I am not new—it’s been a long time since I felt new with this rather battered body of mine—but I’ve not actually posted here since just after the last time I introduced myself, back in, err, 2009.
As such, and because my word of the year is communication (and, thus far, seem to be spectacularly failing to focus on this), I’ll say hello again. I almost added this as a reply to the original hello, but thought enough time had elapsed that it might be better to start again?!
I’ve read so many things here over the years that some of you feel like friends I’ve known for a long time, which is a bit weird, thanks, internet (and AuDHD, I suspect). I would like to say thank you to you all, I’ve learnt so much, enjoyed completely-off-topic discussions, how-to’s, and generally felt a part of a community, despite not contributing, that it feels frankly rude not to start by saying thanks.
A bit about me—as I said I was planning to do in that last intro post, I did indeed quit my ‘proper’ Civil Service job in 2010, but I didn’t head off to see the world at that precise point. Instead, I ended up planning to walk around the west coast of Scotland and then the north, to spend Christmas with my parents and sisters in Caithness. Then, circumstance changed those plans en route, and I stayed in the woods, alone, for three months instead, from late summer to that rather chilly early onset of winter in 2010.
Obviously, as any of you who have done a long period of nature immersion will know, this changed how I see the world and, especially, myself. When you’ve collected and processed food and water and fuel every day, for weeks and weeks, it does something to you which cannot be undone. It also provided me with much to write about.
I went back the following year and did it again, then stayed in Scotland for a few more years, writing, before finally leaving the UK on the literal eve of my 40th birthday. Since, I’ve not lived in an English-speaking country, being mostly based in Thailand, Portugal (securing a rented apartment two weeks before the first C-word lockdown) and, for the past five years, the Alps in France (surrounded on three sides by heavily forested mountains, all manner of fantastic wildlife on my doorstep). I did also make it to South Africa, along with a raft of other nations—the main takeaway of which was discovering that, despite what you hear, on the whole, people are friendly, decent, and kind, no matter their location or background.
In this time, I met a Frenchwoman in Chiang Mai, we had a daughter, and got married. I also discovered much about myself, including the aforementioned AuDHD.
I also-also discovered much about ancestral skills/bushcraft: learning how to live in different environments, how to relocate skills and adapt them to a place, and how breathtakingly wonderfully complex the natural world is. I’ve learnt much but, perhaps, the biggest thing I’ve discovered is just how little I actually know, and how much there is to still learn, which is a great thing.
Next year, it’ll be ten years since I left the UK to become globally feral, which is ridiculous. That said, I do try and get back (home? I’m not sure what home is, precisely) to see my family when I can, and shall be back in Scotland in July for a wee while.
I’ll shut up now and, crucially, I’ll finish on this point—I intend to be a bit more active here this time around, to actually talk to you, instead of just reading. I’ve even updated my profile pic. Thanks again to all of you who so generously share your time and knowledge, and to those who share your questions, too, that’s how we all learn, after all.
(Also, I just noticed that the last person to comment on my introduction back in 2009 was Sam, @Man of Tanith , who I then—virtually—bumped into on Substack, years later. Small world.)
As such, and because my word of the year is communication (and, thus far, seem to be spectacularly failing to focus on this), I’ll say hello again. I almost added this as a reply to the original hello, but thought enough time had elapsed that it might be better to start again?!
I’ve read so many things here over the years that some of you feel like friends I’ve known for a long time, which is a bit weird, thanks, internet (and AuDHD, I suspect). I would like to say thank you to you all, I’ve learnt so much, enjoyed completely-off-topic discussions, how-to’s, and generally felt a part of a community, despite not contributing, that it feels frankly rude not to start by saying thanks.
A bit about me—as I said I was planning to do in that last intro post, I did indeed quit my ‘proper’ Civil Service job in 2010, but I didn’t head off to see the world at that precise point. Instead, I ended up planning to walk around the west coast of Scotland and then the north, to spend Christmas with my parents and sisters in Caithness. Then, circumstance changed those plans en route, and I stayed in the woods, alone, for three months instead, from late summer to that rather chilly early onset of winter in 2010.
Obviously, as any of you who have done a long period of nature immersion will know, this changed how I see the world and, especially, myself. When you’ve collected and processed food and water and fuel every day, for weeks and weeks, it does something to you which cannot be undone. It also provided me with much to write about.
I went back the following year and did it again, then stayed in Scotland for a few more years, writing, before finally leaving the UK on the literal eve of my 40th birthday. Since, I’ve not lived in an English-speaking country, being mostly based in Thailand, Portugal (securing a rented apartment two weeks before the first C-word lockdown) and, for the past five years, the Alps in France (surrounded on three sides by heavily forested mountains, all manner of fantastic wildlife on my doorstep). I did also make it to South Africa, along with a raft of other nations—the main takeaway of which was discovering that, despite what you hear, on the whole, people are friendly, decent, and kind, no matter their location or background.
In this time, I met a Frenchwoman in Chiang Mai, we had a daughter, and got married. I also discovered much about myself, including the aforementioned AuDHD.
I also-also discovered much about ancestral skills/bushcraft: learning how to live in different environments, how to relocate skills and adapt them to a place, and how breathtakingly wonderfully complex the natural world is. I’ve learnt much but, perhaps, the biggest thing I’ve discovered is just how little I actually know, and how much there is to still learn, which is a great thing.
Next year, it’ll be ten years since I left the UK to become globally feral, which is ridiculous. That said, I do try and get back (home? I’m not sure what home is, precisely) to see my family when I can, and shall be back in Scotland in July for a wee while.
I’ll shut up now and, crucially, I’ll finish on this point—I intend to be a bit more active here this time around, to actually talk to you, instead of just reading. I’ve even updated my profile pic. Thanks again to all of you who so generously share your time and knowledge, and to those who share your questions, too, that’s how we all learn, after all.
(Also, I just noticed that the last person to comment on my introduction back in 2009 was Sam, @Man of Tanith , who I then—virtually—bumped into on Substack, years later. Small world.)
