May brought lots of flowers and cafes...


It's been a big month.

We caught up with family and a few friends. That was far and away the highlight of the month. We miss you guys...

We travelled to some really interesting places in the British Isles; Nigel got to drive some new cars; we ate some great food; I worked on the next stage of an ongoing publication project; and now we're already launched on our big overland trip.


It's been busy, though.

I worry about the lack of time, the lack of stillness. I was anticipating "retirement" would give me more of both. I'm concerned that I'm not writing better blog posts (probably because of the lack of time and stillness...). My blog is literally a log (did this, ate that, thought about the other), whereas I'd really been hoping to produce something a bit more special. And, aside from ongoing IR publications that I'm still committed to, I'm not writing anything other than blog posts...

And whatever happened to monthly "themes"? Well, they didn't survive the busyness.


To everything there is a season, and maybe this is just not the time to be quiet.

But every day should have a little conscious stillness, as well as a little dolce far niente, and at the moment many days have neither.

Every week should involve some "deep work", and at the moment not all weeks do.


The following quote, from a Tang dynasty poem by Li Bai, hit my radar via a political context, but I just love the vision it offers (no offence to any apes that might be reading this):

"Apes are shouting on both banks of the river, but my little boat has already passed ten thousand mountains."

That's so the way to be, and yet sometimes I feel more like the apes than the woman in the boat. I'm all clamour and no serenity.


Anyway, Europe.

It was a pity we had to pass through France so quickly. I had the distinct feeling I could very easily get back into that unique Gallic way of doing things. France was a big part of our lives at one point, and it's all still there, under the surface, just waiting to be revived.

But we find it expensive in these parts. Can't linger too long...

Airbnb is a boon. So far we've had no major problems with our rentals, and the places have been very characterful. Even the small properties are bigger than a budget hotel room, and the opportunity to make your own food and (sometimes) do your own washing obviously saves loads of money.

In fact, if you exclude our accommodation, we spent just EUR 82 during our three days in Paris. (Without wine or pastries, we could have brought that total down further, but then again, the aim is not to live like monks...) Yes, there were many fabulous things that we left undone, but we thoroughly enjoyed what we did do, and that is surely what matters. I feel no compulsion to tick every touristic box. If I've lined up a couple of new things every day, and had time to appreciate them, then I'm well satisfied.

In sum, it's already a fascinating journey, and as for the rest, well, we'll work it out. It will just take a bit of cooperation, a bit of creativity, and lots of good wishes.