Wanderess

'She was free in her wildness. 

She was a wanderess, a drop of free water. 

She belonged to no man and to no city' 

- Roman Payne

Wandering: Manchester, Central Library walk.

A foggy morning walk

There's something mysteriously magical about foggy mornings. When wandering through fog I feel as though I'm entering a different world. A little escape from the every day world. And when joined by a good friend and my camera it makes a pretty perfect escape. Lately, I've been thinking a lot. Thinking about things I want to do, things I want to achieve, things I want to try, things I want to change but with all this comes fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of disappointment. As humans, we all have dreams and we all have fears but should we let our fears overshadow our dreams? And if we never try, how will we ever know? And I think I rather live with failure than live with regret. At least by trying I will know, I will experience, I will grow, and I will learn. And so I've made a pact with myself to make some positive changes. 
And to just do. 

“My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Sunset at the beach

Last weekend we thought we'd drive to some place, somewhere, anywhere.We ended up close to Blackpool, so we decided to head to the beach there and watch the sunset. Two of my favourite things are watching the sun set and watching the sun rise. And it's amazing how every sunset and sunrise is so different.

“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.” 
― Jo Walton

Markets

One of the things I enjoy and look most forward to around this time of year is visiting markets. Yes it's cold, it gets dark a little too soon but it all adds to the wonderful atmosphere at these markets. Everyone bundled up in wooly scarves and coats, huddled around the stalls with hot drinks, lovely golden lights surrounding you, and lots of treats all around. And it all gets me rather excited for the winter season ahead. This week I visited a friend in Manchester and so we decided to take a trip to the Christmas market there. It was lovely.

We drank hot chocolate, 
ate macaroons and German sweets,
bought fresh olives
browsed through the wonderful stalls, 
picked up some pretty decorations and 
enjoyed the warm atmosphere.