What does home mean to you?

OK all you nice bloggers out there who read my drivel and look at my photos it is time to join the cause, what cause I hear you ask; well it is a simple cause and it is Refugee Week Scotland (15-21 June 2009), just read this from fellow blogger:-

From film festivals to football tournaments, comedy nights to carnivals, exhibitions, workshops, parties and much, much more, Refugee Week Scotland (15-21 June 2009) is an exciting programme of events happening across the country to celebrate diversity and raise awareness of refugee issues.

This year the theme of Refugee Week is HOME. For many refugees and asylum seekers, a new home in Scotland means safety from persecution and a life without fear. But what does home mean to you?

OK so what does home mean to me? Well there is no easy answer to that, being the miserable and misanthropic old git that I am; but I will have a go anyway. If I had only one word it would be Cornwall, where I was born and lived the majority of my life so far. Lucky for you I have far more than one word at my disposal; no, come on, don’t all leave now just when it is about to get interesting.

Location is an important part of home, and my location here in Edinburgh is one in which I feel comfortable and, yes, at home. But it is so much more than that, it is the people I know and love, it is the environment in which I live, and even more than that really.

Firstly people, my partner and her son, no names or photos to protect the guilty. My partner and I have been together for coming up to eight years now, seems like more at times, and it has not always been a smooth ride, but, hey, who said life was easy? I would not be here in Edinburgh if she had not moved jobs from Manchester to Edinburgh – we were living in Leeds (YUK!) at the time. Her son, whom I met at thirteen (that is he was thirteen, not me), has just learned that he has got a first at university (no mean achievement), and we have not always seen things from the same perspective, and have had our shouting matches; but I have a great deal of admiration and respect for him. Then there are the many many friends I have here, too many to name, who share a similar philosophy of life as myself, they are important, even to a miserable old misanthrope. But, it is also about being able to be anti-social if one wants to be, to avoid contact with people and retreat into one’s individuality.

As an artist my living environment is extremely important; and here in Edinburgh the living environment is pretty damned good – that is except for all of the crap concerned with the trams – and so close to the West Coast of Scotland (paradise). Pictures convey this much better than words, just look at my photo blogs and you will see what I mean, here are a couple of images:-

Seeing the sunrise on a winter morning

Being close to fantastic scenery...

My photo blogs – Edinburgh Day by Day – Photogenic Scotland – Fotos That Don’t Fit

Beyond this, home is being able to put one’s feet up and shout at Dan Snow for his asinine approach to history, naturally with a glass of red in hand, home is being able to go upstairs and tell the people in the flat above that it really is not good for their health to be playing LOUD music at 3:30am.

Finally, home is being able to sit out on the balcony with a wee dram (sometimes in the dark) at the end of a long stressful day, or when all the dinner/party guests have left and all is quiet once more.

Havin' a wee dram or three...

P.S. Home is not where the heart is – the heart is where home is!