Full Circle
It's four years since I wrote and published the very first North Star Tranquility blog post, on 1st August 2022, talking about retirement and the dream that John and I had to move to somewhere new and beautiful and peaceful. Anyone who has followed this journey over those four years knows that the dream was both realized and all over just over two years later.
But, of course, things didn't end there for me. I picked myself up and dusted myself down and I kept sharing my journey through grief and recovery and hope to a new dream. And exactly four years to the day of that very first post I find myself coming full circle to a new property search, but this time in Wales with a very special new person - H, or Huw!
Saturday 1st August 2026 we made a short drive from Malvern, where we were staying for a couple of nights, to west Wales to view a stunning opportunity to build something new, both physical and metaphorical, together in a beautiful and peaceful patch of countryside, which would provide a way of life we would both like but also an exciting project to make it happen.
It's a tiny, old cottage set in 2 acres of land which is a mixture of rough open ground and mature trees, surrounded by a very overgrown hedgerow and backing onto gently sloping pasture field on three sides and a quiet country lane at the front. It is secluded, interesting and big enough to keep chickens, an allotment plot and a small orchard.
But, it has no water, electricity or drainage so it won't be without significant challenges, but I think we can do something with it.
OK, so it might not be much to look at right now but it holds so much potential and we both have ideas and a vision for it. The downside is that, of course, it is going for sale at auction. This brings with it unpredictability on the purchase price and I think Huw's expectation of a good deal is calibrated a bit too low - lower than mine for sure.
Unfortunately I won't be around for the auction - I'll be on holiday in Iceland, so I'll have to leave Huw in charge of the bidding on the 20th August.
While we were there we went to a nearby reservoir with an activity centre just to have a look at the local area a bit. On the way back to Malvern we stopped in at a motorcycle race that was on that day. Several different classes of bikes and some stalls and refreshments in the middle of the circuit, plus the sun was out and the atmosphere was lovely. And I met a few of Huw's work colleagues! So that was nice.
On Sunday morning we drove over to Leamington for brunch with Amber and then had a walk round Art in the Park in Jephson Gardens, which was great - one of Leamington's best events. Then Huw had to go south because he was off to a concert, and I was going to watch Amber's pole show. She was doing two performances this year and I wanted to watch and also to support her, and she was fab! It has been a great show every time, although a couple of the dances were full on erotic performances this year, which was interesting...
I stayed with Charlotte and Hugo, who were just back from a family party in Yorkshire for a diamond wedding anniversary - so many things all happening on the same day and we all chose something different!
Then I rounded the trip off in Lincoln with a good old gosspip with my oldest and best pals, Parveen and Emma. That involved filling them in on everything to do with Huw seeing as I hadn't seen them since before the first message had even been sent, but I had shown them his photo from his dating profile, so that was fun! I also saw my Grandma (who's just had her 100th birthday!) and Mum and Dad, and Jess, where she did me a very interesting tarot reading. I don't believe in all that but I doubt there could have been a more relevant card for me that night.
We did a past, present and future reading and my card for the future was:
Rose Faery - Pain
Love, in its many forms, is something most of us desire; whether it is the care and attention of a lover or the warmth of a friend, parent or child that you yearn for. Like the red rose, a symbol of romantic love, it can be beautiful as it unfolds from a first delicate meeting to a committed relationship in bloom. However, to be open to love is to be vulnerable to pain. One cannot exist without the other, like the crimson flower decorated by her thorns.
If you have drawn this card, you may have been scratched by the sharp edges of love. To give your heart, romantically or otherwise, may have left you unguarded and prey to the unkindness of circumstance. Unfortunately, love and pain are intimate sisters, unable to be separated.
You may be feeling hurt or in grief. The only way of moving through this is to accept that life, and love, is a mix of light and darkness, if healing is to become your next step. Take time to grieve and recover but remember that you are strong enough to overcome the trials you are facing.
So here's to the future - exciting, unpredictable and there for the taking!
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