Hiraeth has been haunting me recently. It was carved into stone at Cardigan Quay as I ended my tenth anniversary coastwalk; the Bishop of Saint David's mentioned it the next day in his sermon. It's a Welsh word. Most sources I've consulted say it's impossible to accurately translate into English, but then all end up with the same translation: homesickness, a longing for home.
Home is such a strong notion. Krzysztof Kieslowski once said the sense of "home" is one thing that marks Europeans out from other people.
Greenbelt's theme for this year is "Standing in the Long Now". It sprang out of a discussion of home and exile amongst Trustees when I was reminded of Brian Eno's comment that he would like to live in the "Big Here and the Long Now". We latched onto the latter part but I'd like to not forget the former.
I hope in a future year we can return to the idea of Home. I keep wondering where mine is - somewhere by the sea, maybe?
All contents copyright © 1999-2010 Paul and Emma Bennett