Wanted to give a shout out here to all the van lifers working at living responsibly on the road. It’s great to see people trying to live ethical lives & sharing these ideas for us all to try. I’ve been living full time in this self-converted Mercedes Sprinter van with my partner @andyrgarside & our two rescue van hounds since November 2017. We’ve definitely improved our eco-approach to life on the road as time rolls by. From the beginning we…
Sometimes it’s the simplest thing. A hot day, a too-shallow river; and then a slight bend where the water deepens so that I can swim in circles. Start by pushing up into the current, then flip on my back to be swirled like an autumn leaf downstream, when I hit the bend flip again to power upstream, then flip to shimmy down; repeat, repeat, repeat; smile, grin, smile. ? @andyrgarside ??? …
Sophie McKeand Often I can only get at the truth of a thing by writing it down as poetry. It’s how I understand my heart, how I translate the world so that things makes sense. Sometimes all that happens is that certain contradictions become more pronounced. What can I say about it except that the truth of a thing contains its opposite? How else could anything exist?…
Returning to Cymru, the land of my birth, has been a different experience this time around. We’re better at travelling in the van. Old skins have been sloughed off, new dreams have been forged in other lands; but still Cymru calls. I am surprised at how she catches me off guard, how deep this soul-filled love for one relatively small part of our expansive earth is. There is something special in the people here, in their generosity & openness that…
words & photos: Sophie McKeand In all honesty the most difficult thing I find about being a vegetarian who is mostly vegan these days is those times when my brain just won’t function and I can’t think of anything to make that sounds remotely interesting (unless of course it’ll take five hours which I do not have) with the veggies I have left in the fridge/cupboard. A big part of slow living for us is creating less waste and not…
Photos: Andy GarsideWords: Sophie McKeand Hudson’s Garden was a lovely place to visit recently. Our friend Pauline and her pack of huskies are now homebaking and I enjoyed learning the art of folding love into doggie snacks by making them from scratch. Our hounds are not lesser beings, they are as deserving of a good diet as we are, so I loved the chance to learn more about this. The key ingredient in this recipe is a helping of dried…
Photos: Andy GarsideWords: Sophie McKeand This week I’ve been working with Pete from Culture Colony on a film about my work for Arts Council Wales Creative Wales. He knows north west Wales so well and found some amazing locations. Here’s a sneak peek of some of the locations and what we were up to. It’s been wonderful reconnecting with this beautiful land of my birth in this way. [rl_gallery id=”1756″]…
Feeling a deep need to reconnect with my stomach at the moment. When I let positive intention slip I begin stuffing her full to the point of pain. It’s not about weight loss or gain – I’m happy in my skin; it’s about manifesting a genuine love for myself where I only want to do what genuinely feels good. Although cheese, bread & wine do feel good ?. Would love to know what people do for a self-care reset? Asking for…
Once a year I find myself returning to this piece written some years ago now about a series of awakenings that happened years before that. This is a section I hold in the mind like a riverstone, rolling it often through the waters of time & memory. Memory is a strange & unreliable creature – it is the only thing we have to tell us who we are and yet it shifts life sanddunes: one minute we are confident of…
Visiting friends, I’m reminded how much thought & attention some people give to caring for their canine companions, our furbabies who are completely reliant on us through no choice of their own. I love how much love people give to the animals in their lives. Our lovely friend Pauline has a pack of huskies and has also started baking treats for hounds as Hudson’s Garden. This is a great idea! When we went to visit she taught me how to…