Coorie Quotes

“Art is the Flower. Life is the Green Leaf.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Being a tourist in your own country opens up parts of Scotland we never knew existed.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“No matter why we find ourselves in a city, human needs will always shine through.
We all seek time with other people and by ourselves.
Places to go to learn and be inspired.
To find coorie reference points we just need to look with fresh eyes at the same streets we've walked down hundreds of times.
Once we've learned to recognise coorie hallmarks, the only map we need is ourselves.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“All hail outdoorsy types.
Where would we be without them encouraging us up mountains or wheedling until we cave in and head into the wilderness with a sleeping bag on our back?
Camping - and its chi-chi cousin, glamping - lends itself perfectly to coorie.
Scotland's legal framework does, too: unlike England and Wales, where walkers must stay within set boundaries of the countryside, we can wander at whim.
The same rights apply to sleeping overnight, which makes wild camping one of the most treasured aspects to roaming in Scotland.
Hikers are safe in the knowledge that as long as they have a sensible tent and respect their surroundings, there is nothing to limit them.
Come nightfall the adventure is far from over.
In fact, a new one has just begun.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“In the daytime, set to work creating your coorie camp.
At night, it's time to appreciate it.
Technology has little place in coorie camping: this is a chance to chat properly, about ourselves, the universe and everything in between.
A bottle of whiskey may give way to the suggestion of skinny-dipping. I hear that's fun.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie camping is about leaving your expensive devices at home and feeling like a wildling for the weekend.
It's about taking turns to fetch water, boiling it and doling out cups of tea.
What feels like a chore at home becomes fun on a camping trip.
Decorate your tent with forest treasures until it looks like a woodland grotto and share memory games played in childhood with adult friends.
There is also the chance to get really good at making campfires.
Fire is our oldest and most ensuring form of heat and energy.
Is it any wonder it's so important to our coorie experience?”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie camping gives life to experimentation.
Recipes cobbled together with what's left in our packs are part of the fun.
Have you ever eaten a griddled cheese toastie in the woods for breakfast?
The excitement is in the preparation; someone firing up the kettle for a round of coffees, someone else getting the table (an upturned log) ready while the chef eases the sandwiches over, molten goo seeping from the sides and filling the air with the smell of roasted cheese.
The radio might be on low, but more likely everyone is waking up slowly, listening to the sounds of the woods and working together to create a greater good.
It's not what you'd eat at home.
Any sense of a schedule is left behind and the experience is richer for it.
Told you a griddle pan was the key to happiness.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie Tip: For a cosy light source guaranteed to withstand rain, buy battery operated fairy lights or frosted mini bulb string lights.
Wind them around your hand until they're tightly coiled then wedge into a mason jar before sealing the lid shut.
The result is a waterproof lamp worthy of a fairy glen.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Golden eagles soar through the skies during the day but when the sun dips below the waterline it's time to coorie down for nature's luminous attractions.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Is there any other place where a more vibrant palette of human behaviour can be observed than the Scottish pub?
Our drinking holes are social spaces, shelters and, with the rise of flexible working and free WiFi, informal offices.
The pub is a courtroom, a therapist's clinic, a place to let socks dry out after an arduous day orienteering.
Relationships begin and end in its confines.
Pub dogs become celebrities.
If we run with the myth that there are languages with fifty words for snow, Scots could match that with their own terms related to the act of drinking.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“It shows that the hangover is a chance for men and women of any background to bond, a universal language that has survived the test of time like a relic.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Scots have sat to sip alcohol with friends for centuries.
The coorie roadside coach houses with space to tether a horse may since have been upgraded into speakeasies with copper fittings but the original idea endures.
They are still a place to let thoughts uncoil after a tough day out in the world, where it is possible to be solitary and sociable at the same time.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie gardens all have a place that encourages reflection and peacefulness.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“A garden breaks the cycle of thoughts.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“I'm certain that our friends from around the world find it hilarious that as soon as the sun makes an appearance we rush to sit out on our patios and balconies clutching hot drinks, "Isn't it lovely?" we tell each other, our voices barely audible through the chatter of our teeth.
Even in summer the Scottish weather can be so changeable that we have learned to adapt our gardens, putting up seagrass walls to shield lawns and installing barbeques in sunken courtyards in an attempt to prevent being driven inside by the wind.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Like our homes, a garden is an extension of taste and preference.
It can be a hobby room, a zone for entertaining, a junkyard and a display of creativity.
Somewhere to take a gulp of air or wine - whichever is the most necessary.
The garden also works hard.
It is a place to hang washing, to store equipment, bikes and ladders, to hose down a muddy dog.
Those of us with gardens big enough to execute our visions prove that projects can be born combining many of these elements, sometimes even all.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie gardens have a common trait: there will be at least one place that encourages reflection and peacefulness.
A coorie spot could be a garden grotto, blending into the scenery with trained climbers concealing its form or a basic summerhouse with space to sit.
A balcony with a comfortable chair where you can turn your face to the sun and read a book is a perfect coorie space.
Even a shared back court with a picnic bench can be dressed with lanterns and potted plants to conjure the feeling of coorie.
Some intrepid souls might like to string a hammock out to evoke the ultimate sense of downtime.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Gardeners with coorie on the brain don't have to look far for inspiration.
An urban jungle can easily be created on a tiny city terrace.
Professional gardeners recommend looking around to see what context your outside space falls within to give you clues on design.
If the spires of a large granite church or leaves of a copper beech tree can be seen close by echo the colours and shapes.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“To start, planters large enough to host quick growing shrubbery work best on terraces but think about how much light your outside space receives.
Try foliage in shady spots and grasses in areas that are scorched by the wind.
Once established, greenery should also provide an extra layer of shelter to protect when you're sitting outside with a morning coffee.
Light sources are the final, crucial addition to coorie gardens - as they are in most ideas relating to the concept.
If your outside space has a pagoda or loggia, roof-hung lighting creates a beguiling grotto effect.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Charles Rennie Mackintosh, "Art is the Flower - Life is the Green Leaf.
Let every artist strive to make his flower a beautiful living thing, something that will convince the world that there may be, there are, things more precious more beautiful - more lasting than life itself.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie is like a wee cuddle, either with a person or in a blanket.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Food wasn't just there to fill us up.
It was a conversation starter to block unsure silences and feel grateful for.
Life doesn't get coorier than that.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“A coorie home is one that both looks and feels good.
A squishy couch and a favourite mug filled with a steaming cup of tea can brighten the edges of even the most miserable day.
There must be a psychological reason behind why we get attached to certain items in our homes, whether it's dad's armchair with its alarmingly permanent bum groove or a wooden spoon with just the right shaped handle.
Answers on a postcard, please.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie interiors are ones that lift the spirits.
Sterile or overly cluttered spaces aren't very coorie because they don't make us want to spend time there with the people we love.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“William Morris, " Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“It's the combination of country air and no phone reception that does it for me.
If I want to stay inside my lochside cabin cooried in on a dreich day with a trashy magazine there's no stopping me.
The same goes for getting up early, pulling back the curtains and feeling the morning rays on my face.
Then it might be the perfect opportunity for hill running - either observing or taking part.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“If the best things in life are free, the second-best things cost only a handful of pennies.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Coorie believes in looking out for ways to make the most of what's around us, creating coorie on the cheap is easy.
An added bonus of many of these coorie activities is that they force us to slow down and ask deeper questions about where we are going and where we have been.
They also encourage collaboration, whether that's spending time with our nieces and nephews baking cakes, taking our dogs for a walk, combing the beach for shells or chatting to older generations about the history of our country.
There are countless ways to embody coorie into your days at work, days off, nights in the city and nights out in the wild.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Everyone needs a space in which they can hide from the world.
But it's not always easy to have one in your house.
The ideal scenario is to have a room away from the main thoroughfare of a home - and that's where a garden room comes in handy.”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way

“Humans + fire + food = happiness”
― Gabriella Bennett, The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way