Space - the final frontier!

The Captain's last blog entry 'Beauty in the eye of the beholder' might leave you wondering; where are the critics? Well, you won't find them commenting on the blog . They voiced their views verbally, describing at least one part of one article as negative. Another person described the whole blog as 'bitter' which seems to me like a bit of an overreaction, but it did provide me food for thought and the result is this article. I've little doubt that the heat was created in reaction to the space issues raised in the 'Five little ducks go swimming one day' article. So allow me to shine some light on the final frontier: SPACE! Every parent that I have met so far generally holds the belief that when children come along then lack of space becomes a problem. Nearly all the mums in our NCT group were either extending or buying bigger houses as the arrival of their first baby drew nearer. I don't think that it is controversial to suggest that this belief is widely held and pretty ingrained in Western culture. It is therefore unsurprising that a mother who holds the exact opposite view will receive, at the very least, a few raised eyebrows. Holding onto this belief becomes more important the more one thinks about it. Think of the money we would have saved and the sacrifices that we need not have endured if this was true. The safest course of action is to reject the notion as crackpot. The logical next step is to suggest that the Captain would adopt a different view if she had the means. Take it from me, the Captain is no crackpot and she does have the means. Her truth is eloquently described in her article and is a legitimate point of view based on five years of experience. It's not for everyone as we are all unique, but to suggest that bigger is the only direction to go when it comes to children is not necessarily so. No. 1

Our spiritual home

Golden Mean is moored on a small National Trust island near Cookham for the baptism of our daughter in August 2008.

Some last minute adjustments to the rigging

Whilst this was going on we were moored outside a pub on the Thames, overflowing with drinkers who were all very interested in this spectacle!

All hands on deck the first time we lifted the gaff

Under sail on the Thames

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

I took this picture during one the first evenings we spent on Golden Mean, at the time when our dining room was permanently al fresco and the Concorde fly by a daily ritual. Like many others I found the very essence of this unique aircraft inspiring and uplifting and I miss her presence. Yet I have heard others complain that the noise was irritating and the concept vulgar. The advent of our blog has also brought to light some disparity of opinion about the motivation behind our musings. Some find it hard to understand why we choose to express ourselves in this way and find the style raw and our purpose unclear. Others have told us that they have been moved, educated and inspired by the insights into our lives. Margaret Thatcher once said that no-one does anything worthwhile in this life, for which they are not criticised. As I hear the reactions of friends, family and strangers to our blog my own feelings fluctuate. I cannot, as much as I would like to, profess to be unaffected by the opinions of others. There have been moments of doubt and uncertainty about how much or little of our thoughts and experiences to share. There is an element of vulnerability about sharing one's own feelings and experiences with anyone who chooses to log on and perhaps this makes those closer to us feel uncomfortable? This may be why some bloggers choose to keep their anonymity. Fortunately the overriding emotion when I publish an article is not one of doubt but of clarity and conviction about who we are and the life we are living. I have always found the written word a powerful means of expression. With fiction one can be creative but with an autobiographical text it's a slalom between between being truthful and yet entertaining. We are each finding our own voices, and developing individual styles which are inevitably open to criticism by the reader. My father, who was a watercolour artist, was once asked in an interview if he had to walk for miles before he found an empty piece of beach to paint; his seascapes typically miles of nothing with the odd bait digger or dog walker against a moody sky. He replied that this was not necessary, painting the way he did, because if there were tourists there he simply 'didn't put them in'. His paintings were impressions of the world that he saw, or wanted to see. He did not paint on location but customers were always eager for him to confirm; "That's Morston quay/Blakeney point/Cley Mill, isn't it?" His reply; "If that's where you want it to be, then it is." The view of Concorde as seen from Golden Mean is one that will probably not be seen again. One of the things I most enjoy about living on a boat is the freedom to change our view when we so desire. I mean this in the literal sense as well as the metaphorical. Although the inside is the same, the outlook is completely different when we moor in a different place and even if you don't look out of the portholes you can get a sense that you're somewhere else. The light changes. And it is the light in which we view something which colours our judgement about it. Provided we speak our own truth with integrity and sensitivity we have nothing to fear from others' opinions. I invite you to describe the colours as you see them. The Captain