Utopian imagination

Imagine a city, town or village without petrol-guzzling, noisy vehicles (their heyday long gone). No cars, buses, coaches, trucks and vans...

Imagine the relative peace and quiet (you could probably hear people walking and shuffling about), the absence of exhaust fumes (smell the bread from the bakery around the corner), the serenity even (no more road rage, no accidents).

Imagine how this would affect the way we lead our lives...

Late summer impressions - from the heart and from a city

From the heart...

Back from a "Friends' Working Weekend" at Embercombe last night.

Feeling dreamy and strangely emotional today. It feels like Embercombe and the experiences surrounding it have stoked that fire in me again, and perhaps putting pen to paper (I am now copying this from handwritten notes - the keyboard feels strangely uncomfortable after the pen gliding across the paper) is making me admit it to myself. I feel shy and vulnerable in front of myself. Perhaps that is why I am prone to tears while writing and re-reading this.

Interlude: Navigating people traffic

Have you ever noticed that you don't bump into people or don't do the "dance" to avoid bumping into people coming the opposite way, when you look into their eyes when walking through a crowd?

Try it next time you are walking through a train station at rush hour or a busy shopping street (or anywhere busy with people for that matter)!