Brews up.

Drinking tea gives me the same warm fuzzy feeling inside as listening to 'I wanna hold your hand,'by the Beatles or singing along to Stevie Wonder with my Dad. Talking about tea probably makes me sound more English than I need too, but what can I say the stuff makes me happy?!

The ritual of putting a cup of tea on, waiting those tantalizing two minutes for the water to boil then a further ten minutes of siting and simply enjoying my drink is, in my mind, pure unadulterated bliss. In England tea has been both the staple for the hard working classes, (miners in my county would take cold tea down the pits on account of actual water being too contaminated to drink) and a leisure opportunity for those of a wealthier disposition. 

I adore, sitting with friends for so long we leave bum imprints in chairs, putting the world to rites over a cup of tea. When my family come home after a hard day, we put the kettle on and discuss the trials and tribulations with a renwed sense of vigour. When someone passes away tea is made and I swear the comforting warmth appeases the grief if only for a little bit. 

I love nothing more than post surf peeling my wetsuit off (which is most definitely cold because I am a British surfer) and warming myself up with a cuppa. I feel accomplished and mighty post surf and that tea is my reward for braving the cold North sea. 

My new boyfriend (I love saying that) who for now shall be nicknamed Mr Sunny, made me tea and we sat together in the spring morning sunshine laughing and talking. 
Its these simple moments tea seems to instiage which leaves me feeling rosy and contented.

Ok enough about tea already, that's more than enough English eccentriticy for one evening!

So. Anyway. 

I'm trying to include a few more 'selfies' on here because I've noticed that when perusing other blogs I really love sites where the author has a real presence. My absolute fav at the moment is Vix at Vintage Vixen, I love her style, her Blackcountry candour and the fact she has real presence. I can't emulate her amazing style but I can be a tad more personable here on 'Real Women have Curves and Surfboards' otherwise nicknamed 'La Sirena.'

So here's some bits and pieces. 

First time I was able to go outside without a coat and it was AWESOME!! 

I call this the Blackcountry version of 'Bohemian!' Top was £4 from a charity shop, jeans a H&m sale find, as was the hat. Boots were TX Maxx bargains! 

Other stuff that's made me smile...

Surfing has no age limit! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong & Surf well 
Love

 

Around 2am I was vomiting, which at the time I couldn't deduce whether was because of stress bought on by grief, or just a bug I'd inherited. 
Waking up a few hours later, weary and with that cotton wool head you tend to get after a restless nights sleep, I blundered through my day like a newborn baby deer. 

That was until I did three things. 

I took a duvet day, I meditated and I began reading eat, pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert. 

I'm not sure about you but I don't do stillness. I find it almost impossible. Wreaked with illness I will still work out or walk the dog, I can only manage two hours max of watching television/reading (if that) and sitting doing nothing is comparable to shutting my fingers in the door - impractical and unnecessary. 

Except stillness is completely necessary. 

How are you supposed to hear or feel anything if your not able to stop and listen? 
Imagine we are like a TV antennae, to pick up a signal it is necessary for us to stop stationary in one place long enough to catch something. 

To stop fidgeting I meditate. 

Today I chose to finally do a visualization meditation for healing which my good friend Jemima has been raving about. Her exuberance for the fifteen minute tutorial was well founded, I dreamily transcended through layer after layer of consciousness until I was able to walk around in a place of complete sanctuary. I came back to myself feeling lightness and strength. 

I love hippie dippie stuff. I know to the novice it sounds weird, or a bit far out but there's a reason Buddhists are always smiling. Meditation helps you silence the inertia of destructive thought processes and with it the ability to accept samsara (suffereing) as an inevitable part of life. 

Samsara is Nirvana. 

- Which basically means no pain, no gain. If you accept that happiness is fleeting and suffering is a much a part of life as oxygen is, your far more likely to be receptive enough to accept happiness when you are actually blessed with it. 

Now I know I'm about eight years behind the hype but I finally picked up a copy of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Unfortunately I'm one of those terrible people who see the film before reading the book, but I knew I loved the Julia Roberts movie so discovering the book feels like a spiritual endeavor. 

I love her warmth and the candor of her words, this is a woman not afraid to explore her self indulgent tendencies (which we all have) or her vulnerabilities. Its making me think about my impending trip to South Africa, how much of a whim it was deciding to go. It's also making me think long and hard about where I want to study. I got into two Universities literally opposite ends of the country. 

One means seaside living, surfing and a course of my dreams. 
The second is town life, world wide placements and the man of my dreams. 

I think I'm going to need a lot of prayer and love to figure this one out...

I'll keep you posted. 

Beautiful things I saw. 

      

































Until next time, 

Stay strong, Surf well 
Love

Someone incredibly dear to me has passed and in the height of my mourning I return to you dear readers, throwing myself back into the creative outlet that is my blog. I cannot believe for the second time I am writing about losing someone, the worst part is I cannot begin to explain about this person, or the massive impact they had on my life. This is purely because it is a breech of confidentiality and I'd be fired from work on the spot if I divulged any information. 

Instead I must internalize and share my grief only with the staff members who knew and worked with this person. 

In a bid to push through the grief I am working diligently towards creating a lush garden in this person's honor. Last year at work I created a vegetable garden with the service users (for those of you who don't know I'm currently a support worker for people with physical and learning difficulties). We managed to not only have loads of fun out in all weathers, we also managed to grow some food for ourselves. They may have been the ugliest, puniest fruit and veg you've ever seen but I swear they tasted delicious. 

The person I lost loved bright colours and butterflies so I'm going to try and create a tropical garden, I'm drawing influences from South America, Morocco and want to have a cactus feature (because you know I adore Cacti). Its all going to be sensory and other than the cacti everything is going to be planted with senses in mind. 

My head has been buried in gardening books so I hope the metaphor of plants can remind me that life is cyclical and where there is decay there is growth. 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 
Love

Soul & Sun.

The soul is the equivalent of 14 suns. Like a light bulb covered in layers of dark cloth, meditation is the process of taking layer after layer off until all that is left is light. 

-Unknown Taxi driver, Handsworth Birmingham. 

Its fairly unoriginal to 'compare thee to a summers day' but I believe I've found my sunshine. Perhaps its unwise to divulge too much about an early relationship, but this is a personal blog and writing about how I feel comes with the job description. 

It is too early for names, photos or declarations but I'd like to explain how a conversation with a taxi driver today got me thinking about soul, sunshine and happiness. 
The above quote comes from a conversation I had coming home from work, a very lovely Hindu man discussed with me the idea of karma after I suggested he run over people who don't pay their taxi fare (I was joking of course)! A silly comment from me resulted in a lengthy discussion on meditation and the benefits of positive thinking. It's amazing what can happen when you actually talk to your taxi driver beyond the customary 'I want to go here...' 

I know its early and this post is most probably the internet equivalent of gushing, but I feel like I've found someone I want to surf with. 

Ok let me explain myself. 

I realize saying I want to surf with someone probably doesn't seem like a major life affirming move but when saying that to a new boyfriend, that's a pretty big deal (to me).
Surfing is my thing and for the longest time I've been afraid of sharing that with a boyfriend in case it stops being my thing and becomes something else, something that I might resent if we end bitterly. 

With the new guy....lets call him Mr Sunny, I find myself wanting to share all aspects of my life, I want him to know all that I am and that means allowing him into my little surfing world. He's not a surfer but he wants to learn and has the adventurous spirit which means we'll probably backpack across Thailand or climb Kilimanjaro together. 

Allowing someone to see all versions of yourself and sharing the things which make you, you is daunting but its such an essential part of letting people get close to you. I'm no expert but surely surrendering to this is good for the soul. 

So.

Let there be light! 

   



Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well 
Love 

Teeside.

The only thing better than catching a wave is witnessing someone experience the stoke of surfing for the first time. I had the privilege of being there, when my best friend's daughter, donned a dinky wet suit and took to the water - all after an otherwise very serious morning. 

Having got through a fairly daunting interview for the Occupational Therapy course I aspire to complete (which is a thinly veiled excuse to set up a business in surf therapy) at Teeside University, I got convinced (didn't take much) to change into a wet suit despite a full face of makeup and catch some waves in my favorite break. 

Turns out surfing in red lipstick is actually pretty rad, it made me feel bold and like I had every intention of surfing with such a statement lip! I even enjoyed the funny looks from other surfers - yeah I'm here! 

The little person loved the waves despite nearly getting hypothermia at one point, I think with warmer weather and a lot of encouragement she could really become a surfer girl. Here's some pictures courtesy of Jemima Stubbs from few days hanging out. 

No Mia's were harmed in the making of this picture! Turns out getting little people into wet suits is actually not that easy, this seemed to be the best and funnest method tried!

This was taken before we got in the water when we could feel our hands and feet and knew what warmth was. 

This is how we rocked up to my interview, child seat and surfboard in tow. We must have been doing something right because I got complimented on the coat and the lecturers chatted to me about surfing for a while. All good omens! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well 

Love

Greetings from the Sunshine Coast.

Much like the ocean is an ecosystem, blogging is a community of interconnecting relationships. The subject of surfing is both emotive and motivational spurring many conversations across the world. Imagine my joy when one grey afternoon I receive an email from Roy Byrne of the Analogue Project, requesting to submit photographs of surfer Tarnea O'Meara from the Sunshine Coast Australia onto RWHCS. 

This was the equivalent of having money raining down from the sky - gorgeous photographs and an up and coming surfer girl, err yes please! 

So without further ado I'd like to introduce you to The Analogue Project  and hope you lend your support to the lovely Miss O'Meara. 

WORDS AND IMAGES COURTESY OR ROY BYRNE 

www.theanalogueproject.com

Tarnea O’Meara

Age: 19

Home: Sunshine Coast

Sponsors: Rue Stiic, Changing Habits, 4D surfboards, stick it surf wax

Years Surfing: 4

Tarnea has been surfing since she was 16. Before then you would be lucky to see her on a board twice a year. Competitive surfing only started for her in 2011, which makes her a bit of a latecomer compared to other competitive surfers who have started at a much younger age. That doesn’t stop her from pursuing her goals as a professional surfer and being better than the boys in a male dominated sport.  While surfing has for a long time been seen as a care-free anything-goes lifestyle, with the level of professional surfing going to new heights its hard to ignore the need for training to be taken seriously. Not only for a competitive edge but to set the right example for the future surfing athletes.

“Recently I have noticed that the surfing world is becoming more influential than ever. You not only have to be a great surfer, but a positive role model, promote a healthier lifestyle and reach the younger generation of kids. I am chemical and drug free, I eat organic, clean foods, and spend my days working, cross training and surfing. Surfing and health have become my complete focus since 2010 and I believe in a healthier and more natural lifestyle is needed in the industry in order to reach the younger generation.” –Tarnea O’Meara

Following up a 2^nd place in an international event the Taiwan Open of Surfing 2013 she is currently competing for the first time on the 2014 WQS circuit. Her combination of skill, healthy lifestyle and personality make her a female surfer worth keeping a close eye on in the coming years.

Thank you Roy and Tarnea! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well