Back again…

I really need to dedicate a little more time to this, and get into the habit of blogging. So I’m not going to blather on about why I haven’t written a thing for months (unbelievable amounts of work time sitting in front of a computer screen being the main one). There’s been loads of things which I’ve been thinking/reading/talking/writing about since I last wrote in July, but I don’t really have time to go into it in masses of details now.

But a general list would be:

• I’m reading a lot about clouds at the moment – well, I’ve only really covered Cumulus and Cumulonimbus, but it’s pretty inspiring stuff (and especially since we moved to Galway where you can see SO much sky!). They are quite special really, and looking at them more appreciatively helps make the endless rainy/cloudy weather of Ireland more bearable!
• I’m getting very psyched up for Christmas. I had a quick flick through Nigella’s Christmas book today, and there’s loads of lovely stuff there which I want to cook. This will be our first Christmas hosting the whole family (7 of us not including the dog!) and our first in Ireland, so I really want it to go well.
• I’ve been obsessively planning our future straw bale house which we will build whenever we can get some cash/land etc. Even though this may be some way off in the future I still think it’s worth planning – and the more tangible my dreams I figure the more I will work to achieve them.
• I’ve been working a lot recently, which is tiring, but at least I do enjoy it most of the time. I’ve been reading and learning lots about the digital world, and there’s so many cool things going on
• I’ve been reading lots of other people’s fanatstic blogs, which inspire me every day. I will list some of these very soon.

Well, I will head off now. But with a new inspiration to write more regularly. Promise!

Inspirational lecture

Yo’ve gotta love Steve Jobs. This is such a great speech I had to post a link to it. It’s on the long side, but it’s totally worth it…

Apologies for the absence!

I am hanging my head in shame. After starting this blog with such good intentions I have allowed it to languish unattended for over a month. Admittedly only one as foolish as myself would hurl themselves into such a project just a few days before moving their entire life from one country to another. A more moderate, patient person would have waited. But never mind, I’m here in lovely Galway now, and pretty much settled. So blogging is back on the agenda.

And what a lot I have to blog about! Since I last posted here I have driven halfway across Europe (which was, as it always is a fabulous experience, and one which I cherish, because I’m sure it won’t be long before the fuel crisis makes this impossible).  I will try to post some pics of the journey soon. I’ve been thinking a lot about transport in the future, by the way, and how we can think creatively of ways to get around. But that’s for another post.

Sadly, half way across France our poor  old car lost her fifth gear, so the latter part of the journey was a bit nerve-wracking, especially as we absolutely HAD to make the ferry, as it was the only one with kennel space for our lovely dog (the Bean). She detested the kennel room (with reason, as it smelt vile and was filled with barking dogs). She’s quite sensitive the Bean, and it was upsetting for all involved that she wasn’t allowed in our cabin. But apparently it’s due to fears that another passenger may be struck down with pet-related anaphylactic shock in the middle of the ocean. Seems unlikely to me, but I guess you never know.

So Galway is great – we’ve lucked out by arriving just before the Arts Festival. My new job is good too. Working for a Media company, which is getting me back into thinking about social psychology, linguistics, typography and visual communication. And I’m hoping to get involved with the Transition Town Galway project, which is in its infancy. Creatively, I’ve been getting into embroidery and needlecraft, and hopefully will be starting a course on dressmaking (or maybe the textile design course) in September.

All of which is quite thrilling, especially after the months of inactivity, indecision and waiting in Rome. I miss the old place of course, and the friends we have there, but Rome’s so big and old it’s not going anywhere too fast. So hopefully this spirit of optimism and motivation will continue, and this little blog will flourish. I don’t know quite what to promise you…variety for sure. I guess I just have to write away and hope that someone out there may be even a tiny bit interested. By the way, my camera is old and pretty temperamental, so in the interests of having some imagery I may have to refer to pics on other sites. If any of this contravenes copyrights please do let me know!

Imagetastic

What with running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything sorted for our imminent departure from Rome (in just over 3 days!!!!!!) and having had Eileen the letting agent in Galway turn out to be a bit of a nutter, I haven’t had much time to think, let alone to write a decent, well thought out post. And seeing as there’s probably very few people (if any) reading this, I’m not going to get too worried.

Instead I’m having a technical practice. I got all bogged down the other day trying to insert an image from someone else’s flickr site, and it just wouldn’t insert it, whatever I did. So today I’m going to point you in the directions of something I stumbled upon, which is a fantastic ASCII text-image generator site called t.y.p.o.r.g.a.n.i.s.m
Now I just need to work out how to get the image I generate up here.

Buy local inspiration

I was browsing through the Flickr site of a fantastic illustrator called Linzie Hunter, when I spotted this charming chap. Down with Tesco! Vive la local!

Hedgewitchery

I have lots of things to say at the moment, but as we’re now only 8 days away from our big move from Rome to Italy I am a totaly whirl of activity, with a slight undercurrent of panic, so I don’t really have the time I’d like to dedicate to this blog yet.

But in honour of my very first comment (thanks butisitpc) a quick description of hedewitchery.

Hedgewitchery is a form of neo-paganism. I came across it through the books of Rae Beth, who is a fantastic woman (I heard her speak at a conference once – very inspirational). It’s all about connecting with nature, wild energies and walking your path with a foot on either side of the boundary between the mundane and the spiritual (the hedge). Most hedgewitches are solitary practitioners, although they can be members of other pagan groups. For me, I came to paganism after much searching, thinking and reading, because although I did have a faith that there is some form of higher consciousness, I totally don’t buy into the idea that it is male, and for me Christianity’s story seemed totally full of holes. I read a lot of books on Buddhism, but it never really spoke to me. In the last few years i’ve read a lot about gnosticism, and have come to the conclusion that these gnostic faiths share a huge amount in common. But Paganism inspires me for many reasons – because it feels more of my cultural heritage, because it is a faith which empowers women, because it takes time to honour the feminine divine as well as the masculine and finally because it is a very personal faith. Because Paganism was driven almost to extinction (there is an ongoing debate about how much if at all our modern faith is connected with those practitioners of the ‘old ways’) it has no holy books and no church hierarchy. It is a religion where people are free to choose their own practices and inspirations, and the only overarching tenet is ‘if it harms none, do what you will’. Which, along with ‘know thyself’ is what I try to live my life by.

Many people come to paganism by way of Wicca, as it’s probably the best known. Personally I felt myself a little uncomfortable with the ritual form which this brings. I understand where Wicca developed, and I’m thankful that in the 1950s people like Gerald Gardner went against the prevailing religious atmosphere to revive this old faith. But for me, I prefer a more organic and personal communication with deity as I see it. And hedgewitchery is about an individual shamanic connection with nature, which makes more sense to me.

I wouldn’t say that my faith, or my way of practicing is set in stone. In terms of archetypes, I wouldn’t have been the village shaman, I’d say I’m more intellectually driven (i.e. I tend to think myself into inactivity). So in my own way I bumble along, and if the practices I have wouldn’t be considered ‘proper hedgewitchery’ then I don’t beat myself up about it.

Welcome to my first blog post!

Well here I am entering the world of blog.

To be honest I’m not really sure what I’m doing, but I’ve decided it’s best to just dive in and hope for the best. It seems appropriate that today’s the first post, as today we cemented our travel plans for the journey to our new life in Galway. I booked our ferry from France to Ireland, and our accommodation for the first night of the journey, which is also my birthday. So it seems it’s all steam ahead with a new job, a new age and a new name. It’s so exciting!

I’ve been thinking a bit about what I hope this blog will be…I suppose a creative stimulus of some kind. A while ago I read ‘The Way of the Artist’ by Julia Cameron, and she advocates an outpouring of consciousness every day in order to release the blocks we have within us. I definitely have fear of putting my thoughts/creations out in the ether, and I wonder who, if anyone would want to read this blog. I terrified myself by reading some great blogs which seem like giants in comparison to my feeble gnat-like efforts. But then I guess it’s all about evolution, and you can’t get big unless you start small and simple. So this a blog at the mud skipper stage, and hopefully it will progress and not become a mutant dead-end (so to speak).