- I travelled to Wales, Belgium, Paris, Scotland, Switzerland, Iceland, Germany, Norway, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia, bringing my current 'countries I've frolicked nude in' list up to a respectable 18, across 5 continents. I discovered that I am an absolute idiot for never even thinking of getting some kind of air miles scheme, which is something other normal people do who have any shred of intelligence when travelling as much as I do. I hate myself whenever I realise how long ago I should have started one. I WILL sign up for one soon.
- I fainted for no apparent reason and inflicted a wobbly head and split lip on Paris.
- I started having piano lessons again (having quit at 17 during A-levels). It makes me incredibly happy. I learnt to play Liszt's Liebestraum no.3, though I'll probably never be able to do it with the expressiveness of Lang Lang's eyebrows.
- I was bored on a bus journey once and wrote a list of 'Silly, Brilliant and Memorable Places I've been Nude'. Here it is in its current form: at the Eiffel Tower, on a horse, en pointe in Death Valley (although I did a reduced deal for a shoot there with a Brit called Tony Parsons, in exchange for images, and after 2 years have STILL not seen any results from him, despite an enjoyable shoot and many polite reminders, which is disappointing), Lucerne Valley (that gorgeous cracked earth!), on top of a clown, in the Canberran bush with wild kangaroos, in a lavender field in Gloucestershire (I want to shoot there again so I can re-make my lavender shortbread), in a pay-by-the-hour hotel in Brussels (but the images were beautiful!), at Iceland's Geysir and the outer pools of the Blue Lagoon, high up in the snowy Swiss Alps, halfway up the stairs in Montmartre, in a German sunflower field, underwater in California, in Dubai, in the Black Forest, on a fish carved out of stone, on a Norwegian beach (the coldest I've ever experienced!), hanging off the tail of a (grounded) helicopter, in a Tuscan vineyard, in the London Hilton Metropole. Etc.
- I finished my second novel and am crossing my fingers that I'm getting somewhere with a new agent. I don't like to talk about this much because it means too much to me.
- I almost-but-not-quite cried when I compared house prices in Oxfordshire (the most expensive part of the UK, and annoyingly where I decided to be born and would very much like to stay) with those in Manchester, just 3 hours north (and chosen as a random example), where I could buy a house for literally a quarter of the price. The saving continues...
- I was interviewed for this feature, answering questions about my thoughts and experiences on this unconventional career of mine.
- I wrote this article about vanity.
- I wrote this self-esteem manifesto, 'For Women'.
...And I packed this blog full of new images once or twice each week.
Without further ado, my personal highlights and favourites, with huge thanks to the people who thought it a good idea to hire me and see what we could come up with. I hope to work with you all again!
From 'Damsels in Distress' (image by Keith Cooper, Oxfordshire):
From 'Life is but a Blur' (image by Keith Cooper, Oxfordshire):
From 'Snow Deer and Winter's Wonderland' (image by Karen Jones, Oxfordshire):
From 'Snow Deer and Winter's Wonderland' (image by Karen Jones, Oxfordshire):
From 'Pianos, Women and Houses' (image by OnePixArt, Beverley Hills):
From 'Lilies and Vanity' (image by Vernon Trent, Dusseldorf):
From 'Cascading Light' (image by Maximus Operandi, Northamptonshire):
From 'Cascading Light' (image by Maximus Operandi, Northamptonshire):
From 'House of Flying Daggers' (image taken as a behind-the-scenes shot on my mobile phone, Belgium):
From 'House of Flying Daggers' (image taken by Will White, London):
From ''I only Feel'*' (by Dimitri, Belgium):
From 'Vitality' (image by Chris Lloyd, Oxfordshire):
From 'Charcoal Metallics & Garden Gates' (image by Steven Bruce, Palm Springs):
From 'Pipe Cleaners and Autumn Leaves!' (image by Paul Viant, Wiltshire):
From 'Pipe Cleaners and Autumn Leaves!' (image by Paul Viant, Wiltshire):
From 'Poolside' (image by Jim Baab, California):
From 'Bulbs & Benches' (image by Paul Bartholomew, Oxfordshire):
From 'Sumptuous in Brussels' (image by Pieter Vandeur, Brussels):
From 'In Vivid Paint' (painting by Nurhilal Harsa, Turkey):
From 'Twigs, Sticks & Weaves' (image by Karen Jones, Milton Keynes):
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From 'Twigs, Sticks & Weaves' (image by Karen Jones, Milton Keynes):
From '24 hours in Pareeee!' (image by Jeremy Howitt, Paris):
From 'Queen's Well, Glen Esk' (image by Jim Furness, Scotland):
From 'Welsh Rain, Reflections' (image by Richard Spurdens, Wales):
From 'Welsh Rain, Reflections' (image by Richard Spurdens, Wales):
From 'Firebird' (image by Vanessa Mills, Cambridge):
From 'Moss, Kicks & Lochs' (image by Alex Ingram, Scottish Highlands):
From 'Moss, Kicks & Lochs' (image by Alex Ingram, Scottish Highlands):
From 'Moss, Kicks & Lochs' (image by Alex Ingram, Scottish Highlands):
From 'Greens and Lilacs' (image by Richard Maxim, Cambridge):
From 'Fires and Falls' (image by Graeme Delargy, Falls of Orchy, Scotland):
From 'Fires and Falls' (image by Graeme Delargy, Falls of Orchy, Scotland):
From 'La Source, River Adur' (image by Jeremy Howitt, Sussex):
From 'A Horse, Cosmic Skirt, Mints and Buttercups' (image by Karen Jones, Buckinghamshire):
From 'A Horse, Cosmic Skirt, Mints and Buttercups' (image by Karen Jones, Buckinghamshire):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Swiss Alps: Soaring through Landscapes' (image by Jim Furness, Switzerland):
From 'Locks and Leaves' (image by Steven Bruce, California):
From 'Heavenly Stairways' (image by Maximus Operandi, Northamptonshire):
From 'Heavenly Stairways' (image by Maximus Operandi, Northamptonshire):
From '5' (image by Sjur Roald, Sussex):
From '5' (image by Sjur Roald, Sussex):
From '5' (image by Sjur Roald, Sussex):
From 'Romance' (image by Kev, London):
From 'Romance' (image by Kev, London):
From 'Romance' (image by Kev, London):
From 'Tuition with Stefano Brunesci' (image by Stefano Brunesci, Wiltshire):
(Embarrassing outtake where I don't even look like myself:)
From 'Elephants' (image by Rayment Kirby, Sussex):
From 'Elephants' (image by Rayment Kirby, Sussex):
From 'Elephants' (image by Rayment Kirby, Sussex):
From 'Gaia, Jetty' (image by Jeremy Howitt, Sussex):
From 'Gaia, Jetty' (image by Jeremy Howitt, Sussex):
From 'Gaia, Jetty' (image by Jeremy Howitt, Sussex):
From 'Edwardian Ladies, Bridges and Stables' (image by Karen Jones, Buckinghamshire):
From 'Edwardian Ladies, Bridges and Stables' (image by Karen Jones, Buckinghamshire):
From 'Edwardian Ladies, Bridges and Stables' (image by Tony Nutley, Buckinghamshire):
From 'Edwardian Ladies, Bridges and Stables' (image by Karen Jones, Buckinghamshire):
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From 'Fee Tree' (image by Klaus Rieger, Germany):
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From 'Fee Tree' (image by Peter Gruener, Germany):
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From 'Monbachtal' (image by Steven Billups, Black Forest, Germany):
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From 'Morgan & Ellis Creative Experience Day: "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." Oscar Wilde*' (image by Scott Morgan, Bristol):
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From 'Morgan & Ellis Creative Experience Day: "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." Oscar Wilde*' (image by Denny Wong, Bristol):
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From 'Morgan & Ellis Creative Experience Day: "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." Oscar Wilde*' (image by Emma-Jane Lewis, Bristol):
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From 'Morgan & Ellis Creative Experience Day: "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." Oscar Wilde*' (image by Emma-Jane Lewis, Bristol):
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From 'Morgan & Ellis Creative Experience Day: "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." Oscar Wilde*' (image by Zoltan Sandor Nagi, Bristol):
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From 'Norwegian Black - On an Island' (image by Sjur Roald, Aalesund):
From 'Norwegian Black - On an Island' (image by Sjur Roald, Aalesund):
From 'Sheer Bellydance' (image by Evie Smith, Oxfordshire):
From 'Earth Blood' (image by Katie Eleanor, Hampstead Heath, London):
From 'Waiting in Hanoi' (image by Keith Cooper, Oxfordshire):
From 'Weather Forms & Sea Fans' (image by Rebecca Parker, Warwickshire):
From 'Weather Forms & Sea Fans' (image by Rebecca Parker, Warwickshire):
From 'Fish and Coconuts' (image by Steven Billups, Black Forest, Germany):
From 'Hills, Marsupials and Zoolander' (image by OnePixArt, Beverley Hills):
From 'Black Sheer Nude' (image by Warren Jopson, Brisbane):
From 'Black Sheer Nude' (image by Warren Jopson, Brisbane):
From 'Greensleeves' (image by Ken Pegg, Dorset):
From 'Greensleeves' (image by Ken Pegg, Dorset):
From 'Greensleeves' (image by Ken Pegg, Dorset):
From 'Greensleeves' (image by Ken Pegg, Dorset):
From 'Greensleeves' (image by Ken Pegg, Dorset):
From 'Anomaly' (image by Bjorn Hansen, Sydney):
From 'Anomaly' (image by Bjorn Hansen, Sydney):
From 'Sureline Shoreline' (image by Sjur Roald, Norway):
From 'Sureline Shoreline' (image by Sjur Roald, Norway):
From 'Sureline Shoreline' (image by Malvin Jan Dyb, Norway):
From 'Sureline Shoreline' (image by Malvin Jan Dyb, Norway):
From 'Amphitrite' (image by Peter Cassar, Geelong, Australia):
From 'Amphitrite' (image by Peter Cassar, Geelong, Australia):
From 'Blue Skies & Dagmar Falls' (image by Cam Attree, near Byron Bay, Australia):
From 'Blue Skies & Dagmar Falls' (image by Cam Attree, near Byron Bay, Australia):
From 'Blue Skies & Dagmar Falls' (image by Cam Attree, Dagmar Falls, near Sapphire Beach, Australia):
From 'Blue Skies & Dagmar Falls' (image by Cam Attree, Dagmar Falls, near Sapphire Beach, Australia):
From 'Rags and Riches' (image by Frits Kraefft, Holland):
So what's next for 2014? I change my mind every second about whether to do more or less of this or that, so that I can't even tell you much about my plans. I hope my adventures will continue in whatever way they think it best!
Also, here's a quote I like:
'Bertrand Russell's happiness increased by doing more of the things he enjoyed, eliminating unattainable wishes, and making the welfare of others more important than his own.' Clever man, wasn't he?
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU FROM ME! :-)
