COMPASS

Born and bred in the South West - that's where I got my bearings.

An affinity with South and West is something I've always taken for granted. Growing up in Cornwall, North and East were always 'away'. Therefore I felt totally aligned in that lower left quadrant of the compass. Used to knowing which way was which. Being able to orientate myself easily and quickly depending which body of water I was near (the distance between the North and South coast being only a few miles).

Going any further South or West wasn't really an option until I was older and had the means to do so. And even then my first independent forays away from home in my teens were to the similarly situated coastlines of South West France and South West Ireland.

Later in life I lived for ten years on the East coast of Australia. Although initially thrilled and often dazzled by the sun rising over the Pacific ocean in the mornings there was also something perplexing about being an East coaster. Sunset surfs just didn't feel the same with night already fallen out on the horizon while the sun slowly sank inland...

I no longer take being in the South West for granted as I strongly believe there is a form of calibration between our sense of belonging and the particular point on the compass to which we naturally feel aligned.