About

Hi, I’m Armorel. I’m British and was brought up in the Isles of Scilly — an archipelago situated 45km south-west of the coast of ‘mainland’ England, with a population of 2200, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Obtaining a BA Joint Hons. degree in French and Italian led me to working in Geneva, Switzerland, where I have lived since December 2001 apart from spending a total of nearly two years in Paris (where I lived and worked between July–December 2006, and January 2008 – May 2009). I work full-time as an Administrative Assistant, and write and maintain this blog during my leisure time.

The path I took from the jagged rocks of the Isles of Scilly to the craggy Alps, and which I continue to walk, has been far from smooth and, like so many paths in life, has been littered with false starts, trip-ups, wrong turnings and dead ends. This ‘Rocky Wanderings’ blog captures reflections that I find myself having about life whilst trying to deal with some of the emotions of it especially with the help of nature, music and travel. Although many of the blog posts are heavy, often describing scenes of loss and heartbreak, I think they are imbued with a sense of hopefulness.

Photo: Sitting in front of the Rocher de la Sentinelle and Notre-Dame de la Mer statue in Port-Blanc, Brittany, France.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said ‘We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope’.

These days having a blog almost seems to be a popular rite of passage, one of several that I have missed out on, like drinking shandy (beer mixed with lemonade) as a teenager — I went straight from not drinking beer to enjoying full-strength Welsh real ale! So, in launching this blog (February 2021) I feel as if I am doing something uncharacteristically trendy! Looking through this blog is unlikely to bring the pleasure or comfort that can be found in sipping real ale but I hope the posts featured here will reinforce to readers the truth that, however unimaginably troublesome some thoughts and feelings may be, it’s possible to experience them without being permanently overwhelmed by them. I also hope that this blog may encourage readers to seek enjoyment from life, no matter what trials they may be facing.  

A more detailed description of some of my rocky wanderings can be read at My rocky wanderings.

The letters for the ‘Rocky Wanderings’ blog header were created from pebbles arranged on rocks at Bar Point beach on St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, and were decorated with shells from that beach. The header background is a photo of sand from Bar Point. All the letters were composed and photographed, along with the sand, by Barbara Duncan and Bryony Lishman.