Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans…

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Okay, must get back into action here…

It’s been a while hasn’t it?

Well over 6 months by the looks of it…

So much for moving to Skye for some time-out from the whooshing pace of city living… with each year here my life seems to get busier and busier!
It’s not a bad thing, my life is pretty exciting, but it has meant that I’ve neglected my blog a bit.

I think this is partly because I haven’t known where to start.

It’s a bit like when you see an old friend after a decade apart and they ask what you’ve been up to… so much has happened that you get a bit of a mental block.

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I’m a rubbish public speaker but talking at Countryfile Live was pretty darn awesome!

I could do a whole essay to try to catch-up but I reckon that would be boring for both of us so instead here’s a quick debrief…

-I’m still living on Skye (and loving it)

-I still spend my days making and selling artwork.
When I’m not doing that I’m usually working on some random charity/conservation/art/outdoors project that pays poorly (if at all) but adds a bit of extracurricular interest.

-The last year has been non-stop. From representing Ordnance Survey at Countryfile Live to scoping out uninhabited islands, it sure hasn’t been quiet (as the saying goes, “you can sleep when you’re dead”. Though I wouldn’t mind a little period of calm!)

-I’m happy and healthy. Single and content. Just plodding along and taking life as it comes really.

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Being sent on a mission to a tiny archipelago in Shetland has been a particular highlight which I really should’ve written about…

There’s only one* thing missing from my life at the moment and that’s been writing and blogging.
It’s the only thing on my To Do list that never gets crossed off!
(The words ‘get back into blogging’ have graced my New Years Resolutions list for at least the last two years in a row)

Technically, I’ve still been documenting my Skye life online, just through other social media sites…
Instagram in particular is a great way of ‘micro-blogging’ (you can find me here). Because you only post a photo at a time with a caption underneath it’s far easier to use on the go than a full-blown blogging site like this.
But it’s not quite the same…
From now on I’ll try and do both.

If you have anything you’d like me to blog about in particular please let me know. Otherwise I’ll just waffle on as before! 🙂

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Still madly in love with this island

*This isn’t technically true. I’m very much missing having a furry friend around the house. It’s a fact that dogs make life 100% better.

Alpkit: Go nice places, do good things

I was thinking this morning about all the things I’ve been up to over the past year that I’ve still yet to write about… foraging missions… whale rescue training… trips to Applecross, Harris, Glasgow, Edinburgh…
Then it occurred to me that I’d never shared the video made for Alpkit by Dom Bush who came to stay last August (blog post here)

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Cumbria-based kit-makers Alpkit don’t just make fantastic products (their filoment jacket is probably the warmest, lightest thing I own) -they also have a really great ethos and attitude.
The company motto is ‘Go nice places, Do good things’ and they have a really dynamic and refreshing approach to how a business interacts with its customers. It’s a brand I’m really chuffed to have been involved with and highly recommend (and no, I’m not getting paid to say that).
You can see the adventures they get up to on their Facebook page here.

Dom Bush of Land and Sky Media is a fantastic award-winning filmmaker and it was great to have the chance to be filmed by him. Please ignore me and my lispy ramblings and just enjoy his beautiful camera skills…

To see more videos by Dom for Alpkit check out the Screenroom section of the Alpkit website here. The one about fell-runner Nicky Spinks is amazing -she’s a superwoman!
As well as a catalogue of their products they’ve got lots of interesting blog posts to inspire you to try out your own adventures.

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A leaving note…