It’s been a while since I’ve written here as life has gotten in the way over these past two months, so I present to you my regular updates for not only June but July as well - because this is my blog and I can do what I want with it!

:-P

Quite a few exciting things have been happening this summer: I spent a day at Download Festival, went wild camping for the first time, and I have officially entered my twenties! Crazy.

However, these last few months haven’t been full of sunshine (completely figuratively, of course… I can’t remember the last time it rained here). Heatwaves are a sensory nightmare - as most readers can attest to - and I have been hit with a massive wave of fatigue this summer, which has completely confused my daily rhythm.

Artistic Endeavours

As a result of said exhaustion, creativity has low and I seem to have found myself caught in another dreaded ‘art block’. In spite of this, some sketching and even painting has managed to take place during intermittent moments of combined inspiration and energy.

Most notably, I’ve been painting my local area some more, with two new Brixham-related pieces,

The Harbour with The Golden Hinde

The Breakwater Lighthouse

I hope to be stocking prints on Etsy soon, as well as in some spots locally - more news to come on all of this later, of course!

Turning Twenty

As of June, I have officially entered my third decade on this earth! How exciting?

To celebrate this massive milestone, I had practically an entire week of celebrations, involving a trip to the cinema, lots of family dinners and an especially delightful (vegan!) afternoon tea.

Although I must admit, having a ‘2’ at the start of my age is rather daunting; especially as someone who began my teens with the intention that I wouldn’t make it out of them. Realising how far I’ve come fills me with a lot of hope and gratitude, but in the same moment I am made terrifyingly aware of the fact that I’m now standing somewhere I hadn’t planned on being. Total emotional whiplash.

It’s hard to imagine my twenties - a time often portrayed as one of independence and important milestones - when I never got the chance to be a normal teenager.

But, as difficult as it is, I trust that God will lead me to where I am supposed to be, even if that looks different to my peers.

It’s mind-boggling to try and picture where He will have taken me another decade from now, and it’s so, so wonderful to picture all that could be accomplished within that time.

Adventures in Donington and Dartmoor

Mid-way through June I was able to attend this years’ Download Festival for the Friday. This was my second time at Download, and it was incredible fun despite the suffocating heat!

Festivals (or, really, any similarly large events) can be difficult to attend as an autistic person - crowds, loud noises and long, hot summer days are widely-despised sensory triggers. That’s why accessibility at places such as these is important, and, luckily, I have found that, for my needs, the accessibility team at Download have been wonderful these past two years. Each year I have been granted entrance to the accessible viewing areas (standing only as I have no mobility issues, but a seated area is available for those who do) which have offered much-appreciated reprieve amidst the unpredictable seas of people. Each accessible platform also includes its own toilets… bonus!

Whilst these areas are further away from the stage, they tend to offer a good-enough view of everything - but I must mention that, this year, the accessible platform for the Opus Stage was laughably far away from all of the action. I felt as though I was watching Halestorm from the other side of the field!

Ear defenders and earplugs are also made available to all at the festival should they be required, and I know that I couldn’t survive the day without my loop earplugs - in fact, I experimented by taking them out for two seconds and found that I could no longer hear anything above the painful cacophony of your traditional festival ambience. How can anyone enjoy themselves without them?

I enjoyed a lot of good music (P.O.D was the highlight of my day), delicious food (with an abundance of vegan options) and may have ended the day with a frightfully sunburnt face… but earplugs and lots of restbreaks were essential to survive it all.

Adventure number two to share is my first ever wild-camping trip two weeks ago! In fact, it was probably my first proper camping trip in well over a decade.

My brother and I took a day to hike and camp upon Dartmoor, now that we live close enough to allow for such wild endeavours!

Trekking from Okehampton station, we made our way along the Meldon Reservoir, up to the highest point in Southern England (Higher Willhays), and finally along to Yes Tor before we made our camp nearby. Along our walk, other than the breath-taking views, we were also joined by crowds of grazing sheep with the surprisingly annoying habit of endless bleating, Dartmoor ponies with their foals and some very relaxed cows.

Whilst magnificent enough to feel like a scene in The Lord of The Rings, the landscape almost got the better of me mid-afternoon, as we trudged up a seemingly endless hill in the scorching mid-day sun.

We were then overtaken time and time again by a family of absolute Northern-European machines, practically sprinting up to Black Tor in their boardshorts and sunglasses, children in tow. Definitely a very humbling experience.

A perfect viewpoint for the sunset

As expected, the night was a sensory-nightmare and sleep was fleeting, but I think the view come morning made it worth it…somewhat! Since we only camped for one night, this wasn’t much of a problem, and I think the trip ended as the perfect introduction to wild camping for someone who never grew up outdoorsy.

During the trip, I had to stop and consider how lucky I am to be able to do such things for fun rather than necessity - and despite my mild complaining here, I had a lot of fun. I

t really puts into perspective how blessed I am to be where I am right now: with a comfortable home, secure job, an abundance of food and water, opportunities for education and a loving family. What can you be grateful for?

Scorchio!

It’s not news that this summer has been very, unbelievably, maddeningly hot…

And spending every day feeling as though you are trapped in an oversized oven isn’t enjoyable for most, let alone those of us with added sensory processing issues.

I’ll admit that summer is my least favourite season.

Despite the mesmerising colours, lack of rain and great people-watching opportunities midsummer brings, I find it hard to cope with the intense sun and fiery temperatures; and the lack of air-conditioning in this country means any of my normal spaces to find rest are transformed into greenhouses (minus the pretty plants and comforting earthy smell).

The sad reality, however, is that living in a rapidly changing climate requires adaptation, and extreme heatwaves like these are likely to become our normal, whether we like it or not.

To cope in weather such as this, I like to indulge in shockingly large quantities of frozen fruit, stalk the shade like some sort of Batman-wannabe, and spend evenings by the water (living by the coast has its perks).

I also find it awfully useful to daydream of uncovering dusty church murals, à la Tom Birkin; or arguing over love affairs as in Gatsby. When all else fails, turn to escapism.

Frustrating bouts of fatigue

These two months have also been overshadowed by a seemingly endless stretch of fatigue, which, as you may imagine, has affected my capacity to create, work and get stuff done.

Although the stress is definitely counterproductive, I can’t help but find myself frustrated at being prevented from accomplishing my average workload as I find myself trapped within the limit of my own draining energy. It means adjusting schedules, managing the work that I take on and slowing down - three things I seem to struggle with as someone who likes to think they can ‘do it all’.

Of course, doctors are being spoken to, but until I get to the bottom of this tiredness, I need to learn to re-work my daily schedule to accommodate my rapidly-fluctuating energy - which is a thought I don’t smile over as someone who is known to like routine.

I’ve been experimenting with adapting my normal work-day and I think it would be interesting to write another blog post about what eventually works and doesn’t.

Media of the month

As always, I’ll close out the bulk of this post with some of the best media I’ve consumed over the past two months…

Books:

Throne of Glass series

I picked up Sarah J. Maas’ YA series last autumn, but couldn’t entirely get into it. Despite the seemingly endless hype, I found it felt somewhat cliché and slow (please don’t kill me, BookTok). However, upon picking up the series again, I’ve found it’s grown on me. Whilst only having read up to book 3 - no spoilers, please - the more time I spend in Erilea, the fonder I seem to become. In particular, I’ve enjoyed watching characters grapple with new identities, forbidden powers and shifting dynamics as books progress, especially when that’s internal.

Robinson Crusoe

A book that has been haunting me from my bookshelf for the past two years has officially been conquered! Why did it take me so long to get to this? I loved chewing through this book, and I’m glad to finally understand its 300 year legacy in pop-culture. There is also a lot to pick a part within the novel - notably its position as the colonial 18th-century wet dream. An adventuring Christian is washed up on an island of his own; rules over the land independently before encountering ‘savages’ whom he can tame; and eventually builds himself a mini-empire before leaving for home - the British middle classes of the past are salivating at the thought. One could write much more on the topic, but this blog post is not the place!

Movies:

A Real Pain

Critically-acclaimed and for good reason, too. Such a beautiful film about difficult family dynamics, heritage and mental health.

The General

For a movie that seemed to be borderline confederate propaganda, this was a lot of fun! A massive action feature of the silent era, Keaton’s stunts paved the way for the Mission Impossible’s or Mad Max’s of today - albeit with less explosives. His wild slapstick antics as seen in this movie are such a joy to watch, especially when they involve trains.

The Watermelon Woman

I watched this one entirely on a whim, and I’m glad that I did. The first feature film directed by a black lesbian, viewers follow filmmaker Cheryle Dunye (played, also, by Cheryle Dunye), as she puts together a research film searching for an old black actress, the fictional Fae Richards, known for playing traditional ‘mammy’-type roles. I thought this was a wonderful watch, demonstrating the cultural position and strong spirit of seemingly invisible LGBTQ+ communities throughout history.

Playlist:

1. Break Stuff, Limp Bizkit

2. Asthma, P.O.D

3. One More Time, The Cure

4. July, July!, The Decemberists

5. A Ray of Sunshine, Wham!

6. Love My Way, The Psychedilic Furs

7. If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn (live and unplugged), Sleeping With Sirens

8. Can’t We Be Friends?, Frank Sinatra

9. Calm Before the Storm, Fall Out Boy

10. Holiness Cries (The entire EP!), Bloodlines

Both June and July have been scattered with magical adventures, which I think makes up for the never-ending heatwaves and exhaustion they’ve been accompanied by.

Despite not being able to engage in a lot creatively, what I have been able to do has been a great reminder of why I love art so much: holding the ability to capture places, memories and emotions that I and others find beauty in.

Hopefully I will have some more writing posted here in the coming month, but as my energy fluctuates, university preparation kicks in, and my summer-holiday hospitality job ramps-up, blogs may be scarce.

(I apologise if this post seemed a little disjointed, I’m still quite tired!)

Until next time,

Yours sincerely,

Owen @ ScribbleWhiskers

‘'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.'

Colossians 3:16