The Year of Celebration

Christmas Day on Elbow Beach " Some things will never change. Some things will always be the same.... The glitter of sunlight on roughened water, the glory of the stars, the innocence of morning, the smell of the sea in harbors, the feathery blur and smoky buddings of young boughs, and something there that comes and goes and never can be captured, the thorn of spring, the sharp and tongueless cry - these things will always be the same. " Thomas Wolfe wrote these words in ' You Can't Go Home Again '. Well, apparently, I can go home and I have. It has been over a year since I travelled across the wide Sargasso Sea to this mid-Atlantic rock upon which I was born. The waters have changed as they are prone to do with the changing of the tides, the price of everything has increased and I have a new nephew who lights up my world. What hasn't changed is the familiarity of the faces that surround me, the slow pace of life, the inquisitive minds of the locals w...

Sydney Harbour Snowboarding injury. My clumsiness hasn't changed. Today in 1889 female journalist Nelly Bly began her successful attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. She beat it by eight days and back in 2004 I beat it by ten days. To be fair technology in the 115 years between our voyages might  have made my trip a little bit easier. As per Instagram it seems that Thursdays are Throwback Thursdays these days. So as a result I visited my very first blog...my travelpod blog about my trip around the world. What a trip down memory lane! I suppose then I'll share some snaps. Between my London departure and return, my journey included surfing in Bali, museums in Melbourne, snowboarding in New Zealand (inevitable injury included), suffering from the flu in Sydney, beaching in Hawaii, loving Los Angeles, losing money in Las Vegas, locked in Alcatraz in San Francisco, mooching around Miami and burning around Bermuda on a moped. Beautiful memories were made. Celebrat...

Life is good. Really good. Celebrations are in order as I've officially gained representation with Crescent Management . I'm very excited to join this lovely agency with lovely people. When I went in to meet them I immediately felt at home and really adored all the members. So, hopefully, I'll start getting some work and keep moving forward. In other news, I just am elated at the moment. I'm remembering to take my meds and I've quit all my anti-anxieties and flushed them down the toilet. I realised that for nearly four years not a day went by that I wasn't completely present. I was unable to respect my feelings. No matter how I felt I wanted to change it. If I was up I'd take and drink whatever I could to make myself more up. If I was down I'd want to be in oblivion so I couldn't experience that. Now, I'm realising I'm human and that it's natural to encounter the ups and downs of everyday life and process them appropriately. Life h...

After last night's early night I had a lot of energy this morning. Spent a couple of hours writing my children's book, then headed to St. George's to see my sister's godmother Gina before she headed back to the UK. I arrived at Grape Bay and surfed (badly) for a few hours with my friends Nick, Ben, Kaitlyn, Jason and my sister Nadia. Nick recently had his jaw broken by some youths who jumped him for defending a girl in a bar. I marvel at Nick's positivity. He's one of the sunniest people I know and hasn't let this get him down. He inspires me to be more optimistic. Nick hasn't let it make him less sociable, and actually went to the concert I missed on Friday night, because I was moping at home. As I was driving home from the beach all I could think was that I was in a blues/jazz kind of mood and immediately wanted to start playing some when I got home. Happily for me, today is the birthdate of Count Basie, so I had a reason to listen to him for an hou...

Today is the first day of CupMatch and I spent the day at Chewstick NeoGriot lounge's annual Beachfest celebration. This year it was named Peacefest to encourage peace in our community. Unfortunately, the day was marred by a fight that broke out amongst some youts, and my mother was hit with a bottle. She's ok, thankfully, just a bit cut up on her leg. The day was fun, though not as good in year's past (although no rain this year - it POURED last year), but still a worthy celebration. I was feeling a bit of social anxiety, as I'm prone to, before heading out there, but a few hours in it had subsided mostly. Pictured L-R, Myself, Amy, Ed, Lydia, Jordan and Kyle. Heading for a nap now, then to Andrew Green's annual Cup Match island party on Marshall's Island by boat. Lots of food, drinks, and fun. Fantastic.

We all know what Americans are celebrating today...INDEPENDENCE DAY! So I'm not American, but I'm all for self-determination....and fireworks (who isn't?!). So this evening I went down to Elbow Beach with a bunch of friends to chill out, play cards and watch the sun go down and join a few hundred people watching the fireworks set off by Coral Beach. Absolutely beautiful.

This Monday in June is Bermuda's National Heroes' Day. It was only established 4 years ago, but I think it is an important holiday to commemorate the great leaders of our society, who often get lost in the pages of today's newspapers and knowledge. I was especially proud this year as Dr. E.F. Gordon was celebrated and I am very good friends with his granddaughter. His daughter, Pamela, was the first female Premier of Bermuda. Pictured are her two grandsons, Ethan and Elijah, who collected the awards on behalf of the family (not pictured is granddaughter Elan). Dr. Gordon was a medical doctor who is regarded in Bermuda as the father of the labour movement. Being a member of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party, I am clearly a supporter of Dr. Gordon's. He was a Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) and challenged racism at every opportunity. When White Parliamentarians refused to refer to him as "Dr." Gordon he changed his name to "Mazumbo" in prot...

The only thing I'm celebrating today is Alastair Jack's birthday at "Jack & Water" - his beach party sponsored by Goslings Rum Company. Should be a good time.