May 2025 be as INTERESTING as this year has been. Wishing this is about like looking at Pandora's box then LEAVING THE LID OPEN, *OR* rubbing Aladdin's lamp & letting the djinn go Robin Williams - batshit !
Do the new things all have to be bad? Today I had a bamboo massage for the first time. Does that count? Happy New Year, Mike. Glad to have discovered your particular style of scientific enquiry this year.
Happy New Year, Shoni! Thank you. :) And I would say that *none* of the things have to be bad, including the uncomfortable ones where you can't wait until they're over, but also including the delicious ones that you know you'll be doing again ASAP. All catagorized as Good and therefore Well Worth Having A Go At, I reckon. 👍
We chose the Valum Lodge in October 2010 (shall we put your wet boots on the Aga?) but we dined at the Inn, which seems to have been the better choice!
An inn colder than getting pushed out of the bed by an angry spouse, warmed only by an electric kettle, culminating in a last chance tree and, presumably, warmth at 4pm? Victorious, it seems!
O my, what a fun and captivating read. I have been struggling with finding my voice and you offered me that epiphany. It is not so much what I write about. It is how I write about it. That is my unknown and it is time to venture into it. So, thank you .🙏
Ah, I really love the 'thesis-in-progress' (now pasted into my version of a commonplace book)! And it applies to writing, of course: keep exploring things in writing, and who knows what will emerge (while allowing that 'nothing' often has to be the answer). Happy new year, and thanks for all the inspiration you provide!
The follow-on story of the Sycamore Gap tree...!!! Omigosh, Mike, that's fabulous. Maybe it's not always a good approach, but lately, with all the chaos in the world, I've been telling myself that I can't know how it will all evolve. Inherent in this mindset is the belief that even when something feels horrible at the beginning, often (dare I say always) a shred of goodness emerges from it.
There are woods behind my house. Have I ever wandered back there, in the twenty-plus years we have lived here? No. I've never had a reason to go.
Will that be changing this year? Yes.
Here's to teachers LIKE MIKE ! In any year, decade, eon.
May 2025 be as INTERESTING as this year has been. Wishing this is about like looking at Pandora's box then LEAVING THE LID OPEN, *OR* rubbing Aladdin's lamp & letting the djinn go Robin Williams - batshit !
Do the new things all have to be bad? Today I had a bamboo massage for the first time. Does that count? Happy New Year, Mike. Glad to have discovered your particular style of scientific enquiry this year.
Happy New Year, Shoni! Thank you. :) And I would say that *none* of the things have to be bad, including the uncomfortable ones where you can't wait until they're over, but also including the delicious ones that you know you'll be doing again ASAP. All catagorized as Good and therefore Well Worth Having A Go At, I reckon. 👍
Clarification, please - A bamboo message ? I'm curious & I'm ALWAYS CURIOUS. Edit : Massage. I'm STILL curious.....
Basically, they rub you with wooden sticks. Gets a bit harder than rubbing with hands. Not unpleasant 😅
We chose the Valum Lodge in October 2010 (shall we put your wet boots on the Aga?) but we dined at the Inn, which seems to have been the better choice!
Challenge accepted, Mr. Sowden!
reading this a week into the new year (time away from email being part of my break) and my heart is lifted. thank you
I like the sound of pointless quests. I’m ready to give things a go, just because I can 😊
An inn colder than getting pushed out of the bed by an angry spouse, warmed only by an electric kettle, culminating in a last chance tree and, presumably, warmth at 4pm? Victorious, it seems!
Happy new year, you daft sod :)
Time to think of slightly bizarre things to do, always a good way to spend some time!
O my, what a fun and captivating read. I have been struggling with finding my voice and you offered me that epiphany. It is not so much what I write about. It is how I write about it. That is my unknown and it is time to venture into it. So, thank you .🙏
Ah, I really love the 'thesis-in-progress' (now pasted into my version of a commonplace book)! And it applies to writing, of course: keep exploring things in writing, and who knows what will emerge (while allowing that 'nothing' often has to be the answer). Happy new year, and thanks for all the inspiration you provide!
The follow-on story of the Sycamore Gap tree...!!! Omigosh, Mike, that's fabulous. Maybe it's not always a good approach, but lately, with all the chaos in the world, I've been telling myself that I can't know how it will all evolve. Inherent in this mindset is the belief that even when something feels horrible at the beginning, often (dare I say always) a shred of goodness emerges from it.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Can’t wait to read what you write next!