More thoughts on this strange week

Villa Casamanza, nr Perugia, Umbria, Italy

I am now two days into my week of study. It is exceptionally quiet and peaceful. No one bothers me at all. I read and take my various notes, do a little sunbathing or swimming, cook some food, and so.

Last week, I was very struck by a few things Natalie said about living alone and the enjoyment she had in her own space. I am beginning to see something of this already even though it is only a day or two since everyone left.

Years ago, my mum and dad used to have a static caravan in the Lake District. They eventually gave it to my aunt and uncle who, for reasons that were never very clear, then seemed to fall out with the site management and so got rid of the caravan. I really miss the caravan now. It would be a great bolt hole to be able to go to for a few days every now and then. For a brief moment, I have even wondered how feasible it would be to get one (the answer is "not very")

But one alternative would be to occasionally rent one of the small cottages that frequently advertise in the back of magazines like "Resurgence". One I looked at a few weeks ago was in south-west Wales and, out of season, could cost as little at £240 a week. Or there is the writers cottage in the Dudden valley in the Lake District that can cost as little as £70 a week.

Last night's last reading was a chapter of Tom Hogkinson's "How to be Free" in which he was discussing "genteel poverty", having just enough for the bare necessities. I am hugely attracted to this idea as it frees up huge amounts of time for more important things like study. As I get older, the balance between time and money is switching strongly towards the former, and this is true even though I am going to have to do some paid work over the coming months.

I expect all this will remain a major part of my thinking in the future as it has done in the last few years.