On not writing

Me again. With a couple of nice photos and a couple of good albums to listen to.

It's really been a minute since I wrote anything on Substack hasn't it? The more days that pass, the more difficult it becomes to get started again. So on the cycle home I decided to just post something, anything. I felt like I needed to be a bit more easy-going and unfettered about posting. A bit like Sarah with her wonderful Substack Curious by Nature — i.e. a seemingly effortless and unfiltered wander through her allotment and the gardens she tends to as a gardener living in London. Please check out her letters.

I've been doing a lot recently, I just got back from a three week trip in Japan which was rather profound in a life-changing way. I have never appreciated Japan as much as I did this time round. Being away for a couple of years, paired with a newfound appreciation of the gardens just blew me away. I think I realised on this trip that you can't fully appreciate Japan until you pay attention to its gardens (or maybe that’s just me). It sounds silly, but I never noticed how green the country is before. Working for a Japanese garden tool company will do that to you I guess.

There are so many photos I’d love to share, and will in time, but here's one at least. I loved spotting gardeners doing their thing wherever I went. Here they’re pruning the pines at Kōrakuen in Okayama; one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan.

At the end of our trip I visited a friend's cafe, Misora, where I stumbled upon this gorgeous record playing on the turntable which I felt compelled to share.

It’s the perfect soundtrack for all those blissful moments found on this trip. The kind of blissful moments that can only happen in Japan. Actually, that album led me to this album which is far more beautiful.

Now I’m back in London, currently writing a letter about our time staying in an 170 year old former Sake brewery in the mountains outside of Osaka. I’ll get a move on with that one… See you then!

Thank you for being here. Please share this with anyone you think might enjoy it and if you'd like to support this newsletter please purchase one of my albums over on Bandcamp, or consider becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack. My music is also on Spotify and Apple Music.

SJF