Moments in Between: Life Lately

February has been an intense but immensely enjoyable month. With a whirlwind of photography jobs involving working with some really lovely people, days spent hammering away at my uni projects in pretty cafes, a few windswept and chilly walks by a lake and some casual beach combing in Devon whilst on a shoot, it's not surprising it went so quickly. But despite the bitter, wintry weather, it feels like a really positive start to the year. Much better than the nightmare that was January (Which is really best forgotten about.) The icing on the cake to last month's stress, was some inept hoodlum breaking into my car and destroying my locking on the drivers side. They didn't steal anything (because I'm not somebody that leaves things to steal in my car) so they wasted their time and cost me a lot of money. This left me feeling attacked, vulnerable and troubled because I just didn't know how I was going to pay for this when I'd just cut my part-time-job hours down to be more productive with uni work.  The thing that hurt me most was not the cost and trouble of repairing the damage, but that somebody mindlessly wrecked my property - a car - that I had worked hard to pay for and maintain. They had done this so thoughtlessly, not considering the consequences of their actions on somebody else's life. I know there are bad people in the world, but I guess I just took this blow pretty hard. I felt really darn hurt. 

After returning from a activity-filled week back home in Cornwall, I felt recharged and inspired again. I made more progress with my novel, The Archipelago of Skye, and started reading again. I finished 'Howl's Moving Castle' by Dianne Wynne Jones which was exactly the sort of mad-tale I had been needing. I've also been spending an increased amount of time in my Max from 'Where the wild things are' replica wolf-suit. The house has been that cold, it's been a blessing to don a pretend-wolf skin complete with a bushy tail (which I keep getting trapped in my car door :( (Yes, I have worn it 'out' and received some odd looks)) 

Bright and early Wednesday morning, we drove 20 minutes to a little village named 'Chew Magna' which is located on a Marshy Lake. We were meeting a family to take some photographs for them and we had arranged to meet in the cafe. Now, normally in Cornwall when I think of a cafe that's in the middle of nowhere or in the woods, it's normally a hut/shed type of deal. That was what I was expecting. Not the beautiful, dreamy and soothing interiors of Salt & Malt, the gorgeous cafe that was sat at the side of the Marshes overlooking the lake with a spectacular view of birds, sailing boats and tall-reeds in the sunlight. I wanted their crockery, all of it. Talk about aspirational interiors!

After the shoot, we had a wander around the lake and found a pretty suspended walkway over the marsh. We also discovered a little telescope that didn't charge (unlike the ones on the seafront) and we watched the sail boats drift about on the morning water and listened to the sound of the birds. 

On Saturday, I drove out to Lyme Regis in Devon to meet with a couple for a shoot. I hadn't been to Lyme Regis before properly, only driven through it with my Dad but I could barely remember it. The two hour drive through the countryside was so relaxing and the Dorset hills let me see panoramic views of the little dipping valleys and levels. The light was misty and pinky and was incredibly ethereal but when I reached Devon, it had greyed a little. Lyme itself was such a pretty little town filled with hidden delights around every corner. Tiny courtyards with quaint Mills, beach huts and pastel fronted cottages were scattered about here, there and everywhere. I wish I could have spent more than a day here!
I was tempted by the smell of vinegary chips and salty fish wafting out of the take outs - you see the fish and chips in Bath are never as good as the fresh fish we are fortunate enough to get back home. I never ever bother with fish and chips from inland towns and I always look forward to stuffing as many real pasties and battered fish in my face as I can when I'm home. I clocked the menacing sea gulls swooping about though and thought better of it. I really couldn't be bothered with the effort of protectively guarding my food from greedy gulls and carrying around my heavy camera equipment. I had almost forgotten the problems of trying to eat food alfresco in sea side towns.

We got a little distracted from shooting photographs and started collecting sea glass and fossils. My collection got quite big in the end and I was really excited because I can never seem to find sea glass when I go looking for it in Cornwall. It did feel a little like cheating since Lyme Regis seems to be absolutely covered in the stuff, but I found some particularly pretty ones to bring home and decorate my windowsill. I also adopted a broken buoy - not sure what to do with this yet though... I was thinking that when I moved home, I could have a nautical themed garden or something :) (If I'm lucky enough to find a place with a little garden!)

So here I find myself, at the end of the month, trying my best to be gracious about the lingering winter and not dwell too much on dreams of cherry blossoms, flower shoots and warmer weather. With barely 2 months left of university classes left, the uncomfortably long nights are returning where I spend hours just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what project I need to be prioritising next. I am wondering how it will feel to leave this place, and to not have any sense of belonging here anymore. I am not made for the town, I have always known this, but that won't stop me from feeling nostalgic for its magnificent architecture, grandiose interiors and bountiful supply of boutique cafes. I wonder how many more times I will have to wander along the canal, how many more warm evenings I will glimpse the hot air balloons drifting across the sky or how many visits to the Roman Bath museum I can squeeze in. It makes me a little melancholy, but not enough to make me want to stay. I've learnt that some people drift contentedly like nomads throughout life, no sense of belonging and happy to call the place they rest their head their home. Others feel like little plants, rooted firmly to the place they grew, if you try to repot them somewhere else, they begin to wilt. I'm one of those people. It took me a very long time to learn this. 

This has been pretty different from my usual posts, and not altogether structured. I just felt like it was time for a catch up. It's easy to forget that when you're so busy and life is flying by, that there are still plenty of moments in between. Moments filled with light, joy and laughter. I am forgetful and without photographs or written words, those happy moments are in danger of being lost forever. I hope you can forgive me from deviating from my usual sort of post. 

S A R A H -x-