identities, journeys, fictions away from the roots
It's been two months since I was last by the sea. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and I have certainly missed this friend. I'm at Horsey Gap in Norfolk to visit the grey seal colony that breeds and pups here every year. The part of the beach that I enter from the... Continue Reading →
Snow over King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, December 2022. Photo by Jessica Zarins It snowed. It stayed. It melted and refroze and snowed some more. Nature reminded us she’s still here. Have faith, have hope. Live with her, and fight for her. Swimmers and kayaker in the river Cam by Sheeps Green, December 2022. Photo... Continue Reading →
Cold is expected this week, so I decide to go for a swim while there's still dew rather than frost in the grass. It's a couple or three degrees plus when I cycle to the river, and I wonder if the water will be warmer than the air. When I slip in to the silky... Continue Reading →
I made a new friend while swimming in the English Channel in my underwear at 2:22 am. We know this not because we were sober and paying attention, but because the sea water broke his watch at the exact time he entered it. Like me, he is a seeker, but I still don't know if... Continue Reading →
Hottest day of the year in England and Wales. And Spain and France. Unnatural. It’s still warm in the house when I go to bed, and I hear mozzies and flies and bees that mistook indoors for outdoors when they saw the light of my lamp. Yesterday’s mozzies and flies and bees lie dead on... Continue Reading →
Having avoided writing and exercise – things that make me feel good – all morning, I eventually sit down in the garden to feel a bit shit about myself. Sometimes my fear of failing is so deep and complex that I think it's actually success that I fear more: starting something, working hard and then... Continue Reading →
On the day we learn that the most powerful nation on the planet – that was once hailed as the leader of the free world – are planning to withdraw 50 year old women's rights, I head to the water. My wild swimming has been irregular since the autumn, but this changes with today. I've... Continue Reading →
I saw a kingfisher on my walk in Coldham’s Common, and knew it would be a special day. The darting electric blue and brown belly you only see when it lands was unmistakable, and I thought this is the fourth kingfisher I’ve seen in the five years I’ve lived in Cambridge. And it was a... Continue Reading →
I treated myself to the World of Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum for my birthday. I'd read a review that described it as 'emotional' and 'full of love' for the people whose story it tells. But I tried not to be too influenced by this when I went to see it. I made my... Continue Reading →
Moomintroll normally hibernates through the winter. Being full, warm, surrounded by loved ones and asleep is perhaps the ideal way to spend winter. But it was when he woke up and faced the winter that there was a story. Pre-sunrise winter morning on Coldham's Common, Cambridge. January 2022, photo by Jessica Zarins Moon in the... Continue Reading →
Branches 