Flitting here and there

Its a bit of a funny old week this one.

We completed our week up in York and for the week, have visited friends - in Broad Chalke near Salisbury.

Fox and Jan were gracious enough to make room for us to just 'breathe' after our extensive travels.. and we are so grateful for that space. What a beautiful home they have too... a rambling farmhouse set on a gorgeously manicured garden, with a stream running at the bottom of the hill. Its truly stuff made of dreams.

Fox enjoyed showing the kids around his glasshouse and pointing out al the tomatoes and grapes he is growing.

I was a little excited to find that the village has a pretty famous person living there - Terry Pratchett!  I'll only admit here that I did  little wander about, hoping to bump into him, but truth be known, I'd be far too shy to approach him, and if I did meet him in the little shop, I'd be a blithering mess of embarrassment and zealous enthusiasm.. and one can't have that .. can one?

I'll just have to have the claim to fame as simply visited the same village he lives in..

Getting my hair sorted! Monarch Dreads in Blackpool

My dreads haven't been tightened since Dec last year. I like to keep them straight and neat, so its been a bit of a trial for me to have fluffy fuzzy hair while travelling. I do love my dreads for travel - as its such a simple style to maintain. My hair has always been very knotty and thick - so I can only imagine what an awful mess it would have been if I'd attempted to keep it 'normal'. 

I know from the photos it probably doesn't look much different, but believe me - it totally is.  Rachael from Monarch Dreads was wonderful. She was funny, approachable and so easy to work with. She was extremely quick and pedantic with her tidy up and was super tidy ensuring that all whispy bits were captured up and all bobbly bits straightened.  I have to say totally work me driving nearly 4 hours to get to.  On our way to Scotland in November, I'll make sure I do a side detour to get another tidy up and visit her again.

Summary of a working visit at Madhyamaka Buddhist Meditation Temple -Yorkshire

Its a beautiful, tranquil spot, Madhyamaka Buddhist Meditation Temple up in York. As a volunteer worker, the conditions are spelt out before you arrive. It is defiantly not a place to expect to sit and ponder the worries of the world or meditate for hours on end; unless you are able to do this zen style ( in a moving mediation method) 

There are plenty of opportunity to join into the faith sessions, mediations and rituals during the week. 

Though the work is fairly simple, it can become tedious and repetitive, but this is due to the low expectations of supervisors on what the ability of its workforce. This is understandable as there is a wide range of abilities applying to volunteer.

It does give an insight into the life of a monk or long term helper within the temple and an excellent way to explore the Buddhist faith and teachings. 

Though it was challenging to do this with the kids in tow, it was an invaluable experience for them.