Monthly Archives:

October 2019

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I stopped listening to advertising and started listening to my body #694

October 31, 2019

My hair is in the best condition lately. It’s been two years getting to this point so I’ll share something with you – I used to wash my curly hair every day with an endless stream of products in an attempt to either tame the curls, or give the curls more bounce, or straighten the curls, or de-frizz the curls, or define the curls, or just make the hair presentable for a workday blah blah blah; and then of course…

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Autumn coastal travels

October 28, 2019

Cataluña, The Basque Country and northern Spain have proven to be so utterly and unexpectedly glorious this autumn we’ve only made it from Andorra as far as the northwest tip of Spain in over a month. This part of Europe is so beautiful with endless beaches and mountains to explore – we will absolutely return here. This is one of my favourite photos taken by @andyrgarside since we hit the road in the van. It’s of Playa de la Catedrales…

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My best hummus recipe (and what to do with it)

October 27, 2019

I love hummus, and over the years I’ve made so many different versions: plain, extra lemony, with chilli or red pepper or sundried tomatoes, without garlic, but this month I’ve finally hit on, what I feel, is my absolute best recipe for hummus and it’s so delicious I’m sharing it here: Ingredients 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight then boiled in a large pan of water until soft. I have a large plastic container with a watertight lid so that…

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journeying with wild mint (continued)

October 27, 2019

I wanted to keep you with me on this journeying with plants that’s occurring so organically it feels as if I have always worked this way. In September I shared words on the continued connection to wild mint and on this journey south I’m discovering an abundance of wild mint such as I’ve never found before. If you’ve been following OUTSIDER for a while, you’ll remember that Iris flower showed up throughout the first half of 2019, firstly on Crete, and…

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Learning to read the ocean

October 22, 2019

We’ve travelled through Catalunya and The Basque Country, and now we’re in Asturias – perhaps the most biodiverse region of Spain. This coastline reminds me the most of our home country of Cymru with its wide windy beaches, rocky cliffs and dramatic outcrops. There’s something about the light here too – or perhaps that’s because autumn feels as if it tumbled into us overnight. Yesterday’s attempt at surfing saw us pummelled into the sand (hence the wet hair in this…

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On saltwater silhouettes & sunsets

October 14, 2019

On saltwater silhouettes & sunsets: you spend the morning surfing, although you haven’t yet mastered the standing up part; in the afternoon, hiding in the van from 28°C heat with all doors flung open, you write beneath a pile of snoozing, damp hounds. In the evening you hike down the cliffs to watch the silhouettes of surfers & paragliders in the saltwater sunset. Around you people carry on with their day: children shimmer in white-frothed waves, the thud thud as…

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the art of beginnings

October 14, 2019

We’re learning to surf this winter as we slow travel westwards along the northern Spanish coast. Our first foray into the Atlantic waves was San Sebastián in the Basque Country where great barrelling waves thundered us into the shore either on or off the surfboard beneath the deepest of blue skies. I’m writing this today from Sopela a smaller town about two hours west where the waves are as bright (if not as bold), but the parking is easier. The…

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