Mindfulness retreat on Tresco

“Mindfulness is a way of being that helps focus awareness on the present, easing regrets about the past and anxiety for the future, allowing us to understand and accept ourselves for who, what and where we are.”

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to take part in a Mindfulness retreat, held in Abalone cottage on Tresco. The course leader was Caspar Walsh. Caspar has been delivering retreats throughout the UK for over 10 years. His work combines mindfulness, nature connection and personal inquiry to bring about a balanced, healthy, creative and flourishing life. He is a published author and writes for the Guardian and Observer. Find out more about Caspar here.

The retreat, for me, was a chance to slow down, to reflect on myself, the way I live my life and to help create opportunity for change. I'm painfully aware of the irony of this - living on this idyllic and peaceful island - how on earth am I not able to benefit from the slower pace of life? Well, of course, I could if I weren't working full time! The juggling act I perform here every day is no different to any other woman in my position. Sometimes we need a guide to show us the way to realign ourselves and a retreat is a safe haven to discover new ways to approach our lives.

I've undertaken a few courses on personal development over the years and must admit that aside from the content, I think one of the most important factors seems to be the personality of the teacher. Too much ego can sometimes get in the way of what the group needs, likewise not enough charisma can be uninspiring. Caspar is a natural teacher, talking with authority about a subject that is not only a passion, but a way of life. As a young man Caspar suffered hardship and difficult times, but his story is one of triumph over adversity. The perfect advocate for mindfulness, he emanates a sense of  calm and serenity through his peaceful aura. He is softly spoken and talks about treating the earth and each other gently and with kindness. Global issues, green issues, living a sustainable life are all part of his daily manifesto. On spending time with him you see that he is dedicated to treading lightly on this earth to leave as little trace as possible. He lives his life with a humble and gracious heart. 

At the start of the course Caspar had asked everyone what they hoped to gain from the course. We wrote down our hopes and took turns to read them out. Here’s mine – “I would like to find a way or discover tools to help me to be less busy; to stop rushing about, mindlessly, with a lack of focus. I’d like to take time out without feeling I ought to be doing something more important.”

Caspar led us through meditations/visualisations a few times each day with varying degrees of intensity for me. He prepared us all for the inevitable drifting off-course that the mind would do which was a great help. To know that unwanted thoughts will pop into your head the minute you try to meditate was helpful in preparing us to be able to just observe and let them drift away. And the more I practised this, the easier it did become. Silent meditations have been a struggle when I've tried them in the past, but to have Caspar’s voice giving gentle instructions was in itself a focus to block out other thoughts. I’ve been left with some spectacular imagery from one visualisation which had me floating blissfully in deep outer space observing the earth from above, and this vision and sensation remain as clear now as they were in that moment. 

A couple of times a day we were sent off for solitary walks. As we prepared for these we were instructed to be silent throughout. The other rule which Casper put in place was for us to walk at half our normal pace. Little did I know that this one feature would be quite so revolutionary for me. I’m a beetler; I beetle about at a rate of knots because I’ve always got so much to do and so little time to do it in. And suddenly, here I was being told to walk slowly. This in itself was such a revelation! Slowing down to this pace of life, a life that I’ve never experienced was like falling into another world - the world that I see holidaymakers inhabit here, but not one I’ve ever thought I could visit myself. And yet how very simple that was.

With each walk came instruction too, to listen, or to observe or touch - sometimes we documented these things as we went along.  Caspar was aware that we might meet a friend or workmate while we were out and about, but we were encouraged to just smile, nod, walk on and try very hard not to talk. Can you feel a little story coming on? Well, at one stage I found myself “trapped” in a nook at the top of a beach, behind a little shed with no way out, aware of some voices approaching. I was scribbling down my thoughts on the topic of touch when I realised that a group of workmen had cornered me (unbeknownst to them). They were reversing around the corner where I was seated, when one chap spotted me, “Oh Hi Anna,” he said “we need to be here for our meeting, so if you could...” at which I jumped up, clutching my pad and blurted out “I’m on a retreat and am not meant to be talking.” Quick as a flash the retort came back at me – “Well, that will make a nice change for everyone!”

One of the exercises that we did every day was a question and answer session with a difference. The questioner had to learn to merely pose the given question, but then resist the natural temptation to nod, interject a comment or use any body language to encourage the responder. Those who were replying had to talk about the given subject for three or four minutes which turned out to be a long time without prompts, visual or verbal from the listener. I found this quite a difficult exercise, as I’m such a chatterbox and also because I’m aware I do interrupt all the time – but with good reason ( I had always thought) because I know that the thing I’ll want to add to the conversation will elude me if I have to wait for someone to stop talking. It turns out that I’m not the only one who suffers this affliction too.

Caspar encouraged us to give feedback throughout the course and at one stage I was able to share my thoughts in response to the revolutionary nature of life lived in a mindful way. As I sat in the cottage observing the oasis of calm outside, it occurred to me that it was only through having Caspar’s permission that I had been able to experience my life in this mindful way. I was neither at home, at work, nor on holiday, but in this new place where mindfulness was the sole intention of our being. As a group we went on discuss the practicalities of incorporating mindful practise into our daily routines where work deadlines, social pressures and family commitments, in other words just the normal everyday routines, over-ride our good intentions for self care and gentle living.

So now, three weeks on, what have I retained from the retreat?

One very simple and effective tool is to stop and take a moment. Nothing new there then you might say? Well, for me it is new. The process of stopping, for example as I’ve dashed out the door and am about to hurtle along the road to work. Well, by stopping, I can create a space; to breath, to finish the morning rush of trying to get off to work, and to just take a moment. Within that moment, I can relax and put the brakes on that rush and tear that’s my default setting. I can also start again at a new pace, a more deliberate slower pace to enjoy my short commute to work, to take in the wonderful view and within that create a space to transition into work mode.

Silence is the next trick. I used to always have a TV or radio on in the background no matter what I was doing – paying the bills or writing my blog, folding my laundry or eating my lunch, whatever I was up to, there was always a soundtrack of some sort. In my defence, I had used the noise to drown out my tinnitus. One of those doctor’s columns I’d read suggested that you use a low grade noise to counter the sound of tinnitus so that’s what I did. However, Caspar  had asked us to focus on silence when we were inside and of course that meant me listening, really listening, to my own soundtrack. I discovered that this could be visualised as a gentle ringing, maybe even golden in colour, so that I may accommodate it more easily. That’s not to say that I never have the TV or radio on, only now I’m more mindful about making a choice.

Another “brand new” thing for me is kindness, in particular being kind to oneself. In Caspar’s meditations he encouraged us to be gentle with the earth, each other and most importantly to be gentle and kind to ourselves. After two days of his guidance, I did have a “Eureka” moment when I discovered that I can and am kind to others, but not so good with myself.

·         In an effort to create a mind shift I've made a few changes -

·         I’ve stopped writing to-do lists.

·         I’ve instigated a 10 o’clock bedtime so that I don’t get over tired.

·         I’ve stopped feeling guilty about downtime.

·         I’ve stopped seeing life as a competition, a competition with myself.

          I’ve given myself permission to not be the best.

          I'm practising the art of being instead of doing - this may take some time to master!

     

The final change that’s come about since the retreat is that I’ve managed to stop feeling fragmented and over-run. I have a sense of focus that I’ve never had before. Instead of a to-do list, I acknowledge the things that need to be accomplished and prioritise them. That then gives me one thing, and only one thing that I have to do. By having that one thing as my focus, I don’t allow my mind to fret and wonder how I’m ever going to get everything else done. The feeling of being overwhelmed with how much I wanted/needed to get done seems to have been tied up in that ongoing and ever growing list. Now I finish one job and decide again what's the most important thing to be tackled next. And best of all, I'm also learning to ignore things that can wait. Sometimes it's more beneficial to just rest or read or take a nice leisurely walk on this peaceful island.

Caspar Walsh will be holding another Mindulness Retreat on Tresco in the autumn. For full details of that see here.

Anna x

Yay, it snowed!

Oh my goodness, didn't it snow? We couldn't believe the forecast when they predicted a blizzard here this far south in the UK, but golly it arrived on Thursday evening big time! This was just as it started and by late evening it was laying inches deep on the ground.

I took a walk out after work to capture this unusual aspect of Tresco, but after only about 10 minutes of walking my camera seized with the cold. Once I got home I managed to switch it back on and the battery was fine, so I can only imagine that the freezing temperature caused it to shut down.

You many not recognise this vantage point, but I often take shots from here of the sunset across the bay.

These houses are known at the Flying Boat Club development, but not often marketed like this!

Can you see the snowman in the distance? It's the first time ever for some of the children to be able to play in the snow here.

Probably the first time too for these exotic plants to be adorned in snow.

I realise these photos may mean more to those readers who've already visited the island, but they're still pretty don't you think?

The blizzard was raging now, obliterating the view across the channel where you would normally be able to see Samson and Bryher in the distance.

Increasingly the view became more and a more like a winter wonderland (and it was the 1st of March!)

This was the very top of the island where I was most exposed to the blizzard. You can see by the palm trees ahead that the wind is blasting them sideways as the snow was starting to fall more heavily. It was at this point that my camera seized up, maybe because I turned to face into the wind and it upset the mechanism.

Sasha and I dodged out earlier on that day to take a few outfit shots in between snow showers. What could be more fitting on a day like this than to wear my leopard print faux fur coat? Well, maybe adding a pair of snakeskin ankle boots? These came to me c/o J D Williams a couple of seasons ago and are still available and even on offer here.

The rest of my outfit is pretty low key for a change - just a pair of black skinny jeans from Primark and an M&S cashmere polo neck to keep the chills out. I had layered a long sleeved thermal tee under that, again from M&S. My green leather gloves were a charity shop find some time ago.

The one thing I ought to mention is the disruption that the snow has caused to our Internet connection on across the island as well as Bryher. The fibre optic cable has suffered some damage and it looks like it may take a few more days to restore. In the meantime I'm accessing (non superfast broadband) Internet through a friend. My access to your comments will be limited in the meantime, so do excuse me if I don't respond quickly. 

I hope that life for my UK readers is starting to get back to normal now and wish you a better week ahead!

Anna x

Baby it's cold outside!

Snow is a novelty for those who live on the Isles of Scilly. In fact it's nine years since the last occurrence and so you could imagine the excitement today as the skies grew heavy with snow clouds. Initially there were just a few dancing flakes, but as the day progressed the islands disappeared in full white-out and snow settled on the ground, thick enough to make snowballs and even a snowman or two were built.

For some of the local children this will be the first snow they've seen in their lives.

If it's cold enough for snow, then surely it's cold enough to showcase my red fox fur again. I took these shots last month and was hoping to air them before spring overtook me. And here we are, as huge swathes of the are UK under snow I feel it's perfect timing.

I've gone with a casual styling of honey coloured jeans and striped roll neck sweater giving a simple counterbalance to the luxury of real fur. 

The top ring is quite old (from East) and the bottom one was charity shopped.

The final touch of glamour comes by way of these Michael Kors ankle boots, bought in TK Maxx a couple of years ago. The pale nude leather is supple yet soft and the elastic gusset ensures a snug fit. Yes, the heels are toweringly high, but I can still walk in them.

See? I walked all the way from one side of the balcony all the way across to the other before I had to sit down. Once I got my breath back, I got right back up again and walked all the way back!

I realise that my blogging friends across the pond won't be mightily impressed at the light dusting of snow on the road in front of my gallery, but hang fire - we may have more to show by tomorrow. The West Country is forecast to have heavy snow by the end of the day and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be out there taking some shots if it comes about.

For those of you who really are experiencing blizzard conditions, do take care!

Anna x

Style, not age

Welcome to our new and improved group, "Style, not age" where this month we're having fun with faux fur. We've had a bit of a shake up since our last group feature and have taken on a new name, lost a couple of stylists and gained a new one, but apart from that it's business as usual. This month Hilda set the challenge so let's see the results shall we?

I can understand why Hilda chose fur; this coat is an old faithful and looks so cosy as well as super soft. Given the bitter East wind that's sweeping across the UK at the moment, Hilda is dressed perfectly to keep the chills at bay. And when the Siberian blizzard hits us later on in the week, Hilda's Russian hat will surely come into its own. Read more about her outfit on Hilda's blog Over the Hilda here and see her on instagram here.

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Jacqui of Mummabstylish has stepped forward to lead our newly reformed group and is showing the way in style in her electric blue dress from H&M, topped with a faux fur gilet from M&Co. Not only do her Lotus shoes look fab, but they tie in perfectly with the graffiti. See more of this outfit on her blog here and follow Jacqui on instagram here.

I'd like to give a warm welcome to Emma from Style Splash. Her working background is TV and radio, and like the rest of the group she is also a mother. It was while she was an at home mum that Emma decided to pursue her passion for fashion and now works freelance as well as volunteering at an animal hospital and yet still finds time for running her beauty, fashion and travel blog. Emma chose a faux fur collar for the challenge and how clever that it echoes the red hues of her hair! Click on the link above to see her blog and follow her on instagram here.

The story about this coat goes something like this - you know when you have things in your house that eventually become invisible? Yes, sure you do! Well, in the corridor upstairs we have a few hooks, actually nails if the truth be known, spaced along the wall and on them hang about half a dozen coat covers. OMG is this another senior moment? You know what I mean - those grey zip up storage bags that you use for coats to winterise them?

Well, they had become invisible until the other day when I kinda brushed against them on my way past and thought, "Hey what's inside these then?" and here was this faux suede, faux fur coat. Lots of other coats and jackets were lurking there too and I really think that they might all need to be sorted through ready for my next eBaying session. 

It's so long since I bought this coat, I can't be 100% sure where I got it, but fancy it would have been from TK Maxx. It certainly was before my charity shopping days. It's fully lined in faux fur and is toasty warm to wear, making it ideal for this cold snap.

And yes, some of you may recognise the dress from last month when I wasn't all that happy with my styling efforts that time (see here if you must). This pleases me much more, thank you. The boots are slim and elegant and yet edgy enough to give the dress what it needs to sharpen it up. The belt with its studs lends a rock chick feel. And the long fur coat says sleek, so all in all I'm happy.

You'll gather by the shots that this was an interesting photo shoot for Sasha and I on Saturday afternoon.. We both struggled to keep our balance against the gusts of wind that came hurtling over the top of the hill towards us. We'd had words (surely not?) about what was the wind direction and where would be best to find a sheltered spot, but this was the best we could do.

If you're on the island over the next couple of weeks you're sure to see me in this again. It's a bit like an old love affair that has been rekindled and I'm looking forward to seeing what other outfits will be enhanced by this slim fitting coat. I usually wear trousers during the winter months as I always feel the cold, but the longer length and thick fur of this coat means I can wear skirts and dresses and still be toasty warm.

I found this new gold chain necklace in a charity shop last month (£3.50) and it has a matching bracelet (£3) too. I like the stones for an extra bit of sparkle and makes it a bit different to my other (go-to) chain necklace. The large ring was from TK Maxx, the other is from Sainsbury's, the dress and boots are from Zara, the belt comes from Portugal (a gift) and the black tee is a thermal layer from M&S.

I was all set to write about the pro's and con's of fake fur which would of course mean I'd have to write about real fur. But you know, we're all intelligent adults here with access to the latest information about this fashion minefield. My blogging friend Hilda put it very succinctly by saying she's pro choice, and I have to agree. It's not my place to be judge and jury about the rights and wrongs of wearing fur. Last time I wrote about it, the response was huge so do feel free to visit that post if you want to challenge your own viewpoint; Fur - fake or real read here.

I'll leave you with a very contrasting photo taken, would you believe, only four hours earlier than these others. I've been asked to take part in a magazine feature that will be published in the height of the summer which requires shots of me throughout the day, with the required accessory being a cuppa. I have only two weeks to gather a bundle of about 12 images together showing one day in my life here in the "summer", drink in hand! As I was heading off to the beach on Saturday morning I decided to take my flask with me in case the right opportunity arose. 

No-one could be more surprised than me that I managed to nail this shot. I had just been for my swim (hence not a scrap of make-up, not even lippie!) during which time the sun had started showing itself in fits and starts through the cloud cover. I quickly unpacked my kit - tripod, camera with timer and then somehow I had a perfectly stage managed moment when the sun shone boldly and click, there we have it! One down, 11 to go...

This week I'll be linking with Patti of Not Dead Yet Style.

P.S. Just in case you're worried, I'm hanging up my cossie for the next week as the temperature is due to fall below freezing even here on the sunny Isles of Scilly. Do take care on the roads and wrap up well!

Anna x

Pattern clash

This is the first time I've worn this checked trench coat (a charity shop find, originally from Topshop). Styling something for the very first time gives me carte blanche as I have no set idea of how it ought to look which is always exciting. 

My first thought was to pick out the orange and use it for my accessories. The scarf - I think I'm having a senior moment here and am stumped as to what the correct description is for those circle scarves (never ending perhaps?) - anyway, the scarf is deliciously soft to the touch and also has a lovely shade of contrasting green which I adore. You may have seen my orange ostrich skin bag a few times before, but I appear to have "rested" it over the winter months and now here it is all bright, and bubbly and rarin' to go. The scarf is thrifted and the bag by L Credi was from TK Maxx.

The ankle boots are new, well when I say new, I actually bought them last summer in the sale at Sainsbury's when Sasha and I were allegedly buying a hot chicken for dinner. It was our favourite way to shop; to be on a legitimate mission aka getting something to eat that often entailed us doing a slight detour of the clothes section just in case someone had relocated the hot food counter next to Gok's most recent offerings. Again, this is the first outing for these babies too. They're imitation suede and despite the pointed toe are quite a wide fit so are uber comfy. And best of all they were only £5 in the sale!

The geometric print trousers are from H&M and I've had them for a couple of years now. The fabric is synthetic and therefore really stretchy which is very handy as I was having a bit of a bloaty day when I took these shots. Sometimes these just skim over my thighs like a dream and might even need a belt, but this time it was more a "thank goodness these have stretch in them!" moment.

And here's the final part of the pattern clash, a lovely bit of leopard print. In my eyes, this is more pattern play than clash as I think it all works so harmoniously. What do you say? Note the little sprinkling of orange by way of the rings - charity shopped of course. The gold chain necklace was a present, the sunglasses are by Quay Australia and my watch is in rose gold and is by Michael Kors.

I'd spent the whole day at work thinking this outfit warranted a photo shoot, but it was only at the end of the day that I finally found time. The winter sun was weak and also dancing behind the clouds making for an interesting challenge throughout. From shot to shot, I was altering the timer to try to capture the golden light before the next cloud came along. Sometimes the shot was fine, but often I'd forgotten to compose my face and would have a questioning/worried expression which wasn't the look I was aiming for!

This time last week I was about to start on a Mindfulness workshop that was being held on the island over a few days. It was a trial run for one that is going to be offered commercially later on this year. I'm going to feature my experience on the blog, but - and hey you'll appreciate this - I'm not wanting to rush into it. Joking aside, I'm trying to implement some of the skills I learnt and one of the main things I know I want to attend to is the crazy speed I lead my life. It's ironic given that I live on this incredibly peaceful and idyllic island, but as an employee I still have deadlines and budgets just like any other job and that's before you even touch on all my personal goals.

Apart from that I have a new group post coming up on Monday, so please do join me then. In the meantime, I'm going to be taking my time to catch up on some outstanding projects on the home front as well as saying Hi to some of my fellow bloggers who I've neglected to visit of late. If you want to find some new style inspiration then do take a look at my blog list on the right for the ones I love. And last of all, I'm going to link up with one of my favourites, Catherine, below. By following the link you'll be led to lots of new bloggers too as well as reading one of the best blogs on the block.

Linking to -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

And finally... I want to introduce you to one of my favourite instagram accounts featuring Julie Alpine of She wears the trousers. I love Julie's wit as well as style - do take a look.

Anna x

Vintage winter coat and cowboy boots

Hail showers and stormy days are still with us on the Isles of Scilly meaning this winter coat is as useful as ever. The bonus feature of it has to be the rich colours which would cheer up any dull day.

On my recent trip away I found these amazing cowboy boots in the vintage section of a charity shop in Penzance for £9.50. They're real leather, made in Spain and are hardly worn. The moment I saw them, I thought they'd go perfectly with my woollen winter coat (as well as so many other things in my wardrobe). 

Black jeans and checked shirt emphasise the cowgirl look and I picked out some red and black accessories to pull the outfit together. The belt is by Tommy Hilfiger (from TK Maxx), the red and black ring and necklace are both from charity shops and the silver and gold ring by Emily Nixon is the one Steve bought me for my birthday last month.

The day looked deceptively bright here, but the wind was hurtling along the beach towards us as Sasha and I tried to take these shots. I took cover behind the wall but the gusts whipped around us and played havoc with my hair.

This was my Donald Trump moment.

Seconds after this the hail started again ending our photo shoot. 

I just want to end with a note on sunscreen and moisturiser. Since turning 60 I'm (somewhat belatedly) questioning what order these ought to be applied and if it's even necessary to apply both. Well, I can only say that if you Google the question there are so many trains of thought that it left me baffled. I can see the importance for daily sunscreen protection and wear sunscreen from the word go as I head off for my morning swim. After my swim and shower, I'm now applying facial moisturiser with factor 30 sunscreen which seems as if it might be the right compromise. 

And finally, since writing this last paragraph I did a further search which advices to allow your skin 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight every day without sunscreen to avoid vitamin D deficiency. Ought my 30 minutes outdoors on the beach be my skin's time to receive the necessary daily dose of vitamin D? Or do I simply take vitamin D in supplement form?  I'd previously read that we in the Northern hemisphere are generally deficient in vitamin D. You can tell this is all as clear as mud to me. If any of my readers can point me in the right direction for some sound advice on these subjects I'd be really pleased to hear from you.

In the meantime, have a great week!

Anna x