I had this ritual before leaving home each morning for work on my bike. I would make sure to say goodbye to my partner with a hug or a kiss, and I would also turn and say goodbye to the house and garden. Why? I often thought, well, I might not see either again if …
I've been thinking a lot about fundamentalism these days, and how we as humans can so easily use fundamental ideas and primary positions to become superior to others. With a tightly held idea, theory or attitude firmly in place, we can easily dismiss others if they disagree with us, because we know we are right. …
While it's been bitterly cold these past few weeks, I thought I'd write about a walk my friends and I did last summer while it was uncommonly hot out. We had been staying in Bourton and exploring Bishopstone and the South Downs, near Swindon, and on the last day of our Airbnb I suggested we …
3rd July, 5km. It's been raining heavily on and off this week, and today we were braced for more rain, but luckily so far it's held off. Our friends Margaret and Stephen were driving from London to visit us, and we had been gardening, cleaning the house and cooking for a few days in advance …
I think this quote from J Krisnamurti is essential; I feel it offers a signpost, or some answer, to where we as a human species need to go next, in order to dramatically change our world from the present destructive trajectory we're on. The old paradigm, or cultural narrative that we have lived in and …
I have been an activist for decades. While I was too late to protest Vietnam, I grew up with the music of the 60's and their stories. In the 80's I attended classes taught by Quakers about the USA and their dirty secret war in El Salvador and what naughtiness they were conducting in Latin …
I recently organised an Ancient Tree walk. My goal was to introduce people to one of our ancient oaks living here in West Berkshire and to share what I’ve learned about using the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory. The plan was to gather at the Donnington Castle car park. I had some trepidation that nobody …
In these times of extreme superficiality and polarisation, I find it all too easy to fall in line with what I should be doing according to every Facebook post I read, every Guardian media article I mull over breakfast or the latest informative Netflix movie playing. It seems we have become a deeply reactive species. …
Sunday, 02 January. Three of us went to Pen Wood in Hampshire for a walk before the rainstorm set in. It was muddy and of course none of us wore our wellies. But we gingerly picked our footsteps and made our way through the sodden forest tracks. Even though you can hear the din from …
29 November. It's been stormy and cold out lately, and last night after leaving our lantern-making workshop at the old Greenham Base, we found ourselves surrounded in snow flurries. It was such a marvel to behold the first snow of this winter, to be reminded of the elegance of snow falling down to earth and …
I wrote this poem recently to read at a public ceremony held in Goldwell Park, Newbury. The event was held to unveil a special wooden plaque handmade from Oak and Yew wood to commemorate the 2 Lockdown Wood sites in Newbury (Goldwell Park and Barn Crescent), and on this occasion, to remember those who have …
15 June. 14 miles. It's been swelteringly hot lately in SE England - near 30C - so this morning while it was cooler out I was feeling the familiar pull to gear up for a cycle ride and get some fresh air and explore more of the countryside. And I had a stack of old …
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