face your fear

the brain is a peculiar thing
it holds deep memory
it pushes negative things into the recesses
and brings positive to the forefront
if you allow

despite living beside the seaside for most of my life
I don't swim but adore being next to  the sea

a lake, a river, an ocean

I have a fear of being in or on open water
born from a childhood incident
that I really don't remember
but my brain does
I walk the shoreline
dip my feet and ankles
but that's as far as I go
until this week ....
I felt the time was right to face my fear
with my hand held
I walked into the lake, to my waist
and dipped my shoulders under the water
looking at the mountains from the water line

calm breath, a smile
for a short moment I lifted my feet from the sand
I was safe
and it felt amazing

**** flowers, fetes and friends

one thing the French love

is a Fete

they take them very seriously

plenty of effort is put in to set them up

there are fetes for everything

music, food, flowers, nuts, bears

you name it

and my village is no exception

so I took it as an excuse to escape the

four day 'feria' in La Bastide

a 35 minute drive from my house is

Bordebasse 

the home of Jimmy & Gill who very kindly

let me stay for three nights of quiet and calm

this lake is in the grounds 

and those grounds are full of wild flowers

campion

wild orchids 

orange blossom

and in the adjoining land

a field of linseed

with their tiny delicate blue

if you need a getaway

I'd thoroughly recommend staying here

it's a little piece of heaven 

in the hills

~~:~~ 

⊂⊃ living on an island

in May I spent a few days on the Isle of Wight

with my Mother, Aunt and Cousin

we met my Uncle at Sandown

where we scattered my Nan's ashes

my family had lived on the Island for many years

this hut on the prom belonged to Harry Scovell

he would sell his catch to local fish shops

and take their scraps to bait his lobster pots

with his faithful dog Sailor

my Uncle used to help him bring in the pots

and my Mum and Aunt would scrabble in the sand

for dropped coins from the jackets that were slung on the

back of deckchairs

they would spend all day out with a sandwich

and a bottle of water with sherbet

this is where they lived ~ changed now

my Grandmother took in 'visitors' in the Summer

so the children slept in a little room downstairs 

out the back

and made themselves scarce during the day

we visited Auntie Maggie

who isn't really an Aunt but was a good friend

she chattered away telling stories

as we sipped tea

we dipped our toes in the Solent

and found hagstones 

one left on my ancestors grave

simple lives well lived

and loved