Will Dig Life

It comes naturally to me to question the norms of culture. Looking back, I think it's my mother's influence - she was described by many as " weltfremd ": a stranger to the world. She lived for her passions (music), never much concerned with the realities of life like money, practicalities, logistics. As a teenager, of course, my default response to this was to be as practical as could be: I chose to do a business degree, not because I'm passionate about business but because practically that would allow me to do a variety of things, to make an income. But something of her attitude certainly stuck. Even as a child, I took a certain pleasure in going against the flow, of doing the opposite of what peer pressure would have dictated (aged 12-13 for example I wore pretty much the same clothes, a drab grey/black baggy style, every day no matter what, when all the girls around me had nothing but fashion on their minds)... and to this day, if something is a popular fad...

We went to visit the kids' great-grandmother, who's in her 90's and lives in Cheshire. As it's a long journey, we made a holiday of it with an AirBnB in Wales. Glorious, quality family time! - I do find that as soon as we let go of plans and expectations, we have a much better time... Mr wanted to go to Liverpool and see the maritime museum but the kids weren't at all up for it so we went back quickly. They're just at an age where they want to do their own things now, and they definitely know what they don't want to do! So, we did have a lot of fun together. The kids relished having their dad with them the entire week! He's learning to cycle now... An orchard at our Airbnb! Ducks Chickens Glorious October weather! In the play fort A dinosaur in the play fort I was quite taken with the decor. Random entrance rugs on walls, and hats. One decorative wall hat, returned to its original purpose. Sunning themse...

So the man and I went on a date... for the first time in months, maybe even years! We blew our own glass baubles at Bristol Blue Glass (bargain for £20 per person, bauble included!) and had a coffee after. The luxury!

It's a regular discussion point amongst vegan parents: should we support local community farms? Knowing that the animals we're looking at will be slaughtered and sold as sausages at the farm shop... and yet, yes I take my children there. I want them to meet the animals, appreciate their lives and what they're like - smell them, touch them, interact with these living beings. Because they are not abstract. They are not concepts. They are alive, breathing, sentient, and I want my childen to experience them alive: and not as packs of meat in the supermarket that we just happen not to pick up at our weekly shop. My kids haven't asked yet about where meat comes from. But when they're ready to ask, they'll be ready to learn.