Nowhere and everywhere [520]
Greetings from The Borders...
I’m Christian Payne, autotelic, photographer and writer — and as of a few moments ago, (at time of writing) a home owner in Scotland.
#TheAction
At 16:54 today we got the call that we now own the house we’ve been squatting/living in for the last 11 days. If you’re a supporting subscriber (thank you) you’ll not only know all about the long drawn out process we have gone through to get here, but will also have seen photos of this amazing place and the land it sits in.
So happy right now. Still surrounded by boxes, but very happy.
Things I have learned this week:
Living here, rurally, doing simple things, offers me a subtle sense of meaning. In the slowness, I’m finding a rhythm in the routine, plus a kind of presence.
It appears that feeling connected to a place doesn’t need to take years. It can happen in a few small moments doing a few small things.
Menial work grounds me. I’m enjoying a kind of visible progress that shows me a sense of value that doesn’t need to be globally seen or archived online for ever.
Meaning doesn't come from chasing virtue for praise or gain. It comes from choosing to act with care. Especially when we don't feel like it.
Having little in the way of connectivity or screen time has reminded me that where we place our attention shapes the life we end up living.
I’m as much between online and offline as I am between here and there.
Living in the Scottish Borders means you can spend a good amount of time crossing borders. Twice today I’ve crossed from Scotland to England and back again.
It’s taken me a bit of time to get my head around where it is I actually live. Mainly because in changing my address on some platforms, my post code has offered me either Northumberland, Berwickshire and The Scottish Borders.
Berwickshire is a historic Scottish county. The postcode seems to stem from Berwick-upon-Tweed. which is in Northumberland (not far down the road). And The Scottish Borders is often shortened to ‘Borders' in the drop-downs.
This just adds to the liminality of it all. Neither one thing nor another, I'm enjoying this blurred line, edge of the map ambiguity. It feels peripheral and open. A place of transition and possibility.
And somewhere within it. Now defined a little more tangible in words and lines on a deed — is a place we can call home.
#ThePictures
For some reason I now need to use a VPN set to the US in order to watch Vimeo. I’ll blame it on the tariffs.
John Wilson has some great tips on filming documentary.
He reminds me of my good friend Geo Geller.
#TheWords
In an attempt to get a handle on the history of nearby places I’m reading this…
Thanks to Lou for recommending the book The Northumbrians
Why it’s not so easy to bring manufacturing back to America.
#TheSound
Tomorrow the postman will be delivering the latest (and some say best) album from Penfriend called House of Stories. Written about ‘living between the wrong four walls’ i’m looking forward to Laura’s latest offering. I do believe that if you head over to the shop and download the album (or buy a physical copy with free download) you could be a deciding factor in her continued chart success. You have the power. At time of writing Laura (the hardest working musician I know) is placed number 2 in the downloads chart.
Above Elton John, Hawkweed and Paul Simon. Now do you want to check out the album?
I think this is the version I have coming. And this is the download.
#TheConsumed
As well as having a bath with epic water pressure that fills quickly, we don’t have a water meter. As a result I dunk my sweaty body into a hot bath almost every evening. It’s a great way to end a day filled with building, fixing and carrying.
In one of the boxes I opened yesterday was the remains of a bottle of 10 year old 2007 rum finish Arran whisky. I decided to finish it in the bath.
It’s uncomplicated but was smooth, creamy and lush. Perfect for celebrating the arrival in Scotland.
The bottle was bought on the Isle of Arran in 2019 remember? It was when we fell in love with Arran and Scotland and started looking for property. The island although incredibly beautiful, looked impractical as there were occasions, due to the weather and issues with ferry services, that you were unable to leave for the mainland.
But six years later we finally made it over the border.
Can you guess what was crowned Britain’s best loaf. I did, as it was something i’d gladly try.
#TheFound
Now we are the legal custodians of some land I can take out the metal detector and see what lies below the surface. I could have done it before but would have to share any finds with the owners. Check back here soon to see what treasure (i.e. bottle caps, nails, old hinges and screws) I find.
#TheThings
Have any of you bought a converted shipping container? I need somewhere to store my motorbike and pushbikes as well as tools to work on them. Looking at the current price for sheds it seems like it’s more cost effective to buy a converted shipping container.
The image above is from Containers Direct and i’m waiting to hear what the cost is for their model… CS48463.
But if you have any experience in this field please let me know.
The Scottish Land Reform Act of 2003 states the land does not belong solely to the deed-holder but to the spirit of shared existence. I'm now a land owner in Scotland but it's just a big garden, so the right to roam does not mean there are people hopping over our fence.
Driveways, working farmyards, land immediately around a home, front lawns and anything under crops are exempt from this amazing act that invites a relationship with nature rooted not in ownership, but in respect and presence.
So we can walk freely through hills, glens, and forests without suspicion. These paths are for everyone. Especially the wanderers, the curious, the ones who have no need for directions.
It's a rare act of collective generosity and this right to pass through spaces has featured in every one of my days this week.
Many of these paths won’t be found on a map and so far I’ve only seen one signposted. They exist because we walk them, and are sustained by our desire to explore.
#TheThanks
Massive thanks to the paying subscribers who continue to support this dispatch and the adventures/experiments that make it. You know who you are. ♥️
I have no idea what shape this weekly dispatch will take moving forward but if you value these words, ideas and curation, please consider an upgrade to paid…
Or if you prefer a random hat tip you can do that via PayPal or Monzo
…Either way… Thank you for reading, sharing, liking and supporting a human doing manual work with their brain.
#TheWeb
My friend Ross is streaming from inside a box.
Thorium reactors are starting to get real.
Just checked the Documentally community map. My friend Gordon just got closer, but there is still no one within walking distance.
Ugly artificial leaves make stuff.
I wonder how long it might be before filming actual people doing real things will seem weird. Here is a glimpse to how perceptions in the film industry are changing.
Some of my other places include Letterboxd for film logging, Discogs for my physical music collection, Strava for documenting exercise and these. 👍🏽
If you’ve also been dabbing in the social web for 25 years you know where this is going. I disagree with the line in this article on Substack as a platform stating by limiting yourself to just email, “you’re tying one of your hands behind your back.” I enjoy dipping into the audio and video tools on here but if I start to focus on these places, the ever-shifting algorithms get hold of you. Substack will always want more. But once you start chasing the algorithm, you stop listening to yourself. You start second-guessing. You trade your voice for visibility, and attention for authenticity. I want to write and record how I live — from the edges. From the Borders. A little less in your face perhaps. But real.
I first read this title as ‘Boaty McBoatface submarine takes NATO-backed quantum tech underwear’. Which I think is better.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading.
Curating for this email has mostly happened when browsing my phone outside the supermarket. Thankfully I saved you the time lapses of me building flatpack furniture and opening cardboard boxes.
Fear not. For good or ill, the internet should be attached to the house next week. I have mixed feelings about it.
Have a great week!
“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” ― Khalil Gibran
Stay real.
See you out there.
Over…
So glad you are happy now that the house is yours. I am truely relived and can sense how thr place and the nature around it nourish your soul. Thats so lovely.
Was afraid we wouldn't find good bread to buy in London but M&S had some ok offerings.
Thank you for the lovely mention! And happy new home xo