On the 28th February, literally an hour before the US attacked Iran, Steve entered a monastery and surrendered his phone, the clothes he was wearing, his backpack and everything in… [Continue Reading]
Category: travel
A little visit to the USA softened by a soundtrack of American classics
I’m in California. Yup, right now. Not a great time to come to this country, and for sure I was nervous. So many stories this year of tourists getting treated… [Continue Reading]
The clear as mud case for meditation
After many years of dreaming about it (and countless google searches, emails kept in my draft folder, endless tabs kept open), I finally went to a meditation retreat! A week… [Continue Reading]
A Rant: high-season moaning insta-tourists
Another day, another boatload of excited but tired passengers from Bali arrive on the island. The transfer boat pulls up alongside the floating jetty and the newcomers stand up to… [Continue Reading]
A little (big) love story
Once upon a time there was a Welshman who loved to ride bikes, climb mountains and dive in the ocean. Steve had been through a lot; a life of service,… [Continue Reading]
A non-first-world problem
Last night, with literally just a few hours notice, the fresh water supply on our tiny island of Gili Meno was turned off by order of the government. Today nobody… [Continue Reading]
dance this chance
what a dance, this chance, these two butterflies floating and exploring tentatively side by side, fluttering in the sunshine between leaves and petals and floating on the breeze where the… [Continue Reading]
the Age of Rage
2018, my first day back in the country. Banora Point, Tweed Coast. The lights turn green and I accelerate around the bend towards the on-ramp to the M1. When I… [Continue Reading]
Sunshine Wine
The white-capped hills around me, silver in the sun, were exotic. Romantic even, to my eye. I heard the woolly sheep in the green fields become silent when they stopped… [Continue Reading]
A tiny tourist island… with no tourists
Gili Meno, the tropical island that’s been my home for the last five years, is tiny. I often walk around the whole island, barefoot-in-the-sand-at-sunset, and my phone shows me it’s… [Continue Reading]