Introduction.

The revolution will not be televised. We just have to do it. Be it, even.

As I type, I am sat on a cross country train, earbuds in listening to good tunes, notepads and pens scattered across my half of the table I am sharing with two kind but generic looking folk who keep looking at each other and giggling, as I take photos of whatever I like the look of out the window, and hum along to the songs I’m being fed by shuffle function on my ‘phone. I am winding my way home from a cracking visit with the fella, (300 mile round trip to see each other sucks a bag of stinky balls but worth it), and I am so happy to be seeing my kids and dogs, and get back to my full time reality. I like my reality, a lot. Didn't always. There will be times again when I don’t, I am sure, because life is like that, but right now my reality rules. Loving this vibe, going to ride it out as long as I can and do all I can to see if it can become the norm. No reason why it shouldn't.

For years I have had what I always thought was a silly little day dream, something I wrongly believed I’d need a lottery win or some other financial windfall, to bring to fruition. My silly little day dream (well one of, no limit on silly little day dreams), was to one day open a coffee shop/cafe. No mochalotachoca type stuff, nothing pretentious or too hip, but to create a space where people can just be. Be with the kids. Be with your mates. Be with your colleagues. Be on your own. Be with your dog. Be with your partner. Just be.

My 42 years thus far have taught me many things. Like an absolute tonne of things. Mostly though, well most importantly, life has taught me two things which I try to live by on a moment to moment basis and, in this post-Capitalism, reality tv ate my brain world,  two things which strike me as more important than most other lessons learned: just be, no shits to who thinks what about who, to just be yourself, and get on with it all. That and be kind. We can all be grumpy buggers, can all snap when we shouldn't and make the odd sneepy comment but being kind is something people either instrinsically are or are not. I am a realist with hapless romantic tendencies, so to borrow the glass half full/empty analogy, I am much more of a ‘I’m-thirsty-is-there-anything-to-ease-that? Yes? Brilliant. Thank-you-glass-containing-even-a-drop-of-water’ kind of gal. As such, I know people can be absolute bastards because I have seen people be absolute bastards, but I will never stop believeing in kindness, and finding it in nearly everyone who ever crosses my path. However it is easy to be kind when you know and love a person. The kindness of strangers, though? That makes me feel like maybe one day everyone will have at least a warm place to sleep if not a roof over their heads, that random acts of cruelty may stop, and that society can fix itself, from within.

Paths cross, people meet, random connections are made and seemingly arbitrary events can actually lead to beautifully fortuetous happenings, and balls which you always thought had cemented to the path where you took your days dreams out for a wander now and then, suddenly become oiled and slick, pushed forward by the most whimsical sigh of excited breath, and gather momentum in a way you never allowed yourself to imagine. The day dream is becoming a reality. The balls are not just rolling but smoothly sliding along, impetus steering them down the right path, and Cultural Squatters is opening soon...