Monthly Archives:

May 2019

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Psycholingualgeography & Iris

May 21, 2019

Fractals are such beautiful natural occurrences, appearing everywhere from romanesco cauliflower, to ferns (I have fern tattooed on my arm) and snowflakes, from mountain ranges to lightening strikes. I believe the fractal cosmology theory – that the universe is a fractal – perhaps we just can’t see it because we’re in it. I believe this because I see them everywhere, all the time. As I’ve been writing over the years I’ve shaped the various works to represent a fractal: excerpts…

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Iris finds me again

May 20, 2019

Iris finds me again. It is inexplicable. I cannot tell you what makes me decide to stay in Slovenia for one more day, only that I choose this new place because there is a tap. I cannot tell you why I decide to hike much farther than usual when huge rainclouds threaten. Climbing up through slender myth-kissed beech trees I stumble out onto a rocky outcrop where I find her: purple, extravagant & bright in the enfolding mist; furry yellow…

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Europe feature minimalism vanlife

Building a new life together

May 19, 2019

Woke this morning thinking how far we’ve come since first having a dream to sell/gift 95% of our possessions and head off to explore Europe in a self-converted van. We had to learn so many new skills to make this work – the first one being self-belief. This is an ex-delivery van (Mercedes Sprinter hi-top LWB) that originally had ply-panelling throughout and a giant metal bulkhead. It took us from April – Nov 2017 to do a complete refit. Mainly…

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dailyconnectionwithnature nature poetry

Lost & found

May 18, 2019

This poem is ten years old. I remembered it when walking through the forest yesterday so decided to follow that intention and post an excerpt today (from the Prophecy pamphlet – on my website). It made me realise how much we work in circles, spiraling outwards, then back in, then out again. Returning to the same cornerstones, smoothing rough edges a little more each time, or adding new stones to the cairns. I heard Carol Ann Duffy say once that…

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4.50am (Slovenian forest time)

May 17, 2019

Early morning, lying awake listening to the low-swinging hoot of an owl give way to the bright chatter of the dawn chorus. I am thinking about yesterday, scrambling off-piste with the hounds: Twice, a brown & cream feathered Slovenian Ural Owl leads me farther into the forest. I choose to be present when hiking like this, no automatic walking along pre-trodden routes. Note: a misshapen boulder here; an uprooted pine tree there – the bones of its roots clawing at…

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Honestly, I write

May 15, 2019

Although I’ve shared a deep connection with trees over the years I purposefully haven’t sought out the oldest or most famous trees when we’ve visited a place. Why? My reasoning was that it felt fake doing so. They’re not tourist attractions. Then, as usual, something happened to turn my perception on its head. I stumbled across a 400 year old oak in Slovenia this week, the oldest in this valley, and have visited a few times. Yesterday this tree showed…

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One wild life

May 14, 2019

A reminder to anyone who needs to hear this today, because I know I do: it is ok to not conform, it is okay to feel like the little weedy flower rooted at the edge of a giant monoculture, and it is absolutely ok if you blossom out-of-synch with all of that. There will be enough room for every shape & thought & form if you are brave enough to unfurl your bright petals in the face of it all.…

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Discovering Iris

May 13, 2019

The bright yellow flower on the lakeside here is yellow flag Iris. If you follow my Stories you’ll know of the unexpected connections & revelations concerning her. I’ve put that sequence in a saved story sequence, Iris Dreams, on Instagram. Twice this year Iris has shown up to teach – the first time was on Crete a few months ago. Slow Time is working her magic. I want to clarify something though – in the stories I write ‘this is…

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swimming in slow time

May 12, 2019

I had a dream the other night that I had a table full of cakes. There were so many cakes! More cakes than I could ever eat. When my friends came around I shared the cakes out as much as I could, even tried to get them to take some home. But then a group of young lairy lads showed up and I didn’t want them have the cakes even though I was being polite & they were all sat…

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Slowing it all right down

May 11, 2019

Perhaps this sounds counterintuitive, but we drive a lot less now we live in a van. Our goal is to eek out each tank of diesel to last a month if we can as it’s better for our mental health, our budget, and the environment. Sometimes we stay in one small area for weeks, travelling only around 5-10km at a time. When there’s nowhere to be, why should we rush? Slow travelling is such a beautiful way to see the…

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