Run to the sea
Every now and then I feel the need for salty air and strong winds, waves crashing on rocks and a not-so-far-away lighthouse up on the cliffs. I was never a seaside person but there must be something about living on an island to change me. The sight of the infinite dark water from the shores, from a wooden pier standing above the sea, from a port full of docked boats. Savouring a plate of fish and chips, a dish of moules frites, facing the Atlantic, facing the North Sea. It feels like the place I need to be when all seems to fall apart, a reminder of the entropy of nature. The chaotic essence of everything.
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I recently read an article from the Guardian about a historical hunt for ghost signs, it sounded like an intriguing and exciting activity until I realised I had been hunting ghosts since I moved to England in 2019. Walking around aimlessly is one of my top 10 favourite activities of all time, and looking around I kept seeing washed-out painted ads on buildings. Written ghosts of the past, sharing a wall with the art of the present. The hunt is on.1
Listening to my favourite playlist of all the time, the one to top my Spotify wrapped every.single.year for as long as Spotify has been wrapping, trying to find some motivation, some creativity, after a week of doom collection. For some reason, we keep the worse for the end and I am not having it, and my brain is not having it: we will be writing and enjoying it. Absolutely no lies there, it has been fantastic lately and I do realise that the more honest I try to be, the more ironic it sounds. We all swim against the tide until it puts us on the back foot.
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I completed my 2023 reading target this week and subsequently, my goal to read more fiction and non-fiction written by women, with a grand total of (counting, please remain seated): 78% of books by female authors. And to be honest, the amount of books does not matter, I set myself a challenge to reclaim the time I spent on social media and I could cut it so much more (enough to reach 100, at least). The recent Nylon article “The Making of a Literary It Girl” reminded me why I read those 39 books. The conversation about the article shows how women are still dismissed in literature, their work easily disqualified and not taken seriously if they wear anything stylish.
And I couldn’t disagree more. If there’s one thing I know is that the day I publish a BOOK, I will throw a Marie-Antoinette-worthy party and everyone better bring their A-game. I will print the cover on matchboxes, have a full-blown cocktail menu inspired by the characters and pictures will be taken. And cute invites. And we’ll dance on the tables. And I’ll probably break a leg. And everyone will make new friends in these lonesome times. What was I talking about?
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