Bliss

Taking a break 😎

A Smile In The Sky

Although most of my creative writing is set amongst woodland habitats, my favourite environment by far is the coastline.  (I have, in fact, written one novella that is based on the sea and that particular book, Lore, was the most enjoyable of my books to write.) I find a real spiritual need to be near the sea and would find myself unhappy if I had to live more than a moderate walk's distance from a beach. There is something uniquely invigorating, both physically and mentally, about the sight of a vast seascape, the sound of roaring waves and the scent of salt laden. I find my senses expand when at the seaside and my thoughts broaden creatively. Visiting a beach lifts the spirit and can reset a mood that is starting to dip.

And so it was this evening when, despite the physical tiredness of having just completed a full day's work, I felt the call of the and headed down to the nearby coast for a picnic with my wife.

The sun was still shining and warm when we arrived a little after 7p.m., the breeze just a gentle stirring of air, and we found ourselves a lovely quiet little spot on the clifftop overlooking the sea. The birds sang excitedly abound us and the sound of the rolling waves. some fair distance beneath us, was gentle and edifying. I was looking forward to sitting back, taking in the surroundings and generally mellowing out as I watched the sea hopefully for a rare sighting of a dolphin or two. 

Not quite as tasty as it looks. Expected a lot more fizz despite its warning

A nice spot to sit and chill and watch the setting sun

But, just as I lowered myself to the ground to settle for the next hour or so, I noticed something in the sky I had never seen before in my fifty-three years of life - an upside down rainbow! From that moment, the coast became a background ambience to the spectacle in the sky above us.

A circumzenithal arc

This upside down rainbow, a smile in the sky, was quite startling to the eye, especially as I was not even aware of the existence of such thing. The technical name for them, I discovered after a quick Google search, are
Circumzenithal arcs and they are formed by the presence ice crystals in the clouds. They are especially prevalent when Sundogs are also on display, as indeed they were this evening 😊

Sundogs framing the setting sun

It was a beautiful evening, spent in the best of company, nourishment for the soul. And, already, I can feel the call of the sea stirring in blood again...

Hay Fever!

I would formally like to thank Piriton for allowing me to sit out in the garden to do a bit of reading this morning :)

Very Few Things Beat Reading In The Sunshine

With the first draft of my fifth book completed, I  am now taking a hard-earned break in the garden with this great Stephen King novel:

Very few things beat reading in the sunshine

Epsom Salts and Nag Champa

Having a nice long epsom salt bath in the hope that it eases my continuing back pain. Burning some nag champa incense to soothe my soul...

A Father's Day Evening in Burlingham

My last evening in Norfolk. It was a lovely birthday weekend and it was fantastic spending some time with my daughter again :) We (my wife, my daughter and myself) sat around the camp fire chatting and making the most of our time together.

Chilling and Chatting Round the Fire

Unfortunately, whilst I was collecting wood for the fire I did my back a bit of a mischief, the consequences of which I wouldn't feel until the next morning.

Yours truly collecting wood for the camp fire

Despite the lower back pain that was waiting quietly to plague me in the morning, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and will treasure the memories of my birthday weekend :)

Warming up our yurt for the night ahead

Enjoying the Sunshine

No writing today. Just going to enjoy the sunshine :)

Peace and Harmony in the Garden

I strive hard to make my garden a place of peace and harmony :)

Buddha Smiling

Prayer Flags Flying High Over My Garden

Spring has Sprung!

I won't lie. Winter's are a very real struggle for me. There appears to be two distinct versions of myself. And they are delineated clearly by the seasons. My hopes, inspirations, even my simple enjoyment of life are lost, swallowed whole, in the black void that is winter. In a possible attempt to protect myself through the darker half of the year, my minds goes into hibernation mode as early as September. My thoughts become cloudy and unfocused, as though it is afraid to think or even try to motivate itself. I have grown to dread this gloomy half of the year. But whilst my fear of this seasonal melancholy can and does stain my enjoyment of the brighter and warmer months in this country, my anticipation of the return of spring and summer offer a guiding light that helps me through the harsher moments of winter.

With all that said, it was with great relief this morning that bright morning sunshine drew me out into my garden with a mug of coffee in hand. Waiting for the drink to cool, I took a wander around the flower beds and saw, with delight, that Spring had finally sprung! I cherished my day in the garden, with the rays of the sun warm upon my face and very much look forward to the days, weeks and months ahead...

A morning coffee in the garden - one of life's simple pleasures

Seaglass Search at Ogmore

Making the most of the unseasonably good weather, I took an unplanned long stroll along the beach at Ogmore-By-Sea today.

The tide was already heading in by the time I reached the beach, so I did not get the chance to explore the rockpools the place is renowned for, but the weather was pleasant enough to just sit on the rocks and chill. Though the tide was coming in at quite an incredible speed and nearly caught me out a few times:

Despite the incoming tide, there was, luckily, still enough sand to partake of one of my favourite hobbies - searching for seaglass. I use the word luckily here for a particular a particular reason as, although there was not much seaglass on the beach, what few pieces I did manage to find were beauties.

Seaglass - Ogmore-By-Sea

One piece I found, in particular, made my day - a complete and perfectly smoothed glass bottle stop. Over the years, I have literally collected many hundreds of pieces of seaglass from innumerable beaches the length and breadth of the UK, but this piece is, beyond doubt, my best find to date:

A perfect bottle stop piece of seaglass

As well as seaglass, I also found lots of hag stones, such as this piece below:

I enjoyed the beach so much that I decided to stay and watch the sun go down.

It was a perfect sunset too, a brilliant end to a lovely sunny day :)

A Farewell to Cornwall

It was with a somewhat heavy heart that I bade farewell to Cornwall. It truly is a magical place and I wish I could have spent a lot longer exploring its coastline, its ancient sites as well as its folklore. I ended my holiday with a brief lunch at what is, without a doubt, Cornwall's most famous pub - the Jamaica Inn, made famous in Daphne du Maurier's classic novel that was named after the inn. 

The Jamaica Inn Pub Sign

Lunch with Du Maurier' characters in the Jamaican Inn

Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle is steeped in folklore. It is said to be the birthplace of the legendary King Arthur, as well as the site where he was infamously conceived. From Tintagel village, a well-kept path leads down steeply to the coast and the steps up to the castle. Often though, the least trod paths are the most picturesque and I found this far more scenic route located very close to the main tourist route:

The more scenic route to the coast of and castle of Tintagel

Unfortunately, when I visited the site, both the beach and castle were closed due to works on a new bridge that connects the island castle to the mainland. I was, however, able to get a photograph of the castle from the coastal path:

Unable to explore the castle, the beach or the legendary Merlin's cave, which is located beneath the castle, I sat back on the coastal clifftop and used the opportunity to relax and just soak up the atmosphere of this truly unique part of the Cornish coastline. :)

Feet up, it's time to soak up and enjoy the Cornish sunshine

Kite-Flying on Watergate Bay

My writer's cottage for a creative week spent in Cornwall, October 2018

Small Sea-cave at Mawgan Porth

Continuing my exploration of the coast around the writer's cottage I had rented for the week, I took a wander around Watergate Bay...

Watergate Bay

Watergate Bay

...and there I unfurled a small kite and cast it to the Cornish winds :)

My kite in the Cornish skies - its string
appearing here like a vapour-trail

Crows in the sky above Watergate Bay

Having communed with the elements, and the salt air having invigorated my spirits, it was time to head back to the cottage for the evening...

Sunset over Mawgan Porth

Sunset over Mawgan Porth

...and there to relax before a lovely, roaring, open fire.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

I had a little wander around The Lost Gardens of Heligan whilst staying in Cornwall a little while back.

It was a wonderful place to while away a few hours and whilst there I came across this great figure, created by Pete and Sue Hill.

I also filmed this little autumnal scene in the gardens, to remind me that, whilst Summer is definitely my preferred season of the year, Autumn has its own delights :)

Cornwall..

Regular visitors to my Pixie-Led site will have noticed that I recently spent a week down in Cornwall. It was lovely to get away from the rat-race and to recharge my batteries for a short while. And, as well as making good progress on my new novel whilst down there, I managed to visit a few intriguing and rather spectacular places too. After the long drive down to Mawgan Porth, however, my wife and I contented ourselves with just an evening's chill-out on the coast beneath the cottage we had rented for the week and we arrived just in time to watch the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. Precious times...

Nag Champa

There is no more calming and serenity-inducing fragrance for me than Nag Champa incense. The scent has an immediate effect upon my nerves and thoughts. The meditative chilled atmosphere it induces is immense. Burning this incense also induces creativity and is the perfect way to set the scene for a good old writing session. It works for me anyway and I loves it. Here are some links if you fancy reading some more on the topic [1][2].