Hello, and happy New Year!

I hope you are easing into 2025 gently. We are still deep in midwinter and this isn't a time for all the 'New Year New You' nonsense being peddled by the same capitalist machine that, not two weeks ago, was encouraging over-indulgence and mindless consumption. This is absolutely a time for dreaming, but dreaming as in sleeping, as in seeds buried deep in the earth that will come to life in the spring. You've got time...

This month's newsletter is a round-up of recent posts you might have missed, plus a reminder that I am taking bookings for 2025 away-days now – if you and your team want to escape to Cornwall for a deep dive into what this year holds for your purpose-driven business, hit reply or book a call directly into my calender and let's talk. (Cold water swimming is optional!)

31 DAYS OF DIPPING >>

What I learned from getting in cold water every day for a month... my Surfers Against Sewage Dip a Day challenge.

Day 1: I go because everyone else is and I think I should. It’s magical.

Day 2: I need time alone, so I don’t go, but later squeal under ice buckets with new friends.

Day 3: More squealing as we jump waves the setting sun is turning translucent yellow-green.

Day 4: I go, tentatively and alone, to a sandy pool co-created by a rock and the retreating tide.

Day 5: I find another tidal pool closer to home and swim right across it.

Day 6: Avoiding sewage alerts, I head further afield and remember why I love this.

Day 7: A midday tidal pool swim feels like a tiny slide of holiday in the middle of a workday.

Day 8: It’s cold, it’s raining, it’s windy and I remember why I hate this.

Day 9: I meet my sister and feel brave for following her into choppier waters than I’m used to.

Day 10: The sun is shining and I think I’ve found my favourite swimming spot.

Day 11: I dive into the sunset reflected in a rockpool instead of going to the supermarket.

Day 12: I am invited for a sunrise swim with a new friend who usually swims alone.

Day 13: I go back to my now-favourite spot and don a bobble hat.

Day 14: I swim over rocks at high tide and a man with a dog tells me I’m doing it wrong.

Day 15: I repeat ‘you only have to dunk’ over and over to myself, dunk, then swim three laps.

Day 16: I watch the waves with a coffee afterwards and meet a puppy and his Mum.

Day 17: The moon is full and the sea is wild and I go in anyway.

Day 18: I almost get cut off by the incoming tide, but get away with wet trouserlegs.

Day 19: I hear wild geese calling out, ‘harsh and exciting,’ like a Mary Oliver poem.

Day 20: I come face to face with a spaniel, swimming towards me/his tennis ball.

Day 21: It’s sunny and the water’s clear and I can’t believe how much joy this brings me.

Day 22: I swim at my favourite spot for a third consecutive day and it feels like part of who I am.

Day 23: A cormorant dives in just as I am getting out and takes my breath away.

Day 24: I don’t want to get in, but I get in anyway and then I don’t want to get out.

Day 25: ‘When does it feel good?’ you say as I dry myself in a biting cold wind. ‘Now!’ I say.

Day 26: I make it just before dark and am proud that I kept a promise to myself.

Day 27: I swim lengths of the beach on a sunny day avoiding the seaweed.

Day 28: I watch waves with my coffee afterwards and wonder why start the day any other way.

Day 29: I feel part of something as I chat with another bobble-hatted dipper.

Day 30: It’s cold and rough and I feel a bit seasick.

Day 31: The water feels like ice, but I love it – and I did it!

I publish bi-weekly content like this over on my substack, Brackish. It’s still on its wobbly baby-deer legs so please be gentle, but I am hoping that this is where I can share more personal stories, the nature writing I am increasingly drawn and my journey as a Blue Health Coach??.

The strapline is “A Substack for walkers, women and wonder-seekers” and you can find a bit more about what I mean by each of those three terms on my first post.

Expect micro-stories about nature, occasional salty language and maybe even a poem or two!

For paid subscribers, I will also be offering a nature-connection/reflection prompt every Thursday which I am really looking forward to.

Check it out here, subscribe, tell your friends — and I’ll see you over there.

AGENDA >>

In traditional or “pure” coaching, the coach should be neutral about the client's aims. If you come to me with the goal of getting a high-powered job at Shell, to make more money for shareholders and to hell with the planet, then I would have to help you do just that.

And that’s why I’m not a traditional coach!

Now, of course, it’s not quite that simple - coaches will often choose clients based on a values-fit to make sure they don’t find themselves in that position.

But in Blue Health Coaching??we go a little further - because our conversations are between the client, the coach and the ocean, my job is to help you work out what’s best for you AND the blue spaces you care about.

So I’m always going to empower you to make imperfect progress towards genuine environmentalism, whether that’s making big changes in your business or picking litter with me as we walk along the beach. (Turns out, that’s what those big pockets in your?dryrobe?are for!)

Head over to my website to find out more and book a Curiosity Call to get your questions answered.

THE OCEAN INSIDE US >>

“Our bodies have been shaped and formed by water - we have an ocean inside us.

Like the Earth, we are 70% saltwater.*

In 1897 French physician Rene Quinton discovered a 98% match between our blood plasma and sea water, or what we called ‘ocean plasma’.

Like our mammalian cousins, dolphins and seals, we too have evolutionary aquatic markers.

Take for example our brains - simply looking at water changes our brain wave frequency, putting us in a more meditative state.

Consider our nervous and endocrine system - cold water stimulates the vagus nerve, calming our fight or flight response, lowering cortisol and releasing feel-good hormones."

Source: Oceanographic Magazine

It makes so much sense doesn’t it? That feeling of calm when you get in the water - the way your earthly concerns just drift away… We are water beings. It makes sense that we sometimes feel beached.

I am an ICF-certified Blue Health Coach? with almost 25 years’ experience in the creative industries from a career in advertising to working as a journalist, author, podcaster and creative consultant in craft, design and sustainability.

Whether it’s a team building away-day or a strategic workshop for the C-suite, Blue Health Coaching? offers you a chance to step away from business as usual and into nature, where wide open spaces mean wide open thinking.

Expect a non-judgemental space to dive deep into the big questions, gentle accountability, and occasional salty language – and come back to the office with sand in your shoes, bright new ideas and the energy and drive to make them happen.

Drop me a DM to test the waters and let’s start planning your trip to Cornwall! ???????

Remember: your next breakthrough might be just a beach walk away. Connection isn't just about people – it's about connecting with ourselves, our teams, and the profound wisdom of the natural world.

In the meantime, stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful,