Connecting Through Corona

‘This is My Day’ This is my day, these are my choices These are my actions and my changing voices. Many paths lay ahead and many paths I leave behind, Which way will I go, which way will I find? And you ask me to decide, You ask me to choose one way. But I can’t follow a single path, I am happy to stray. I don’t mean to get lost and I don’t mean to lose sight, I just mean that I’ll wander through the day and the night. And when I say wander I mean that I’ll venture, I mean that I’ll take chances and not live by a censor. For I am confident that opportunities will lead me to great things, I am open to life’s challenges and all that life brings. My heart is wide open to embrace and to share, And my mind is as hungry to learn and to dare.’ by Rachel Mathews-McKay, Dublin, Ireland Biography:  Rachel Mathews-Mckay – mixed race of Irish, Jamaican, Bermudian and Canadian heritage but born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. She has been settled in Dublin, Ireland for the past 21 years where, sin...

For as long as I can remember I have always found great solace and inspiration from the certainty, beauty and majesty of the natural world. Strange as it might sound some of my best childhood friends were loyal pets and imaginary characters I played with amongst the trees; tall grasses and wooded areas – some of these friends were even the trees themselves. From my early beginnings and for a variety of reasons, I have had to move around a lot. Back and forth, contending with major upheavals and life-altering uncertainties. Years of disrupted routines, changing faces, places and spots to call home. My childhood world regularly felt like it was falling apart with every school change, house move and uproot of friendship circles and home comforts. Sometimes and for long periods that felt like years but, were only months I even had to rely on postcard correspondence and phone box calls to connect with my own parents. That kind of growing up has brought its challenges but thanks to my indomi...