After more than a year on a bodyboard and sharing a borrowed surfboard, then picking up a cheap-yet-totally-unsuitable second-hand shortboard purely because it would fit in the van’s ‘garage’, as well as having a go on every other board someone might be mad enough to let me on, and hiring a couple of different sizes and shapes, and bothering everyone I know who surfs about board suitability, I finally settled on this quite lovely Mini Mal. She’s feisty enough that…
Time is an ocean or a raindrop. One decade gives itself over to another and I think more that our counting of time feels awkward, and almost childish: like a stick drawing of a horse or hummingbird that can only relay the most basic and rudimentary outline. This might be the last time I worry about Xmas or New Year. Each time the winter rolls beneath walking feet I find myself, like so many other women around me these days,…
Woke remembering this poem. Living slow allows the space to listen to the subconscious and really think about what she’s trying to tell me instead of rushing off and discounting her. Posting this here as a note to self, and to you, for this coming solstice, Yuletide, and a new decade that will manifest in reflection of us. We are magic. I think sometimes we forget that. Listen to the whole poem on Soundcloud.…
Cant believe I caught this shot today. Love this pair so much. They make life on the road infinitely more interesting. This basically sums up my year, so I’m gonna leave it here for you all to enjoy. You’re welcome. #vanlife #vanlifeeurope #homeiswhereyouparkit #rescuehounds #adoptdontshop #spain #dogslife #bestfriends #vanhounds #houndsofinstagram …
I feel there’s not enough easily accessible information about being in the outdoors and women’s periods/moons/cycles. A recent exchange made me realise that instead of expecting male writers to include words detailing it, outdoor women could write more openly about it all. I was inspired to write this after reading an article ‘How To Shit in the Woods’ on the Gather Outdoors website, which I highly recommend for its practical, environmental approach to, well, shitting in the woods. If you…
Two year vanniversary!! Two years ago on Nov 23rd @andyrgarside and I gave the keys back to our rented home in Wrexham and set off on what can only be described as The Adventure of a Lifetime. We had, simultaneously, epic plans and also no idea what the future held. It’s been a white-knuckle-ride through: healing relationship trauma, questioning everything we thought we wanted, navigating a new and completely different physical and emotional space, coming to terms with having 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…
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…
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…
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…