Follow the golden stripe road.

Almost two years ago I finished my masters degree. A couple of months before that I was a bridesmaid for my cousin. She's been more like a sister than a cousin and I've always said that not many people have known their best friend for their entire life.

There's not one second of my life that the cousin of mine hasn't been alive for and that I've not known her during.

Instead of giving us jewellery that we would never wear, our bridesmaid gifts were personal to us. I received these golden shoes. GOLDEN STRIPPED SHOES.

Weeks later, I was overwhelmed with the summer events – the stress, the busy-ness, the impending future – and I went to a graveyard that I had previously found in a park behind my house in Dundee.

On top of a really steep hill hidden under the trees I sat in a spot of sunlight that was breaking through the leaves. It was one of the most peaceful times in my life – being completely alone, but feeling like there was a thick peaceful happiness; stillness; and spiritual calm. The graves round about were mixed in age. Some had messages of love, some told the basics, others were steeped in icons and emblems from a life now gone. There was love and grief mixed in this completely desolate area. And the sun was perfect.

The summer is coming back, and it's time for a little more golden sparkle in my life.