A Sunday escape #1

Even if only for a moment

Jun 11, 2023

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Winter is settling in here in South Africa. That means the aloes are in bloom and this, above, is the view from our lounge at The MatopHouse.

Dear NE-One

This is a quick note from a brief moment of calm during a storm of deadlines, a deluge of unwritten words and a whirlwind of shifting travel plans. A note to share three travel(ish) things that have captured my imagination and that I thought you might enjoy…

…if you have a few seconds

(Although you’ll probably want to stay much longer.) Take a look through the mesmerising portfolio of artist Ed Fairburn, who conjures portraits from maps. “Using traditional materials such as ink, paint and pencil, I make gradual changes to the contours, roads and other patterns found in cartography. These changes allow me to tease out the human form, resulting in a comfortable coexistence of figure and landscape,” he says on his website. Be sure to click through the stack of images behind each portrait – you’ll be taken closer and closer into the map, and see how he hatches the images (or, watch Ed on Instagram)

…if you have six minutes

Read this thoughtful essay by British author Jeanette Winterson. It’s titled Why I adore the night, and the essence of this piece has lingered with me for years. Perhaps it’s come to mind again because here in South Africa winter is settling in and we often spend evenings in the dark. It’s enforced darkness (due to the country’s electricity crisis we’re often without power for 12 hours a day), but isn’t Jeanette’s observation on choosing darkness lovely: I have noticed that when all the lights are on, people tend to talk about what they are doing – their outer lives. Sitting round in candlelight or firelight, people start to talk about how they are feeling – their inner lives. They speak subjectively, they argue less, there are longer pauses. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere right now, this piece might influence your outlook on winter.

…if you have half an hour

Listen to an episode of Gone to Timbuktu, an enlightening podcast on the art of travel hosted by travel writer and author Sophy Roberts. There are currently 11 episodes, a collection of compelling conversations with writers, photographers and roamers – every one offering an evocative journey, often into places less travelled. From the website: “the podcast explores physical journeys and inner landscapes, creative influences and new ideas”. Go and take a listen – there’s an intriguing world out there.

Until next week
Narina x

PS If you follow Elizabeth Gilbert you’ll have heard that she has a new novel coming out in February. It’s called The Snow Forest, and she drew inspiration for the story from a family I (coincidentally) wrote about a few months back. If you haven’t read it yet you’ll find my piece on Agafia Lykova, the 79-year-old woman who lives alone in the Siberian wilderness, here.

In a reading kinda mood? Put the kettle on…

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives: Rolling with the rhythm of bikepacker life
Mary Anning: The woman who chipped at rocks and uncovered the mysteries of our planet
Author interview: Mark Eveleigh on his novel Driftwood Chandeliers
Notes from Bali, and how it became “home”
Dervla Murphy: The solo adventurer considered the greatest female travel writer of all time
Packing up and moving on: The one thing that’s changed the way I travel
How the people got their spots: an unusual story about culture, tradition and conservation
A rhythm of daze: the intriguing mathematical labyrinth of Bali’s calendars

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