The Importance of Place and Space
Listed on July 30, 2014 in Blogs!I’ve often heard stories of people relocating their lives in foreign parts. The choice seems idyllic but I sometimes think that this is all very superficial – a sort of very long holiday. Somehow or other I think it would begin to feel like a very rootless existence no matter how well one spoke the language or enjoyed the culture. Belonging is a much deeper sensibility and one which is difficult to define. I am sure we can all remember the attempts of politicians to define what it is to be British. Ultimately I am sure it is something deeply built up from decades of living in a place, an accumulation of hundreds of thousands experiences. And then we come to space which seems more temporary although arguably just as important as place. Space to do things, to think, to work, to eat, to sleep – the list could be a long one indeed. Having some quality space in our lives is critical for our sense of well-being and the less we have the more stressed we become. So what’s prompted these thoughts I hear you say? Well, I’ve just moved into a new office space at Dillington and it is fantastic! Formed from the almost redundant Speke Lodge, I now have a room which is quiet, light and three times bigger than my previous office which I shared with (the marvellous) Denise Borer. There is room to spread out my work and room to meet with colleagues. The place, of course, is Dillington. What a marvellous place with its deep sense of history and its contemporary relevance to community, culture, to business and education. There’s nothing superficial or slight here and I certainly feel better for it.
