Friends. Photography. Adventure.
It was Mr Unmentionable’s birthday yesterday. Last year he and the delightful Name Unmentionable took part in my Scenes on Screens project. There were a few unused shots in the archive so to keep his celebrations going a little longer I decided he should be today’s Sinful Sunday. And as luck would have it those grabby handfuls of delectable butt make this work very well for the SWAP hands prompt too!
You might have seen on Twitter that I was off swimming in the sea yesterday. With the water temperature at 5 degrees and the air temperature not much higher, I wasn’t going to be hanging around on the water’s edge taking photos of my legs so this photo was taken on holiday in Cyprus a few years back.
But I wanted to make my post this weekend about swimming so that it also fits with the SWAP revitalise prompt. Because, oh my goodness does swimming revitalise me! I have always loved swimming. I learnt young and took to it instantly. I remember my swimming teacher asking me whether I wanted to try for my five metre badge (who remembers those 1970s and 80s swimming badges?!) and by the end of the lesson I’d earned my five, 10 and 25 metres badges.
Over the years swimming is pretty much the only exercise I have done and enjoyed consistently. There’s been gaps, of course. I don’t remember swimming while I was at university and when I was running more than I can be bothered to these days I swam a lot less. But overall swimming has been the consistent. I’m lucky that for 24 years I’ve lived in London I have always lived or worked within 20 minutes walk of a pool. In fact at one office I could see into the pool from the kitchen.
Swimming looks after my head like no other physical exercise. I think clearly while in the water. Solutions to personal and professional problems reveal themselves. I work through break-ups and make-ups. I relive happy moments and process sad ones.
More recently – like every other woman approaching perimenopause! – I’ve started outdoor swimming and I absolutely bloody love it. The sharp bite of the cold see water and the delicious tingling that takes over your whole body. The smell of petrichor as we get the woody end of the lake on a Monday morning. The incredible Welsh landscape when I’m swimming in the lakes on visits. Every outdoor dip makes me feel so alive.
This photo is really old now. It’s just an iPhone snap taken first thing in the morning 22 months ago but it’s the photo that kicked off my whole Distancing Diaries projects during the first lockdown.
The day I took this photo I had a hang out planned but both of us were feeling a bit feverish so we rain-checked. I sent him this photo as a placeholder. It was the 17th March 2020. There were a lot more placeholders before we were reunited in the summer!
This photo is such an informal snap that I never expected to use it on the blog but then I saw Floss’s new SWAP meme and the first prompt was mugs and hot drinks so here we are. It’s nice to have a new prompt on the block! I’m combining it with my Sinful Sunday this week and also dropping the Boob Day badge (did you know Boob Day is back and at Molly’s place?) but hopefully I might rediscovered my writing mojo this year and use some of the prompts for writing.
Last week you had the long view of my tree, this week it’s a close up of my 2021 bauble. Does anyone else buy themselves a new bauble each year?
“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it.”
Charles M. Schulz
Of the many things I missed during 2020, hanging out naked, bathed in the light of the Christmas tree, is one of the losses I felt most keenly. I would choose presence around the tree over presents every time.
American Chap: Happy Sunday! Do you not have a weekly post today?
Me: I haven’t done one, no! Not for any bad reason – just I couldn’t be arsed to think of one to do! I’ve probably got loads in the archive I could dig out!
Him: Our dirty archives lol
Me: I’ve never deleted a photo from this chat so I’ll scroll back and see what’s to be had!
A few minutes later an old photo is sent back to me.
Him: This is one of my favorite tit shots of you
Me: Maybe I should use that then!
So here you have it, an old morning tit shot taken straight from our WhatsApp chat. Sometimes a lot of thought and travel and editing goes into a Sinful Sunday post, sometimes it’s a quick snap you get.
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.”
Fall, leaves, fall, Emily Bronte
Back in the summer when I was catching up on 40th birthday shoots that were delayed due to lockdown MyWildLens messaged to say that she was turning 40 this year too. So of course a photo adventure had to be planned!
On Friday I spent a glorious few hours in the woods with her and Honey where our hearts sang with joy at the colours and the leaves fluttering around us like confetti. This is my favourite photo of the day but there’ll be more to share in the next few weeks and months.
Work has me travelling again which means photos and messages from hotel rooms are flying between me and others again.
Thursday, 07.24: “Imagine fucking against that window? Palms pushed up against it. All the traffic passing below, nobody realising the show that’s five floors up.”
“I have been younger in October than in all the months of spring.” W S Merwin
Back in the summer I had a flurry of photo outings, catching up on 40th birthday shoots I’d missed out on during lockdown. One of those was with LoveLustLondon.
On that adventure we got the very summery Dappled, but then just around the corner we found this spot which with all its fallen leaves already looked quite autumnal. So this photo is a bit of a trick – it isn’t really autumn but I kept it back for this weekend – his autumn birthday weekend. Congratulations on another orbit!
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