Being Outside More

No time to write yesterday as I was travelling back from a weekend at Electromagnetic Field, described on their website as "a non-profit camping festival for those with an inquisitive mind or an interest in making things". This is the fourth time I have been with my family and my head is full of conversations and experiences. Very fun but very intense, and then I ran straight into preparing for a job interview this afternoon. To free up space for camping equipment in our small family car, my son and I travelled separately by train. In a car the journey takes about an hour, by train it's at least twice that. So I found myself on an unfamiliar route, sleepily staring out at a heatwaved scene and jotting down notes on my phone. Here's the result: Slow train An unfamiliar landscape The Midlands are hinterlands  Sun roasted fields, scrambling sprays of brambles line the track Already black with berries, unsettlingly early A level crossing Water stressed trees already brown...

Outside the window is an impressionist painting,  Streaks of taillights Words shout at me from all directions Insomnia cookies coming soon Black Friday week is coming!  If you were a fruit you'd be a fine apple Diverted traffic To Let. Self-contained office space, ample parking Wake up on the right side of the fridge! BBC Bristol Whiteladies Road camera zone Windows are misted with our breath now The view obscured Is that… snow? On a cold day in November I decided to take the bus to work rather than cycle to Forest School. I was taking notes on my phone of the things that I noticed from the window, particularly signs and advertising. So many words bombarding us as we move through our cities, Insomnia Cookies particularly perplexed me! I was very glad to have chosen the bus as wet flakes of snow began to hit the windscreen...  

Escape That row of gold on the Met Office app was an irresistible invitation Here’s your bus fare to escape the city Boots, rucksack, walking poles, map It’s been far too long, let’s go go go The thrill of playing hooky from the stress of last year Walking familiar paths, but always something new to see Climbing to the top of Maes Knoll, I’m the king of the castle Brilliant blue bowl of sky, breathtaking I may have whooped a little When my daughter was young she told me she took pictures with her eyes Today I take her advice and store up the snapshots Inky crows scribbled against bare branches Long tailed tits flitting Such richness of blue, all the fancy words needed Cerulean, azure, sapphire Dazzling me and filling me up After that high point falling into a satisfying rhythm My boots hitting the ground Nothing else for me to do but move forward Poem written on 17 November 2025 after taking the 376 Mendip Explorer bus from Bristol Temple Meads to Whitchurch. So many options for walks ...