Nomads like Home
Throughout the first 3 weeks of this tour, we’ve stayed in a veritable smorgasbord of different structures. From yurts to caravans, roundhouses to just plain ol’ houses, it’s been a mini adventure every day within the bigger one as a whole to find out what our sleeping arrangements are, decide who’ll be sharing if required, and then set up our little nests for the night.
Different levels of unpacking are required on different days depending on whether we’re doing laundry or showering or having to dry rain-soaked gear that even waterproof covers couldn’t protect from the dreadful wind and rain, although mostly we are very much living out of our bags.
We’ve had rides on miniature railways in gardens, chilled out in home bars, and cuddled chickens. We’ve tried many different interpretations of and takes on porridge (all of them *just right*) and watched red squirrels twirling round tree trunks.
All of this is done in homes filled with the artefacts of others’ lives, of dormant things (as coined by Sophie Woodward), and perhaps excitable dogs/indifferent cats. It puts me in mind of Rhodri Marsden’s annual Twitter campaign #DuvetKnowItsChristmas, where people share their makeshift festive sleeping arrangements, often futons or fold-outs in childhood bedrooms now used as offices or storage, the uncanny valley or just plain surreal nature of the surroundings adding to the novelty and excitement of the experience.
To be absolutely clear, we are extremely grateful to every single one of our hosts for opening their homes to us, often also providing food and lifts; it is a privilege to be allowed into their lives, to chat to them and learn from them and share with them. The variety of houses and businesses and people that we are coming across is enriching the experience of this project no end, and I look forward to what the rest has in store for us.