The Surf Hack 2015

According to the surf survival guide the majority of surfers are land locked (unless you live in Hawaii), which means most of us who are half sea creature half land mammal are constantly fighting a loosing battle to surf more, work less. 

I know I'm supposed to be a compassionate Buddhist but the thought of there being more frustrated land locked surfers out there actually cheers me up. If instagram is anything to go by all surfers live in California/Hawaii/Oz,  are tanned, have an attractive amount of sand on their bronzed butt cheeks/wear board shorts all year round and don't have to walk more than a meter for perfect waves. Hawaiians/Australians/Californians please let me introduce you to mud brown waves, don't be alarmed a sewage plant hasn't had a leak this is what the North sea looks like...

There are 365 days in a year and 52 weekends which means even if you surf just once a month that is 12 opportunities to be in the water. 12 might not seem like a lot but factor in work, relationships and other commitments and suddenly 12 seems loads! So here's a sure fire way to make sure you get your saltwater quota. 

Think like a surfer. 

So I have this surfer friend who to Joe Suburban might seem like he's so laid back he's practically horizontal. However this mellow attitude disguises an intensely passionate surfer who works his butt off during the summer months to afford to go live in places like Bali/Mexico etc and live the dream. So what is the lesson here? Prioritize surfing. A night out might set you back some serious coinage, so perhaps skip the booze up or at least sip water instead, save those pennies towards trips. You won't regret getting pissed when your catching aqua blue waves wearing only a bikini in the hot, beautiful sunshine!

Have a plan. 

If your anything like me life has a tendency to suddenly get busy with prior engagements, important events, weddings, etc. Now this might sound radical but get yourself one of those, PAPER, yes I said it PAPER wall calenders and write down all your commitments now. Right now. Yes you, I said go and do it now! Once you have an idea of how your year looks you can start to plan surf trips around the 'can't miss' stuff. 

If possible book in advance, square annual leave with your boss, have some plans in place and if it doesn't hurt the bank account pay for trips in advance so you don't have nasty unexpected bills later on. 

Have surfer friends. 

Find surfers and/or willing surfers and rope them into trips, widen your circle so you don't have to rely on just one person to go travelling with. I love solo travel but this is not for everyone and unless your Kelly Slater its not really safe to surf by yourself either. If you surround yourself with positive, motivated people your more likely to go surfing rather than giving in and settling down for a Netflix series! 

Book flights/train travel/car shares asap 

The earlier you book things the cheaper they tend to be so try your best to book transport in advance, you'll save yourself a heap of cash! If your a driver then ensure you keep a little money on the side for petrol, its amazing how much cars guzzle the stuff when your chasing the waves! 

Look into alternative accommodation 

Surf hostels tend to be cheap as surfers in general are a fairly easy tourist to please (room to hang a wet suit and just somewhere to sleep please). Have you explored other avenues though, especially if your just two people off on a trip? AirBnB is a fantastic site that allows you to stay in people's houses for a few days to a week. Mr Sunshine and I did this when we visited Brighton last year, we were in a massive luxury house, had tea facilities didn't see the hosts at all really and best of all it was cheaper than a caravan!!! Speaking of caravans if there's a group of you these are the most inexpensive I've found in terms of nice accommodation, don't sniff at them, they are fab! Failing that camp my darlings! 

Look around your doorstep

Surfing doesn't have to mean an exotic long haul flight to costa rica, google your nearest surfing beach and try there, visit old haunts or for something really different look at local lakes to see if they do paddle boarding as an option. I recently discovered Birmingham, yes Birmingham has a paddle board club on Edgbaston reservoir, 10 minutes away from the city center. Ok its not catching waves but its still on a board!! 

Happy surfing my lovelies, hope you catch some waves this year! 

Stay strong, surf well
Love 

Life of a land locked surfer.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

- Bruce Lee

The life of a land locked surfer girl consists of missing waves, wanting waves, yearning waves and getting frustrated about not having waves. As a Buddhist apprentice (this is my unique way of saying I'm an uninformed wannabe Buddhist) I return to Buddhist philosophy remembering that attachment to contaminated karma i.e. lust, greed, anger, fear and desire are root causes of suffering. Rather than trying to eradicate these from our lives by ignoring them, it is through acknowledging there existence that we are able to find mental peace. 

In other words, stressing about not getting waves and focusing on the fact that I don't live by the ocean, won't help me feel better about being a land locked surfer. 

So when I'm not near the ocean I live my life trying my best to be present and enjoy the beautiful ordinary moments. With this in mind I've been instagramming incessantly my week in pictures so I could create a photo diary on this here blog. 

So without much further ado: 

THE LIFE OF A LAND LOCKED SURFER GIRL (in pictures). 

Its so easy to miss things in life, these are roses from my garden I happened to take note of thanks to my yoga practice, which I've taken to doing out there. How beautiful are they?! 

  

The selfies above and below are taken in one of my favorite places, this is sat up in my parents garden on the rocking chair (supervising Bruh the bunny having free time)! I go up there all the time hence my different outfits, its a small everyday pleasure that brings me much mirth and happiness!  

Meet Holly the cat, she belongs to my neighbors but is often found hanging about our garden. She's another sentient being who happens to make my life a tiny bit more awesome. 
I'm really embracing the veganism these days and have been trying some new recipes. Above is orange & apricot cous cous with dessicated coconut and nectarine. Below is walnut salad with spinach & seed pesto with a couple of veggie sausages. Don't let me fool you though, I've also enjoyed bourbon biscuits and vegan ready made pizza! Life is all about balance so a little of what you like isn't going to hurt you! 

 

A large part of my life is spent with the delectable Mr Sunny the boyfriend, as we're both explorers we love nothing more than jumping in the car and having a mini road trip somewhere rad. Being that he's not from here originally we have a lot of fun investigating the local area. Amazingly this beautiful castle and gardens was a mere 40 minutes away from Birmingham city center! We had a lot of fun on our date day out, climbing the ruins and finding interesting spots to take photos. 

 
 

This is one of my favorite photos of Mr Sunny and I, because it was taken on a really beautiful day in the sunshine (rare in September in England)! 

 

I know, I know not another food picture! Sorry but this has a nice little story to it- its vegan Thai curry that Mr Sunny and I made together, its always something to talk about when a vegan meal goes down well with a carnivore!! 

*Prepare for unprecedented amounts of soppiness* 

I love Mr Sunny with all my heart, these photos were him just being him really! Obviously the gold camera bag (below) was posed but the photo above was him just sitting down watching the world go by...yup he's that cool (makes me look like an escaped hippie vagabond all the time)! He's a massive consolation of being land locked and makes every day amazing- ok, gush fest over!!! 

 
 

The photo above and two below are from around Birmingham city center, I'm still amazed after years of moaning about this place that I discover beautiful areas like this and actually learn that I quite like the place! Wearing my favorite hat again! 
 
 


I couldn't talk about a regular week without mentioning my beloved Bruh Bunny. Me and him are latch key kids ferrying between my home and Mr Sunny's house, he is however the most unflappable rabbit I've ever encountered. Today I was cleaning and happened to put Mr Sunny's skateboard down, which Bruh then promptly climbed upon - he most definitely takes after his owner! 

Whatever your circumstances, whether a sea dweller or a land locked surfer like me I hope you find great moments of extraordinary ordinary in your life. Live it well saltwater yogis! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well

Love

The funny thing about time.

It amazes me that in the space of 1 day I lost everything and at the same time gained so much. Yesterday I discovered that I won't receive the funding for my Occupational Therapy course, which means the dream of going to study up in Saltburn (surfing beach) is pretty much void. There are some funds available but not enough to cover living expenses. I wouldn't just be 'student poor' I'd be struggling to cover my basic needs, which is no environment to be growing and learning within. 

I've always believed that you are exactly where you are supposed to be and everything happens for a reason. So it came as no surprise that all this drama unraveled exactly when I was bringing Bruh my gorgeous new bunny home.  I've always had a connection with animals it originated way back when I was little and is a big reason why I chose to lead a vegan lifestyle. Bruh has come into my life exactly when I needed him to, when the distraction of something alive and in need of my care would help me work through what the hell I'm supposed to do about my professional life.
(What professional life)?! 

What's even more remarkable is the effect Bruh has had on my boyfriend Mr Sunny. Having never owned a rabbit before Mr Sunny has been amazed at Bruh's inquisitiveness and good personal hygiene! Even I, a veteran rabbit owner, have been lost for words over how confident and affectionate Bruh is having only been with us literally for a few days. Yesterday we all fell asleep in the living room, Mr Sunny on the floor, me on the sofa and Bruh stretched out sleeping like he hadn't a care in the world. I say this tentatively but we feel like a little gang, us against the world. 

On the way over to go collect Bruh when I was worrying about what to do regarding University, Mr Sunny mentioned how impressed he was when I led an impromptu yoga session in Newquay. He's pretty good at investing in people and reckons he could see I had massive potential to do this as a career. Yoga has always been my safe place and other than going to teach it at surf camps I never really considered it a full time thing. 

The next few days I'm going to take stock and try not to make any big decisions. Now's the time for reflection and enjoying what I have right now. Here's some local photos which are reminding me to stay positive.

I may not have the best paid job in the world but I get to work with awesome people like these pair!

This is me and Jack (the parents dog) post run, he's cantankerous, grumpy and unsociable but he's still my favorite running buddy.

This photo is called 'fresh Birmingham' I love mooching around the local market buying anything from Coriander to Ackee.

Mr Sunny took this photo out in his garden, one of my favorite places out in the world.

 Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love


 

Junk Shop Tales.

Does my vintage look big in this? I found this original vintage dress on a market for a measely £10.

Let me tell you a story. Not so long ago I bought a bike from a junk shop and called it Ethel. Its a classic 1960's Raleigh model designed specifically for a woman. Not only is Ethel in fine working order, I also bought her for a mere £20, a totally un-hipster price from my local junk shop! The benefit of living for most of your life in a small West Midlands town is that you start to know shop owners. Like Naggie the lovely French Muslim man who runs the gift shop Treasure Island, or my new friend who owns my new favorite junk shop. 

Junk shop owner (we haven't swapped names yet) called me over this afternoon to tell me about the bike. He said it was bought in by a man in his 80's who was giving it away because it belonged to his wife who had sadly passed away. The old man wanted to know that the bike had gone to a 'nice person.' Well Junk shop owner told the old man all about me explaining that I was a 'nice lady.' He mentioned how overjoyed I had been and that I'd returned to say thank you stating that my families dog had also taken to running alongside it. 

How great is that? Not only am I mega chuffed that I got a vintage bike for peanuts, in the process its managed to make an old man happy knowing his wife's bike has I quote 'gone to a good home.' This is precisely why I love vintage/charity shops because you are buying stories and life histories, can you say that about your river island top?  

This week I've been scouring charity shops for frames for the purpose of creating a surf art wall for my new seaside abode. Wilkinsons (to my UK readers) sell sample pots of emulsion for a measely £1.10 which is exactly what I used to jazz up the frames as well as some wave painting. As you can see the surf art is really starting to come together. 

I've also been busily crafting shabby chic flowers which is an almost free way of creating table art, all you need is some scrap magazines and sticks! 

 A scene from Birmingham, this is near the Custard Factory which is a great hub for artists and vintage! 

Here's my shabby chic flower arrangement, I'll show you how to make these in a post shortly.

 Above and below are all my own creations I've been making over the last few months. The frames were salvaged from charity shops and spruced up with sample wall paint. Eventually they will hang in my seaside home a la surf wall! 

Point Break so bad its good right?! Love this find on Ebay, it will be framed to go along with my surf wall art project! 

The sunnies (please excuse the ridiculous face I was doing duck lips on purpose!) were 50p from a Christian charity shop. Again so bad they are good right?! Amazing how ghostly my self portrait function makes me look on my phone! 

     





































Until next time 

Stay strong and surf well
Love