A naked Britain - and a naked world
I first got interested in naturism, (defined in the Collins English Dictionary as 'the belief that nakedness is beneficial to health and emotional wellbeing) in the late-1980s, when one of my colleagues at my first place of work was a lady who didn't mind discussing where she and her husband went on their summer holidays.
They always had a fortnight in July at a naturist resort in the south of France and while she wasn't up to sharing her holiday pictures with us, she was quite happy to talk about naturism and its benefits.
So when my wife and I had our first holiday abroad after getting married, we were quite relaxed about finding that the beach outside our hotel on the Spanish Canary Island of Formentera was clothes-optional. And when we ventured on to it on the second day of our holiday, we were quite relaxed about stripping off.
That day in August 1991 was the last day that either of us wore a swimming costume of any kind.
When we came home, we hunted around on this newfangled thing called the internet to see if there were opportunities to enjoy nude leisure at home. We came across an organisation called British Naturism (bn.org.uk) and for the next 20 years, we were active members.
We visited nude swims all over the UK, we had holidays at naturist resorts at home and abroad and we visited naturist clubs across the country. And, of course, we were constantly nude at home. Although we don't have a garden, we benefited from the fact that our house looks East-West, so the sun shines through our windows from early in the morning until late at night. And being a fairly small property, keeping it warm doesn't cost a fortune.
But in December 2013, our lives changed beyond recognition. Out of the blue, I suffered a stroke which nearly killed me, put me in hospital for a month, left me in a wheelchair for four months and left me on walking sticks for two years.
To say it gave me a new perspective on life is putting it mildly. I was no longer prepared to wait for life to happen; I was going to go out and make it happen. Which meant I was determined to maintain and enhance my interest in naturism. I now write regularly for a naturist magazine (even though I can only type with one finger as a result of the stroke), I get out to naturist events and now that my wife and I are both retired, we are looking forward to a naked future, both in the UK and overseas.
Hence this blog. I know plenty of disabled naturists who are determined that their physical and mental problems will not stop them enjoying life. This blog, which I plan to update every fortnight, is for them, but also for everyone who has considered trying naturism but convinced themselves that they 'couldn't possibly' strip off in public.
I give talks about naturism and I often find that people, especially women, who are reticent at first begin to see the benefits once I've explained it.
Those benefits include increased body-confidence, a determination to beat body-shame issues and a willingness to say that 'this is me; I'm proud of me, I'm happy with how I look, I won't be beaten down by other people.''
This weekend, I attended the (clothes-optional) launch of a book of black-and-white photographs of naturists called ''Naked Britain'' by a fashion photographer called Amelia Allen.
Amelia decided to produce the book as an antidote to the fashion world of stick-thin models in expensive clothes wearing extravagant make-up. She wanted, in her words, to challenge mindsets, to cast aside the association of nudity with sex and sexuality and to put aside our cultural obsession with image, body shape and fashion sense.
Well, Hallelujah to that. I believe a 21st-century version of naturism, one not hidden behind the walls of secretive clubs occupied by sandal-wearing pensioners, is the way ahead. I believe people like Amelia can lead it; and I want this blog to play a small part.
My body is damaged to a degree by my stroke; but it's still in one piece and I'm proud of it. I'm certainly not ashamed of it and all its' various idiosyncrasies. And I hope, through this blog, to help others to be proud of, not ashamed of, their bodies.
They always had a fortnight in July at a naturist resort in the south of France and while she wasn't up to sharing her holiday pictures with us, she was quite happy to talk about naturism and its benefits.
So when my wife and I had our first holiday abroad after getting married, we were quite relaxed about finding that the beach outside our hotel on the Spanish Canary Island of Formentera was clothes-optional. And when we ventured on to it on the second day of our holiday, we were quite relaxed about stripping off.
That day in August 1991 was the last day that either of us wore a swimming costume of any kind.
When we came home, we hunted around on this newfangled thing called the internet to see if there were opportunities to enjoy nude leisure at home. We came across an organisation called British Naturism (bn.org.uk) and for the next 20 years, we were active members.
We visited nude swims all over the UK, we had holidays at naturist resorts at home and abroad and we visited naturist clubs across the country. And, of course, we were constantly nude at home. Although we don't have a garden, we benefited from the fact that our house looks East-West, so the sun shines through our windows from early in the morning until late at night. And being a fairly small property, keeping it warm doesn't cost a fortune.
But in December 2013, our lives changed beyond recognition. Out of the blue, I suffered a stroke which nearly killed me, put me in hospital for a month, left me in a wheelchair for four months and left me on walking sticks for two years.
To say it gave me a new perspective on life is putting it mildly. I was no longer prepared to wait for life to happen; I was going to go out and make it happen. Which meant I was determined to maintain and enhance my interest in naturism. I now write regularly for a naturist magazine (even though I can only type with one finger as a result of the stroke), I get out to naturist events and now that my wife and I are both retired, we are looking forward to a naked future, both in the UK and overseas.
Hence this blog. I know plenty of disabled naturists who are determined that their physical and mental problems will not stop them enjoying life. This blog, which I plan to update every fortnight, is for them, but also for everyone who has considered trying naturism but convinced themselves that they 'couldn't possibly' strip off in public.
I give talks about naturism and I often find that people, especially women, who are reticent at first begin to see the benefits once I've explained it.
Those benefits include increased body-confidence, a determination to beat body-shame issues and a willingness to say that 'this is me; I'm proud of me, I'm happy with how I look, I won't be beaten down by other people.''
This weekend, I attended the (clothes-optional) launch of a book of black-and-white photographs of naturists called ''Naked Britain'' by a fashion photographer called Amelia Allen.
Amelia decided to produce the book as an antidote to the fashion world of stick-thin models in expensive clothes wearing extravagant make-up. She wanted, in her words, to challenge mindsets, to cast aside the association of nudity with sex and sexuality and to put aside our cultural obsession with image, body shape and fashion sense.
Well, Hallelujah to that. I believe a 21st-century version of naturism, one not hidden behind the walls of secretive clubs occupied by sandal-wearing pensioners, is the way ahead. I believe people like Amelia can lead it; and I want this blog to play a small part.
My body is damaged to a degree by my stroke; but it's still in one piece and I'm proud of it. I'm certainly not ashamed of it and all its' various idiosyncrasies. And I hope, through this blog, to help others to be proud of, not ashamed of, their bodies.
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