I’ve been on a cooking spree again recently as I focus on minimising dairy and wheat in the diet. This is difficult because I love them both dearly, so I have to work hard to find interesting and exciting foods to substitute them for, otherwise I feel like I’m missing out and then it gets miserable. First up is a sweet/savoury snack that is so easy to make and tastes delicious. It’s got sugar in it so it’s not that…
Life in the van is a dream. It allows the space to connect with nature, and myself, and to write. It’s all I want. It’s definitely not the life for everybody because there’s the less-luxurious, nomadic side to this minimalist lifestyle that wouldn’t suit a lot of people. But for me, this way of living is perfect, and yet still, sometimes accepting this is harder than it sounds. The ego wants to get in the way: now I have the…
Living on the road full-time in the van means that every item we bring along for the ride has to earn its place. We are brutal in our appraisal of stuff, quickly ejecting anything that doesn’t meet our minimalist living requirements. Last year, conversations with Bavarian clothes maker JECKYBENG about poetry and the the outdoors, led to us reviewing some of their clothes. It’s taken a while to write about these beautifully crafted organic cotton jackets (made in family-owned European…
Sometimes when I write, I imagine the one person in the world who will hate what I’m about to say, then I multiply that into a thousand voices. Then I stop writing and go have a cry. It’s the same with vanlife. Some people get it, others don’t. I realise I’ve given too much energy in the past to justifying myself to people who have no intention of understanding of me. Not any more. Live your life. You don’t need…
The weather is fierce here today; black clouds and thick sea fog are taking it in turns to obscure the wild ocean view. Earlier we were battered by hailstones; the van occasionally rocks as if being pushed by a mob outside; the hounds only got a short run on the beach before we were harried indoors – they beat me to the van door to get in. After two winters with no heating, fitting the diesel heater this summer was…
Building a daily yoga practice has been a long journey. Some days it’s simply a run and stretches to connect breath to body. My arms aren’t so strong and I need to be able to get my ass up on that surfboard, but both my body and I agree on this so we do the work. Still these days I have no interest in the language of shred, burn or sculpt when opening dialogue with my physical self. I wouldn’t…
I turned 43 this year. I’d read that mid-forties is a difficult time as it’s when the ageing process becomes more noticeable. Ha. Fuck that. This year I’m learning to surf, spent a week living on my own in the van in a forest in Slovenia, and learned to love & trust myself more than I ever have done in the past. Maybe to some these aren’t massive achievements. We’re not the same – all needing different things from life…