"What place lights you up?" Great question (in a list of other great questions)...and it must be the sea: It's the rolling spray blown free of the rising waves. It's the rip tide that races in reverse and tears upward like the pull tab of a mail envelope. It's the blinking shimmer of the sun on the surface like millions of diamonds. It's the slight lift of a sleek head from deep waters. A seal? A whale? A sea-lion? It's the bomber-like pelicans flying in formation with those impossibly strange beaks. It's the space, too. Space enough that thought flies away and doesn't come back for a long time. Yes, it's the sea that lights me.
Thank you, Jane - you are a gift and your episode is spectacular. Thank you for sharing your story so candidly and beautifully (no surprise ;->) and trusting me with it. So blessed to know you and so very grateful for you. xo
I'm very grateful for the family and friends that have supported me this year, and also the whole amazing Substack community. I've also stumbled upon the changing of the guard. As someone from England though, I must say not every inch is as beautiful as the Lakes! In my fiction writing I stumbled upon a PDF of some old archeological paper that brought alive the site I wrote about, all the little artefacts with amazing stories of their own. I also queried an agent for the first time in a while, hopefully that'll lead to good news! The little village in Kent where I went to primary school always seems to light me up whenever I revisit. And the Isles of Scilly, there's something there so freeing and tranquil about that island life. I think I've been there with my family at least seven times in my 21 years of life - I'd highly recommend visiting if you ever have the opportunity.
Haha. You're right. The Lake Districts are spectacular! And there are some Not Very Pretty parts of England, for sure. I haven't been to the Isles of Scilly, in fact, I'd not heard of them. But I just googled and now I have another place to add to my list for my next visit. How lucky to have been there so many times! And I'm glad you're feeling so much support from friends and family and Substack!
Yeah the islands are really special, each with their own character. Probably for a first visit I'd recommend staying on St. Mary's. From there it's easier to venture to all the others. We normally stay on St. Martin's which is very quiet, basically a farming town.
What a lovely ode to England, to a place your cells call home. I, too, believe we all have a spot of earth (or two) that hums harmoniously with our blood. I’ve had a few, but one in particular that makes no genetic sense was China. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I smelled, heard, felt home.
Looking forward to hearing the podcast interview you mentioned. Just queued it up. As you already know, I’ve devoted the last 4 years to learning from and sharing patient stories of living with chronic illness. And when the “invisible” factor is part of their illness, almost everyone has gone through a period of deep isolation and frustration as the world says, “But you look fine.” I know it’s scary to share, so I applaud your courage. Your story will make one person or many feel less crazy and less alone.
That's so interesting, Kimberly! Hmm..past lives??
Aw, thank you. I have written a fair amount about my health. Just not about this particular experience. And, yes, invisible illness come with all sorts of challenges! Thanks for your kind words.
Nov 25, 2023·edited Nov 25, 2023Liked by Jane Ratcliffe
So much resonance here Jane. I've lived in New Zealand for 18 years, but England is my homeland. As much as I love the raw, unkempt wildness of NZ, there is a grounding and settling that happens in my nervous system whenever I set foot back in the UK. I feel like it's the connection to ancestry that anchors our roots deep into the earth. It's quite unmistakable and hard to replicate elsewhere. It always leaves me feeling slightly unmoored as an immigrant. I lived in Camden for several years in my early 20s when I first moved to London, initially down by the lock at the Chalk Farm end and later at Mornington Crescent, opposite the Camden Palace (as it was then) - some of the happiest memories of my 20s are in those streets. Thanks for sparking a little nostalgia trip with your writing 😊
I look forward to listening to the podcast too as chronic illness (auto-immune disease) has also been a part of my journey - I plan to write more about this too at some stage, but as you say, it takes some courage...
Vicki, that is so beautifully put! Yes, definitely a grounding and settling and an anchoring to the earth. And you lived in Camden!! What years were they? My gosh, how that Market has changed. When I first went, it was a scattering of outdoor stalls. Over the years, I've watched it evolve into something quite epic! What part on England were you born in? And how did you end up in NZ? So many questions! Sorry to learn you also struggle with health issues. Sending support. And, yes, write about it! The world needs your stories!
I was born in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands - definitely not the most beautiful part of the UK, but on the borders of the Shropshire countryside, which is lovely. My Camden years were between Aug 1995 to about Aug 1999 if memory serves me right. Perhaps we brushed shoulders down at the market one day?! I actually had a stall on Camden market once upon a time (maybe '97) selling painted glassware 😀
My cousins all live on the perimeter of England (Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Cumbria, Cornwall, Hampshire...). I don't know the middle counties other than to drive through. One day I must explore! My dad was born in Shropshire, which he remembers fondly, but soon moved to Ireland and then London.
Oh, maybe! My first visit, and the one that left the most lasting impression, was in 81. But I've been a few times since, including this visit, so perhaps we did!
You've given voice to something I feel about Greece, my parents' native country that they left when they were in their early thirties. I just recently wrote about exactly this, my feeling that--though I've never lived there more than for (very many) three-month summers--Greece is where I feel I am home. I've lived in England for a total of four years, too, and there's a way that England feels like my comfy place. I was there in quite formative years. But it's Greece that feels to me the way England feels to you. You don't need to describe it with tastes or scents. We got it. :-)
Thank you, Henriette! And it sounds like you very much understand. Isn't it interesting that we both experience with our parents' native land. I know this isn't true of everyone who has immigrant parents, but when it's true it's so so so deep it's beyond everything. Do you think you might be able to live in Greece one day? Whereabouts in England do you live and what brought you there?
I used to think I could never live in Greece full time--in part because the difference in the level of simple convenience was so great. But now I know that I could, and would like to someday for a year or so. The internet has made life much easier there and, honestly, many aspects of life are nice there. In England I lived (as a student) in Oxford for three years and (as a mother with young kids, while on sabbatical) in north London for one.
It is interesting that each of us feels so at home in the home our parents left!
1,237 cousins ? I need to learn to cook, decorate & get licensed to be a caterer. That " licensing " bit - I don't know if that applies to caterers. ONE REUNION OF YOUR FAMILY COULD MAKE ME SHAMELESSLY, DISGUSTINGLY RICH ! Enough to buy a vacation home in Trinidad & Tobago or Tahiti ( as visions of culinary adequacy dance through my cerebrum..... ) !
I have distant relatives from TN, USA probably to Mongolia, Brazil & all points between, so keeping track is a bit of a problem.
Haha. Well, maybe I added on a cousin or two. But there are A LOT. I haven't even met them all. You could definitely make a fair amount from our reunion. Sounds like you have a sprawling family, as well.
We're Anglo - Irish, French, German, with a dash of Latin. Apparently there was a " diaspora " a few centuries back, unofficially, my father served as a Seabee in the Pacific, WW II, so, but for a quantum - level twist of fate, I could've been Maori, perhaps.
As for catering, I would've hired OTHER PEOPLE do some of the heavy - lifting. I'm no Gordon Ramsay. Or even a Bobby Flay or Guy Fieri.....
"What place lights you up?" Great question (in a list of other great questions)...and it must be the sea: It's the rolling spray blown free of the rising waves. It's the rip tide that races in reverse and tears upward like the pull tab of a mail envelope. It's the blinking shimmer of the sun on the surface like millions of diamonds. It's the slight lift of a sleek head from deep waters. A seal? A whale? A sea-lion? It's the bomber-like pelicans flying in formation with those impossibly strange beaks. It's the space, too. Space enough that thought flies away and doesn't come back for a long time. Yes, it's the sea that lights me.
Thank you, Jennifer. I love your sea! I hope you're able to visit her soon! xx
Thank you, Jane - you are a gift and your episode is spectacular. Thank you for sharing your story so candidly and beautifully (no surprise ;->) and trusting me with it. So blessed to know you and so very grateful for you. xo
Thank you so much, Nicole! And thank you for being such a kind and generous interviewer. xx
Most welcome, Jane - that truly means the world to me coming from one of the best interviewers out there. xo!
I'm very grateful for the family and friends that have supported me this year, and also the whole amazing Substack community. I've also stumbled upon the changing of the guard. As someone from England though, I must say not every inch is as beautiful as the Lakes! In my fiction writing I stumbled upon a PDF of some old archeological paper that brought alive the site I wrote about, all the little artefacts with amazing stories of their own. I also queried an agent for the first time in a while, hopefully that'll lead to good news! The little village in Kent where I went to primary school always seems to light me up whenever I revisit. And the Isles of Scilly, there's something there so freeing and tranquil about that island life. I think I've been there with my family at least seven times in my 21 years of life - I'd highly recommend visiting if you ever have the opportunity.
Haha. You're right. The Lake Districts are spectacular! And there are some Not Very Pretty parts of England, for sure. I haven't been to the Isles of Scilly, in fact, I'd not heard of them. But I just googled and now I have another place to add to my list for my next visit. How lucky to have been there so many times! And I'm glad you're feeling so much support from friends and family and Substack!
Yeah the islands are really special, each with their own character. Probably for a first visit I'd recommend staying on St. Mary's. From there it's easier to venture to all the others. We normally stay on St. Martin's which is very quiet, basically a farming town.
I just googled both of those. Gorgeous!! St. Martin's in particular looks so beautiful! Thanks for letting me know about them.
What a lovely ode to England, to a place your cells call home. I, too, believe we all have a spot of earth (or two) that hums harmoniously with our blood. I’ve had a few, but one in particular that makes no genetic sense was China. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I smelled, heard, felt home.
Looking forward to hearing the podcast interview you mentioned. Just queued it up. As you already know, I’ve devoted the last 4 years to learning from and sharing patient stories of living with chronic illness. And when the “invisible” factor is part of their illness, almost everyone has gone through a period of deep isolation and frustration as the world says, “But you look fine.” I know it’s scary to share, so I applaud your courage. Your story will make one person or many feel less crazy and less alone.
That's so interesting, Kimberly! Hmm..past lives??
Aw, thank you. I have written a fair amount about my health. Just not about this particular experience. And, yes, invisible illness come with all sorts of challenges! Thanks for your kind words.
So much resonance here Jane. I've lived in New Zealand for 18 years, but England is my homeland. As much as I love the raw, unkempt wildness of NZ, there is a grounding and settling that happens in my nervous system whenever I set foot back in the UK. I feel like it's the connection to ancestry that anchors our roots deep into the earth. It's quite unmistakable and hard to replicate elsewhere. It always leaves me feeling slightly unmoored as an immigrant. I lived in Camden for several years in my early 20s when I first moved to London, initially down by the lock at the Chalk Farm end and later at Mornington Crescent, opposite the Camden Palace (as it was then) - some of the happiest memories of my 20s are in those streets. Thanks for sparking a little nostalgia trip with your writing 😊
I look forward to listening to the podcast too as chronic illness (auto-immune disease) has also been a part of my journey - I plan to write more about this too at some stage, but as you say, it takes some courage...
Vicki, that is so beautifully put! Yes, definitely a grounding and settling and an anchoring to the earth. And you lived in Camden!! What years were they? My gosh, how that Market has changed. When I first went, it was a scattering of outdoor stalls. Over the years, I've watched it evolve into something quite epic! What part on England were you born in? And how did you end up in NZ? So many questions! Sorry to learn you also struggle with health issues. Sending support. And, yes, write about it! The world needs your stories!
I was born in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands - definitely not the most beautiful part of the UK, but on the borders of the Shropshire countryside, which is lovely. My Camden years were between Aug 1995 to about Aug 1999 if memory serves me right. Perhaps we brushed shoulders down at the market one day?! I actually had a stall on Camden market once upon a time (maybe '97) selling painted glassware 😀
My cousins all live on the perimeter of England (Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Cumbria, Cornwall, Hampshire...). I don't know the middle counties other than to drive through. One day I must explore! My dad was born in Shropshire, which he remembers fondly, but soon moved to Ireland and then London.
Oh, maybe! My first visit, and the one that left the most lasting impression, was in 81. But I've been a few times since, including this visit, so perhaps we did!
Lovely to make those connections here. The world really is a small place 😊
Yes! And yes it is! 🌸
You've given voice to something I feel about Greece, my parents' native country that they left when they were in their early thirties. I just recently wrote about exactly this, my feeling that--though I've never lived there more than for (very many) three-month summers--Greece is where I feel I am home. I've lived in England for a total of four years, too, and there's a way that England feels like my comfy place. I was there in quite formative years. But it's Greece that feels to me the way England feels to you. You don't need to describe it with tastes or scents. We got it. :-)
Thank you, Henriette! And it sounds like you very much understand. Isn't it interesting that we both experience with our parents' native land. I know this isn't true of everyone who has immigrant parents, but when it's true it's so so so deep it's beyond everything. Do you think you might be able to live in Greece one day? Whereabouts in England do you live and what brought you there?
I used to think I could never live in Greece full time--in part because the difference in the level of simple convenience was so great. But now I know that I could, and would like to someday for a year or so. The internet has made life much easier there and, honestly, many aspects of life are nice there. In England I lived (as a student) in Oxford for three years and (as a mother with young kids, while on sabbatical) in north London for one.
It is interesting that each of us feels so at home in the home our parents left!
The internet has changed so much! I hope it works out for you to live there one day!
1,237 cousins ? I need to learn to cook, decorate & get licensed to be a caterer. That " licensing " bit - I don't know if that applies to caterers. ONE REUNION OF YOUR FAMILY COULD MAKE ME SHAMELESSLY, DISGUSTINGLY RICH ! Enough to buy a vacation home in Trinidad & Tobago or Tahiti ( as visions of culinary adequacy dance through my cerebrum..... ) !
I have distant relatives from TN, USA probably to Mongolia, Brazil & all points between, so keeping track is a bit of a problem.
Haha. Well, maybe I added on a cousin or two. But there are A LOT. I haven't even met them all. You could definitely make a fair amount from our reunion. Sounds like you have a sprawling family, as well.
We're Anglo - Irish, French, German, with a dash of Latin. Apparently there was a " diaspora " a few centuries back, unofficially, my father served as a Seabee in the Pacific, WW II, so, but for a quantum - level twist of fate, I could've been Maori, perhaps.
As for catering, I would've hired OTHER PEOPLE do some of the heavy - lifting. I'm no Gordon Ramsay. Or even a Bobby Flay or Guy Fieri.....