The Mysterious Traveller

September is coming to a close. The full moon is nigh. And everything has changed.  Anxiety blossoms in a season of letting go. And yet, could this be a time of new beginnings? (for more daily horoscopes, please DM me @mystictommy) Autumn has always been my favourite time of year, however, Lisbon has a vastly differently energy and aesthetic to this season. It is all geographical, of course; the city doesn't have its own agenda. With the warmer climate, Portugal doesn't offer those frosty mornings or the gentle colour transition from golden to red to brown. The air becomes cooler, naturally, and you feel refreshed after a long summer of hugging humidity. The long sleeved chequered shirts come out. Fingerless gloves are trending. Then all of a sudden the leaves are brown and falling to the cobbled streets as winter begins. There are a handful of things I miss about the UK; autumn is definitely one of them. I am beginning a new (and rather confusing) phase in my life where the fe...

For the full experience, please click play below: Yesterday ... [This is not today] How has 2020 become 2021 so quickly? [this was my original opening when I first embarked upon this entry. That was four months ago]. The current star date: 09/01/2022. The fact is that 2021 did happen so quickly. And now it's too late! I genuinely spent 10 minutes trying to fathom what year it was on my first day back at work after the New Year. Anyway, I digress. My initial thoughts are that I am perhaps too apathetic with my blog posts, leading me down a dark path of neglect and carelessness. Although we each of us consider that lazy side of us, I must power through with my explanation of 'there simply isn't enough time!' Moving to Portugal has given me a plethora of tales and woes, journeys and misgivings, creative fortunes and artistic delights. But my inspiration to continue with this blog has waned over the years, at a time when it conceivably means more to express what we are all...

 

I BOUGHT A VAN. Yes, I bought a van. A  most regular looking van (from the outside) but when you venture within, my goodness, the beauty and potential. A stove, a sink, a fold out double(ish) bed, lights, additional battery for power and very decent storage space. It just needed a little TLC (hey, I don't want no scrubs) and this baby will become so comfortable that you can shake a gear stick at it.  I was scrolling through Gumtree, as I wanted to keep things relatively cheap, and Autotrader was a little out of my league. And by a stroke of good fortune I managed to whip up a conversation with a local seller - lovely Bernadette - who invited me over for a van viewing.  The van was parked on her drive, a Vauxhall Vivaro, covered in carbon scoring and dust. What a heap of junk , a voice was telling me, but she'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but I bet she's got it where it counts. Bernadette watched as my inner debate clearly showed on my exp...

Every ounce of my creative little mind wants to begin this journey with an inspirational moment; an epiphany, if you will, or a turning point in my life that led me to buying a van and leave the UK. But life is full of little inspirational moments, building up over time, and even though this decision was really quite radical I don't think anybody was surprised about it. My life was always leading to this. To #vanlife. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I have laid down a hashtag within the first paragraph. In an effort to remain current and give easy to follow content #vanlife will be the pretence by which I shall describe the continuing adventures of Tom's Thumb. The problem being that #vanlife is not an original concept, so if you were to search for this hashtag I could imagine that you'd clock up several thousand results.  But the important thing is that I am one of them! No longer will you read about the Manchester based prop maker and art director who waffles on about puppets a...