Van Morrison
We have had the most beautiful weather the past few days. It makes me really appreciate living so close to the coast in such a beautiful part of the world.
I took Tues - Fri off work last week. A break was needed, but there was also some serious family business to attend to. It was a fairly heavy and serious week but we managed to finish it off with some relaxation time.
After a 6am sunrise swim yesterday morning, and a day spent by the sea with family and a dear friend, this morning was about more practical things. Back to work on Monday so washing, a supermarket shop and a few other messages to be done. Somewhat frustratingly the neighbours behind us decided to cut their fir trees, scattering cuttings into our garden. It happens every year and we usually (quite childishly, I know) throw the cuttings back over the fence into his garden to make a point! This year I decided to be bolder....... When we finished doing up our garden a few weeks ago we put up some solar lights. My husband fixed the wee solar panel bit to the top of the fence. The neighbour came and asked him to move it which he duly did, without fuss. Today as the ‘firnado’ came scattering into one of our lovingly made and planted new flowerbeds, I went out and made my presence known, with the full intention of asking him to come round and tidy up when he was finished! He saw me and said he’d be finished shortly and just to fire any cuttings back over into his garden. I softened a bit and laughed, saying “Sure that’s what we do every other year!” He commented that the garden looked lovely and I softened a bit more, jokingly telling him he’d better not wreck it with his cuttings! Unfortunately this year was worse than ever and one of our lovely wee beds was filled with wee snips of fir tree. We tidied it up as best we could but it was like trying to lift dandelion clocks that had been blown into the wind by an excited child.....scattered everywhere. We could’ve done it all day and still found more.
In the end up it got too warm and we decided to walk the dog and go on an adventure. We packed a picnic and headed off for a cliff top path overlooking the sea. No point trying to get close to the beach today.......covid-19 has forced people to appreciate what’s on their doorsteps, and indeed on other people’s doorsteps, and the North Coast is rammed!!
Thankfully, being local, we found a quieter place. There were still plenty of people about, but we were able to find a grassy spot of relative peace, right beside the sea. As we ate our picnic, we looked at all the different rock pools in front of us and pondered which ones might be suitable for swimming in. As we did so two girls came down to our wee patch of heaven. They headed off across the rocks to a pool we’d been admiring. We watched enviously as they put down their bags, stripped off their clothes to reveal their swimsuits, and tentatively entered the water. I wished so much that I had had mine with me! We even briefly considered going for a dip in our underwear but decided there were too many people, particularly families, on the path above.......don’t want to scare the children lol!!
When they got out we waited for them to come back past us so I could ask about the safety and ease of getting in and out of the pool. They both confirmed it was easy enough and, as we chatted on, it transpired that one of the girls is in remission following cancer treatment. We compared a few notes and both extolled the benefits of the sea air and sea dipping. It was wonderful to meet a stranger who completely understood and agreed with my assertion that it’s curative in so many ways. Serendipity strikes yet again!
The past few days have confirmed a few things for me;
- I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and on days like this there is nowhere else I’d rather be.
- My husband is the best ever. He even got up at 5.15am yesterday to sunrise dip with me because my Sea Sister is away in her motor home.
- The sea can cure all ills. There is nothing in this world to compare to time beside, and preferably in, it. Especially when your favourite people are with you.
We all needs days like this :) xx
