Sarah

Tom and I just spent the weekend at the Green man festival in Wales. It was lovely…really really lovely and I would definitely like to go again. There was sunshine, rain, mud, lots of nice food, cider, rum and no washing for three days. Here is a before an after shot of the poor festival site that took a bit of a battering.

See you there in 2009 - 21, 22, 23 August.

This week has been exceptionally busy. Luckily the schedule this evening includes an few hours at the spa in Bath. I have learnt some things though. On Monday I learnt that watching two A list celebrities on stage makes the audience slightly over excited and that a high proportion of ladies I know have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum. On Tuesday I learnt about cooling and boreholes and waste heat and ventilation shafts. On Wednesday I learnt that beautiful music in beautiful rooms can move you to tears. On Thursday I learnt that learning three nights in a row makes me tired on a Thursday.

I’m not a poetry kind of person but I love this. It is about the relationship between family and photography, told from the point of view of someone who didn’t have a family. It is by Lemn Sissay.

Click
“Now come on everybody smile,
come on smile” Click
Our lives are punctuated by this
Thousands of children in orphanages
Asked take my picture take my picture
And the response, negative.

Now one of them
as an adult looks back into her past
and there are none, no pictures
Neither photographers, nor time, nor place.
And when she turns to say “do you remember?”
There’s no one to..
If there is no proof she existed then
Did she.
And so she learned to incorporate
Her own invisibility in her adult life.
Persona non grata to her own past
An entire gallery of untaken photograph

Out in the world of families she grew to know
The click wind click wind click wind
Of every body else’s every day life
All family is, she thought,
is a group of people taking pictures
Of each other over a life time.

And each person has a different angle
On the interpretation of each picture
And there are opinions and arguments
and great big nuclear fall outs about this.
And people think that that is what family is
They are fighting over the negatives
And someone won’t talk to someone else
Because someone else sees the picture
Entirely, differently. How easy families pixelate

But she knows that families that the nature of family
Is that it forgets that it was never about the interpretation
It’s about the fact that the picture was taken in the first place
And so after 45 years when she saw him, there
What developed, what focussed, as he looked at her
Was the decisive moment. Click.
Now smile . Come on you two . Smile.

…continued from the first part of the holiday…

Tuesday 11

Scourie - Durness (29 miles)
Accommodation: Lazy Crofter bunkhouse

Ouch. Bones were aching after the hillfest of the day before and it didn’t help that the view from our breakfast room was of the massive hill on the other side of the bay we would be starting off the day with. But it turned out not to be too bad. After the first ridiculous steep climb it levelled out a little. I don’t mean flat but a more genteel gradient and we also benefitted from a good tail wind. It seemed to last like that for the first part of the morning and we got higher and higher until we were eventually in the cloud. Or it was just really foggy. It was eerie but just another aspect of the Scottish weather we had to experience.

After a while we came out of the clouds and started on what would be about a seven mile descent into Durness. The light was incredible as the cloud just formed a thick blob above our head and outside of this the sun lit up the hills and mountains in very strange ways.

We ended up getting to the hostel by about 1pm and after checking in to out tiny room - slightly smaller than the sleeper cabin - and eating some lunch we did a bit of exploring in Durness the most north westerly village on mainland Britain.

We went to the Balnakeil craft village, a former a post World War II military encampment and now home to various cafes, bookshops and craft shops and the excellent Cocoa Mountain

We came back to the hostel to cook a nice meal and chat to a couple who hadn’t been able to get a B&B and were generally moaning because there was nothing to do in the area and nowhere too eat. But they probably would have thought that had they been staying in London. Anyway if you fancy a trip to Durness there are three or four restaurants and lots of things to do. As we found out the next day on our day off.

Wednesday 12

Day off in Durness
Accommodation: Lazy Crofter bunkhouse

The boring couple (so boring we didn’t even name them) were in the room next to ours and we heard them flee Durness at about 5.30am. Good - we would probably have much more fun without them.

We enjoyed a non fried breakfast and then made our way to the Cape Wrath ferry. There were two sailings a day, one at 11am and one at 1.30pm. We had decided not to join the Cape Wrath Fellowship although it was very tempting but the hills of the previous few days had taken their toll and I just needed a break. Still I’m upset I won’t be in a club with this man.

The were about 25 people waiting at the pier which was quite an amount when you saw the size of the ferry. It took ten people at a time at £4.50 each return. We crossed the Durness sound to the waiting mini bus. The trouble is we had to wait for the second crossing and the midges were unbelievable. Even the ferry man could be heard muttering ‘blody medgies’ (that was Scottish). But once we got on the mini bus for a 40 minute ride the the lighthouse (£7.50 return) it was fine and we enjoyed the commentary from the driver and the views of red deer and MOD chequered huts.

The lighthouse was interesting. Puffins usually live on the surrounding rocks but they are feeding out at sea at this time of year so we didn’t see any.

The weather was getting more and more lovely and after buying food for the evening we went on a walk to the Smoo Cave, followed by a sit on the beach of Sango Sands. We passed lots of restaurants along the way to and from all the interesting things we were doing and seeing.

I’m glad we proved them wrong.

Thursday 13

Durness - Altnaharra (42 miles)
Accommodation: Altnaharra B&B

This was to be one of our longest days and we set off at 9am to be hit with the worst head wind we have ever cycled in. Cycling down hill was even difficult and it wasn’t much fun. Especially because we had to keep the speed up a bit because we didn’t want the boring cyclist from the night before to catch us up.

We were cycling along the coast and unfortunately reached a large loch that hadn’t yet been blessed with a bridge meaning we had to cycle up one side and down the other, a round trip of abut 15 miles. Roughly nine of those were into this head wind and we no shelter at all. Worst of all was reaching the end and turning the corner to be hit by the crosswind that just blew me off my bike not just once but three times. I was getting angry and definitely having a sense of humour failure which I think Tom guessed when he turned back after my last fall to see if I was ok and I just shouted ‘IT’S STUPID’ in his face. He didn’t know what was stupid and neither did I really but we both got back on our bikes and kept quiet until the tail wind took hold.

It carried on like that throughout the day although I managed to manage my sense of humour a bit better. It was really lovely when at one point during a particularly miserable section of wind and rain a woman overtook us in her car and gave a very friendly wave. Then as we rounded the corner we saw she had parked by a sheltered barn, got her camping stove out and was making us a cup of tea. We stood there for ages drinking her tea and eating our lunch. Thanks Di.

We finally reached our B&B to be met by the very chatty Mandy and her very hyperactive chickens that she said actually have an asbo. I don’t know if she was joking. She said she was being 100% serious. It was an entertaining evening in many ways. I really don’t know what else I can say except it was an experience.

Friday 14

Altnaharra - Lairg: by bike (23 miles)
Lairg - Inverness: 1510 - 1649 (rail)
Inverness - Edinburgh: 1827 - 2209 (rail)
Edinburgh - London: 2340 - 0718 (Caledonian Sleeper)

On our last morning we woke up to an amazing sunrise and view of hills and deer from of bedroom window. Breakfast was again - an experience.

We had a beautiful ride along National Route 1 and saw lots of cyclists doing Land’s end to John o’Groats as that is part of the route. They were all going the other way but we had the tail wind. At one point I think I actually shouted to one of them ‘we have the tail wind’ which was mean really and I don’t know why I said it. I think I would have hit me if I was him but I was just glad it wasn’t the other way round after the day before.

We then killed some time in Lairg (I’m afraid it isn’t as interesting as Durness) and caught the train at 3.10pm for the start of our 16 hour train ride home. We enjoyed sunset while travelling through the Cairngorms and woke at 6.30am at Euston Station. We were home by 8am in a daze after 10 days of clean air and brain detox with barely any mobile signal. The only sign of modern life was an unusual desire to watch Come dine with me on channel 4 at 5.30pm with someone called Clive who I used to work with. Unfortunately we missed the final on friday because we were watching beautiful views from a train in the highlands.

Does anyone know who won?

More photos from me.
More photos from Tom.

In the words of Sustrans:

Ever wonder how life would be if we travelled in ways that benefited our health and our environment? We’d have safer roads, cleaner air and a better quality of life.

It’s easier to do than you think. Change Your World is asking people to swap just one car trip from 1-7 July and choose something that’s better for the planet instead.

And guess what? If we all give up one car journey that week we’ll reduce car traffic by 10%. Fancy giving it a go? Sign up at www.changeyourworld.org.uk from 1 June to make your swap and for the chance to win a bike worth £449.99.

Change Your World is run by Sustrans
Charity number 326550

I’m talking about eggs again.

I’m afraid I am going against the popular saying and I am actually putting all my eggs in one basket. But it is a really great basket.

I can now see all of my google sites at iGoogle. All on one page. With the addition of things like the countdown tool which is counting down to my trip to the Isle of Wight (only 24 days to go).

As part of the Easter celebrations in our flat we both hid three mini chicks for the other one to find. Tom found all his by last weekend but I was still looking for the last one on Tuesday. I found it with some strong hinting. And I should have known where to look. It was sort of back home.

I know I haven’t really raised anything yet but this is just to illustrate that I am doing race for life. Perhaps if you click on that button you can donate? Hmm don’t worry I’ll probably send you an email.

Google calendar is good because you can see what your friends are doing if they have one too. Nothing really new in that I know but it’s google so in my google loving moment I seem to be having at the moment it’s fresh (not in a Fresh Prince of Bel Air type way). It does however seem to have a capacity of three others, before it reaches confusion point. Actually it reached confusion with one additional calendar when I told Kate I was going to buy her dad a birthday card and she asked why as her dad’s birthday is in October and I realised it was my dad who had the birthday. So my linking to others has ceased until further notice.

I am going to have to do some serious sorting on this blog. I have just deleted most of my links as they were about 10 years old. Bloglines? It’s all about the google reader now. I think I also need a BIG link to google calendar because it’s really good.

It looks like moving to London temporarily took away my ability to write. It’s all the excitement. So much to do and look at I forgot about the basics. But today I had a jolt which reminded me there is life outside. This view is probably a typical view from a central London office. Air conditioning unit pumping away. But today there was an addition to the usual hum. Can you see? Blackbird and Robin having a little chat. They arrived together and they left together. One would say something and the other would reply. They were so noisy it temporarily put me off my work.

It’s all back to normal now. The helicopters have returned.

I love the idea of this look-a-like project with people who look alike but aren’t related. I find it interesting the way some people can see look-a-likes in people that others just find ridiculous. Like the time a girl was gobsmacked that no one had ever told Tom how much he looks like Cameron Diaz.

I am moving to London on Friday. I am going to miss Bristol, probably mostly for the papping potential. It is good to pap here because of the vast amounts of exposed wet mud in the Avon and the new cut. A pap is the action of throwing a suitable item into the mud and watching and hearing the ‘pap’.

Tom Smith did you introduce me to the art of papping?

I can remember most of the papping experiences I have had here but a few stick in my mind.

I once papped a toffee eclair. I took off the wrapping and the reason it was so exciting was because of the two tone nature of the toffee and chocolate brown hitting the mud. It was also pretty much the right weight.

But the best one I think was yesterday. Walking through London after looking at out new flat I picked three conkers for a future pap. Then on the way home in bristol the conditions were pretty ideal and I papped all three, one after the other. It was ideal. Perfect shape, light enough to stop just below the surface of the mud but heavy enough to make a volcano like hole (on a smaller scale).

I like the idea that I gave some of my new home to my old home said my own special goodbye to Bristol.

This worries me because I was going to try and sell my TV to cash converters and you need 50 points worth of ID and I don’t have a gun licence so I was relying on my passport to make up the numbers. Maybe if I can get enough points of ID together Cash Converters can give me enough money to pay for a new passport. It’s a complicated circle of events and an expensive load of washing.

I know what I was trying to say before I stopped writing after the Cash Converters incident but I wanted to upload a photo and it wouldn’t allow me so perhaps I was put off. It’s related to Cash Converters anyway.

At 5.30am 4 months ago I was awoken with the smell of spray paint and I looked out to see some boys spraying graffiti on the shop below, a charity shop!

I didn’t think I would call the police due to the previous incident of not wearing my glasses and being a really bad witness. But anyway I noticed that these weren’t just any young boys they had a merc and one of them was driving slowly past the shop while another filmed through the window and the other sprayed. Someone asked them what on earth they thought they were doing and they said they were filming for the BBC. Yeah right I thought - but then I thought well they have a merc and a really posh camera.

Then I went downstairs and took a photo. They were filming for a fly-on-the-wall documentary called Skint about the people who work and buy in Cash Converters.

They gave the charity shop a new lick of paint when they had finished filming. The two boys in the pictures were extras, they knew what was going on. They were wearing hoodies.

I wonder what else has been happening in the last four months.

I went to the Outer Hebrides and had a bit of a bike ride.

um….

Went camping in London.

There was a heatwave and post heatwave I saw three people in two days trip up steps. I would glance at them and they would trip. I thought it might be some sort of post heat leg melt or perhaps just my look. I went to a wedding last weekend and didn’t look at the bride when she walked up the steps.

I went to Edinburgh and saw some comedy and it was really funny.

I’m planning a trip to Denmark.

I’m planning a move to London.

I enjoyed the Tour de France.

If I think of anything else I’ll let you know.

Looks like I was so traumatised by the ram raid at Cash Converters it stopped me posting. But now please find attached the moon taken through binoculars.

However it looks like due to lack of use my blog is having a funny five minutes and displaying things like WordPress database error: [Table ‘./sarahblog/wp_comments’ is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed] so I am unable to upload the moon at this time. Also the person who can fix it is writing his thesis so you will see the moon in about 8 days.

Update The person writing the thesis is so clever he can fix a blog while writing at the same time. Here is the moon.