the heavy padlock
chaining my bike
to this muddy world
Category: adventure
on the blocks
diving
a rush
of bubbles
low tide
mudlarking
by the Thames
discovering
our own city
free flowing
unplanned bike ride
where will it take us
this conversation?
Tinto Hill
slowly across the fields
us
and the shadow of the hill
back home
three weeks
since my travels
still unpacking
my memories
beat
evening walk
my steps in time
with cicadas
Nakasendo Trail [4]
without the guidebook
this
is all mine
Nakasendo Trail [3]
wayside inn
tea
and woodsmoke
Nakasendo Trail [2]
my path
straight through
the towering pines
Nakasendo Trail [1]
leaving my suitcase
I follow
the old post road
right now
sitting
writing about
sitting
on the breeze
traffic
and jazz —
night music
roof top terrace
evening doze
beer cool against
my feet
very much inspired by the classic haiku from Basho, one of the first I ever read:
noon doze
wall cool against
my feet
payback
dusk
the earth returns
the heat
raw
morning heat —
sushi
for breakfast
busiest pedestrian crossing in the world
Shibuya Crossing
traffic
of people
slippered
slipping
into Japanese customs
I take off my shoes
kindness
unexpected rain
an umbrella
gifted
pilgrimage
from temple
to temple
my growing blister
Golden Gai*
grilled skewers of meat
I share a drink
with a stranger
* a delightful area of Tokyo with hundreds of tiny restaurants and bars

obscured
to not see Mt Fuji
the sleeping head
of a passenger
bullet train
shinkansen
Tokyo to Osaka
neither here nor there

hot spring
butterfly
at the onsen
I flit
from pool to pool

take a breather
I stop running
the wind
rushing past me
cycling uphill
cycling the long road
up Mt Teide – counting the spokes
of mountain daisies
Canary Islands
black sand beach
the soft crash and pull
of her breath
exploring
city wandering
turning
into someone else
downstream
tripping over stones
river
in the wide valley
BA177
playing chess
by myself
aeroplane meal
plus ça change
holiday
foreign
rain
holiday’s end
baggage carousel my thoughts returning home
driving home
heavy traffic
one cloud
after another
around the block
exploring
the neighbourhood
these well-worn paths
evening
twilight
walking handtight
through the shadows
lost at sea
seagull shriek
the boats
that won’t return
Bryn Celli Ddu (2)
crawling
into the passage tomb
sunlight
Bryn Celli Ddu
Neolithic cairn
rain, rain
dripping again
holidays
low tide
ice cream below
the cone
nap
after my sleep
the grass
also wakes
run like the wind
red-topped runner
breezing through
the field of poppies
skyfill
mountain tarn
only holding
half the sky
a loose gathering
nightfall
around the fire pit
conversation flickers
River Soar
riverswim
almost catching up
with my ripples
feels like summer
evening bike ride
getting away
from myself
cold swim
pebble hobbling
into
the bright lake
from Owthorpe Wolds
hillside sunrise
warmth
reaches my toes
network
footpaths
seldomtrod
spiderwebs
On Mam Tor
hillside hollow
snow collecting
my thoughts
1.9 mph*
driving south
the rain
the spring
*this is the speed with which spring moves north up the country
