Blog Archive

Beyond the horizon lies Antarctica

I’m still working on the final edits of ‘Sketchbook Sailor’, but we’re nearly there. Writing a book is like being pregnant – months of gently growing, then an intense and rather messy bit at the end. Anyway, I think I remember saying at the time that my ocean sailing trip was to be my last continue reading »


Making ideas visible

During lockdown I re-read Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Big Magic’, one of my favourite books about creativity. It debunks the myth of the creative person as aloof and special, striving for perfection, and encourages an altogether more joyful and practical approach to the process of making and doing. Her phrase ‘living a life based on curiosity rather continue reading »


The voyage within

Starting things is much easier than finishing them. At the beginning of lockdown I made a decision to finish some of the projects I’d begun….but then, like a child who tips the whole toy box upside down instead of playing with one toy at a time, I found more and more things I wanted to continue reading »


Cabin Fever (2)

I’m gradually connecting to my inner hermit and discovering that there are benefits in not tearing around all day trying to fit 48 hours worth of living and doing into every 24. Was it only three weeks ago that it was normal to choose whether to have supper or a shower before going out because continue reading »


Cabin Fever

Two months ago ‘isolation’ meant the wide skies and empty horizon of the Southern Ocean; the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you and your small team of shipmates are over a thousand miles away from other human beings. Now, isolation means confinement, anxiety, the chill of loneliness and uncertainty. I think I’d continue reading »