All Change Please!

My sister asked me to lunch in Victoria this week.

It was the first time I contemplated travelling by tube since lockdown began seven months ago. After over 20 years of travelling by train and tube most days (I’ve been in London for a very long time) the familiar call of ‘all change please’ was a regular part of my daily rhythm.

This sudden change of direction, loss of all routine that we are so inherently built to operate within, has affected each and every one of us over the past seven months and will continue to do so, potentially forever. Some of these changes are welcome (more time with the children(?); the loss of commute; far more walking and an ability to (justifiably) not see those we’d rather not see). Others, far less so. One constant that I’ve appreciated, as the seasons change, is the inevitability of the leaves falling and the colours turning all things burnish. I’ve always loved Autumn. The sunshine days mixed with fresher air, the promise of a regeneration to come and the quiet anticipation of the tumble of Halloween/Guy Fawkes/Christmas in all too rapid succession. And so here we are again.

We were fortunate enough to hold our first ever ‘proper’ Boa outdoor photoshoot in the fabulous surroundings of the Chelsea Physic Garden. Not only has this been a much-loved place for me over many years (I love the principle of plants which heal), it also feels rather magical and personifies as much of the Boa brand as I can imagine any place doing. As the rain slashed down, we managed to keep our children entertained with puddles, mud and…yes…nature. In our planning we’d allowed for plenty of technology in our green room. In the end, we needed none of it. It doesn’t matter how far we’ve come, how advanced the technology, or how deep the pandemic runs, children will always love running through nature. Exploring, climbing, hiding and running. They did it all. We captured it on camera, mud splattered clothes and all.