Slapton sands

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of staying with a very great friend in the middle of nowhere in Devon. It was super good. Her house was the most wonderful homely space I have ever been lucky enough to spend time in. We slept in the summer house which looked straight out on to the richest green field with sheep happily munching away. We went to Slapton sands in the evening and drank ginger beer on the pebbles. We ate homegrown vegetables for dinner and fresh-from-the-chicken eggs for breakfast. We went surfing. We had an indulgent picnic. We laughed. And the sun kissed all of our cheeks. 

Eden Project

Yesterday I visited The Eden Project site for the very first time and was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience. The Eden Project is an educational charity "conceived when the environment had dropped from the agenda and environmentalists had taken on the mantle of Old Testament prophets, doom-laden and jargon-heavy".

The site of the project is not only rich in vegetation but also education and inspiration. Most widely known for its space-age like 'Biomes', The Eden Project is more than just cultivating tropical plants. The vibe you immediately pick up on as soon as you enter the gates (where you receive a substantial discount if you have cycled or walked) is one of genuine positivity that we, as a team, can slow down and maybe even repair the damage caused by our over-indulgent use of non-reusable fuel. Instead of using scare tactics like many movements attempting to promote are more sustainable lifestyle, The Eden Project does not drone on about the dismal state our world is in, but instead focuses on positive, manageable ways of helping not only the future of our world, but our communities and personal lives as well.

Please check out their website, and if you head to the South West at all, then The Eden Project should definitely be sat near the top of you 'to-do' list.

co2cut

 

http://www.co2cut.blogspot.com/

Radio 3

Driving back from the beach today I stumbled across the Jazz Library on Radio 3 and immediately found myself enthusiastically patting the steering wheel in time with the honey like melodies of Stan Getz and Miles Davies. Having spent some beautiful, sun-soaked time in the afternoon with two close friends discussing our plans for the near and distant future, listening to Getz break away from his accompanying team of musicians made me compare our life calenders to the structure of jazz. Through all jazz there is a pre-printed structure for those who are playing to keep to. But it is those exhilarating four bars (please forgive my potentially incorrect musical info) in which the artists push past their music stands and throw caution to the wind, improvising...no....feeling and expressing through that small but precious period of freedom. Similarly, to date, the moments which in my life that have been the highest have been those that aren't written in the preconceived idea of what you are supposed to be doing in order to have a 'successful' life. You are only as successful if you are tapping in time to the rhythm of your own footsteps and following where they want to take you. Otherwise you can easily end up somewhere you don't want to be, not knowing how you got there or where the exit is.

Time for new times

Yesterday was the full stop at the end of a chapter and today was the blank space before the next one...not really part of either but still necessary to distinguish between the two.

Tomorrow is the new chapter. It will take place in a different setting than the last, but the characters will still be recovering from the events that previously occurred.

When you are reading a book, you do not go back and re-read random pages, you carry on reading to see where the plot takes you. However, once the book has been finished and time passes it is then that you can pick it up again and dip into it, remember fondly why you enjoyed it the first time round. But only after some time. Not straight away. Time to keep reading.

Expectations

I have recently been made to realise that it is frequently too easy to have great expectations of those close to us and forget that others outside of our everyday existence are often more than capable of surprising us with giant leaps of kindness. Over the past week I have witnessed many acts of pure selfless-ness, whether it is a person helping a complete stranger across the beach with heavy bags; or a very small french couple welcoming a couple of young women into there camervan in the middle of the night and driving them to safety; or just an extremely fortunate gentleman allowing his wealth to bring relief and comfort to those less fortunate. These are to name just a few (it has been an incredible week) but each has warmed me and let me believe that there are genuinely goldhearted people out there and even the smallest gesture from one person can make another feel like the luckiest person in the world at that very moment. 


It may well be because I live on the pessimistic side of realism that I believe that having sky high expectations can often lead to the path of disappointment. However, sometimes stumbling across an unknown road by chance can take you to a more wonderful place of honesty.


Not always...but sometimes.

Thinking of lovely things...

sundays

ben howard's voice

barranco longo aragonez

broccoli

going home...very soon

english pub gardens

big waves that swallow you up 

fresh powder

laughing until tears roll

standing infront of bass speakers

bonfires

fresh bread straight out of the oven

clean bed sheets straight off the washing line

drawing the first line with a new pencil

camping

small smiles

long bike rides

running in the rain

those long sighs that end in a feeling of complete contentment.