“Then we enter the strange period between Christmas and New Year, when time seems to muddle, a period when you have time to breathe. We keep finding ourselves asking: What day is it? What date?”
(May, 2020)

The Time Between Christmas and New Year

This feeling of not knowing the day or date, mirrors how it feels on Lundy for much of the year. For myself and others living here, this sense of in-between time is normal. We experience the ‘Twixmas’ feeling all year round. We don’t often know the exact day it is, only whether it’s a travel or changeover day. Life moves between clear points of activity, and the days in between can be quieter and less defined.

Why Twixmas Makes Me Think About Balance on Lundy

This period of Twixmas makes me think about balance — about pausing between all the merriment and recalibrating with rest. Finding equilibrium again, whether that’s something physical like going for a walk, or something less physical like reading a book.

Balance at this time of year can mean different things. It can be a balance between work and rest, between celebration and retreat, or between movement and stillness. For me, balance is both a mental and a physical practice. Practising Yoga reminds me of this concept. Balance is rarely about holding perfectly still, but is about movement and noticing when you need to adjust.

How the Lundy Landscape Demands Balance

On Lundy, balance is rarely abstract. It’s often very literal — shaped by wind, weather, and terrain (I’ve written before about the wind on Lundy). A walk here often asks you to pay attention to how you move through the landscape. This constant adjustment is a recurring theme in my walking practice. It also appears in my Pocket Drawings. Uneven ground, bogs, tussocks, and grassland create a physical challenge to staying on your feet.

Finding Balance at Lundy’s Quarry Beach

A walk on Quarry Beach makes me think about the importance of Physical balance. The boulders from the quarry, here run right down to the tide line. Crossing the beach requires care and adaptation. Sometimes this means moving slowly and deliberately on two feet. Other times, it means dropping down in a quadruped position, using hands and feet to stay steady. It isn’t elegant, but it works.

I think back to an earlier Summer. I found acts of physical balance in a variety of stone stacks left on Quarry Beach. Not only had their creator crossed the beach in an act of physical balance. But also the moments of concentration and care, in their building must have generated mental balance too.

In-Between Time Happens All Year on Lundy

On Lundy, these pauses between activity and retreat aren’t limited to the period between Christmas and New Year. These pauses occur year-round. Maybe that’s why I enjoy living here and why so many people love to visit. Life allows space for those in-between moments. These moments aren’t just saved for a single week at the end of the year, but are experienced throughout life here on Lundy,

References

May, K. (2020) Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. London: Rider.

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