by Steve Tanham
In Part One, we looked at how most of our daytime consciousness is made up of actual words that are spoken within. This can be quite a revelation if we have become used to them but never really observed the fact. This flow of internal language is busy narrating the events of our existence, our opinions and our reactions, as though we carried it … Read More The worm-word and I : ZERO
by Steve Tanham
We had gone to bed early – exhausted by the journey from Poolewe to Uig. What felt like a full night later, I woke, refreshed, to find the sun streaming through the bedroom curtains… Not a sight we were used to on this trip. I smiled. It’s always nice when something really special ‘just happens’ on your birthday. Ahead of me was a day … Read More A Hebridean Diary (3) Of Coats and Kings
by Steve Tanham
The tree on the right marks the farthest point the setting sun reaches on its solstice progression across the ridge beyond the garden. From the dark wood lattice of winter, through the joyous green spring, to the fullness of summer, I never tire of standing outside the house and attempting to capture a little of its evening splendour… Falling away, now, as it nears … Read More Falling from Solstice
by Steve Tanham
In part one, we looked at a simple but effective technique to remove us from the ‘head chatter’ of the flow of verbalised thoughts in our mind. Use of the deep word ‘ONE’, although another word, itself, can act like a ‘bullet’ to stop the stream of often unconscious words that cloud our attention, affect our emotions and drain our energy. If you’re tried … Read More The worm-word and I : TWO
by Steve Tanham
The day was already old by the time the ferry from Ullapool had docked at Stornaway. We had been warned that shops were few and far between on the Hebridean island of Lewis and advised to take advantage of the supermarkets in the capital. The no-sunday trading laws imposed by the ‘Wee Free’ Presbyterian church were in force across the island, and we were … Read More A Hebridean Diary (2) Long road to Uig
by Steve Tanham
Close your eyes for a second and listen to your own mind. You don’t need to be anywhere quiet. It can simply be where you are. There are two schools of thought involving meditative practices: the first says you need to be somewhere detached from the world; the second states that the world – our world – is specially configured to give us deeply … Read More The worm-word and I : part ONE
by Steve Tanham
Close your eyes for a second and listen to your own mind. You don’t need to be anywhere quiet. It can simply be where you are. There are two schools of thought involving meditative practices: the first says you need to be somewhere detached from the world; the second states that the world – our world – is specially configured to give us deeply … Read More The worm-word and I : part ONE
by Steve Tanham
Although it was a continuation of the same trip, it would be misleading to continue with the ‘Poolewe Diaries’ as a title. The sailing from Ullapool to the Hebridean main island of Lewis marked the second week of the Scottish adventure, so a change of title is appropriate… Arriving on the island of Lewis, you get a strong sense of the remoteness of the … Read More A Hebridean Diary (1) Impressions of Lewis
by Steve Tanham
Continued from Part Four…. See index below. We’re in Ullapool. Waiting to board the ferry to the Outer Hebrides – the island of Lewis, to be precise. Our first week in the far north-west of Scotland is over. We’ve marvelled at some of the most dramatic scenery we’ve ever seen. My iPhone has struggled to cope with the sheer scale of this land. It’s … Read More A Poolewe diary (5) : over the Minch to Lewis
by Steve Tanham
We’ve got to approach this, carefully… Or you won’t have as much fun as I did. Badacro Creek… I’m not sure there’s a ‘creek’ in there, but if there’s not, there should be. Badacro is well known in these parts as a safe anchorage for boats, particularly sailing boats. It lies at the heart of a ‘jigsaw’ of inlets and creeks just south of … Read More A Poolewe diary (4) : Once upon a time in the far north-west
by Steve Tanham
Continued from Part Two… Food manufacturers learned, long ago, that small children, sitting at the morning table to have their much-needed breakfasts, eagerly consume whatever reading material is in front of them. My mother’s favourite breakfast for us was Scott’s Porridge Oats. The figure on the packaging of was dressed in Highland Games’ regalia. Quite why he is tossing the heavy ball towards the … Read More A Poolewe diary (3) : the loch on the back of the oats box
by Steve Tanham
Continued from Part One. I should have known, really…that our luck would run out, one day. According to a close friend, who loves journeys into Scotland as much as we do, we are a ‘talisman’ for good weather. No less than six trips in a row – over several years – have seen us bathed in sunshine for most of the week. There have … Read More A Poolewe diary (2)
Sun in Gemini 
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