Sailing with Sam

I have always had a passion for writing. As a child I used to escape into a fantasy world of unicorns, fairies and elemental beings. I talked to them, wrote to them and wrote stories and poems about them. It is probably just as well that only I could read those labours of love. I am dyslexic and at that time of my life considered by the teachers and my parents to be illiterate. Reading was a prolonged agony and when writing my pencil scrawled across the page like a spider looking for an exit route. Perhaps I was trying to disguise my impossible spelling which, it appeared, only I could decode. I refused to be crushed and somehow created and maintained a deep self belief that I was smart, really smart. I clawed my way through the school system slowly hauling my way to the dizzy heights of the top stream, in a comprehensive school. I was just in time. I successfully passed my exams and qualified to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher. I live and work in Cyprus, a beautiful island in the Mediterranean. I moved here in 1994 having spent 13 years teaching at the British International School of Cairo (BISC), Egypt. I loved the adventure of living in Cairo. The daily challenges, the colours and smells not to mention the hustle and bustle of this noisy city. I had a car accident in the desert in 1985. Even those who have been in severe accidents, like myself, could learn to move elegantly, easily and comfortably. I moved to Cyprus, after 4 years training as a Feldenkrais Practitioner, creating a new direction in my life. Throughout my life I continued to write producing articles for magazines including a regular weekly column, children’s stories, poetry and very popular Mystery Dinners which I hosted and still host myself. In late 2011 I met Sam, and by early 2012 I was learning to sail. ＂Sailing with Sam＂ has been written from the heart, as a celebration of those challenging but gloriously exciting 6 months. Hopefully it will entice you to give it a go. You can follow our current adventures on www.sailingbeyond.com