Lu & Gordie
Exton
It is our attitudes and principles that help us navigate through life authentically. For Lu and Gordie, as artists and creatives, their connection and respect for the natural world around them is the driving force in their decision to live off grid. Lu’s shamanic beliefs are attuned to the earth and environment, and this aligns deeply with Gordie too.
They’ve inhabited their cottage, set within the Cornish Moors of West Penwith, for nearly 50 years. It’s the pivotal setting for their life together. When they first moved here, the cottage had no mains electricity or water, without which life at that time would have been seen as eccentric and unconventional. All their power comes from solar panels and windmills and their water from a bore hole that was eventually dug out. Today, their self-sufficient lifestyle is an example to us all as we face a devastating environmental crisis.
A lot of my time with Lu and Gordie was spent reminiscing. Their life is surrounded by layers of memory, attached to possessions that have gathered over the decades. During my visits I heard stories of their various special belongings, Lu spoke about how she came upon
the Zandra Rhodes curtains gifted from a neighbour, a special polar bear brooch, a wooden pull along toy horse, ‘Gladys’ the wooden sculpted Wolf, or the Roger Hilton Camel painting in the kitchen, to name just a few.
Items Gordie picked out tended to be things he himself had created; a drum made for Lu out of a hollowed-out log, ‘Gladys’ the wolf, the sturdy kitchen table which he crafted from huge planks of wood that had washed up on Gwenvor beach (that the whole family carried up the hill together!), his sketchbooks, and drawings. His important possessions were things he had crafted and given as gifts with love. Gordie is jack of all trades, yet master of all. He can put his mind to anything, and if something is broken, he finds a way to fix it.
If Lu’s presence is felt within their belongings, Gordie’s soul is contained within the roots and foundations. A lifetime worth of happiness, hardship, love, and everything in between are etched on the granite of this home. For Lu and Gordie, this house and everything within represents their very existence together.
