Intimacies shared

Last Saturday, having cycled back from a tai chi class, I pulled a muscle in my back while lifting my Brompton fold-up bicycle into our home. I must have lifted the Brompton more than a couple of hundred times this year already, and yet, still pulled a muscle, and I've been in pain ever since! It has been quite debilitating - I can't even put my socks on or tie my shoelaces, without assistance. Many people laugh about the Brompton anyway as not being a 'proper bike', however, since we down-sized from a family house with a front garden (god for parking bikes), to a mid-terrace Georgian 'two up , two down', there's no room to store a proper bicycle. Down-sizing has meant a lot of decluttering, but also some resourceful ideas to store things, with books stacked two rows deep on shelves, and any cubby hole stuffed to the brim. At the old house, we had the luxury of a spare room for occasional over-night visitors, with additional hanging space for Mel's clothes. Now we have her clothes hanging from the backs of doors in every room, and I often quip that I now live in a wardrobe!

Our feature image for this week's newsletter, is chosen by Telescope Club aka Khaya and Noah, who created a sound walk along the Regent's canal in London- sharing a romantic moment in their young lives. Partly prompted by being apart during the COVID pandemic, and then meeting up again in London, these two American songwriters started building a life and writing songs together. Read their story in our featured blog piece, "A meditation on change", and have wherever you are, but especially if in the vicinity of the Regent's canal, have a listen to their sound walk - one of the fourteen short-listed pieces in this year's Sound Walk September Awards.

This week, I would like shine the spotlight on two other Americans who are members of our community.

Molly Wagner, for some time living in Sydney, Australia, was keen to seek out other walking artists there. We have helped along the way, making occasionally connections and e-introductions, Molly has brought together more than 30 Australian walking artists (there's a meet-up online this week) and with the help of Kim V. Goldsmith, they've put a proposal together to the WAYOUT Artspace a well-regarded regional gallery in New South Wales for an exhibition of walking art. We only know of two other exhibitions of Australian walking art, and it's terrific that Sharne Wolfe who curated one in Lismore in 2018, is presenting her work at Molly's meet-up this week.

Ann de Forest, editor of 'Ways of Walking', whom we had as a Cafe guest at the time of the Catalonia encounter in July 2022, has been seeking our walking writers, and later this month will host Neil King Jr and Tom Zoellner, two New York Times best-selling authors in the first of a new series of online events we're calling Walking America - writers in conversation.

Wherever you are in the world, just check the times of these events (and others) - you never know, you may be able to join in and share intimacies with others who have a passion for walking, art and writing.

Keep walking!

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