The Simple Life
INSPIRED BY THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM, DETACHING FROM SOCIETIES NORMS OF A 9 – 5 LIFE. THERE HAS TO BE MORE THAN WHAT MOST OF US BELIEVE TO BE OUR NORMS. THIS IS HOW ‘THE SIMPLE LIFE’ PROJECT WAS BORN.
EARLIER THIS YEAR I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO CALL THE FFOREST CAMP IN WEST WALES HOME, SEARCHING FOR A WAY OF LIFE FORGOTTEN BY SO MANY, AN ETHOS, A SIMPLE LIFE.
THE WOODEN SHACKS AND OLD BRICK BUILDINGS TRANSFORM WHAT MOST OF US BELIEVE WE NEED, TO MAKE US HAPPY. I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR WHAT THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE GAVE ME, AT A TIME WHEN NO ONE KNEW WHAT 2020 HAD IN STORE FOR US.
THE WILDERNESS AND FREEDOM OF FFOREST
STAY.PLAY.DREAM
My stay at Fforest is always one ill remember, waking up to the warmth of sun on my face sat absorbing the still of the morning.
Welsh woollen blanket in hand and hot coffee on the stove, I sit on the decking of this little Garden Shac and watch the world come alive
The older I get the more I realise I don’t want to be around drama conflict or stress. I want a little cottage in the woods, with a little log fire, a big old jumper I can squeeze my knees into with the cosiest woollen blanket I can find, and surround myself with happy people, enjoying the simple moments in life.
The bwthyn at Fforest is the quaintest little place you’ll ever find to have a few drinks around the fire with people you have never met before, people who will become family sharing the same love and outlook on life as you do, the Fforest family
Whilst I was at Fforest I was lucky enough to see a wedding taking place, it was in March 2020 just as lockdown hit, so only very limited numbers of guests could be part of the day with only 10 allowed at the ceremony. I remember listening the the guests decide who should go in and who would wait outside to see the bride and groom walk out together
It was a beautiful wedding, with a perfect back drop
We search our whole lives to find that person to grow old with, to share a day where we say our vows and commit to sharing happiness, struggles and challenge on a brand new glorious adventure. A wedding in the Fforest where nature is your back drop, do we need anymore than that?
It made me think, is this everyones dream? Or do some long for solitude, wandering through the world on their own terms. The beauty of it is, there is no right or wrong way, we all have our own way, both bring happiness, love struggles and challenge, we’re all on a path to somewhere.
The sun sets over a welsh horizon on what has been a beautiful Sunday evening. Spring, a time for new beginnings, hope for what lies ahead. This year in particular I will treasure every sunrise and every sunset, it’s been a long winter.
It was a lovely Spring morning when I came across the Fforest farm house, set back from the rest of the site with its own little garden out front. It looked so peaceful and homely.
When I think of home I think about what makes a home. The standing structure of any building could house a family, provide shelter for a couple or a person needing rest.
A home though, that’s where you find love, the place that memories are created and where family and friends belong, its holds the story of who we are.
As I walk through the fields and trees I spot little touches added to outdoor spaces for children to play with, wooden wigwams and swings in trees, it reminded me of my childhood.
A simple wooden swing on a tree in the back garden, as a child we’d sit for hours leaning back tentatively as far as we could go, pushing off with our feet, swinging into the clouds, believing with all our hearts that we were doing it, we were actually flying.
As we get older we loose the joy that comes from imagination and creativity, the unwavering belief we can do and achieve anything.
Today go and sit on a swing, believe with all your heart you’re doing it, you’re flying.
We all grow up, the problem is we forget to be young. Do something today that reminds you of your childhood… go sit on that swing
It was a frosty morning sunrise over the empty Pembrokshire fields watching the sunrise from my Dome tent. Hope for a beautiful new day, listening to birds and drinking coffee.
I could live the rest of my days right here.
If you saw the inside of this tent you’d probably do the same.
And here it is… The Dome Tent
There is a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and it’s absolutely free. Today is March, by the end of the month the sun will rise at 6:40am and won’t set until 7:30pm. By the end of April it will be 5:30am & 8:30pm, May 4:50am & 9:15pm… find hope is a sunrise and peace in a sunset.
It is with a heavy heart that I must leave this beautiful place, the announcement has come that we must all go home, to stay indoors and stay safe.
I don’t know when ill be back right now, im not sure when the world will return to normal. I know one things for sure, the world will be quite different on the other side.
STAY.PLAY.DREAM
Fforest
