Writing

Essays on place, culture and the spaces in between.

We Are Guests
Culture Joel Beighton Culture Joel Beighton

We Are Guests

We are sat on a busy bus in Naxos, heading into the island’s mountainous interior for a day exploring its villages.

Just outside Naxos Town, two local women climb aboard, each carrying a shopping bag from the morning market. The bus is already full, mostly with tourists like me. There isn’t a spare seat between us.

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Comfortable At Being Uncomfortable
Place Joel Beighton Place Joel Beighton

Comfortable At Being Uncomfortable

I’m sat silently, with just a coffee for company.

The sun is still rising, yet it is already baking my skin. A shimmer dances across the dark blue sea separating this Greek island from the next. Every so often, a gentle breeze carries the scent of a nearby fig tree. Fresh, sweet and quietly complex.

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