Hey,
We arrived in France — at Chateau Coliving, to be precise — 12 days ago. The building, the people, the scenery, the wildlife, the area… it’s all incredible.
By my patchy reckoning, I haven't been outside of the UK since 2017. No doubt it would have been a shorter gap were it not for the events of the last 2.5 years, but it is what it is. I’ve been on our island for a long time.
I can’t explain how wonderful it feels to be part of an international group of people again. Hearing different languages and accents is enough to make me feel like I have a wider perspective again. Hearing about people’s experiences of life, work, love, and everything else that fills our time has expanded my perspective even further.
It’s not like I didn’t know how wide the world is — I’ve travelled, I’ve known plenty of people from plenty of places — but to be immersed back in its breadth is such a joy.
A lot of the time in England, people see my freelance life as a pretty easy getup. I get to go to the beach in the middle of the week, I can work from different locations, I get to set my own schedule.
Here, people are commenting on how much and how intensely I work. My schedule is no different in France than it is in the UK. Maybe my slowness isn't as slow as I thought. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't.
Perspective is a funny thing. I think the next six weeks are going to grant me a lot more of it.
Bring it on.
Need a little help moving slower?
Ease your way out of Friday afternoon with this newsletter, a nice cup of something, and a little background music. Steal my setup if you aren't sure where to start.
After I press send, I'll crack open a bottle of La Panache.
Sweet, gentle, and barely alcoholic. It’s a French dream at the end of a hot week (my commiserations to those of you who’ve been suffering through the worst of it in the UK).
From fridge to tree-shaded garden, I’ll crack the cap off and hear the bubbles fizz. I’ll take that first long sip and savour the taste. Cold glass kissing my palm, I’ll breathe out another week and settle my neck back against the pillows as the jangly tones of Swimming Tapes play.
Take it easy,