Loved this Rebecca! And a wonderful image of you and a furrow for our imagination at the end to surprise and delight! The sound of the sea in your clip is mesmerising; that is a perfect addition to the essay. I had an inadvertent sound clip of the sea in one of my Instagram posts a couple of weeks ago, when I was capturing some sea birds racing up and down the waterline. But it was the sound of the sea that captured everyone’s delight. Looking forward to seeing if we can walk successfully to a destination and back together soon!
Where did you get that picture of me, wandering a confused path? Because of the pandemic, I have had much opportunity to get lost, though they’re creeping up again. Last night I was driving to Halifax, a drive I do at least once a month. There’s only one exit off the highway to get onto the highway to Halifax. Aaaaannnndddd...I almost kept going to Cape Breton. Again. Had I kept going, I would have gotten to the exit where my aunt and uncle’s house is, and I could find my way there, but from their house into town and onto the highway to Halifax? Forget it.
Not that I would have minded going to Cape Breton - it’s been far too long! - but it was a headache barely averted!
Another great story. I get lost easily too in buildings. Once, at a client's office after setting my stuff down in the meeting room I asked to be shown to the rest room. I could not find my way back to the meeting and showed up red-faced after the meeting had started.
Your mention of the South Downs reminds me (again) of the time, oh so long ago, when I was living with an artist in Amberley, writing short stories and dreaming a lot. There was a stile up on the South Downs way that I used to call my “star seat,” where I would go when I couldn’t sleep. My dreams kept me awake, I guess. So I’d sit up there and watch the stars spool about, and the moon wax and wane. Easy to find my way back home: I just walked downhill.
Inspired by his little flags, my grandfather and I would go on walks in the forest behind his house in rural Pennsylvania and we'd plant little flags along the way so we could retrace our steps and get back home to grandma. If memory serves, I decorated the flags with pictures of my favorite animals cut from national geographic.
What a delightful read! I came here to say "not all who wander are lost" but Nancy beat me to it! So, I'll say, instead, that reading about your adventures in getting lost (or your letters to Terry, or the Art & Treasures offerings) brightens my Saturday and I'm grateful for what you share and how you share it. ❤️
I was going to suggest those little round white stickers might help but that would only work if you're tracing your steps inside somewhere and even then isn't 100% reliable!
Oh dear, what have I done, certainly caused my daughter to have a furrowed brow. Any consolation, I still get lost in airports and often lose my boarding pass-ask Mum!
The plough idea was a very elegant solution, Rebecca, though rather unuseful in an urban environment, as I'm sure you'll agree. My own solution is that I take a wheelbarrow with me wherever I go. The wheelbarrow contains posts, pieces of hardboard shaped into arrows, a tin of nails and a box of thick felt tip pens. Whenever I come to a junction I quickly erect a signpost pointing back to the way I came from. Even Transport for London have seen the sense of the idea, which is why the tube map now contains a picture of a signpost pointing towards my house, as I mentioned in my recent letter to you (https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/107393387/the-tube-map).
One of your commentors mentioned getting lost in a building. The worst example of these is the Olympia exhibition hall in London. It's actually TWO halls, which are identical. Many is the time I've been at an exhibition, wondering what happened to a particular stand, when I realised after fifteen minutes that I've been looking in the wrong hall. You must be aware that some science fiction writers, and now even some scientists, posit the idea that is at least one other universe that is parallel to our own, or is the mirror image of it. You don't need to try to imagine this: just go to Olympia.
Also, as getting lost seems to be your hobby, you will be pleased to learn that there is a hospital in London whose maps show various rectangles, sometimes of different colours, with an arrow announcing "You are here" -- with no indication of where "here" actually is. I can let you know where that is, but not publicly in case the cartographer involved decides to sue me over my depiction of it.
I didn't know their was a record function on navigation apps. 😂 I would have some real tangled! I definitely need to make an art piece inspired by this. 📍🧶
"... even I can find my way along a beach and back. Outbound: sea on one side. Return journey: sea on the other..." Such a fine, simple plan! How I wish there were solutions this simple in other areas of my life! I sympathize, Rebecca. You have four unworkable solutions to marking a trail. I KNOW there is a feasible one -- we just haven't thought of yet. Wait for the flash - it will come peripherally. I will let you know if anything else springs to mind.
This has helped me to see why I opt so much for the path along the shore and not the path into the forests! I love forests but I hate feeling lost and I am no good at navigating anything without tech! 🌳 🌊✨🪄😳🌍
I did laugh!
Well written!
(PS: I've been known to take pics on my phone to navigate the way back...)
Loved this Rebecca! And a wonderful image of you and a furrow for our imagination at the end to surprise and delight! The sound of the sea in your clip is mesmerising; that is a perfect addition to the essay. I had an inadvertent sound clip of the sea in one of my Instagram posts a couple of weeks ago, when I was capturing some sea birds racing up and down the waterline. But it was the sound of the sea that captured everyone’s delight. Looking forward to seeing if we can walk successfully to a destination and back together soon!
Not all who wander are lost.
Where did you get that picture of me, wandering a confused path? Because of the pandemic, I have had much opportunity to get lost, though they’re creeping up again. Last night I was driving to Halifax, a drive I do at least once a month. There’s only one exit off the highway to get onto the highway to Halifax. Aaaaannnndddd...I almost kept going to Cape Breton. Again. Had I kept going, I would have gotten to the exit where my aunt and uncle’s house is, and I could find my way there, but from their house into town and onto the highway to Halifax? Forget it.
Not that I would have minded going to Cape Breton - it’s been far too long! - but it was a headache barely averted!
Another great story. I get lost easily too in buildings. Once, at a client's office after setting my stuff down in the meeting room I asked to be shown to the rest room. I could not find my way back to the meeting and showed up red-faced after the meeting had started.
Your mention of the South Downs reminds me (again) of the time, oh so long ago, when I was living with an artist in Amberley, writing short stories and dreaming a lot. There was a stile up on the South Downs way that I used to call my “star seat,” where I would go when I couldn’t sleep. My dreams kept me awake, I guess. So I’d sit up there and watch the stars spool about, and the moon wax and wane. Easy to find my way back home: I just walked downhill.
This reminds me of a book I loved as a child, _Henry the Explorer_ https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2223386
Inspired by his little flags, my grandfather and I would go on walks in the forest behind his house in rural Pennsylvania and we'd plant little flags along the way so we could retrace our steps and get back home to grandma. If memory serves, I decorated the flags with pictures of my favorite animals cut from national geographic.
What a delightful read! I came here to say "not all who wander are lost" but Nancy beat me to it! So, I'll say, instead, that reading about your adventures in getting lost (or your letters to Terry, or the Art & Treasures offerings) brightens my Saturday and I'm grateful for what you share and how you share it. ❤️
I was going to suggest those little round white stickers might help but that would only work if you're tracing your steps inside somewhere and even then isn't 100% reliable!
Oh dear, what have I done, certainly caused my daughter to have a furrowed brow. Any consolation, I still get lost in airports and often lose my boarding pass-ask Mum!
The plough idea was a very elegant solution, Rebecca, though rather unuseful in an urban environment, as I'm sure you'll agree. My own solution is that I take a wheelbarrow with me wherever I go. The wheelbarrow contains posts, pieces of hardboard shaped into arrows, a tin of nails and a box of thick felt tip pens. Whenever I come to a junction I quickly erect a signpost pointing back to the way I came from. Even Transport for London have seen the sense of the idea, which is why the tube map now contains a picture of a signpost pointing towards my house, as I mentioned in my recent letter to you (https://terryfreedman.substack.com/i/107393387/the-tube-map).
One of your commentors mentioned getting lost in a building. The worst example of these is the Olympia exhibition hall in London. It's actually TWO halls, which are identical. Many is the time I've been at an exhibition, wondering what happened to a particular stand, when I realised after fifteen minutes that I've been looking in the wrong hall. You must be aware that some science fiction writers, and now even some scientists, posit the idea that is at least one other universe that is parallel to our own, or is the mirror image of it. You don't need to try to imagine this: just go to Olympia.
Also, as getting lost seems to be your hobby, you will be pleased to learn that there is a hospital in London whose maps show various rectangles, sometimes of different colours, with an arrow announcing "You are here" -- with no indication of where "here" actually is. I can let you know where that is, but not publicly in case the cartographer involved decides to sue me over my depiction of it.
I didn't know their was a record function on navigation apps. 😂 I would have some real tangled! I definitely need to make an art piece inspired by this. 📍🧶
"... even I can find my way along a beach and back. Outbound: sea on one side. Return journey: sea on the other..." Such a fine, simple plan! How I wish there were solutions this simple in other areas of my life! I sympathize, Rebecca. You have four unworkable solutions to marking a trail. I KNOW there is a feasible one -- we just haven't thought of yet. Wait for the flash - it will come peripherally. I will let you know if anything else springs to mind.
Thank you for the smile and laugh today Rebecca. I especially loved the sound of the sea...I closed my eyes and just listened. Thank you.
This has helped me to see why I opt so much for the path along the shore and not the path into the forests! I love forests but I hate feeling lost and I am no good at navigating anything without tech! 🌳 🌊✨🪄😳🌍