pilots cannot detect. Airlines are now grappling with a paradox: as the planet heats up, the skies become less predictable, yet passenger behaviour—particularly the refusal to keep seatbelts fastened—remains a stubborn risk factor.

The implications extend beyond safety. Turbulence costs the industry an estimated $500m annually in injuries, delays and aircraft damage. Some carriers are already rerouting flights to avoid known hotspots, adding fuel costs and travel time. Others are investing in new detection technologies, though none can yet predict clear-air turbulence with certainty. For passengers, the message is stark: the era of smooth flights may be ending. As one aviation meteorologist told The Guardian, “We’re flying into a future where the air itself is more volatile. The question is whether we’re prepared to adapt.”

Lismore’s divide: rebuilding after the flood

Five years after Australia’s worst recorded flood devastated Lismore, the city remains split between those who have rebuilt and those still struggling to recover. The Guardian’s report from the New South Wales town paints a picture of uneven resilience. Alison Norris, a mother of three, now lives in a demountable home after losing her house in the 2022 disaster. Her story is one of many: some residents have moved on, while others remain trapped in a cycle of insurance battles, bureaucratic delays and mental health strain. The flood, which killed 22 people and caused $2.5bn in damage, exposed deep inequalities in disaster response. Wealthier homeowners could afford to rebuild; renters and low-income families were left with little recourse.

The divide is not just economic but psychological. Lismore’s recovery has been hampered by a lack of long-term support, with many residents reporting feelings of abandonment by government agencies. The town’s experience reflects a broader global challenge: as climate-related disasters become more frequent, how do communities rebuild equitably? For now, Lismore’s future hinges on whether its most vulnerable residents can find a way out of the limbo that has defined their lives since the waters receded.

Literary legacies: Allende’s pseudonym and Faulkner’s shadow

Two stories this weekend highlight the complexities of artistic recognition. Isabel Allende’s win of Spain’s €1m Premio Planeta under a pseudonym for La hora antes del alba, a sequel to her 1982 debut The House of the Spirits, underscores the enduring power of her literary voice. The prize, one of the world’s most lucrative, was awarded without the judges knowing her identity—a rare feat for an author of her stature. Allende’s decision to submit the manuscript anonymously raises questions about how literary prizes shape (or distort) an author’s legacy. Would the judges have been as effusive if they had known the book came from a writer already canonised in Latin American literature?

Meanwhile, a Cambridge exhibition is finally giving Kate Faulkner her due. For over a century, Faulkner’s contributions to the Arts and Crafts movement were overshadowed by her employer, William Morris. Though she designed some of Morris & Co’s most enduring wallpaper and fabric patterns, her work was often attributed to Morris himself. The exhibition, the first to focus on her career, reveals how gender bias has erased women from design history. Faulkner’s story is a reminder of how easily artistic labour can be obscured—whether by the weight of a famous collaborator or the biases of curators and historians.

What to watch: drama, documentaries and the skies above

This weekend’s cultural offerings reflect the themes of turbulence and resilience running through the news. ITV’s The Birthday Party, starring Luke Evans and Sarah Solemani, promises a psychological thriller set against the backdrop of a family gathering gone wrong. The drama, billed as the broadcaster’s top autumn thriller, taps into a growing appetite for stories that explore domestic unease—a trend mirrored in recent hits like The White Lotus and Beef. Meanwhile, Simon Reeve’s documentary on Mongolia offers a counterpoint to the week’s climate stories, framing the country’s vast landscapes as both a victim of global warming and a potential model for sustainable living.

For those seeking escapism, Sculpture by the Sea returns to Sydney’s Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk, showcasing works by artists from around the world. The free outdoor exhibition, now in its 30th year, transforms the iconic beachfront into a gallery, blending art with the natural environment. The event’s longevity speaks to a public desire for accessible, open-air cultural experiences—a contrast to the often insular world of gallery exhibitions. As the week’s stories have shown, culture and nature are increasingly intertwined, whether in the preservation of heritage crafts, the challenges of climate adaptation, or the resilience of communities in the face of disaster.