Love these words.

One step closer

The last month has been pretty crazy in the curly Austin household, with our moving date impending we knew we needed to make a start on packing and clearing out our beloved flat and taking the next steps towards our travel and move North.

After much deliberation we managed to get my family to store our worldy belongings in their loft space, we knew we didn’t want to pay for storage as it would cost so much and obviously when away the last thing we want to be doing is pay for our stuff to be stored in a locked cupboard, for me it felt right for everything to go North, we know our plan is to head back there at some point so seemed right for the move to start now especially if we can store our life possessions without a ridiculous cost. It’s made me excited knowing our things will be stored there as it just feels one step closer to being home.

Lately life in London has become more and more distant and I don’t feel a connection to where I am, yes I have an enjoyable job, lovely Austin family and a few close friends around but the sense of living somewhere I feel I don’t belong resides in me so strongly. I did an exercise in a course I was doing last week where we made a paper alter, the alter included a page of things that I enjoyed and made me feel at peace, when complete I realised no part of it contained London, it was all about the country and the coast.

Our plan is still uncertain in a sense but we know that when we do know when we come back in 2015 Sam will still have his work in London whereas I will be jobless, the plan is we will stay in Ldn with Sam’s job but I will look for full time work back North, with the eventual plan of Sam moving as soon as he has work, hopefully within 6-8 months. People keep asking how it will be being apart but sadly I know its part of what probably has to happen as we both won’t get jobs at the exact same time – it would be beautiful if we could but I just think it will be difficult. I have no fear about us both getting jobs it’s just getting the right ones that suit us. I know my eventual plan is to set up my own female counselling service but feel I would like to be in other employment before taking this risk and new challenge.

So with our boxes packed and moving day tomorrow were nearly out of our Brixton abode, we will be living with our lovely friends Stef and James until end of January then its home for a week and then travel time. Its never felt more real than it does now and I can’t actually believe were doing it, it’s going to be an adventure of a life time and the experience can only strengthen Sam and I to another level and allow new experiences of adventure and exploration.  

Shambala beautiful.

Shambala

2013, another year frolicking in the hidden fields of the Midlands, our yearly journey to Shambala; we were one down but still a car full of feathers, glitter, fancy dress and cosy warmth travelled the road to Shambala town, with a pickup in East London we were on our way, happy and smiling. The journey sadly didn’t go as smooth as planned and a quick stop off turned into a long lost walk along the motorway looking for Ewan’s bag, with the bag found we got back on route ready for our exciting journey in the wondrous fields of Shambeautiful.  

We arrived later than our usual time but the joy of Shambala shone bright, with new areas to frolic in and a choice of new campsite we decided to pitch a bit higher than usual, this year we had two new campers joining us the lovely Emily and Sophie so we spread out our belongings out and made sure we saved enough space for our whole Shambala crew.

The Thursday night was spent feasting on a BBQ of delicious treats, tasty cider and vino, the joy of watching people arrive, set up and prepare for a weekend of silliness is great, the festival is so different from others, its definitely one of my favourites and even though its smaller there is a romance about it that I don’t feel at other festivals.

The Friday was spent enjoying the musical treats, venturing into the new areas and basking in the delight of Shambala brilliantness. The colours and features that make the festival are just so incredible and there is a real vibe of goodness and warmth from all attending. What I love about Shambala is that there is music on but it’s not the main part of attending the festival, it’s about all the other things that are going on, there are times on the main stage where there are big slots of no music but it works as you can go somewhere else and get involved with something else like a dance workshop, yoga, meditation, basket weaving or playing the fool its just filled with a great amount of goodness and smiles.

One of my favourite parts of the weekend was playing the fool with Jonathon Kay http://www.jonathankay.co.uk/ we spotted a huge group of people running around the festival being very silly, at first we couldn’t work out what was going on so attempted to ask some of the group but all they replied was they were not sure either, we chose to take the chance and join the group and the brilliantness of the performance was just allowing yourself to be you, that silly part that we lose due to the seriousness of the world we live in. It was just great, so lovely to be part of a wider circle of loveliness and childlike fun. Jonathon Kay (the Fool) got everyone involved and his level of energy was electric and really made the group perform and enjoy. Sam and I enjoyed it so much we went back on the Sunday and played again, a number of friends I talked too that weekend had also caught one of his workshops and it seemed the fool had enticed everyone’s inner child and brought out a whole lot of goodness in everyone’s hearts.

Some of the great bands we saw were the beautiful Alice Russell, her soulful voice filled the fields and Emily and I enjoyed a good boogie at the front. The Shambala beatbox orchestra were also incredible; the sounds these 5 boys made were out of this world and magic to watch. Smerins Anti-Social Club, a favourite of Sam and I’s who we were introduced to last year was once again brilliant, a lot of brass band jumping. We saw the beauty of Amadou and Mariam, a friend had told me about how amazing they were and to see them perform and sing was heart moving. There were just so many brilliant bands, some I knew, a lot I didn’t but that’s part of the exploring of Shambala, finding out about music that you once didn’t know about, the different types of music, joyful beats and lovely voices allows a wealth of different era’s and great new and old sounds to enter your world.

The festival stays open all night but some of the great night time areas enjoyed this year was the pirate ship and the disco shed, the woods still held the crown and glory of being a place to party but with all these new places there was a lot of time spent wondering spangly from one place to another, soaking in the disco beats and great dancing. My disco companion this year came in the form of some heart shape glasses, everytime you put them on and looked to the lights the lights turned into hearts and suddenly your whole world was lots of colourful beautiful hearts, what more does a girl need then disco and hearts!

The Saturday brought the parade and the theme this year was the lost tribes of Shambala, our group decided to go with the lost tribe of tourism and I do believe we were the only ones dressed as this. The different costumes are always amazing and everyone goes to such great lengths – some of my favourites were the lost tribe of board games, to see someone dressed as an operation board game was a great highlight and lovely to see the artistic skills of people. Sam had made us all brilliant guidebooks and Shambala maps to make our costumes look as real as possible, with Ewan as our Shambala guide we were ready to go and walk the procession. It’s a great feeling being part of such a large scale procession, the boom boxes are always blaring and everyone gets involved, the delight of colour and beauty fills the Shambala fields and a real sense of happiness and glow shines bright from the smiling faces of the weird and wonderful.

Our last night was spent dancing to the English disco league in the pirate ship, a lot of funky moves were made, heart glasses shared and cocktails drunk. We ended the night back at camp, burning the last of the firewood and giggling at the weekend’s delights.

With our travels next year (2014) and a possible wedding (2015) we won’t be gracing the fields again until 2016 but 2013 has defiantly left me with the feeling Shambala will be a festival that will be in our lives for a long time, the greatness it brings is one I hold and take away and I feel privileged to have enjoyed the last 3 beautiful years there.

A Celebration of Love and Unity

We received our invite to lovely Nick and Holly’s August celebration some time back and both smiled with excitement at what the weekend would entail. I loved the concept of what Nick and Holly were doing and how the invite explained the love and unity celebration was about them two and their love, but also the love and unity we all share as friends and how the weekend was a way of celebrating that all together as one community and one heart. As the months went by we received trickles of information and emails of organisation and a view of the weekend started to be born and the beauty it was to hold.

We arrived at the beautiful Featherstone Castle on the Friday afternoon, Sam and I had gone to the Cumberland earlier that week so had met a few of N&H friends prior to the weekend which was really lovely as since moving away I feel there are so many wonderful people I don’t know. An element of my love with my friends is getting them to meet one another and see the brilliance in each other to become friends together, I knew this would the case with all of N&H friends,  so I was really excited to spend a weekend with hopefully what would become new friends and fond memories. When we arrived there was a number of people outside, enjoying the sunshine and revelling in the weekends activities to come, it was great introducing, talking and finding out who was who and how everyone knew N&H, I enjoyed telling my stories of my memories of being young with Nick then meeting  again at WHQ, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride at our friendship and how over the years we have both grown into happier, more grounded people and both lucky enough to have two fantastic curlie’s by our side! 

There was a huge sense of community that felt so strong and reminded me of a good friend who has grown up in such a beautiful close community, her parents and their friends bought a terrace of mining houses after the mines closed and have all brought their children up on South Terrace, all the children are close friends and are now of all ages but the community has stayed strong and together. When I visit I have always talked of wanting to have a close knit group of friends that offer this support and friendship that feels so connected and supportive. I felt a great sense of that with N&H and their friends and it just felt great to be part of all this and see the community they have in the North East. 

Friday evening was spent socialising and eating amazing dahl, we then went to the blue room which was set out as I would describe a huge love bed with mattress, comfy sofa’s, blankets and warmth. We all gathered in, got snug and listened to the array of love and unity dedications from N&H friends and family, it was great listening to the way people dedicated their feelings and words and see the love and happiness in the room. 

Around 9pm Nick Hennessey story telling time started and wow, the room was blown away by his beauty and passion for telling the most amazing stories, the silence in the room was moving and you could tell everyone was entranced by his musical talent and endearing voice. The next few hours were just incredible and such a perfect way to start the weekend learning about the border reivers, nasty zaars and huntsman, so enchanting and beautiful it was incredible to hear the sounds of the harp and beats of the drum. 

The rest of the evening was spent playing ping pong (the most intense silly ping pong playing I have been part of it), drinking red wine, exploring the castle and dancing. As we walked back to our campsite, that night we were excited at what was to come the following day as if this is what the Friday night entailed we knew there would be a whole lot more delight and enchantment tomorrow. 

We woke Saturday morning with a spring in our step, we dressed, and put on our bindi’s and arranged our flowers in our hair ready for another day of smiles and adventures. When we arrived people had started to congregate outside the front of the castle ready for the procession, everyone was holding something to hang on the tree and I could feel a buzz of excitement in the air. Holly came down first and looked as stunning as ever, in a flowing natural looking dress and an amazing flower garland circling her curls she looked incredibly beautiful and at one. Nick arrived with a round of applause dressed in perfect Nick style; it was so beautiful to see the smiles of everyone, the love and unity crafts and the excitement of the beautiful Brown-Greenwood unity that was in full flow. 

We started the celebration by walking in a procession around part of the grounds of Featherstone Castle, standing back and watching the procession was so beautiful, the smiles and merriment of everyone followed through the procession and it was joyous to see everyone interacting with one another and new friendships forming. There was music and talking as the procession went along, enjoying circling the great trees and walking near the river that flows along the bottom of the castle, we ended the procession walk by entering the back gardens of Featherstone and walked to a beautiful striking tree where we hung our crafts of love and unity. Everyone had put so much effort into their craft and standing back and watching everyone was a picturesque and wonderful moment, it made my heart feel so happy the wonder of friendship and the strength of the friends and family celebrating the love of two wonderful people. 

We then all gathered together for the ceremony and stood in a circle listening to different readings from close friends, songs of importance and Nick and Holly’s commitment to each other, the love that shone through them both was enticing to watch and I felt so lucky to be part of their commitment of forever together. 

We spent the next few hours relaxing in the garden, flying kites, drinking elderflower pimm’s, taking (a lot) of photos and embracing in the afternoon of relaxed niceness and mesmerising fun. 

Lunch time came and we feasted on an array of delicious food throughout the afternoon and drank copious amounts of tasty wine, Sam being over excited at their being an ale pump in the craft room. It was blissful listening to the speeches that took place and the commitment of friends and family and the kind words they wished to share of their love and closeness to Nick and Holly. When hearing Joss’s speech it really moved me as I really feel there has been a solidarity in mine, Joss and Nick’s friendship and I feel we have all changed and grew but have remained so close, my move to London left so many close people behind but the friendship between has stayed strong if not stronger and I know they will be two friends who will always be part of my life. I just feel so blessed we have all found amazing husbands, wife’s, fiancées who are just as amazing and the fun we all have together as one group is so lucky, happy days with happy friends. 

Nick and Holly surprised us all with a bhangra dancer; everyone joined in, laughed, sweated and smiled trying to keep up with the dancer’s moves and rhythm. After all the dancing a dip was required and after much debating I participated in my first skinny dipping fun (and freezed my bits off in the cold lake), both myself and Holly lasted five minutes whilst the others enjoyed games, swimming, nakedness and a whole lot of laughter. 

Our evening meal was served and a delicious vegetarian chill was enjoyed, we danced till the early hours to the sounds of Diddly Squat with the night ending with a rave up in the ping pong room downstairs. We finally sulked off to bed at around 4am and positioned our head torches for the mile walk back to our campsite, tired, drunken, smiling and full of joy we walked and talked all the way home, remembering parts of the day, what stuck out in our own minds and smiled at the happiness the day had given us all.

Northern Times.

We always take a week each year to head back to the beloved North, last year it was in May but we decided to wait until August of this year due to a number of Northern events happening and felt it would fit snug in between our trip to Edinburgh and our friends celebration. As most of you know, I love the North, I talk about it all the time and feel very proud of my Northern routes, we at least visit once a month and I literally can’t wait until the day we head back to the beautiful Northern ways of living for good. 

My move to London occurred due to me feeling lost in who I was and unsure of the right road to turn down, the one I was taking was certainly not caring and fulfilling to me and I felt I was stuck in a bit of a black hole. After a lovely weekend in London with a good friend I decided f I wanted to move, this was August 2009 by January 2nd 2010 I was in London in a shared house with a group of strangers. My plan was to be in London for a year, further my experience in my work and really sort my confused head out, well 3.5yrs down I am still here, and married, a qualified counsellor and a chicken owner. I have always wanted to go back and have had some really low moments where I was about to leave London but reasons for (beautiful Curly) has stopped me from doing this and have encouraged me to carry on and see out the Southern ways. As I enter my 30’s though it has never been clearer to me how much the North means to me and how as I embrace a new part of my life I know my future lies back home in Newcastle with the Northumberland coast on my doorstep.  

The last two years we have been so lucky with our chosen week back home as the sun has shone and we have managed to do everything we want too. This year was just the same (bar the one day of constant rain); we visited a number of our favourite Northumberland castles, beaches and woods and really soaked in the fresh coastal air. This trip we spent an afternoon in Jesmond Dene, a place where I have spent many a Sunday with my Dad walking and enjoying the café, we met friends at Plessey Woods which is a Northumberland Country Park which again is soaked with beauty and an enjoyable walk around the woody forest. We also drove to Bamburgh and spent the afternoon on the beach with beautiful Bamburgh Castle bordering the coastal line. We also drove to Craster and walked from Craster to Dunstanburgh Castle then on to Newton beach, the beach was beautiful and Sam stated it was his favourite beach in Northumberland, the sun was blazing and we enjoyed dipping in the sea, reading our books and playing with adorable bow dog digging and encouraging her to take a dip.

I always feel so relaxed and happy after a week back home, there feels no pressure to do things and being able to get away and enjoy the outdoors without it being a huge venture is such a privilege and I now understand how lucky I am to have been brought up in a city with a beautiful surrounding coast line. I know for me bringing children up with these same privileges and options is really important, the quality of life that can be had with such ease of access is paramount to a positive upbringing and I feel a good quality of upbringing is about having access to be away from the city and the bustle of crazy city life. To be away from it all and forget the stress of the materialistic society we live in is essential to a more complete being and better sense of what’s important, as I grow older I learn this more about myself and understand what’s important to me, it’s took some time but I finally feel I am more in touch with who I am and the connection I have to Northumberland has definitely provided me this new sense of happiness and connectedness to my core being. 

Jim’s Camping

When planning our first years anniversary we both knew we wanted to go camping, it was important for us to bring the element of our wedding into our anniversary and wanted to spend time on a farm, away from the world and camp, when Sam showed me Jim’s camping it couldn't have been more perfect. 

We arrived on the road to Jim’s Camping and Sam informed me there was no signs and was a little side entrance, the road had a number of caravan club sites along it and I was certain there would be some form of signage – how wrong I was. Sam suddenly recognised the side path (from pictures) and took a quick right into a beautiful serene open field with two other campers. We found our spot and unloaded our car, making our home for the weekend, my first thoughts were just blissful and happy, I loved the openness of the campsite but the peacefulness also and the wonderful surrounding nature hugging the campsite. 

We spent the evening wandering around the farm and even had the pleasure of meeting Jim, he informed us the peacock had passed away the week before after 25yrs of living on the farm, Jim talked of the birds that were left and the flowers he was growing for the flower farm on Sunday. I loved Jim’s idle way of living and basic need to get by, he explained he had owned the farm for 65yrs and made enough to just get by, he explained his days are spent tending to the growing vegetables and flowers and making bouquets up for the local markets, he explained most of the money comes from the flowers. I envy people who live so basic, I feel over the years I have taught myself better more ethical ways to live where tv is not the focal point of my life and spending more time looking after me with more holistic ways is better than partying and working long hours. I never understand people who commit so much to work when we were put on this world to live not to work – it’s so important to have that balance as when I grow old I want to look back and feel I got the most out of my life and not that I worked it away committing more time to things that don’t have any meaning or won’t have any meaning when I am older. Jim’s camping really made me go back to the basic routes of living and feel relaxed and happy in the environment I was in and not needing outside stimulus to enjoy a beautiful evening ahead. 

After cooking a delightful BBQ and making a toasty fire, with our tummies full and hearts warm the scrabble board made its first appearance for the weekend and we set in for a relaxing evening of 4 letter word making. 

We awoke the next morning, enjoyed a breakfast of eggs and went off for a day at the beach (and to collect some tasty fish for that evening BBQ). We decided to head to a National Trust owned beach called Studland Bay, it was beautiful the sun shone and the day was spent reading and relaxing. At around 4pm we decided to walk to Durdle Door, as a child we used to holiday to the south coast all the time I couldn't recall the Durdle Door so was excited to take the walk up a zillion stairs to see what was hidden at the end of it all. What an amazing site and beautiful walk, it was nice to take the walk as the evening was cooling and soak in all the wonders around it, you could see Lulworth Cove from the top of the stairs, the south coast is so beautiful and I can imagine myself coming back here time and time again. We walked along the trail and eventually came to the Durdle Door, I was so overwhelmed with the beauty of the limestone arch that we sat for some time taking pictures and just looking at the amazement of the naturally formed structure. 

We spent the evening similar as we had the previous one, relaxing with the fire and cooking some amazing fish with delicious salad. 

I did spend some time walking around the campsite with my camera; there were so many amazing flowers and oddments of old worn down pots where beautiful herbs were growing. The flower farm was so beautiful on the evening with the sun setting and I really did feel blessed with the experience we were having and the beauty of Jim’s camping. 
The next morning came and a year to the date was the day we got married, it was a surreal feeling that a year had passed, I can’t believe how quick time has gone and that a year ago I was preparing for such a special unforgettable day.  To celebrate we brought our letters from our wedding day, we had a typewriter on our wedding day which we asked everyone to type a letter for us to open on our 1st wedding anniversary also known as the paper anniversary. It was brilliant opening the letters with messages of all kinds being given to us, it made us both smile, shed a tear and laugh (a lot) at the drunk funny words written down – a number of them starting off with how difficult it is to use a typewriter. We then enjoyed a anniversary breakfast and prepared for another fun day at the beach. 

We decided to visit Ringstead Bay another beautiful beach on the South coast, it was another sunshine day and we spent the early afternoon again reading, relaxing and dipping in the freezing cold water. It was just such a perfect way to celebrate one year away from the hustle and bustle and just me and curly together, we decided to set off from the beach around 3ish to find a tasty public house to have a Sunday anniversary lunch – we found a relaxed pub with tasty eats and a big beer garden, no better way to complete perfect weekend. 

Our drive back home we reminisced our wedding day and our future to come, we smiled at how lucky we are and how our 2nd anniversary will be spent on a beach again somewhere in South East Asia, bring on another brilliant year with a world of adventures ahead. 

2013 in the Field of Dreams

2013 in the field of dreams as always I was excited as excited could be, drowning the facebook with favourite artists, bursts of, memories of times before and pictures of Glastonbury’s past, those 5 days of turmoil and ecstasy in the muddy fields of Somerset always bring a bout of joy to my being and makes me feel alive and at one with who I am, life outside the fence is forgetting and it’s just about happy faces, a lot of love and some beautiful music new and old.

This year was to be my tenth year in the fields and I hoped one of the best, I started going to Glastonbury in 2002 and since then I have defiantly had a world of different experiences at each and every Glastonbury festival, from the first years of partying all day and night, years where I have sulked off to bed straight after the bands,  2008 not buying my ticket till the week before, one year I worked in the Kidz field (which was so fun), to this year when I managed to entice my parents along to experience what we all kept talking about.

The main thing that did feel different this year was our group, a number of people had decided not to attend the festival this year due to other commitments or feeling the festival had changed and was not the same as it once had been. My debate back around this is that it has changed but have we not also? I know when I went in 2002 I am definitely not the same person or have the same values as the 19yr old girl roaming the fields back then. People change as do festivals and now I do see younger people there but is that not just because I am older? When 19 why would I have noticed the younger folk, that was me and I imagine there were 30yr olds looking at me thinking similar about young people influxing the festival scene. There has been times when I have questioned a certain act or a headline slot but its Glastonbury and for me it’s not just about the music it’s about the whole experience, friends, creative, new music, old music, bumbling, theatre, workshops, beauty, carefree beliefs, learning, charity and most of all finding something new every time I go. People laugh at my some say obsession, I say love of Glastonbury but for me it’s a place that brings me calm and peace and allows 250,000 people to be who they want to be for one weekend without rules and conduct but a vibe that truly lives of peace and love. For me Glastonbury will always be changing as will I through teenage years, twenty something years, married years, family years, we are ever changing beings so why can a festival not be? At the end of the day it’s still blooming amazing!

We arrived at our usual time of 6am to join the enjoyable bus queue of weird and wonderful people; there were 12 of us on our bus rather than the 40 that were on the coach last year. The journey was as amusing as ever with a driver that had no clue of what Glastonbury was and was very interested in what we would eat and how we would clean over the next 5 days. However amusing the journey he managed to get us to the coach park ready for the queue ahead of us. The time went quickly with smiles and laughter and a girl in love with Sam’s curls, we were luckily not too far from the front and our 6am arrival worked well. I always find it amazing when arriving into the festival and the emptiness of the fields in front, we went to Glastonbury in May 2012 for my birthday, I had always wanted to attend the festival when it was not on and it was a beautiful experience, arriving into Glastonbury was so different to how it had been when just walking around the farm, the signs were up and the stages in place, the campsite crew were directing people to fields upon fields showing people the way to set up home for 5 days. We did the marathon walk to the Park Homeground and put our camp in place, the fun day ahead of saving space and drinking cider was ahead of us, we did it, a few disputes and passive aggressive behavior but we managed to get all our camp together and pitched in a mish mash circle ready for a weekend of great times.

Mum and Ronnie were staying at B&B and came into the festival daily, it was amazing to show them the festival and even with all the worries I feel they both relaxed and were thoroughly taken back with the festival and all it has about it.

We watched a number of great acts and I feel I saw more this year then I have in many years, there was a great line up of great acts and there was always someone we all wanted to see. Some of my highlights were Daughter, Tom Tom Club, Seasick Steve, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Son’s and of course Rolling Stones. We came across a band called The Staves and First Aid Kit which I was sad not to see the whole sets as since coming home I have listened to both albums and thoroughly enjoyed – I guess that’s all part of the experience and hopefully they will play again in the future so I can catch them then.

I spent more time in the craft field this year than ever before, I was so happy to see Mum and Ronnie amazed by the old ways of crafting that were still about and the enjoyment in their faces as they watched the greencrafts field in full flow. We decided to make a hula hoop on the last day but sadly we got there too late and hula hoop making was closed, guess that’s one for 2015!

One of my highlights was in the theatre and circus field, Sam wanted to watch a tennis match that was occurring obviously a spoof of a tennis match, I wasn’t so sure but sitting in the sun in hysterics at the game was brilliant, even better Mum was asked to be ‘Andy Murray’s’ Mum and ran up on stage wrapping her legs round ‘Andy’ and saying how proud she was when he won the game! Brilliant! It was great to see her getting involved in the Glastonbury goodness of being you and enjoying yourself to the most.

Sam and I managed two sunrises which was incredible, I feel I have totally lacked with my sunrises the last two years but we did it this year and wow what a fun time was had. Friday we had the biggest adventure with a day of brilliant music, Arctic Monkeys to finish, Smerins Anti-Social club, block 9 dancing to Greg Wilson then stone circle for sunrise, possible the funnest night of the festival and a huge amount of dancing was had with a good group of smiling faces. Sunday was our 2nd sunrise ending with Slamboree dancing in the bimble inn, chill out tent in the Greenpeace field then stone circle sunrise.

We spent Sunday night with two surprise friends who told us they weren't coming only to surprise us on Saturday day with their ‘watch Rodriguez’ mission – a simple text arrived stating ‘woo something strange just happened, we just fell out the rabbit hole’ our brains went wondering and then a red top hot arrived and standing in front of us Ewan and Jenny – such a brilliant surprise at such a perfect time. It was amazing to see sunrise in with them both and two other lovelies also – another fantastic night to add to the Glastonbury experience – I definitely saw the highlight of early morning Sunday’s again!

I could write so much about the joy the fields had brought but it would take forever and be so many of my own thoughts being noted down which to me are amazing and to everyone else may get a bit dull. Overall thought I can honestly say 2013 runs alongside with 2008 as one of the best Glastonbury’s ever, the relaxed feeling in the air, the blissful camp crew of good friends and seeing my parents enjoy the best festival in the world.

Vietnam

I always knew I wanted to go away when I turned 30, I felt to celebrate the event with a holiday to a somewhere new and an experience I had not been part of before would make the occasion memorable and special, South India was my first calling as last time we visited India we mainly stayed North and I am told the South is beyond beautiful. With being a May baby though India is far too hot therefore another destination had to be chosen, Sam had mentioned Vietnam before and with a bit of research I decided this South East Asian country was definitely somewhere I wanted to explore and wow did it deliver. 

We decided we would start the trip in the North of Vietnam and work our way down to the south, we had 3 weeks to explore meaning we couldn’t adventure around the whole of Vietnam but felt we could cover a fair amount. We flew into Hanoi and as we left the airport my instincts made me feel unaware and prepared for the chaos I thought would be waiting for us outside, as my main experience of SE Asia being India the airport was manic, the hustle and bustle took over and was hard to digest when just arriving off a long flight. How different I found this to be in Vietnam, the airport was deserted and we nicely walked up to the taxi queue without any stress or uncertainty we were being ripped off or tricked into an unknown cab. We met a really nice man on the plane who asked us to share a taxi, the journey’s from airport to the first hotel excite me so much, the feel of fun in my stomach and the sites of a new country and how it works always make me look wide eyed and a sense of need to soak in every minute thing. The sound of horns, the madness of the scooters and the happy faces on the sidewalks hard at work, I knew we had left London and were about to indulge on an adventure that would stay in my heart forever. 

Our stay in Hanoi was short and sweet but was so memorable and for me one of the highlights of the trip. I am not a city girl, as I have got older I prefer the beach and although I live in London I thrive for the day I can move North and be back by Northumberland coastal areas. I always fear that when I land in a main city my sense of relaxedness will go and the bustle of the city will consume my manic mind. I found Hanoi different, I enjoyed the chaos and street side boi hoi drinking, and I loved the side shops that were filled with vibrant colours and eager sellers. The food we ate in Hanoi was amazing, some of the best eats, Sam and I filled our stomachs with some of the tastiest dishes and spring rolls became our main treat. Since becoming vegetarian I have not felt many challenges where meat has been something I have wanted to go back too, my health has improved and physically I don’t feel lethargic or ‘heavy’ anymore, I did fear the newness of a different country would challenge my vegetarianism but Hanoi restaurants catered well and the tastes were sublime. We spent a few days wandering and exploring, finding pagoda’s and lovers lakes to stroll around and take in the busy air but the joyful feeling of a city that was full of riveting life. 

Our next part of the trip was to Ha Long Bay, we decided to take a 2 day, 1 night trip, I was unaware of what Ha Long would be like and even after looking at pictures and reading lonely planet I still couldn’t foresee how the trip would be and how blown away I would be.  The trip started by getting a bus from Hanoi to Ha Long, on route we managed to get a puncture and like all good drivers he didn’t have the equipment to change the tyre, the boys on the bus all get involved and after an hour of sweating, stress and laughs another coach pulled over the help us out. We arrived at a busy Ha Long Bay early afternoon and boarded our small boat to get to our junk boat, the group we were with seemed nice and everyone talked together about where they had been before or were headed after. We were given our room keys and already I could feel the sense of excitement building at the thought of staying on a boat for the night, my nautical side started to feel embraced and I knew the trip was to be a an experience like no other. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO site and as our junk boat left its sea position and we ventured into the lime stone rocks I sat on deck mouth opened at the beauty that surrounded me, after lunch our guide told us we were going kayaking, I was excited but also somewhat scared at the thought of my rubbishes when it comes to any form of exercise, especially open sea sports, thank goodness for Sam being in the back! The kayaking turned out to be the highlight of the trip and as corny as it sounds I really feel we experience a moment that could have been captured in a guide book as a ‘must do experience’. The company we went through have been carrying out tours for some years and have excellent extensive knowledge of the area. As we went out in our kayaks it turned out the earlier puncture had helped us as most people were back on board there boats ready for an evening meal. We went out in the kayaks round 4pm and spent 2.5hrs kayaking through a cave into a wondrous lagoon; it was a picturesque moment with monkeys swinging in the surrounding nature and the sound of tropical wildlife basking in the evening sun. We ventured out of our kayak and went swimming, being left to see the lagoon in its natural form. It was breath taking and I didn’t want to leave, sadly the evening sun came down and we had to head back to the boat for our evening meal. The trip showed me of the adventure that can be done when you allow yourself to be free of day to day stress, already I was planning my next trip back and when we could relive the beauty of Ha Long Bay. 

We arrived back from Ha Long Bay and took a night bus to Hoi An, where we would spend the next 5 days in heaven, after a long bus ride we arrived in a different place to what my imagination had. I was taken over by the serene pleasure of Hoi an and how relaxed and beautiful it was, I had in my mind a busy stay; instead I find a doll like town with beaches of beauty. We spent my birthday in Hoi An and I was so pleased at Sam planning this as I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would have wanted to be. The next 5 days were spent doing sunrise Hoi An yoga, An Bang beach time, beach cycles, clothes making, more delicious food, cocktails, beautiful colours, toy town buildings and joyful smiling faces. Our villa was beautiful and was pool facing, the villa was set in a tropical like garden with birds of paradise flowers growing wildly and the sound of tweeting birds surrounding our time there. Before leaving I knew our stay in Hoi An would be revisited as it truly was the most perfect way to spend my 30^th and a relaxed 5 days of sheer heavenly delights. 

From Hoi An we took another night bus to Dalat, our stop in Dalat was to break the journey to Ho Chi Minh City, we wanted to visit Elephant Falls and the giant happy Buddha whilst in Dalat so planned a two night stay to venture around the hills. We decided to get a moped and join in with the chaotic driving around us, with my trust left in Sam we headed off on our own adventure to find the mystical waterfall and smiling Buddha. We were informed beforehand about the easy rider tours but when looking on the map we felt the journey was easy enough for us to do alone and also I wanted to stop at some of the flower farms on route. How pleased I was we did the journey alone, we spent the whole day out in the hills and visited many flower farms with dahlias and birds of paradise growing in vast amounts. When we arrived at the falls it was different to how I imagined, I hadn’t imagined it being so touristy and expected a short walk with the waterfall just coming before us, instead the waterfall was waiting as we pulled up and the walk was a small treacherous one through wet rocks and tumbling vines. We made it to the waterfall though and embraced the rainbow colours coming from its fall and powerful sound of rushing water. It was amazing to be underneath it and feel the power of it, sadly it was so busy there was only a small time alone to listen to its sounds before the easy rider tours came upon us. From here we walked up to the sunshine and sat for some time drying out. We then took a walk to the giant happy Buddha and wow what a beautiful sight of gold structure, Sam bought me a book about Buddhism for my birthday and sitting here in front of this symbolic image the meaning of Buddha came into me, I felt fully ‘awakened’ by the statue and felt a sense of peace sitting restfully in front of it. Sam and I decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in the presence of the Buddha as the silence was beautiful and it felt a wasted opportunity to not indulge in the peacefulness around us. 

From Dalat we travelled to Ho Chi Minh City, we only spent one night in HCMC as we were using the time as a stop off before flying to Pho Quoc. My fear of big cities came flowing back as we arrived into HCMC, we spent the evening venturing into the abyss of markets, drinking beer in the local restaurants and playing shuttle cock in the local park. We fell into bed sleepy and exhausted from our travels and intake of the maze of streets, ready for our flight tomorrow to Mango Bay. 

We flew out to Pho Quoc island the following day, we both knew we wanted to spend our final week in paradise and be away from the city streets and relaxing on a beach, reading and drinking cocktails. We found exactly that and more at Mango Bay resort, Pho Quoc, Mango Bay is set along one kilometer of beach, amid twenty hectares of largely endemic forest and gardens. There are 40 bungalows in total that are all eco based lodges, the bungalows are situated along the beach and in the forest and each are beautiful in there design and layout. 

After a short drive and a long dusty road we arrived at Mango Bay, my first thoughts were of heaven, we entered the beach restaurant and sat in front of the wavy sea with chilled music playing and a serving of delightful fruit juice, our host explained some of the Mango Bay way’s and where we could find the wellbeing centre for massages and beauty treatments. We were then walked to our lodges with huge beaming smiles on our faces I wasn’t ready for the next installment of mango bay beauty. Our bungalow was set in a row of 4 and I couldn’t have been happier at how perfect the lodge was, our bathroom had an open top window which had a blind we could pull down, although the sound of nature was so serene I knew the blind would be staying where it was. We woke to find frogs in our open shower and gecko’s paying evening visits to us through the huge window space. We spent our days on the sandy beaches reading, being massaged and dining in the beach bar, serving delicious cocktails and tasty treats. Our evenings were spent playing scrabble, drinking tasty wine and enjoying the array of sea food in the restaurant. Mango Bay was so peaceful and relaxing it did exactly what we hoped for and allowed us to relax fully from our previous 2 weeks of traveling the Vietnam world. 

The three weeks we spent in Vietnam was such an experience that I have already planned our trip back there, with the hope of my parents visiting us when out there also. I could see so much from the trip they would enjoy and feel it’s an experience everyone should have.