having read guy shrubsole's the lost rainforests of britain it was great to be able to visit one on the island of seil which you reach via a bridge a few miles south of oban - balluchan hazel wood. i have added some photos here - scammadale and seil along with a few from scammadale where we have spent a few days with friends in a magnificent glen. next stop llandudno where we head tomorrow.
the great glen is a fault line that runs from fort william to inverness in scotland running through three lochs and several parts of the caledonian canal. i found myself in a conversation where a friend was saying he was think of canoeing the great glen with his son (who is an outdoors instructor amongst other things). i said i would love to do that which set a ball rolling and ended up with a group of six of us in three canoes heading to scotland to canoe it. it's 60 miles or so. the photo above is from this album the great glen canoe trip which will give you a feel for what it was like.
we wild camped each day finding spots from an os map. those sites were extraordinary. we were under a goshawk nest one night, in a shelter on an island in the middle of loch oich another, by a waterfall with a natural pool, and then suspended between trees overlooking loch ness another.
i took my aerial tent which was absolutely perfect for it. it packs small and will go anywhere. i backed it as a kickstarter some years back. we cooked off the fire each night and morning - there was plenty of wood around.
the main challenge as you would expect was weather. we had one night oif rain but it remained dry on the whole. but the wind seemed to vary a lot. when we set out on loch ness the wind was against us and white horses were on the water so we rafted three boats together and set off for the far southern shore. that meant the boats were stable and whilst we were bailing all the way it was exhilirating. at another point when we were on a long day down loch ness we rafted boats again and made a sail from a tarp and got blown along for a few hours.
the final day was really choppy and challenging but we made it to the end of loch ness. one boat did capsize but close to shore. i wasn't in that boat!
jon who was the most experienced and the unspoken leader of the trip was incredible. i haven't read it but have heard people talk about the book canoeing down the mountains suggesting we need flexible adaptive leadership today and is not what (church) leaders are trained for. well i saw this in action - adapting to weather and environment, making things with whatever was to hand - tarps, straps, wood, gaffer tape, rope. it actually made me want to relearn some knots and up my bushcraft skills.
john (another john) read some reflections he had written each day - in the vein of john o donahue - that gave some reflective pauses during the trip which was lovely. they were taken from this collection on his web site. he is also a wonderful photographer and took lots of photos - his album is here. i have never done anything quite like this trip and loved it!
i have finally added an album of photos from islay and jura. the irony is that this photo which was the first i took is neither. it was sat down the coast from kennacraig waiting to get the ferry by which time the weather turned.
harry baker has a show at the edinburgh festival doing a two week run that starts tomorrow (16 august) for two weeks. it's in the fringe which means it is unticketed so turn up in good time to get in. jenny and i are headed up from mon-weds next week and can't wait to cheer him on. if you are in edinburgh and fancy a coffee, beer or whisky give me a shout. he has a new book and autumn tour lined up too - see here for the live show info. the poems he wrote in lockdown are incredible - unashamed and impossible are two that spring to mind. unashamed is on the tour page if you scroll down
this is actually a jura musing. islay is home to several famous whisky distilleries and it was really good fun to visit and sample their delights. we found that it was the hospitality and welcome that made as much of an impression on us as the whisky we tasted. but surprisingly the distillery that made the biggest impression on me was none of those. it was lussa gin distillery on jura. it's a small home grown enterprise set up by three women on jura. the population of jura is less than 200 people (and 6000 deer) although the island is by no means small. so if you live there i imagine it's a beautiful and challenging environment. and when it comes to enterprise what do you do? there's obviously jura whisky distillery, tourism, and local trade but not an easy question to answer. one of the phrases we have come back to with pioneers at cms is asking the question 'what have you got in your hands?' - in other words what is there right where you are in your context. maybe that's a good place to start imagining what is possible.
well the answer that the three founders of lussa worked out was that they had local plants or botanicals, and amazing water. so they came up with the idea of distilling gin. they experimented and had a community gathering where locals sampled three versions. the one that was voted favourite is what is now lussa gin. it's made with 15 botanicals - you can see about them in the field notes on the web site. they are a small producer - bottling and labelling everything there. but what a wonderful story of local enterprise. i got the impression (and wished i'd asked more about it) that there is a really connection to the local community in and through the distillery.
i am not really a big gin person but i liked it and it seems to be well regarded and reviewed. it is beautifully presented and they have won an award for the design work.
what have you got in your hands?
my favourite photos from islay i think were sone shots of jellyfish taken from a paddleboard on lochindaal. the wildlife is incredible there. but my experience of it is that it is also quite elusive to the degree that if you go looking for it you don't seem to find it but when you have forgotten about it you stumble across something as a wonderful surprise.
the previous day to these photos i was paddleboarding along the edge of the coast and it felt like it was the sort of place you might see otters. i have seen them once before on eilean mor. and sure enough i spotted one and kept my distance while he dived for his tea. a friend iain happened to be visiting islay the same week so we met up that day and he was on a paddleboard so i went back to get him and we found the otter again and were treated to an absolute delight watching him catch fish and then eat it on a rock - it was one of the most amazing wildlife experiences i have ever had. such a treat!
the next day i thought i'd head back along the same bit of coastline with binoculars and a camera in case there was a repeat performance - i didn't have the camera with me on the previous paddle. well of course there wasn't a repeat - why should there be! the day before was pure gift and it feels kind of greedy going back now i retell it. but it's a very normal instinct too. we did the same with eagles. when jen and i were cycling along an eagle flew across the road directly overhead - it was incredible! it looked like a spot where eagles would hang out with lots of conifers and dead trees. so the same thing - i kept driving by, slowing down and looking for them again. we did see one in the distance in a tree one time but for the most part it was futile. the same thing - appreciate the gift and the surprise when it is given but don't think you can then bottle or repeat the experience!
back to the paddle board - whilst i didn't see otters that day i did notice quite a few jellyfish in the water and they looked magical. i wasn't sure how they would come out but tried manoeuvering the board with camera in hand without dropping it into the water and managed to take a few photos. they are gorgeous - what beautiful and mysterious creatures. and i guess that's a second reflection i have had. sometimes we're so focused on something that is not there in that moment that it's easy to miss what is right there in front of us and the wonderful gift it is. so pay attention to what is there rather than what isn't.
i'm not sure which photo i prefer - the sharper one or the more painterly one a bit more in the depths. it's all gift.
i love the journey out to scottish islands. i think i have visited a dozen now over my life (arran, orkney, mull, iona, north uist, berneray, harris, scalpay, skye, jura, islay, eilean mor on the maccormaig isles). this year for holiday jen and i spent two weeks on islay from where we made a couple of day trips to jura which is very close by. islay is one of the western isles or inner hebrides. it's famous for having 9 distilleries including the big hitters when it comes to peatiness. but is also so much more - a beautiful landscape with bountiful wildlife and beaches.
i love the journey for many reasons i think. it's the anticipation - you're nearly there but it's also unknown. the island begins in the distance and gradually gets closer. in the case of our journey it was a very grey sky, the island was shrouded in mist and cloud and sure enough it began raining. but somehow this is all atmospheric creating a mysterious and enticing appeal of the island.
then there's the wildlife - there are always gannets diving which i have loved ever since i was a kid, guillemots gallore and if you're lucky a porpoise. i love porpoises and dolphins. seeing one is always a thrill. i don't know the difference by the way! i was so delighted that one popped up half way across alongside the ferry. most people were inside avoiding the rain but i find i always want to be outside soaking the journey in not wanting to miss the moment. i was so happy to see the fin roll over in the water. and sure enough on the journey back i spotted two which again no one else seemed to notice. i wasn't quick enough to take a photo.
on the journey to islay you see jura first. port askaig where you land is in a strait between jura and islay. jura was completely hidden by cloud from a distance. i liked the sight of that land mass but none of it really visible.
the colours of the sea and sky made for some interesting photos. i particularly like these more abstract ones taken by slowing the speed down and moving the camera. the white is the wake from the ferry. the colours remind me of the scottish flag.
it was so wonderful last week to get to spend a few days in scotland with pioneer practice tour packing in 5 gigs in 4 days along with gav mart. we were hosted by steve aisthorpe who had helped pull together the itinerary. he even had a van so it was like a proper tour bus :)
each location was different but my biggest takeaway really was that in each location the start point seemed to be us being told that there's not really a lot of pioneer practice going on, but by the end of the session when we had invited stories to be shared it was clear that all sorts of things are happening and bubbling up around the edges. it feels a good time (at least from the outside) in that networks are forming, there is a pioneer scotland facebook group, and so many good people involved across the board in encouraging, networking, training across denominations and streams. and crucially imaginative practice. scotland you have enough in your hand.
we bumped in to various scottish phrases along the way - it reminded me of kate fox's watching the english book where she explores phrases to get at englishness. i wish i'd written them all down. but one that stayed with me was 'who do you think you are?' - which was some peoples way of saying it is a hard culture to stick your head above the parapet. and yet when we did a poll on pioneer practice the top answer in every location was it's about seeing and imagining. so those gathered really seemed to embody something different, or at least their answer to that question was 'a possibility people' (for those old enough to remember that is a nod to a late late service rant which of course was a scottish liturgy).
thank you for having us! this is a rare moment when we had a minute to catch our breath on montrose beach - thanks to gav for the pic
no gigs this week, but back into the fray the week after with newcastle and bristol - yes i know not exactly good planning on my part!
jenny and i visited edinburgh festival for four days last weekend. it's such an incredible festival with so much going on. i genuinely don't know how they pack all the events into the city let alone where all the people find places to stay. it brims over with life, joy, poignancy, artfulness celebrating life.
we first visited i think in 2009 when harry took part in an open mic at a free fringe event. he was subsequently invited to a poetry event in london and that was the beginning of an adventure which included exploring poetry for a gap year and went ever upwards from there. so it was incredible to be back at the festival again and see harry with a solo show in underbelly and a harry and chris show in underbelly both selling out when we attended. it's harry's seventh festival i think with three solo shows and three harry and chris before now. i of course have a totally unbiased view but they were fantastic. it's not just me as you'll see from these 5 star reviews. i have added some photos to an album here.
we packed in about four shows a day of comedy, circus, theatre and also visited some of the art festival. it's hard to pick highlights but we loved in no particular order occam's razor, john robbins, jessica fostekew, matt winning, milton jones, bryony kimmings, tom crosby, lazerkiwis, nathan coley, alfredo jaar. it's surprising how much you can pack in to a few days (and how much you can spend!).
i have added photos from our trip to the west of scotland (and edinburgh at the end) to a slideset on flickr here. i am sure i'll add a few individual photos here to keep reminding myself how magical it is.
loved two weeks in the west of scotland for a break - every corner you go round seems to be an amazing scene of mountains, big sky, lochs, waterfalls, clouds and sun breaking through. i'll add some photos here over the next couple of weeks no doubt. this is on the island of skye - just had to stop the car and take a photo as this road was so brilliant!
just back from a week on the isle of mull. it's now a habit of mine to take a retreat of some sort each year which is one of the best decisions i made a few years back. i always switch off from phone, internet, and any media and take some time to think, walk, be, pray, read, write, and take photos. the last few years i have been to a community wise in the ways of the soul to join in their life of silence and prayer. this year i decided to just head to scotland, risk the weather and camp. unsurprisingly it was cold - i had about 6 layers on most evenings. but it was glorious to be away and in the beauty of the scottish landscape and islands. i actually took my first retreat in this sequence on a scottish island so it was good to be back. i picked up a traveller who wanted to hitch a lift so i wasn't totally solo but headed off alone most days and then had company for evenings and meals round the fire.
harry graduated in july. so technically august is his first month making a life as a poet and it's all going rather well! admittedly he has been performing all over the place for the last few years while studying but you get the drift. he is up at edinburgh festival with his show the sunshine kid in the free fringe. this has been full very day so far and received some good reviews - see tvbomb and broadway baby for example. i loved this quote from the tv bomb review:
Underneath the veneer there is a melancholic yearning that often seeps through, a deep awareness of the intrinsic ache of the human condition. With this in mind, the poems develop into an argument for a positive outlook, for self-belief and for finding meaning somewhere within ourselves. This is a performance that will make you laugh and make you think; art at its transformative best.
as well as doing that he seems to have got himself invited into other events/shows to perform every day which is fun and how you get the word out about your show. this included an invite to perform on simon mayo's radio 2 show - a one minute poem reflecting the contents of the show. this went so well that he was invited back for the week. those shows are up on inlayer for mon, tues, weds, thurs of this week and no doubt the bbc web site as well (it's the first time i've listened to radio 2 for a while being more of a 6 music fan myself…).
i'm heading up to edinburgh on saturday to see the show and hang out and cheer him on which i'm looking forward to. the month will end up with him performing at greenbelt festival. today there is a big feature on him in the church times which is a rather lovely piece.
also this month (probably week) his TED talk will hit one million views by the looks of it - which is pretty amazing.
i can't imagine every month going quite so swimmingly but not a bad start!!! i'm thinking i probably should get a t-shirt saying 'harry baker's dad'. if you are in edinburgh saturday come to harry's show - see you there - though get there early by all accounts.
i have added a few colour photos from scotland to go with the black and white set. i love this one of jen at st monans smokehouse (if you ever go get some of their smoked paprika - just amazing!)
this is possibly the favourite photo i have taken for a while (things have been quiet on the photography front of late). it looks good on black actually. it's part of a set of black and white photos i took in fife a few weeks back...
over the next couple of weeks i'll add some photos from our holiday in st monans, fife.
we took part in speed of light at edinburgh festival. it was a night walk of 3 hours up to arthur's seat in holyrood park overlooking edinburgh with walking sticks that had a a light at the bottom end to help you walk and a gizmo that emitted ambient sounds at particular altitudes. groups of runners in suits with lights on them ran across the adjacent hill to the walkers, creating a mesmerising effect. whilst it was called speed of light it was actually a slow meditative experience raher than a fast one. it was designed and put together by NVA. if you are in edinburgh book yourself in. clearly a challenge to photograph so i took up a tripod and grabbed a few 10 second or so exposures which look rather beautiful in their own way. this is the base of walkers light sticks (sabres?!) as they walk past. this is a moment at the top to pause and look over edinburgh and this gives a sense of the light sticks.
if you want to see a much more amazing set of images than mine (!) this slideshow at the guardian is brilliant...
an advocate for pioneers, lover of all things creative and an explorer of faith in relation to contemporary culture
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