Inspire Aspire - My Beautiful Coaching Experience

I was that young urban professional who wanted it all and had it all planned out. I believed that by the time I'd hit 40, I'd have it all figured out on the home front and career path. Then I lost it all. I had to leave the UK and move back with my parents who had retired to a French island. None of that was in my plan. I felt lost, out at sea, but found myself again through perseverance and personal coaching.

I don't want to sound like a Woody Allen script but in my younger years I'd gone through a brief stint of psychotherapy and years of counselling which I'd used as a form of guidance stepstone to support me through a stressful lifestyle. Although those methods had helped me understand myself to a degree, they had also stirred murky waters to the surface and it seemed that the cloud was left lingering there, affecting my clarity like any unfinished business would.

At the back end of 2012, I started a personal journey. I took it upon myself to gear my life in a more meaningful, more compassionate direction in line with my true life calling, looking for clarity in a way that would be constructive, and where I would be in charge of my own destiny rather than play the victim and blame others for any sorry state of affairs.

With a little help from the Universe I came across the self-development scene, from Louise Hay to Marie Forleo, Gabby Bernstein, Abraham Hicks, Jonathan Fields and countless others. I watched The Secret and it was a revelation, it made complete sense to me. Things moved on quickly from there. I connected with Californian Deliberate Attraction Coach Dina Robison via Twitter (blink blink Universe!). In January 2014 I decided to apply for Dina's complimentary 30-minute Soul Mate Clarity Session, via Skype. We hit it off, really enjoyed the interaction and she officially became my coach. As we speak I've just had my 20^th weekly session, and haven't looked back!

A coach is a facilitator and not a therapist or psychologist. According to Christy Whitman, founder of the QSCA, the client does all the work. We also do most of the talking. Through relevant trigger questions that are well thought out and a series of fun exercises, the coach gears their client towards finding their own answers, their own truth, to those lifelong questions as diverse as "Is he really the one for me? What am I supposed to do with my life? How can I generate more abundance? How to become at peace with oneself? How to forgive others? How to accept the past?" etc.

My Coach, Dina Robison

As a Law of Attraction Coach, and keeping in mind that we live in an attraction-based universe where the power of thought is key, Dina helps bring those energy levels up. The equation is simple: a positive attitude will attract more positiveness. She fine-tunes my mindset to reformulate any negative self-deprecating self-belief into a positive statement. The stream of consciousness works its magic and clarity finally beckons. A little meditation comes into play at the start of each session to get in the right frame of mind.

A word of warning – as easy-going as it sounds, coaching is no walk in the park. For that idle girly chit-chat over coffee and cupcakes, your best friend will do. Coaching is not a case of "Oh well, I'll just stick to that hour with Dina and then put it aside till the next session". If you just stick to your weekly hour without mulling over your session, feeding it extra thought and analysis and willingness for change, stretching out of your comfort zone and shaking off any old habit, it's not going to yield the expected results in terms of personal growth.

Wildfield Paper Co.

In other words, there is no room for half-heartedness. In fact I don't even commit 100%, I commit 500%. I come from a place of honesty during the session. Whatever troubles me, I instantly share it with Dina in confidence and we nip it in the bud. She coaches in the moment, which means we address whatever is irksome right this instant, starting off with the "intention for the session", which I call "buzzword", ex: empowerment, gratitude, life purpose, status, to feel loved, etc. We stay on the bright side. We understand the effects of the buzzword, turn it on its ear, see the potential for growth and expansion, identify the strengths and benefits. Sometimes an old painful memory resurfaces, I shed a tear, and that's part of the process too. In order to build strong foundations, we need to revisit old ground to come to terms with its outcome and to heal and forgive. And move on.

After the session, I listen to its recording, while adding to my notes. I then practice the new thought pattern, the mantra if you wish. I go over and beyond the weekly homework. I strategise, extrapolate, go off a tangent, generate new ideas that I will then share with Dina in the next session. I get more confident, and with it more boldly creative with my career choices and my expectations from life.

'Saisons' Fabric by Toiles de Mayenne

Oh yeah, I am still planning to have it all, you see. Back to my introduction, I might have lost it all at 40 but I intend to have it all back - and in a way that is better, brighter, smarter and wiser too! And this time around I've got help at hand to figure it all out with. Coaching has empowered me indeed into the woman I was truly meant to be. Forget Restylane, coaching is the best investment I will have treated myself to.

Click here to read my testimonial to Dina - or click the screen capture below for higher res: -

The 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings

This year we are commemorating two major historical events. One tragic, as the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI, and the other, an ode to hope and promise, as the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, where Allied Forces (USA, Canada, GB and Captain Kieffer's 1er BFM Commando consisting of 177 elite French fusiliers) liberated France and neighbouring occupied nations from Axis domination. No doubt that every single one of us has a tale or two from our (great) grandfathers or uncles (and the grandmas) who were involved in the war(s) one way or another. I wanted to pay a heartfelt tribute to our lads. They displayed immense bravery - paid with their lives even - to pave the way for the modern Western society as we know it but which we tend to perhaps take too much for granted at times.

You might remember my moving tribute to my maternal grandad, Armand, who worked in transmissions for the French Navy, before joining the US Navy in the Pacific. Oh boy, my grandad, a Général De Gaulle supporter, was immensely proud to have teamed up with the Americans! My paternal grandad, Léon, was less lucky in that he was made a prisoner of war at the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940 and sent out to the work camps of Germany - yet thankfully not the death camps!

'Into the Jaws of Death — U.S. Troops wading through water and Nazi gunfire', by Robert F. Sargent

When Americans landed in Normandy, they brought with them Showtime! Supplies aplenty, modern technology, Jeeps and GMC Trucks, Big Band music, corned-beef, chewing-gums, benzene, Lucky Strikes, cartoons... and Hollywood propaganda! Ask my star-struck dad, a toddler when US Troops liberated our Northern border town of Saint-Quentin in August 1944. "Quand les Américains ont débarqué... c'était l'Amérique !" (When Americans arrived... it felt like America had landed!). This American officer spotted my dad in a crowd of people queueing up for food. He asked my dad to come over, then lifted him up into his arms, tearfully called him 'baby' as he showed my dad a photo of his kids. Then he told my dad he could have whatever he wanted. My dad's eyes sparkled. He felt like a kid in a sweet shop. 'I want gum, Sir... and benzene too for the bonfires!'

Further D-Day Resources:

• D-Day Overlord
• D-Day by the Numbers - Operation Overlord (infographics)
• The D-Day Landings (BBC Animated Map)
• GI Veteran James Kelson, 92, from DC, is Reunited with His Millitary Dog Tag (France TV Info, 01-Apr-13, in French, no subtitles)
• Swing - The Best Of The Big Bands
• 06-Jun-14 Update: Check out Daily Mail's comprehensive review.
  

Inspire Aspire - Live the Moment

Life is short - Fact. It goes in a flash. Better live it to the full then. Because it looks like in our quest for happiness, the next career move, the next shiny object, a collection, a chunk of mundane moments that are the brick and mortar, bread and butter making of us, slip and merge into days that slip and merge into weeks that slip and merge into months then years... A slow insidious landslide that takes us from the vigour of youth where time is generous and forgiving, to the emergency of old age. Then one day a reality check strikes and you wish you had taken notice.

By Sarah Abbott Art & Illustration

Yet it's easy to not entirely wholeheartedly be present in the moment, to just hang in an 'almost there' buffer place that is halfway between reality and a future hypothesis of wish/ daydream/ hope/ projection and their collaterals of fear and regret. This is called wishing your life away. Hands up, I am still guilty of wishing my life away, projecting into the future (or retreating back into the past!) and not living each present moment as it happens. Maybe you wish your life away too. Yet I can help you break the habit, stop the pattern with a little tweak 'n' trick of mine.

By acknowledging each moment as it unfolds it will not go in a blur nor will it deprive you of enjoyment and the opportunity of what might have been. Just remember that unacknowledged moments are the unsung heroes of our daily lives.

(Pict source)

For the last five years, I have been making a conscious effort to make each and every single day count, no matter how uninspiring and boring the day might look from the outset. I set aside a couple of hours daily to complete Ten Daily Tasks, i.e. ten mundane tasks that are not necessarily fun but that need to be done. At least this grounds my day and keeps procrastination at bay. It gives purpose to an otherwise ordinary day that would have been overlooked with my wishing my life away.

Currently a typical day for me includes the following tasks: to help my mum round the kitchen, water the vegetable patch, take my little dog Tickle for a walk, dedicate 15 minutes to the better good (signing and sharing wildlife protection petitions) via Twitter (@baguettemagique and @MirabelleDesign), check my emails, catch up on any admin/ housekeeping task, go food shopping, etc.

I also make sure that I practice gratitude and find enjoyment in the little pleasures of life as I go through my day, treat myself to a lovely cup of tea, bake a cake, strike a conversation, stop and enjoy a wild flower or a butterfly. Sounds twee and yes I do live up in the sticks but even in town you can be admirative of something (that covetable outfit in the retail store window) or someone (cracking eye candy!), anything that will make your day and won't cost a dime. Pinterest is a great place too to feast your eyes, make you feel good and boost your creativity. Lately my fabulous life coach, Dina Robison, has introduced me to meditation, which is being a great help. The coaching too is incredible and I will dedicate a post to it very soon!

Now your turn, peeps! Do you have any tips you would like to share of how you are taking ownership of each day? And to those of you who are following my Ten Daily Tasks format, how is this helping you? Email me labaguettemagique2009@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Work and Play

Here's an ingenious demonstration of practical functional furniture design that brings together a pet of the feline variety and their owner. It's a desk that is nothing to do with the "all work and no play" desks that usually belong to the office cubicle culture. This one here looks like the wooden version of a generous slice of Gruyère cheese, cavities and all. It is expected to get more than a round of applause from cat lovers and more than a passing Cheshire Cat grin from their tabbies, Lil Bub included! In fact, we expect no less than roaring success all round, especially amongst the scores of our design-conscious urbanite friends working in creative studios that are one quantum leap ahead of the game and only too happy to integrate the latest trends into their work environment, a bit like those cool dudes over at Google.

Designer Ruan Hao created the aptly-name CATable for Hangzhou and Hong Kong-based architectural design practice LYCS Architecture. The finished product was proudly featured at this year's Design Milan Week.

Sources: (1) to (3) The CATable, via My Modern Met. (4) Internet star Lil Bub.

Additional Resources: 

• CATable by Hao Ruan Offers a Shared Work Surface for Cats and Their Owners, via Dezeen
• Best of Milan Design Week 2014, via Yatzer.

Falling from Grace with Grace

Jérôme Kerviel is alluring and easy on the eye. He cultivates a sharpened edge these days and may look like a rugged fashion model on a casting for Davidoff Cool Water but he's certainly not being portrayed as a role model or some counter-culture hero by the media. He's the disgraced trader from French banking institution Société Générale (SocGen) that is miraculously celebrating its 150 years of trading (short of a resurrection after the €4.9 billion scandal losses directly imputed to JK back in early 2008).

Easy come, easy go? (Pict source)

2008 was a busy year. Europe and the US were bracing themselves for the first chills of the latest recession to date with the demise of Lehman Brothers and Bernard Madoff, the collapse of toxic loans and burst of the property bubble. It was also the year I got made redundant from my fancy Marketing job in the UK. Yeah 2008 was indeed one of those years.

While all of the above was crescendoing to the fore, Mr Dangerflirt had executed a few ill-advised high-risk moves across the financial chessboard that would bring SocGen, his employer, to the brink of a financial fall from grace. Six years later, does that still stigmatise him as a villain? Not in my eyes nor to those scores of keen supporters gathered along his publicised redemption pilgrimage that took him to and from Rome, where he met Pope Francis.

I do actually like JK as a person, his humility, humanity, dignity and quest for redemption and reinvention. He has learnt from his mistakes and he wholeheartedly accepts his share of responsibility in the financial demise. Having said that, I do not condone his actions as a trader. With the blessing of his industry, his chosen profession intrinsically praises a culture of fast cash at all cost - the dirty side of capitalism. The profession encouraged and incentivised him highly for playing cavalier risk-taker with investment funds that would yield him those juicy bonuses and deliver the sky-high dividends to his employer. While the profits were rolling in, it was win-win for the trader-employer combo. Then sh*t happened.

Never vanished nor vanquished! (Pict source)

What I do find villainous and hainous is how SocGen, which had allowed for the shady 'best practices' to take place in its offices, was quick to ostracise, victimise and repudiate its flagship trader for those losses. Yesterday's star became a scapegoat, pure and simple. However losses were to be expected as they come hand in hand with the volatility of the territory. As compensation, the highly-strung SocGen demanded that the trader paid back the €4.9 billion losses it had incurred. The decision was later overruled by the courts.

It's been a long drawn-out courtroom drama affair. Today JK faces a 3-year prison sentence once he crosses the Italian border back to France and he has now appealled to the French President for the case to be reviewed, his innocence claim to be heard, witnesses to be guaranted protection and allowed to testify, and his accomplices to be brought to justice. I wonder whether the justice system will decide to finally see eye to eye as it is always easier and more convenient to bring one isolated man down and shut him up than a bunch of top guys from an influent institution that is connected to the smoke screens of stock markets and the lofty world of politics.

Up in smoke? (Pict source)

Here's a guy fighting a system that made him a star player and unmade him once losses outperformed the wins. These were probably the implicit rules of the game. Off with a Baguette Magique ponder: in order to be both financially and professionally successful, should a trader be nothing short of a financial trickster and a rogue - after all?

Beauty Review – Vinoperfect Radiance Serum by Caudalie

With French skincare company Caudalie having just released their latest innovative serum, Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum, my product review of their 2010-launched industry-acclaimed Vinoperfect Radiance Serum looks long overdue!

(Pict source)

Living in France, it made sense for me to choose Caudalie because it is a French pharmacy brand, which stands for quality. Besides it is readily available across all French pharmacies, high-street parapharmacy stores and the likes of Monoprix. Furthermore Caudalie fits in with my beauty ethics, focusing on natural ingredients rather than chemicals (no mineral oils), banning nasties (parabens, phthalates, paraffin, sodium laureth sulfates), animal ingredients (their squalene comes from olive source rather than – wait for it - shark!), and animal testing. Additionally Caudalie contributes 1% for the Planet.

Vinoperfect Radiance Serum speaks to my needs as I suffer from a history of sun damage, in the form of pigmentation across the cheek area. From further research, I found out that pigmentation may also be caused by hormonal changes, pregnancy, medical treatments, hereditary factors, ageing, etc. and is therefore not to be linked solely to sun damage. IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Skin Rejuvenation sessions performed at Destination Skin Manchester back in 2008 had yielded beautiful results to my facial complexion. I had also abided by their strict beauty regimen involving three SkinCeuticals products: Serum 10 (Dual Antioxydant Treatment), Emollience moisturiser and a broad-spectrum UV protector (I have mostly been using their Physical UV Defence and Ultimate UV Defense).

Sun damage crept back up when I moved to the sunny Mediterranean island of Corsica in December 2009, despite wearing sun protection every day of the year and high-quality broad sunglasses whenever the sun is out. Last year I underwent a course of 6 IPL sessions and my complexion cleared up momentarily. I believe I may have finally identifed the culprit ingredient that encouraged dull complexion and pigmentation, urea, which is present in two products I used post-IPL: the Sleep and Peel Resurfacing Night Cream by Filorga and the Retexturing Activator Serum by SkinCeuticals that I had started using as an alternative to Serum 10, as per advice from a beauty therapist. In my experience, not only does urea bring out the sun spots but also makes my complexion duller.

Vinoperfect Radiance Serum does not contain urea, bonus! It boasts complexion-correcting ingredients (amongst which patented Viniferine) that will help tone down (fade) the appearance of sun spots and hyperpigmentation. Viniferine (grapevine shoot extract) makes it 62 times more effective than vitamin C! The serum texture is milkish, slightly sticky to the touch, yet easy to apply and subtly and pleasantly fragranced.

I used the serum every morning non-stop for the best part of five months. It was recommended that the serum be used at night too but I didn't follow suit. I was actually quite concerned at how fast the serum was going, in comparison to the SkinCeuticals serums, and at €43.00 RRP ($79.00 RRP/ £45.00 RRP) a bottle gone in less than 4 weeks, it ain't a cheap treatment.

Did I notice any results? Now those ladies who believe in beauty miracles in a jar/ bottle are in for a disappointment. No product will magically erase sun pigmentation. More extreme measures like chemical face peels or laser/ IPL performed at cosmetic clinics will yield a great finish, yet without the guarantee that pigmentation won't creep up again. Back to our serum, I did notice that some small pigmentation spots had shrunk and faded dramatically in colour, whereas larger pigmentation marks had remained the same. What I did notice though was the complexion in its overall appearance had a healthier glow, a radiance, like I had been on a spa holiday. But as I said, only minor imperfections (tiny sun spots) had shrunk and faded noticeably whereas the larger more stubborn marks had only paled down by a shade or two but remained unchanged in size.

Although I might still purchase the Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, I will happily give Caudalie's latest Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum a try, and in the meantime I am on the brink of ordering the Radiance Perfection Serum by REN, another brand that rocks my ethical beauty boat!

Pluses:

• Fresh pleasant subtle fragrance
• Milky texture makes it easy to apply
• Focus on natural ingredients and no parabens
• Against animal testing
• Reputable brand and honest product

Minuses: 

• Pricey (RRP €43.00/ $79.00/ £45.00)
• Seems to go faster than the more liquid (water consistency) serums
• No dramatic results

Inspire Aspire - Letter to the 20-Year-Old Daughter I Don't Have

Dearest Daughter, I had a lot of fun writing this letter and want it to inspire you, to carry you through your twenties and beyond. I was once the 20-year-old stood on the threshold of the world, and now that I am twice that age and 'old enough to know better', I can safely say I am proud of what I have achieved in life, successes, mistakes et al. And more than anything, I am so proud of you. I want you to be proud of where you come from, where you are standing now and where you are going.

As you are about to step, tip-toe or even stiletto your way into the world, the purpose of this letter is to facilitate your journey and shine a beacon of light on your life path, especially in times of trouble, doubt, loneliness and excess and loss and lack, because with each peak we reach in life, the cycle engineered by the wheel of fortune will make us gently tumble downhill until the velocity of will and the fuel of skillset and talent shall propel us again as we rise up like a phoenix to a higher height than the previously-achieved peak. So prepare to go stellar! You were born to grow and do good, not waste away like a wallflower, living your life by proxy via a TV screen or smartphone app. So I cordially invite you to get the Hell out of here and make your Heaven happen!

Uncredited image via Imgfave

In order to reach for the stars and not crash down and burn out like a meteor when problems break out, you need to dream big but you also need to still feel the pull of gravity and remain a tad grounded. Don't get too dizzy. Use your heart for matters of the heart, but when you get hurt, use your head to solve them. Use your head for financial security. Strive for balance between heart and head. Life strikes a balancing act between the two, and so does society. Art, the art of happiness and self-worth come from the heart. Rationale, material wealth and net worth come from the head. Some people get confused, go astray and waste a lifetime over this.

Before we get in too deep, let me get this clear. The most important relationship you will ever have is not with your mother or lover, it is with yourself. Take the time to find out who you truly are, what makes you tick, what makes you whole. Celebrate what makes you who you are, your skillset, talents, abilities. Your core values are a part of your essence, your DNA. Life is a journey of self-discovery and you mostly learn as you go. The more you know about yourself, the clearer you will be on your calling, your life purpose, the reason why you are on this planet. This is the key to happiness. Above all, be kind to yourself, because if you beat yourself up, others will be quick to kick you when you're down. Stand proud and love yourself before you even think of giving your heart away.

Sayulita, Mexico Wedding by Matt Edge Wedding Photography, via Style Me Pretty

Learn, learn, learn! Whether you are working out the Paris métro system, making up a new cake recipe for some charity, leafing through a magazine in the doctor's waiting room, or visiting a museum with a friend, any moment is potential for growth, way beyond the confines of formal state education. Be curious, be keen, be open to new ideas, thoughts and concepts. Strike conversations, share news articles, debate with others, write a journal. Have an opinion on everything and anything, practice your repartee with me and others. Make your own views. Never be indifferent or ignorant. Indifference and ignorance are the silent killers of the world.

Stay positive and surround yourself with those who view the world as a fascinating place. Marvel at its wonders. The world exerts a strong attraction and opens windows of opportunity. Not all opportunities might be the right ones for you, which is why you cannot rush. Yet for me to cocoon you here in a forced state of comfort zone wouldn't serve you any purpose. Unless you do vehemently decide to stay put, I strongly encourage you to spread your wings out and fly. And by fly I mean leave the family home, take a leap of faith, trust your gut feeling, challenge yourself and follow your dream. Travel to the other side of the world if you need to, but be careful who you trust. Know that I am never to judge your decisions, but always here for you. I want you to be happy. If you are happy, then I will have succeeded in the making of you. If you are not happy now, be patient. Trust that happiness is on its way as you are on your journey of self-love and discovery.

Via Tumblr

One last thing. You know about the birds and the bees and I am sure your friends and teachers and technology will have eased more mysteries out to you than I dare to figure. Don't go overboard though. The swag and the suave have a way with words that have the power to dent the female heart. Remember that actions talk louder than words, and promises are just mirages.

Love yourself. Walk your talk. Never go for cheap. Trust your gut feeling. You are worth more than you allow it to be. I love you so dearly. Be alluring, stand in your magnificence and enjoy your life, sweetie! I am one proud mum.

Don Draper, Eat Your Heart Out!

Dust off your DeLorean machines for a short time travel away, 53 years back in time to be precise, and let's land in the heart of the UK Mecca of Mad Men advertising, London's answer to New York City's Times Square, and just as technicolor brash and electric: Piccadilly Circus! And there's a delightful branding revisit in the offing: Coca Cola, Guinness, BP, Wrigley's, Skol and Co. Have your pick!

The technological prowess isn't brought to you by crazy Doc but by the no less crazy team over at London FullScream motion design agency. The short animation is based on archive pictures superimposed with old weather reports and processed together with a state-of-the-art colouring and animation software. The moody grainy sepia rendering is hypnotically grand! Loving it, and let's wish the FullScream creatives will have another dab at this to offer us more (and longer) urban montages.

(Pict source)

Piccadilly Circus 1961 by FullScream from FullScream on Vimeo.

The Raw Deal

Indeed I do live in a dreamy location off the hustle and bustle of mainland France and Italy. Hand on heart, can you beat living the Mediterranean lifestyle? Sat here on the sandy beach of my Corsican coastal village with a 360° view to die for that pans across the Toscan Archipelago to the rolling countryside made up of lush scrubland and alpine pastures, I do feel like I'm sitting on top of the world.

As Exotic as Canes and Olives Can Be!

I will never cease to be amazed by the beauty and diversity of this island, despite its troubled past. I admire its proud resilience in the face of constant, consistent and persistent speculative adversity that is trading on its pretty looks, ressources, panoramas and acres of unspoilt land, and the layer cakes of underground economy fuelled by the Don Corleones of the world that are putting pressure on the land and marine environment... Need I explain more?

What motivates me here is purely and solely to do with land protection, and especially the diversity of wild plant species (over 2,500 in Corsica including strict endemics). I'll never cease to be saddened though whenever I witness how the wild vegetation is being perceived nowadays by most of my peers (those my age group, my parents' generation and the younger generation to me). The wild vegetation is taken for granted and considered sub-standard, redundant, invasive, useless, worthless, unrespectable, unlovable and unwanted - despite botanists the world over flocking to the island to marvel at its wild wonders... Such an irony!

Wild Fig Tree

Local councils and residents will go out of their way to mutilate and/ or eradicate trees, bushes, shrubs, grasses ('arba cumuna'), flowers and other macchia (srubland) components because they deem them of no value as those came with the land - i.e. were not planted in the first place! Some will even go the extra mile and make Syngenta, Bayer and Monsanto proud by spraying their Godforsaken poisons onto the local greenery. There's this neighbour across the road whose garden looks 'so neat': understand the soil has been killed off any wildlife and is used as mere substrate to support fruit and vegetable cultures.

I am fighting a losing battle trying to change local people's perceptions about the wild flora. I am faced with lack of interest, reluctance to change, scepticism and snarky nasty snappy remarks. I did have an intelligent conversation with one sub-contractor who sporadically maintains roadsides and pathways on behalf of the local council and he assured me that he tries whenever possible to keep Myrtus (myrtle), strawberry trees, Pistacia lentiscus, heather, viburnum, bux, wild Olea europa, green oak and Genista (etc.) intact or just lightly and sensibly prune them if necessary. Unfortunately the dimwits directly employed by the council do not have the same inclination as they prefer to hack to the ground any wild roadside bush even if said bush isn't causing any obstruction whatsoever. They hack the bush so that the hacked bush will give them some respite for a good couple of years at least! They operate along the lines of: the less countrylike the countryside looks, the easier their job will be and the paycheck too.

Stump of a Mutilated Myrtus

And hacking is the word. No clean, intelligent, selective shaping/ pruning. Just savage reckless hacking, made worse in recent years by the use of specialist mobile mowing machinery (see below) that leaves nothing but carnage in its wake (whoever patented such gross equipment technique?)! While the vehicle moves in slow motion, its articulated vertical mower arm savagely twists and pulls a sway of over 4 foot deep worth of branches off the trees and bushes into a claw device that sucks and crushes the branches until they finally snap off the tree/ bush. The hacked branches are turned to pulp to saw dust and spewed out there and then. This barbaric technique is nothing to do with sensible land maintenance, it's all about butchering bushes, in such a way that they are left shapeless, disfigured, deeply wounded, with raw exposed core, severely gashed bark, which leaves them weakened and prone to parasitic diseases and abnormal cancerous growth patterns.

The Path of Destruction Starts Here!

I don't collude with the cavalier senseless approach to land management that disregards the value of a plant because it is not cultivated, and my reaction will be the same wherever in the world I stand, not just in Corsica. Meanwhile councils and residents have been giving macchia a raw deal, the bad press it certainly doesn't deserve. In fact, macchia has been part and parcel of our elders' livelihood since the dark ages. Macchia should be rediscovered, celebrated and praised for its diversity and its scientific and anthropologic importance. Let's note a few domestic uses of yesteryear:

• Herbal Medicine (mint or dried fennel seeds infusion for digestion; Parietaria officinalis decoction as diuretic; Umbilicus rupestris leaves used as wraps to treat foot ulcers) 
• Cooking (Myrtus berries or strawberry tree fruit processed into preserves or liquor; marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary, dill, wild garlic, to flavour fish dishes, ratatouilles, hotpots, pizzas etc; candied Angelica added to panettone)
• Gardening (Inula viscosa extract against greenfly; fermented nettle as soil enrichment)  
• Home (dried heather branches tied together into brooms or entertwined into garden screen panels; dried-up asphodel sticks as fire lighters; myrtle, rush, oleaster and clematis woven into baskets; lavender as moth-repellent; elderberries as tincture)
• Skincare (Saponaria officinalis to make soaps; Calendula arvensis as soothing skin ointment; Helichrysum italicum as potent aftersun care). 

Wrecked Pistacia lentiscus

We owe this planet some respect. Respect starts at home, then across the local communities, down the roadsides to the local beaches, the wetlands, the fields and the forests. I will carry on giving a voice to the voiceless for the rest of my life, for even though I might be fighting a losing battle, I will stand by my principles and maybe one person out there will hear my plea and echo my monologue with their own resonance, and choose to live respectfully alongside nature. It only takes one person to change the world, one word at a time, and I'm not about to give up on the mammoth task. Will you join me?

Cheer Up, Buttercup!

June 2014 Update: Plantlife, the UK's leading wild plant conservation charity, issued a petition earlier this year to raise awareness via their #SayNoMow campaign. Plantlife is urging local UK councils to preserve road verges as wildlife habitats rather than go for mow. This is an encouraging echo to my local advocacy campaign! Well done, guys!

December 2014 Update: Find out about France's venerable trees (list in progress), via Krapo Arboricole (a French website that shares its passion for remarkable trees both in France and abroad).

A Quick Fix to Happy

There is no denying, Spring is my happy season! And Spring means showtime down the countryside. Nature reveals itself to us: grass blades perking up under the rising temperatures, new shoots sprouting from branches, wild flowers unfolding gracefully and balleting their way to our hearts, casting shimmers, pimples, dots, or more dramatic circles of colours across the fields, prairies, verges, roadsides, hedges. It's a Jackson Pollock floral delight across the countryside!

Down the villages to the city, market stalls are getting interesting too. Perfectly-formed baby potatoes, new season onions, fresh and delicate asparagus, tender stalks of young rhubarb, nicely-presented strawberry punnets and freshly-picked cherries are all fighting for our undivided attention and titillating our culinary cravings. Flower bouquets are pulling at our heartstrings too, and to take one home is akin to taking a slice of Spring indoors with us. It's instant sunshine for the kitchen table or the dresser piece, an instant focal point and a shot of vividness that will brighten up our interiors. It's also a quick mood fix that will make us feel bright and cheerful! In the same way that chocolate does to us, ladies, in Winter... Yum-double-Yum!

Source: All photos via M&S. (1) Dendrobium Orchid Bouquet. (2) Cape Flora Bouquet. (3) Autograph Speciality Hyacinths. (4) Autograph Avalanche & Lisianthus Bouquet.

The Wacky Warehouse

When going round offices, you get the feeling that workspace design was accounted for under next to zero budget. And the likelihood is that most of us aren't that chuffed about our style-less, charm-less workplaces. Or if indeed we are chuffed, this might have not been the case at previous employers... I've worked in offices that range from the sublime (understand posh, trendy, light-bathed, design-led, Warholeque showroom type) to the darn right ridiculous (as in grubby, gums stuck to that knackered old brown carpet c.1972 matched by grime-caked Dickensian walls prospect)... So yes, I've worked in a few places from the sublime to the ridiculous and vice versa, but now I wish I had at least experienced Google!

I'd heard about Google's wacky uber trendy workplaces, from a friend of a friend who had worked at its Mountain View HQ. She had described to me the use of bold primary colours for the interiors that are supposed to excite those neurones (a bit like those tacky colours at McDonalds restaurants are supposed to excite those taste buds!). My friend had also mentioned the sleep pods where Google employees could catch 40 winks during their long shifts. Now this is the kind of concept that would get our European trade unions reel in horror and throw in a picket line straightaway. But what is interesting here is that - although I don't know whether those sleep pods were exported across the pond - Google's revolutionary wacky office format has certainly been teleported to the European cities of London, Dublin and Amsterdam, as featured in Fast Co.Design and The Telegraph, bringing fun, quirk and comfort into offices! You can see that the designers had a ball with the brief as they let their imagination run wild à la Lewis Carroll! Adios teary palettes of grimy grey, yawny magnolia and dirt-alike beige, the old clunky metal furniture that jars, the cheap carpet tiles that curdle and the small dingy windows that let the cold in and no natural light! Google's offices were designed to love you and be loved back. Now this is more than revolutionary, it is a novelty, right?

Liberace's Boudoir? I Think Not! This is a Conference Room at Google London's Super HQ!

Safe Room at Goldman Sachs? No, Padded Cell Room (Meeting Room) at London HQ!

Iron Man's Ejector Seat? No, It Belongs to London HQ!

TriBeCa Youth Centre? Google Amsterdam Offices More Like!

Latest Mr Bean Movie Set? Nope! It's a Meeting Room at Google Amsterdam!

Alice's Tea Party? Or Google Amsterdam Offices Featuring Stroopwafel Ceiling Tiles?

Photo source (from top down):
(1) to (3) = The Telegraph
(4) to (6) = Fast Co.Design

Talk Dirty To Me

Out with the old and in with the new is how I'm feeling right now! I've always considered Springtime as a second chance for those New Year's Resolutions that came undone on the cutting room floor of our lives. Days are now drawing out, weather getting balmier, and we get infused with a sugar-like rush of enthusiasm, a fresh burst of energy, new ideas (or at least a fresh perspective on those ideas that got shelved over the Winter), a boost to budding projects and a general sense of rebirth after the drab of the cold season.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) might have taken its toll on some of us, but now it feels like the 'sap' in our bodies is making us feel jiggy with it, as we are sprouting leaves and buds and new growth and start blossoming under the auspicious higher vibration that is now ruling our days. And there is no better time than now to play domestic god(desse)s to the clutter and dustmites of our homes. Out with Winter dirt and in with the sparkle... And shake that booty while you scrub!

'Magic Balls' (for cleaning vases and decanters) from John Lewis

'Squirt + Mop Hard Floor Cleaner' by Method

'Natural Fibre Scrubbing Brush' from Maison Empereur

'Cotton Bobbin Wall Hooks/ Drawer Pulls' from Not On The High Street

'Sailors Whisk Brush' from Labour and Wait

'Limited Edition 1900 Box' (with styrax incense-coated paper strips used as natural air freshener) from Papier d'Arménie

YAY! And here is Method's response to my article:

Surf it like Neistat!

Some nights the interwebs have a way of getting things juicy, the way we like them. I can't quite fathom how they brought me to film-making sensation Casey Neistat but - let's put it that way - I've enjoyed the journey as much as the destination. It started off with the latest newsletter from Matador featuring Casey's latest adventure, '17 Tips To Travel With Style'.

Photography by Winnie Au, via Refinery29

This was a AHA moment, what with this cool dude in an office suit who skips the commuting train and the coffee rounds and the conference room to take to the ocean waves and the mountain slopes and the dusty roads and the plush pads, with shitloads of attitude to boot and a bit of a chip (or microchip, we're not sure) on his shoulder! It's also fanstastic kudos for cool fashion brand J.Crew who sponsor the shindig, our internet superhero wearing their Ludlow Traveler suit and putting it to the test in extreme wear and tear conditions (by office standards)! What's for sure is that although I might still look at the office water cooler the same way, that Ludlow won't get that same look from me now.

Oh, Hello Spring!

Spring is my favourite season! Just the sound of it makes me 'spring' into action after the bleaks of Winter, as I awaken to the new possibilities the year has to offer after I spent the winter strategising and researching business opportunities. Spring feels like a renaissance. Corsica awakens too. In fact, it unfolds with Spring. The air is sweet with the aroma of heather whose clusters burst out on the exposed hillsides. Rosemary is in full bloom and a magnet for pollinators that are buzzing out of the woodwork and filling the silence with the reassuring sound of nature at work. Songbirds are now joining in the chorus as they celebrate the coming to being of a brand new day, at the perfect point when night breaks into dawn. Meanwhile cytisus and genista are opening up to the world and casting their bright yellows into the delightful pantones of green that velvet-clad the rocky landscapes that tumble into the sea.

Not meaning to sound pretentious, but I've literally photographed thousands of wild plants since I first set foot in Corsica 4 years ago. Yet when it came to choose one that would symbolise Spring for this post, I thought about a happy compromise between this island and that other island, Britain, where I spent 16 years of my life. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the delightful Centaurea cyanus (British Cornflower), brought over to you by a bag of seeds from the honorable Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, no less!

The Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) peps up meadows, fields and prairies

Day 3 of 2014

How are you feeling today? How has 2014 been to you so far? Kind and promising? Still bright and shiny and fanciful like a brand new toy, the latest gadget, glued together by unbroken promises and dreamy glances? Is it feeling light and airy and fluffy, unsubstantially floating like some cotton-candy cloud above your head and filled with hope's helium? Does 2014 still fit you like a glove, or do I need to check that again with you in six months' time, find out where you're up to in life?

2014 Calendar by Becca Stadtlander

That's how the first few days of January tend to feel like, and day 3 is probably the peak of our own induced paranormal activity. Those days are doomed, they bask in their own fleeting glory, as the messengers to self of secret desires, silent wishes and unfulfilled passions. Those very desires, wishes and passions that came undone, unconsummated in the past year, for whatever reason, resurface like blasts from the past before they dissipate again like a puff of haze off a genie's bottle.

Talking of the past year... How was it for you? Was 13 your lucky number? Your nemesis? Are you still hungover from it? Do you need more time to recover from what might have been but never was? Is its timeline nothing but a flatline on your screen akin to a lesser heartbeat and life slipping away? Is your brain on autopilot, dogged by dogma's paradigms, drowned in that ambient supermarket humdrum that cosies you into the comfort zone only to get rudely interrupted by dead-end jobs and sky-high mortgages and rip-off loans and screaming kids and a partner you once loved, that keep popping in your head on a loop like those red lights in life's control room - and as if that wasn't bad enough - come shouting at you across the aisles on the tannoy. And off goes another year.

Close-up of a Japanese love lucky charm

Successes and the lesser successes... Or shall we poetically repackage those as the peaks and the valleys - beautiful Technicolor Cinemascope allegory wrapped in Dolby surround sound! The peaks - emphatic, majestic and mystical like Mount Kilimanjaro. Or abrupt, ominous and omnivorous like Torres del Paine. The valleys - comfort zones of sorts that look sweet and harmless enough, yet drill holes in the mind, valleys as expansive as the eye can see, a sweeping 360° view that tumbles down into the sea, still aiming for the sky and yet separated from it by a limit the human mind created, a line the human eye defined as horizon, a trickster of a limit without a limit. Man sets its own limits. And those limits are often nothing more than an illusion fed by fear. Fear is a controller. And you are welcome to keep being controlled by it. But I am sure you know that sometimes the way to a feat is via defeat.

And after hours, when it's just you alone with yourself, what is the thought that you hone and polish till it shines so bright it turns to a sun in your head and illuminates your face with a smile which only the divine may see, a sun that keeps you awake at night only to pale down to a trace as dawn rises? Do you ever admit to yourself that somehow you could have handled your year(s) differently? Do you ever hold your breath, harbour a doubt, as you surrender your truths, sign off from expectations others have off you, unplug your machines, clock out of work and step into the suburbia you once called home and get home to a partner you once loved, and shut down into a limbo state of stability and routine which now has got you wondering?

'Wash Series 5', contact paper on arches, 24 x 19 inches 2010, by Matt Shlian

There is no Judgement Day. I am not here to push buttons, point the finger, pull the proverbial trigger or get those mixed feelings even more muddled up. The head feels fuzzy enough on the aftermath of a celebration that shimmied the night away on the borderline between truth and fantasy. Celebration of what is now over and celebration of what is yet to be. And as we slip in and out of the New Year's Resolutions territory, said resolutions are nothing more than premises to promises that we validate to ourselves and others before letting them slowly swoosh off to a crunch come Twelfth Night, on the eve of The Epiphany. Resolutions are like those pretty yet cumbersome present wrappers we'd shed earlier on Christmas Day. You can either let them swoosh off to a crunch or pick them up, turn them into opportunity where others give them a vacant gaze. And now that's what I call an epiphany: to embrace the synergy a new year offers, seize the moment, take a chance, follow your heart, push off those limits you created in the first place and break out of your old patterns.

If anything, do yourself a favour. In the grand scheme of things that architect each moment lived into one less moment to be lived, do make sure that you make THIS year - yes, 2014 - count.