Meander Roller-Coaster

In a favourite bay-side restaurant in Elounda, Crete

So, since February 2012 I’ve been much into meandering. I’ve done a lot. Did I say A LOT …. ?

Snorkelling in Elounda Bay in Crete, drinking (please, no more) in the nearby fishing village, rooftop Thai restaurants; a wedding in the Old Chapel in Ross-on-Wye, mammoth family reunion at the Chase Hotel; Fountains Abbey & Water Gardens, Ripon Cathedral and its signpost of dreams …

a stay in the old blacksmithery of a Yorkshire farmhouse; Greek day at St Gregory’s, sensology at Milestones and the Shrubberies, both special schools in Gloucestershire; fireworks on the beach in Tenby; Victorian markets on a canal-side; Jamie Oliver’s Italian Restaurant and Union Square in Aberdeen; a road trip along the coastal road through Northumberland; new life in the forms of Isobelle and Eva; 

ten weeks in Moreton-in-the-Marsh, with wicked humour supplied by the chaps and chapesses at the Fire Service College; car picnics in random locations (you have to find your dinner somewhere); the greatest cheesy chips in the world (don’t think I don’t have style) in the courtyard of the Swan Inn; 

views from the fifth floor of the Alexandra Warehouse; a residential international conference, fun and laughter with the Germans and the French; promenades on the north-east coast; cocktails in the afternoon in Swindon; an invitation to play rugby at Marlow Referral Centre (not happening, I’m more of a cheerleader); reiki in a Buddhist lightship; 

white wine on the terrace of the Inn on the Wye; what-shall-I-choose-today from the Chef’s Specials at the Farmer’s Boy; salmon and talk of multi-national bell ringing at the Blue Elephant; a carousel of charity fundraising events; the set up of a pop-up social enterprise co-operative; playing the didgeridoo; bullocks wandering in a spring orchard, swathed in morning mist; the horseshoe bend of the Severn, all seasons; bike tracks in Somerset; the miniature adventure playground at CSMA (Civil Service Motoring Association) in Whitemead Park; 

herons and hawks and a random white owl; photo opportunities in the bluebell woods; tall Americanos at the Oasis Café; the air instrument orchestration of How To Be A Rock God; first ever visits to traveller sites (eye-opening dispelling of myths) and bonding with the showmen of Gloucestershire and their families …

It’s been a roller-coaster.

Too immersed in the meandering to tell you all about it as it happened. Soz for that.

It will all inspire and inform the writing. A gathering of people and places and incidences.

Emergent tales.

More anon.