Rebels With Flaws is a way of life and a philosophy:

Avenda and I have been married for 28 years and have lived in wonderful places, travelled extensively, spent 11 years in France and now live in the gem of the South West that is Teignmouth, UK.

As Rebels we believe that we should take the opportunities that the universe sends our way. Learn the musical instrument, splash some paint on a canvas, go off on a solo trip, buy the campervan, live for a year in a different country. Give yourself permission. It may be uncomfortable and you may think you have failed but you will have journeyed forward and learned something. Failure is only feedback which you can use to get better. On the other hand you may succeed and have fun doing it.

‘Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life’.

Lives have become so ordered and constrained that we spend the best 40 years of our lives working to pay mortgages, bring up kids, have the latest this or that. I do know these things bring great joy to many people. However, I feel that each year people need to go off by themselves for at least a week to look at where they are in life. I’m not talking about a holiday but time spent with yourself and nature. A walking trip like the Camino de Santiago without the religious overtones, unless that is important to you.

We need to take a step back from time to time and really evaluate where we are in life. I completely understand that some people can’t see a way to and that’s not their fault. This would benefit the nation’s health and should be funded by the state.

As Rebels With Flaws we have, of course, succumbed to the normal way of life. We had the mortgage, jobs, kids, loans, credit cards, not enough month at the end of the money. So we’re not perfect and have many flaws which you’ll hear about over time.

We have taken chances making naive decisions like moving to France in 2001 thinking it would be easy to make a living. We consider ourselves lucky and things have, in general, worked out.

I’m know we’re not the only Rebels out there and would love to hear from you.