Chasing Fog: Finding Enchantment in a Cloud

About this event

“At first, I didn’t find fog – fog found me.”

Liminal, transformative and increasingly elusive – far from a simple cloud of water droplets, fog is a state of mind. As mist drifted through a copse of trees, turning a familiar place strange and otherworldly, Laura Pashby snapped a photograph and an obsession began.

Author and photographer Laura Pashby joins us for an evening of conversation about her new book, ‘Chasing Fog’. She hunts for fog, walks and swims in it, explores its often pivotal role in literature, mythology and history, as well as its environmental significance. There has been a 50 per cent drop in ‘fog events’ in the past fifty years, fog is drifting away without us noticing and the ecological impact could be calamitous.

Laura Pashby discusses her journeys to the foggiest places she can find; from immersing herself in Dartmoor’s dangerous fog, her searches for the Scottish haar, to her experiencing Venice’s magical mist, and the myths behind the River Severn’s fog and the shipwrecks it hides.

It’s easy to get lost in fog, but sometimes it’s where imperceptible things can be found, including in ourselves. Don’t miss this very special evening, a captivating meditation on fog and mist, a love song to weather and nature’s power to transform.

Laura will be in conversation with Sarah Rigby, Publishing Director at Elliott and Thompson.

The event will be followed by a book signing.
Laura’s book will be for sale at its cost price of £18.99 during the event, or we are offering a special pre-order deal of £22 for a signed book & ticket option.

On Chasing Fog:

‘A lovely meander through foggy landscapes and their meanings’ Katherine May

‘A charming exploration of fog, mist, haar and haze that captures that dreamy state of mind that accompanies it and the uncanny aspect of low visibility. Laura Pashby guides us across gloomy moors lit by will-o-the-wisps, past clifftop beacons beating out their loyal rhythms, and through the labyrinthine, mist-wreathed streets of Venice. Eerie and evocative’ Cal Flyn

‘An ode to the magic of the unknown, the unpredictable and the unseen; Chasing Fog is both fascinating and gorgeously written. Haunting and beautiful, this surprising mix of nature-writing and memoir draws us into the strange and nuanced world of fog and reminds us of the potency and potential in moments of dream and drift’ Rebecca Schiller

‘This clear-sighted and loving ode to fog is a beautiful adventure’ Alice Vincent

A lifelong bookworm and lover of stories, Laura Pashby graduated from the University of Bristol with an MA in Modern & Contemporary Poetry. Her obsession with photography began on her 15th birthday when her dad gave me an Olympus Trip camera and made their downstairs cloakroom into a home darkroom. She’s been taking pictures ever since. Her work has appeared in publications including The Simple Things, Ernest Journal, Project Calm, Country Homes & Interiors, Oh Magazine, Metro and Lionheart. She spent three years as the Deputy Editor of independent lifestyle magazine 91. You can find her on Instagram @circleofpines.

Website: laurapashby.com