The Missing Links 2021

Covid19 has continued to wreak havoc with planned visits this year. These are the places I have been concentrating my efforts on getting to in 2021.

The House Gardens in Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't visit the House Gardens at all in Spring 2020, due to the first Covid19 lockdown. I was determined to visit them in Spring 2021. We visited them once in March, once in April and twice in May and very beautiful they were.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crane Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I visited this park when I was very young. It lingered in my mind and I was very pleased to revisit it in 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Belfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One and a half years since first booking our Belfast trip, it was a relief to get there in June 2021. I found Belfast to be enjoyable, intriguing and slightly old-fashioned. I particularly enjoyed the Titanic quarter by the River Lagan and the sightseeing bus tour.

 

Japanese Garden @ Regent's Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited this place on a summer’s Saturday in June. It was very crowded and a bit fraught. But I was pleased to have made it here at last.

 

 

Westfield Park, Shepherds Bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We used to go to Westfield just to look at the shops, but on recent visits I have become intrigued with the urban park that is being developed there. Plus, we can enjoy a latte in one of the many cafes and visit a real life book shop.

 

The V&A Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy and I both agreed that the V&A was our favourite museum in London. We hope to enjoy an unrestricted visit here before the end of the year.

Take me to church

I was a regular attendee at my local Church of England for ten years between 2008 and 2018. I found it quite helpful, but the church wasn't well attended and the vicar seemed to resent getting up early for so few people. I fought a little to keep the service going, but now I enjoy my lie-ins on a Sunday morning. I kind of miss church and maybe, when I have more energy, I may become a regular church goer again.

Eight wellbeing books

 

As well as reading fiction, novels, short stories and poetry I have also enjoyed reading and rereading the following eight wellbeing books over the past year or so.

 

The Mindfulness Journal by Corrinne Sweet

The happiness passport by MC Hayes

The serenity passport by MC Hayes

Pottering by Anna McGovern

The mindful home by C & D Hassed

The little book of mindfulness by P Collard

The little book of inner peace by AD Bush

Slow by Jo Peters

Although I enjoy all of the books, I would say my absolute favourite is Anna McGovern's 'Pottering' book. It is very down to earth and amusing. It is accompanied by the endearingly quirky artwork of Charlotte Ager.

The Star Heart Cafe

I have loved spending time alone in cafes since the 1990s. Pubs have taken over a little in the past few years, but the call of cafes is never far away. I have run two imaginary cafes in my life. The first was The SubVerse Poetry Tea Room which ran for five years from 2000 to 2005. The second is The Star Heart Cafe which is both my blog and my craft stall which both started in 2013. There is generally something civilised about a cafe, hopefully something comforting; it's social but not intimate. Hopefully you can just relax, be yourself and not get bothered too much by anything or anyone.

Forest Therapy

The concept of forest bathing comes from Japan. If you don't have a Japanese forest near you to bathe in, hopefully you can still find a few trees to befriend. We have Ruislip Woods near us which has a lido in the middle of it and can offer great opportunities for mindful walking and connecting with nature. Trees can be inspiring, beautiful, healing and fascinating. Slowing down and taking in the magic of trees and nature can be very good for us.

The Last Flight?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post celebrates my 33 years of air travel. As you can see, by many people’s standards, I haven’t travelled that much by plane, so all these visits are so much more vivid and special.

              1.      1988 – Athens, Greece

My Greek holiday was part of my European Grand tour, back in the late 1980s. I flew to Athens to embark on a Greek Island cruising holiday with Club 18-30. This was my plane and boat holiday, rather than my coach, bus or train holiday. I had an accident and got quite sick on this trip.

  

2.      1992- Egypt

In 1992 I travelled to Israel to stay on a kibbutz and from here my family had an interesting, culturally enlightening trip across the Sinai desert to Cairo.

 

3.      1993 – Paris, France

This was my second visit to Paris. We visited the Rodin museum, ate in the Iranian quarter and watched a French film.

 

4.      1996 – Prague, Czech Republic

Prague was the place on mainland Europe I hadn’t managed to visit on my grand tour. This was a lovely holiday and Prague was a beautiful city.

 

5.      1997 – Budapest, Hungary

My partner wanted to visit Budapest, so we did. It was quite hot.

 

6.      1999 – Israel

In 1999 I returned to the kibbutz in Israel to attend a wedding.

 

7.      2005 – The Dordogne, France

The noughties were a bit vague and messy, mainly because motherhood was very overwhelming for me. This holiday is a bit murky. I remember staying in a small French village and enjoying pleasant visits to the surrounding countryside.

 

8.      2017 – New York City, USA

We visited six foreign countries in the 2010s mainly via train and in particular Eurostar. I’m so glad I managed to fly to New York in 2017. It was one of the best weeks of my life.

 

            9.      2021 – Belfast, Northern Ireland 

It took one and a half years to finally visit Northern Ireland and Belfast, because of the pandemic. It was such a relief to get here, thirty-one years after visiting Southern Ireland and Dublin, which I travelled to via train and boat. The holiday didn’t disappoint, I really enjoyed our trip.

Breath and Body

I did my first mindful meditation with my daughter in March 2018. It was the body scan from 'The beginners guide to mindfulness'. Since then I have been a regular meditator. The two basic meditations are breath awareness and the body scan; which really get you into the present moment. Acknowledging that you are essentially a living, breathing body, whatever else is going on in your life; it can keep you grounded in the now, aware of your life essence.

Water Therapy

When I was going through a very bad time in 2018 I had strong feelings that what I wanted to do most was to be by water; by rivers, the canal, by the sea, lakes and ponds. I just wanted to walk, sit or stand by water, to contemplate it and feel myself moving along with the flow of life. I still feel this way, I especially want to be by the sea, especially to live near it. We and the world are mostly water, so I guess this makes sense.

Belfast at last

 

I first thought of the idea of visiting Belfast in 2019. I booked our trip there and got Amy a new passport in Janurary 2020. Because of the pandemic it got cancelled in March 2020 and October 2020. We finally made it here in June 2021, two years since I first thought of having the holiday. I enjoyed the city, it was small and I felt it had a bit of a seventires and eighties feel about it. 

ALF by the sea

I crave living a simpler, slower life. I often imagine myself living a simpler, slower life by the sea, possibly on my own. We at least manage to get down to the sea once or twice a year. Below are some of my favourite pictures of our times by the sea. Cardiff and Brighton are possibly my favourite seaside places, but these holidays were all quite special.

 Cardiff

Cornwall

Whitby

  

Brighton

 Isle of Wight

Torquay

Space Therapy

I nearly forgot how important contemplating our place in the universe is to our well-being and mental health. Humility is an important, often underestimated quality, it is, after all, about being humble. What better way to let go of our everyday troubles than to contemplate the vastness of time and space and our insignificance in the face of it. It is good to do our best with what we have; just because we are small beings, living small lives, does not mean we don't do anything positive. It is good to do what good we can. Count stars, contemplate eternity, visit a space observatory, connect with the vastness beyond your little life and little world, it could be wonderfully liberating.