It’s probably a silly question but can the London home not be rented out for a while to give you some more time for rural adventures? I’ve so enjoyed reading your writing on Substack - it feels so honest, interesting and moving - and I’m just really hoping that something good comes along for you.
Thank you so much, Lisa, and not silly at all! Once I have fixed the water damage, that’s my plan. Although I have been a landlord before and it was a nightmare - and with the new laws I suspect it’ll be more difficult and more costly. But it’s certainly an option I’m considering.
Sometimes, one needs stuff. Everyone needs different stuff. Dreams are built around stuff. I can’t get rid of my mares tack. It still smells faintly of her. The saddle will live where it has since I bought it, over the back of the rocking chair (an excellent Trago Mills buy!) in the dining room. No, it’s never going to be used again. It’s my stuff.
I so feel for you in your circumstances. It might seem to many that you have an abundance of riches in your life - and, of course, you DO. But I also understand the attachment to place, the necessity of one's ambitions, the essential recognition of what it is that you long for, the knowledge of what feeds your soul (without which, you inner life would wither, your dreams turn to dust, and sorrow fill up all the places where pleasure used to reside.) I keep hoping to read of some magical, last-minute event that transforms your dilemma into a radiant new opportunity. Something similar happened to me once when I was on the brink of losing my special place; what it led to wasn't exactly the manifestation of my fruitless longing, but ultimately delivered more than I had ever dared to hope for. So I hope your 'storage' is very much required in your unknown future.
I love the post too. We feel we have all been on this journey with you and so much wanted it all to work out. Something will happen. Keep your stuff. Never cut off your escape route.
OMG I love 'Indian Summer', I found some curtains in a charity shop and bought them because the fabric was in my best friend's house in the 90s and I always loved it then. Planning on hanging them in the hallway in this house if I can find a second pair to match (tricky colourway, I haunt ebay looking for it)
It’s probably a silly question but can the London home not be rented out for a while to give you some more time for rural adventures? I’ve so enjoyed reading your writing on Substack - it feels so honest, interesting and moving - and I’m just really hoping that something good comes along for you.
Thank you so much, Lisa, and not silly at all! Once I have fixed the water damage, that’s my plan. Although I have been a landlord before and it was a nightmare - and with the new laws I suspect it’ll be more difficult and more costly. But it’s certainly an option I’m considering.
Brilliant, as ever Lucy, on the politics of home & abroad xx
Love the way this piece shifts across themes so effortlessly
I love this post. All of it, including the politics!
Sometimes, one needs stuff. Everyone needs different stuff. Dreams are built around stuff. I can’t get rid of my mares tack. It still smells faintly of her. The saddle will live where it has since I bought it, over the back of the rocking chair (an excellent Trago Mills buy!) in the dining room. No, it’s never going to be used again. It’s my stuff.
I so feel for you in your circumstances. It might seem to many that you have an abundance of riches in your life - and, of course, you DO. But I also understand the attachment to place, the necessity of one's ambitions, the essential recognition of what it is that you long for, the knowledge of what feeds your soul (without which, you inner life would wither, your dreams turn to dust, and sorrow fill up all the places where pleasure used to reside.) I keep hoping to read of some magical, last-minute event that transforms your dilemma into a radiant new opportunity. Something similar happened to me once when I was on the brink of losing my special place; what it led to wasn't exactly the manifestation of my fruitless longing, but ultimately delivered more than I had ever dared to hope for. So I hope your 'storage' is very much required in your unknown future.
I love the post too. We feel we have all been on this journey with you and so much wanted it all to work out. Something will happen. Keep your stuff. Never cut off your escape route.
Yes, exactly, we all need a Room of Requirement.
And once the days of prosperity and plum trees materialise, it will all come out blinking into the sunlight.
OMG I love 'Indian Summer', I found some curtains in a charity shop and bought them because the fabric was in my best friend's house in the 90s and I always loved it then. Planning on hanging them in the hallway in this house if I can find a second pair to match (tricky colourway, I haunt ebay looking for it)
I love the way you write. I feel the same about that man but you describe him perfectly x