Newsletter 004
A few things that ground me in wintertime.
I find that my appetite for ‘adventure’ comes and goes in waves. It has it’s own seasons. Sometimes I’m taken by the idea of something big, grand and bold. I want to pack three duffel bags and quest off into somewhere for weeks at a time that will really challenge me. At other times I dream of something close to home but still a little more far flung. I’ve always been obsessed by the Isle of Skye, and recently I’ve had these little fantasies centred around the Cuillin Ridge, a sailboat and my family. But at other times (and actually more often than not, these days) this yearning for adventure and the little dreams in my head stay very, very local. I feel pretty connected to the natural world and I’m good at finding ‘everyday adventure’ and ‘everyday nature’. Note - this is learned behaviour, but now that it’s there it has a profound impact on my day to day life.
Maybe it’s the time of year, but I’m very much in a hunker-down kind of mindset at the moment. I like going out so that I get to come back home and warm up, nestle in and hibernate in the evenings. With that comes a change in what I read, watch and listen to. As I bring these letters back to life after relaunching the podcast, I wanted to share a few things that are personal favourites, or that mean something to me. They all speak to a close connection to home and to sense of place.
First up, something to watch: Fools and Dreamers
When I became a father I had quite a lot of time sat in an armchair with a baby on my knee. She was asleep, but my job was to stay awake and keep her safe. I watched a lot of TV (mostly reruns of River Cottage) but I also found this amazing series of short films by Happen Films. This one in particular blew me away. I fell in love with the idea that we can wholly dedicate ourselves to a place out of a sense of stewardship despite the odds. The world could do with a few more Hugh Wilsons.
Something to listen to: Awake Arise
I’ve been a fan of folk music for most of my adult life, and a few artists in particular. I have a pretty diverse and eclectic taste in music, but I struggle to get behind pretty much any Christmas music. Enter ‘Awake Arise’. This is NOT a Christmas album. It’s a dedication to winter and all that comes with it. It has traditional songs, new songs, a few spoken word poems, a recipe and a whole load of other weird and wonderful additions. It roots me to winter more than pretty much anything else, and a few tracks (in particular The Old Churchyard, Snow Falls, Heading For Home and Hope is Before us) do funny things to me. I saw them perform this album live in a tiny theatre in Aldeburgh with only fifty other people and I left feeling like I’d just had spells cast on me.
For me, it’s as beautiful, raw and organic as music gets.
Something to read: Walden
Walden is a testament to staying still rather than travelling through. I have read this book countless times, and the picture above is a photograph of my copy. It’s a pocket version, and it’s been to six continents. I dip in and out of it regularly, and I find it incredibly hopeful and grounding in it’s simplicity. Whilst the book seems to be focussed on bigger picture philosophy, I get a huge amount from the daily life of Thoreau. His shopping lists and comments on his day to day tasks are almost meditative in their simplicity. If the idea of holding up in a cabin for two years doesn’t give you some winter snugness then I’m not sure what will.
If you dig into any of the links above then let me know what you think in the comments.
Happy winter.
Matt