Wednesday 31 December 2014

⩆⩆ new year

here’s to the future my friends—hope I can see you there
we’ll have a drink together somewhere, somewhere
here’s to the future darlings—whatever may come to pass
I send you with my good graces and that’s a fact

what have you got to lose? Whichever paths you choose
keep in mind that the fates are kind if you let them be so
and I know you will

here’s to the future brothers-raise your cups in the air
here’s to the future sisters and all the unlikely pairs

what have you got to lose? Whichever paths you choose
keep in mind that the fates are kind if you let them be so
and I know you will
here’s to the future my friends—and all that it holds in store
I hope that each day from now on holds more .…


Sunday 28 December 2014

⩚⩛ step off the pavement

when you walk around
it’s easy to spot the well trodden paths 
that people have made for themselves

they’re those worn-down patches in parks
 the ones that branch off and cut across the grass
 between the trees
a people’s hypotenuse

in Finland, I hear
when the city wants to pave some new pathways
 they send workers out right after fresh snow fall
 to see where people are walking

these are desire paths, or desire lines
 the natural behaviour among people 
that shows you where the optimal path 
should be

desire lines are any paths roads or routes
 officially acknowledged 
or not
that people exhibit a preference for

apparently after the Great Fire
 Christopher Wren tried to lay out the city in a regular grid
 but Londoners continued to walk along 
where the old winding streets had been
 using the old, unburned stone church-spires to navigate them
walking through the construction sites
 forcing the streets back to their old places

like ants we walk our preferred paths
 a trip to the newsagents
 the route to the office
 we probably go this way and that way without thinking
there's beauty in desire lines
expressions of collective will
indicators of the memory of repeated human actions
our own engravings upon the landscape

my experience of life has been 
that there is more to be discovered 
by stepping from the tarmac 
meandering off down a dusty track
 delighting in the possibility of liberation 
offered by these paths which appear year after year
a complete disregard to those official routes 
laid out by the parks department

one day you’ll be walking along 
and see those little trails of history criss-crossing the land 
and think 'that’s where someone followed their desire'


Tuesday 23 December 2014

❖ year end

not sure I managed to live by the word
I chose for the year 
{extend}
2014 has been a struggle for so many people
those around me as well as those I do not know

so here's a new mantra
for all the stuff
physical stuff 
mental stuff
stuff we think we need
stuff we really don't need
yeah all that STUFF ....
so happy 2015
let's stuff it full of all the good things
the right things for us!

♥︎

Sunday 7 December 2014

❤❤ 91 years

 not so good on her feet
she said it was reading and doing crosswords
that kept her brain sharp
along with family, laughter and friends
my dear old Nan
now at rest 

Saturday 11 October 2014

⚐⚑ what lies beneath

gathering at the Fishermans Chapel
from many corners 
a talk by Graham Harwood on the impact of shipping 
and other environmental hazards
on the delicate ecosystem along the Thames Estuary 
once a landfill site but now marshland
and Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve
taking water samples 
measuring air quality and ambient sound
hooking up a geiger counter to an iphone
how blue is the sky with a
cyanometer?
as a drone flew above our heads
samphire, mugwort, fennel, wild apples, blackberries
a veritable feast for foragers
collating information
geotagging images
making a digital map 
the citizens data of historic detritus 
a base line beginning as the shipping lanes grow
                   

Saturday 4 October 2014

♣ green eyes

this tiny propeller plane
took us to Ireland for the day

to inspect some equipment
in the hospital that was 'nun run'
Bono's kids had been born there
the taxi driver told us
you can't go to Dublin without visiting 
a swift half pint
watching dapper men
shirts tucked in
flaked paint and the smell of ale
then home again

Saturday 6 September 2014

☼ best days

 before the children broke up for their
Summer holidays
I visited my good friend Suzie
and her family in the 
South of France
a highlight in my year has been going to the
caves of Niaux with her
an other worldly experience
magical, breathtaking 
eating the biggest platter of vegetarian 
deliciousness at the Jardin en Ville 
bathing in beautiful light
this is the first Summer I have spent alone
and I admit 
it's very lonely
and the light doesn't always shine 

Tuesday 26 August 2014

☼ established

 as I walk my path each day
my garden 
growing
glowing 

pentax spotmatic II
kodak ektar 100

Saturday 23 August 2014

➢➣ althorne to burnham

more images from our walk
through wheatfields
where Althorne Creek meets the River Crouch
stopping at the 'cliffs'
 a cup of tea while the tide is out
landslips reveal fossils
big skies
birds call
the gentle sound of water

Sunday 17 August 2014

☄ where the wind blows

sometimes you just have to get out 
and walk it off
from Althorne to Burnham-on-Crouch
along the coastal path
photo by my sweet friend who wore unsuitable footwear
x

Saturday 9 August 2014

** one hundred years

some children never understood 
the Moomins
they found them a bit weird
I still have my books
and love the illustrations
her writing transports you
to another world
her world

thank you Tove

Tuesday 29 July 2014

★☆ I've fallen in love with Marrakech

a special birthday treat 
 spent in a 12th Century storytellers Riad
 in the Medina
close enough to walk to the square
but far enough to hear the distant calls to prayer
an oasis in the bustling old city
the sights, sounds and smells of the Souks
stay with you
then four nights in an olive grove
in the Atlas Mountains
 amazing food and a few drinks
relaxation
5 star

Thursday 24 July 2014

☯ the circle doesn't end

these are the hands of my birth Father, Michael
the name of my Mother tattoo'ed on both
they were only married for a short time
he was a heavy smoker
and it was to be the death of him this year

about 4 years before he died
we found each other again
I'm pleased I was able to meet him
what he leaves behind are all my other family
his widow, aunts, uncles, cousins,
second cousins and my half brother
I've found all of them too 




Wednesday 18 June 2014

□■ pieces of paper

hello my name is Dee
and I'm addicted to collecting
other people's shopping lists
as you can see
I have a few .....

perhaps one day I shall put them in a book!
{you can see over 500 of them here}