Slow & Simple Moments | 07.24
In busy times, it can be hard to slow down, and to really savour each moment. My word for the year was space, yet my space feels heavy and crowded. I am now seeking a lightness and freshness.
In this series, I share some of the things I’ve been getting up to, places I’ve been, and other beautiful and special slow and simple moments from the past month.
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St Swithin’s Day was a bit of a washout here, though luckily, we seem to have, thus far, avoided 40 days’ continuous rain. If anything, it was has been considerable drier since then! July has brought with it a busyness rivalled only in December as we hurtled towards the end of term, and all the hustle and bustle which comes with the summer holidays ahead. During these busy times, it can be hard to slow down, and to really savour each moment. My word for the year was space, yet right now, my space feels heavy and crowded. As we move from July to August, and onwards towards autumn, I am seeking a lightness and freshness. From where, I don’t yet know, but my mind and body crave it.
July 2024
This month was originally called Quintilis, but was changed to Julius in order to honour Julius Caesar. Until the middle of the 18th century, July was pronounced to rhyme with the word ‘truly’. The month is considered to be the height of summer, when ‘nature is red in tooth and claw’. July is a month to celebrate female saints: Margaret (20th); Mary Magdalene (22nd); and Anne (26th). In the past, our ancestors would have recognised the events which marked these, but perhaps not so much as that associated with St James the Greater (25th July), the traditional start of the oyster season.
Here are some of my slow and simple moments from July. I hope they might inspire and encourage you to seek out your own in the months to come.
Savouring the Local
We’re as guilty as the next person when it comes to forgetting to savour and enjoy those things which are on our doorstep. Somehow, those things which require the least effort are the easiest to overlook. These beautiful views, the epitome of the English countryside in summer, are just a 10-minute walk from where live in the City of Lichfield. Go that little bit further, and it’s amazing what one can stumble upon, that suddenly, all is lost in a sea of calm and beautifully nostalgic timelessness.
This month, why not explore some of the places on your doorstep?
Connecting with the Past
I spent a day at the Wolfson Centre for Archival Research at the Library of Birmingham rummaging through the records of the Warwickshire Society of Friends, or Quakers, for an assignment* I was writing. I will never tire of holding in my hands, books and papers written over 300 years ago. They are a tangible, physical connection to the past. Despite the years that have passed, we hold them in our hands, just as those who came before us held them, taking ink to paper, often recording the most mundane of day-to-day activities.
Why not find something out about the history of your local area? You will be surprised how much you can find. Take some time to seek out the physical remnants of the past, for even below the most modern of houses, lies history.
*I got an A-, so I reckon I must have done something right!
The Healing Power of the Garden
I have been enjoying reading Nick Stewart Smith’s book, The Thousand Year Old Garden, in which he explores the history and beauty of the secret garden at Lambeth Palace. Reading this book has been a timely reminder that within the bounds of any garden, and indeed, any green space, healing can be found. I loved the idea that the nurses at St Thomas’ Hospital, just across the road, had a key to the garden gate, so that when it all got too much, they could seek solace and peace. Gardens offer us a timeless connection to something greater, that through our cathartic pottering, we might, once again, be renewed in body, mind, and spirit.
Spend some time pottering in your own garden this month, for no objective other than to just be, and if you don’t have a garden of your own, seek out your own green space amidst wilder nature.
Daunt Books
and I made it to London this week for the first time in two years. I was able to take her, for the first time, to Daunt Books in Marylebone. If you haven’t been to Daunt’s, it is the most beautiful, intriguing independent bookshop (or ‘booksellers’) with several branches across London. Somehow, you always manage to find something new in Daunt’s, a book you’d never have thought of, that somehow manages to clamber slowly down from its shelf to find you. They also sell a range of gorgeous bags, so if you’re in London, it’s well worth a visit.I look forward to seeing which slow and simple moments August will bring. Why not let me know in the comments some of your special moments from the month of July.
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I’ve been a lot to Daunt’s but have never visited that branch. Love their shops - I also recently discovered the Waterstones on Gower Street in Bloomsbury. They sell second-hand books outside - the poetry section has comfy chairs. Worth a visit.
Very thoughtful 💕