Monthly Archives:

April 2020

family Wales

Me at 20

April 29, 2020

#MeAt20 has been trending on Instagram so I thought I’d share mine. In this photo my daughter Rhiannon is not even a week old. She was a bit jaundiced and stuck her tongue out for about the first three months. Everything in my life changed when I met her. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. This is a wierd photo because I’m so happy here, in my dad’s kitchen in Wrexham after getting back from the hospital,…

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When the voices are at peace

April 28, 2020

I think the internal struggle is the hardest because it’s the one we find most difficult to articulate. It’s the place perhaps where we need the most help but no one else knows where it is, and we don’t really know how to draw a map for fear of getting it wrong, or perhaps for fear of shining a light on the chaos. It’s a discussion (or argument) we can ultimately only really reconcile by ourselves, and yes I’m aware…

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dailyconnectionwithnature Europe minimalism nature vanlife

This slow travelling life

April 25, 2020

There are an infinite number of contradictory reasons why people decide to move into vans, and the vanlife community is as diverse as any you’ll meet. Digging down deep into our reasons, we find they’ve changed in these two-and-a-half years on the road. At first we wanted to simply travel, to see all the world and have new experiences. I suppose this is still true to a certain extent, but as we’ve slowed down, let go of expectation, and allowed…

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Mend and make do

April 21, 2020

The birdsong here starts at about 5.30am and continues until dusk, only pausing when the kite makes his twice-daily surveillance swing by. I’ve heard a bird singing at 11pm and have no idea what beautiful creation is spinning such liquid gold out into the night sky. The days flow past with the rainfall and I’m happy to just immerse in this riverbank’s none-silence as I patch blankets, or make vegan food. Occasionally, the ego screams about a lack of productivity…

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nature poetry Wales

On ceremony and trees

April 16, 2020

Continuing in the spirit of opening up some pieces that were previously behind a paywall while we’re all on lockdown… In the summer of 2019 two of our lovely friends, Darren & Aidan, made a commitment to each other witnessed by friends and family from across the globe, including the trees of Bute Park.  I was asked to create a ring ceremony for this and was immediately deeply honoured and terrified as it’s not something I’ve done before. I’ve spent…

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foraging for fennel fronds

April 14, 2020

We’ve been parked up on this same riverbank in Portugal now for a month as the spring season has unfurled, blossomed, and flowed around us. This week I suddenly noticed fennel fronds feathering out from the undergrowth. Fennel is such a delicious plant, sweet, fresh aniseed and a lush green colour. I was immediately inspired to make a bright, crisp brunch… and then again a slightly different one the next day, so here they are: Brunch #1 Crisp apple, carrot…

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