You might have noticed the absence of my letter on Wednesday. I was travelling with my family to Devon for a mini holiday built around a book event of Kim’s. We returned to the South Hams where we lived for ten years, staying in East Prawle for a few nights. East Prawle is a special village with an amazing energy and a truly unique pub – The Pigs Nose Inn. It was a favourite spot of ours when living in Kingsbridge and we had all missed it.
Kim had been with us in Cornwall for about a week, coming down for the Penzance Literary Festival and an evening at the St Ives Society of Artists. Both events were exciting, brilliantly chaired, and full of intriguing conversation. I even made nautical themed cookies to celebrate. I never get tired of listening to my sister talk about her writing or sharing the fascinating knowledge stored in her mind. I am continuously in awe of her.
A Wild and True Relation is set in Devon, and particularly around the area we lived in. The event at Harbour House in Kingsbridge on Thursday night included live violin music composed by Jon Matthias especially for the book. It was an incredible evening and the power of hearing Kim read scenes set just outside the building we were sitting in, and listening to characters brought to life by music, moved me to tears.
I almost didn’t make it to the event. When time came to pack the car for Devon I nearly stayed behind. We were concerned about taking Finn on his first huge adventure. There was so much unknown and potentially disastrous: the long drive, to fact his crate wouldn’t fit in the car, the fact that with him in the car we barely fit, an unknown holiday home, spending the evening with people he’d never met so we could attend Kim’s event, and on and on. We went back and forth for a while until deciding to take the risk and squeezing everything we could into the car, puppy included.
Thankfully, this ended up being the best possible choice.
Finn was incredible the entire time, calm and curious and so well behaved. He dealt beautifully with new experience after new experience. His first time sharing a room with me, his first pub lunch, his first beach picnic, his first time witnessing me swim. He even tried following me in before the water freaked him out and he had to run around shaking it off himself. He was calm, friendly, trusting, and even seemed to enjoy it all.
There was so much at stake taking him. Not simply the mini-holiday Kim had booked for us all, or the holiday rentals carpets and furniture if he got scared and forgot his training. I got Finn dreaming of van adventures together. And even though the van build is currently stalled, and I am feeling more than a little despondent about it all, those dreams are still there. Because of that I needed to know we could do this together, and for it to be fun.
That is a lot of pressure to pile onto a three-day break and the shoulders of a not so small puppy. Thankfully I returned home having had nothing but joyous experiences adventuring with Finn. He was truly brilliant, and I now truly believe we will have heaps of fun exploring the world together from my van.
For that to happen though I need to get back to building what I can while saving up to finish it all. I’ve gotten myself some shift work at Tate St Ives, I am working on increasing my art sales, I am applying to yet more arts funding. And I have A Nomadic Rose, which currently pays me just under £20.00 a month. Even that small amount helps, but it could help more. So, if you enjoy reading this letter, and if you can afford it, please consider subscribing for £4.00 a month. That way I can get out on the road, making environmental art and adventuring with Finn that little bit sooner. Thank you.
I will write again next week with a glimpse at the project I have been working on for exactly a year. Until then, keep adventuring.