Autumn Term

Image via Wikipedia

Academically, the Autumn Term is the start of the school year, as you're probably well aware. I cannot think about school terms without memories of the boarding school that I went to for the secondary part of my education. It was a convent school and I boarded away from home. The good thing about it is that it teaches you indedpendence away from your family. The less positive side is that the life is fairly regimented from the moment you get up. We were only allowed one hour of TV in the evening after doing our homework. We were allowed to see our parents for two visiting weekends per term and we were permitted a week for half-term. I can't say that I recommend the lifestyle but I understand that if you're particularly academically minded, boarding can be less distacting than normal daytime education.

Indian Summer

Image via Wikipedia

For the past few days we've been experiencing a real Indian Summer here in West Penwith. It has been everything that much of the Summer has failed to be, with the mist and rain that we've been having. It has been wonderful walking around in the fresh air and warm sunshine. Yesterday evening I spent a lovely time playing football with my son who'd come down to visit for the weekend.

Stories

Image by nocas via Flickr

Over the past few weeks I've been trying to write a story. As is often the case it was going quite well and I was adding to it bit by bit. But then I mentally took a wrong turn which I will now have to delete. That's all well and good but the problem is that I don't know at the moment what the right turn might be to the story.

Autumn Mists

Image by animakitty via Flickr

There is thick mist outside my window. It has been like this for much of the day although this morning I could see to the other side of the field. It is also quite warm and sticky. I quite like mist in moderation but it has been like this for the last two days so I'm hoping that it will be sunny tomorrow.

Freedom and Routine

Image by Kliefi - (back in two weeks, ahoi) via Flickr

These words can mean different things to each individual. Some kind of routine is probably necessary for a minimum of organisation but too much can end up being very boring indeed. This is probably where the concept of freedom comes in; the freedom to break the routine or impose a different one. Sometimes it can be very creative to get away from your average routine and this is where holidays can be very enervating. This was brought home to me very strongly recently when we had a friend staying with us and this put us into a different kind of routine which worked, at least to some extent, while we had our visitor. But the sense of freedom after he left was enormous.

Walking

Walking is such a natural activity and yet as we grow older we tend to do it less and less. But walking is often more than an activity when there is a beautiful environment surrounding us. To walk then is a pleasure, and an almost spiritual experience; to feel the breeze in our hair, the sun on our face is such an indvidual and personal sensation that nothing can replicate. This is an experience which can make us feel glad to be alive as well as contribute to our sense of wholeness and well-being.

The Sea

I love the sea. Just to watch it moment to moment is fascinating, to notice the change of light and colours as clouds waft past in the sky. It most definitely has its own moods, from those sunny postcard blue days to the more murky, moody and grey occasions. It can be in one of these states in one part of the day and the other later. I love trying to reproduce the colour of the sea in watercolour as there are so many tints and hues even in the space of one bay. There are areas with rock underneath or sand and this in turn affects the colour of the sea above it. It really is a fascinating topic.