Wander With Me Through Simple In-Between Days

Sunset on the Broads | Back garden Greenman | Midwinter Solstice sunrise walk | Seal pups | Covehithe | The Cutty Wren | Old Glory Molly Dancers | Poem inspired by an Anglo-Saxon chapel | Making a Twelfth Night tree

Here we are in the midst of the dark, so that every visible sunrise and sunset is to be treasured. Yet these quiet pivotal days have seen small adventures and unexpected beauties which I share with you here.

The Old Shop, as it’s name suggests, was once the village store and here it still sits, its very flint and brick once part of this land. Indeed the rounded cobbles of its walls may well have come from the beach that is close enough as the crow flies that quiet nights and an open bedroom window yield the joy of hearing the tide’s low roar.

This is the home of Imogen Ashwin - artist, writer and muddler-through - trying my best to create a nourishing and sustainable life for both human and other-than-human inhabitants of this place. Taking on a wrecked cottage after double bereavement, losing my livelihood overnight and having to reinvent my whole life in my mid 50s has certainly shown me what you can do when you really have to. Not only that, but I’ve discovered that there is always joy to be found when you open all your senses and let the richness pour in.

This time, there’s a gentle afternoon on the Broads with friends, a peep at the back garden, a very special Midwinter Solstice walk from Winterton to Great Yarmouth watched by dozens of seals, one of the strangest beaches I have ever encountered (no, make that the strangest), a taste of the atmosphere of St Stephen’s Day when Old Glory danced for the Cutty Wren, a poem I was inspired to write by a visit to an ancient Essex chapel and a little Twelfth Night tree on the kitchen table.

If you enjoy the videos it would be wonderful if you felt like buying me a coffee now and again to help me to keep it going. Thank you - you know how much I love coffee! Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/imogenashwt

Also if you enjoy the videos, you might like to subscribe to my Substack newsletter Bracken & Wrack, a magazine-style offering for each new and full moon. Landscape, magic, recipes, seasonal musings, the weird and the wonderful: there’s less focus on the cottage and more on the folklore under our feet. It’s delivered straight to your inbox, is free to subscribe, and you can sign up over at https://imogenashwin.substack.com. Another is due very soon, and there's a growing archive.

There's a paid option too, that has extra content as a thank you for supporting my work. This makes a huge difference to me, giving me time to produce the newsletter and the videos on this channel (which isn’t monetised).

On Instagram and Facebook you’ll find me @theoldshopnorfolk if you’d like to come over and say hello there.