Category Archives: nature connection

Getting through January: with a little help from the starlings

Posted on January 24, 2018 by simplyradical

8am on a gloriously bright January morning. The storm last night has washed the sky clean of cloud and the light is strong and clear, purged of dust. I should be getting ready for work but instead I’m lying up … Continue reading →

Posted in mindfulness, nature connection, nature writing, resilience, simplifying daily life, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Inner city mindfulness

Posted on February 2, 2016 by simplyradical

The kernel of this blog is simplicity. If we could only move our lives back into simplicity, so many of our contemporary problems would diminish or depart entirely. And I find it ridiculously hard to do sometimes. The ‘things to do list’ only … Continue reading →

Posted in mindfulness, nature connection, simplifying daily life, spirituality, Uncategorized, urban living | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A better life is possible – I’ve seen it

Posted on September 30, 2015 by simplyradical

This blog started out as a record of my attempts to ‘escape the system’ and live more lightly and simply on the planet. Over time it’s become more focused on nature as a theme, and I’ve posted poetry as well as prose. … Continue reading →

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On time and patterns

Posted on May 17, 2015 by simplyradical

for ‘our pictures, your words’ event at the fantastic Made in Greenwich gallery May 2015. Inspired by Nicola White’s fish, Deborah Larne’s Signs of Serendipity (and accompanying music) and David Weekes’ Greenwich railway station painting, all part of a Made in … Continue reading →

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Blast away winter blues with herbs

Posted on November 5, 2014 by simplyradical

Seeing as I’m running workshops at a city farm to help people move to a simpler lifestyle, I’ll start sharing some of the learnings here. I’ve covered lots of different subjects in my workshops this year: growing on balconies and containers; … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY Food, nature connection, resilience, simplifying daily life, Uncategorized, urban living | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growing and making your own medicines

Posted on June 18, 2014 by simplyradical

Earlier this month I found myself alongside three other women, standing round a stove watching an older, grey-haired woman stir something in a cauldron..sorry saucepan. I was on a day’s intensive workshop focusing on 15 medicinal herbs – how to grow them, … Continue reading →

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Bladerunner weather

Posted on February 12, 2014 by simplyradical

Friends dubbed last year’s winter ‘Narnia’, it went on so long, with snow falling on Easter Sunday. This year the winter reminds me of Bladerunner, as I negotiate city streets through day after day of rain. Today, as I hurried … Continue reading →

Posted in community activism, nature connection, sustainability, urban living | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

On foraging

Posted on August 24, 2013 by simplyradical

I’m writing this in response to a recent column in the Independent on foraging. The column by CJ Schuler was prompted by destructive, commercial foraging of wild garlic at a local ancient woodland in south London.  Any foraging, let alone … Continue reading →

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Simplicity and wildflowers Part 2: New London Meadows

Posted on August 9, 2013 by simplyradical

All over London this summer, I’ve noticed wildflower and grassy meadows where before there was regularly mown grass. This is something I’ve been persuading landlords to do for the last year and a half, and now, suddenly, it seems to … Continue reading →

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Simplicity and wildflowers Part 1

Posted on June 26, 2013 by simplyradical

In my part-time day job, I attempt to sow wildflowers, food and inspiration in built-up urban areas. The idea is to make them healthier to live in, for both humans and other beings. Despite the huge benefits, there are many … Continue reading →

Posted in allotment gardening, DIY Food, mindfulness, nature connection, simplifying daily life, sufficiency, urban gardening, urban living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments