Interesting article from the Guardian about “hutting” in Scotland and the Thousand Huts campaign which is led by Reforesting Scotland and is centred around the idea of the hut as a “place, an experience, an endeavour, an ideal for all to enjoy,” taking their lead from other countries in Northern Europe – such as Norway and Sweden, where hutting is long established. The campaign is also interested in the practical aspect of hutting alongside its social and community benefits, with the belief that “building huts with local timber can revive skills that all rural communities once took for granted and strengthen community resilience.”

From the Guardian (05/01/12):

Gerry Loose calls it “the long view”. Standing a few yards from his moss-carpeted wooden hut in a Stirlingshire forest, Loose gestures towards the hill-line of the Campsie Fells, their peaks and flanks dusted with snow. The air is crisp, sharpened by the winter chill.

The hut is Loose’s retreat from urban Glasgow. Built about 80 years ago, its weathered green paint now peeling, the cabin has three small rooms and an outdoor privy built from salvaged timber. Still lit by prewar gas lamps, it has no electricity, no mains water and a brisk walk takes him to the nearest standpipe, which frequently freezes in winter…

Read the full article on guardian.co.uk

A beautiful morning gives way to a miserable and bitterly cold afternoon, the wind whipping down the avenues of Berlin as drizzle falls in the ever encroaching darkness. It may be nicer in general to be out of doors, but sometimes a refuge is needed, whether it is the bookshop, the pub, a café or the living room. I choose Café Hilde on the corner of Prenzlauer Allee and Metzer Straße, a sanctuary of flickering candles, gentle music and good books to browse on the shelves. Continue reading →

Worth a look: Johnny Dawes video from the Guardian.co.uk

Climbing for me provided a means of self-expression. Ability, too, can mean wider social acceptance, even if only in a superficial “one of the gang” way. To a young, socially immature person, that grew as a cancer, to a stage where my climbing was taken out of my hands to an extent. The end of this lies in photographs, sponsorship, ugly tights and a dead end with a bolted door.

Quote from his website. His memoir has recently been released, and the Guardian also wrote a profile of him that was put online last week and has now been updated to include the video – which is quite astonishing, especially the footage of him climbing bolders with no hands or, at one point, on one leg…