About three weeks ago I ran out of battery. Everything and everyone seemed boring, and I had no energy to do anything. For the first time ever I suffered from homesickness and in desperation I booked a ticket to Sweden.
There's something about this time of the year: the light in the forest, the summery smells and the feeling of freedom ... (At least that's what it used to feel like when I was younger as school is out in June and you have 10 weeks of holiday ahead of you.)
June is also the month of my Dad's birthday, so I decided to surprise him ... I just turned up on the day, knocking on the window of my parents house. Mum looked as if she had seen a ghost and my Dad was in shock all evening ... It felt like something that happens in a book or a film.
Going for longish walks in the forest was just what I needed. A place to breathe, a place to recharge my creative batteries. To let go of all demands. To be free from computers and phones.
Another purpose of my trip was to collect some inspirational material for my next novel. All I'm revealing is that it's set in Thailand. As I spent 5 months in Thailand in 2007 I filled quite a few journals and took lots of photographs that I had stored at my parent's place. Cramming the journals and photos into my hand luggage I was ready to go back to the UK and face reality again ...
But not for long because on Friday I'm off to Midsummer Camp Festival in Norfolk, so see you in 10 days time or so ...
Great!
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures and a reminder that we all need some time away from the pattern of our ordinary workaday routines - it's not an indulgence, it is essential to the creative self. Bet it did your parents good too - after the initial shock. But I'm still reeling from the thought of 10 week school holidays...
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