We did indeed go and have a paddle before we went home, and very splendid it was too.
Oliver had gone, of course, leaving the three of us in the camper van, plus the two dogs and two cats, of course, so this morning there were only seven bodies in the camper van. By recent standards it felt almost empty.
It was a good job that Oliver had gone, actually, because we discovered that one of the cats had been sick in his bed, which might not have been a happy discovery had he needed to sleep in it.
We woke up to truly blue skies and bright sunshine, with just the first cool edge of autumn in it. We compelled the cats to remain behind in the van, much to their irritation, and we ambled off through the woods and down to the sea.
The woods smelled glorious, of pine and damp fungus and moss, and I did not at all want to rush, but of course we could not hang about for too long because of having to go home before the day was done.
The sea was icy cold and crystal clear, and we splashed happily through the shallow waters along the beach for miles. I do not know if it was really miles because of not exactly knowing what a mile might look like. It is a very long beach, and Lucy said we had walked for nine thousand steps before her phone went flat halfway, so it was much longer than that, but I do not know how far nine thousand steps might take you either.
I am glad I do not need to count my steps every day, it sounds like a very boring thing to be concerned about. Also in the taxi I once got flagged by some people who had stopped miles from anywhere and wanted to be taken home, because they had used up all their steps for the day, which seemed to me to be one of the most brainless things I had ever heard.
In any case all dietary value to the exercise was completely lost when we got to the far side of the beach and climbed up the dunes to the car park, where there was a very handy van selling beef burgers, so we all had cheeseburgers and chips for breakfast, so I was not even any thinner when we got back again. We shared a bit with the dogs but did not bring any back for the cats, because a corner of beef burger is not at all an easy thing to fit in the pocket of your trousers, so the poor cats missed it.
Obviously eventually we had to go, so we loaded up with a sigh and began the long, longetty long journey home.
It took ages and ages, but we listened to a story about a policeman, and ate a whole box of grapes, so it went quickly.
We have arrived.
I am writing from bed whilst Mark has his shower.
We got here just after eleven o’clock and were very pleased about having made such good time.
It is all over. The summer is beginning to fade, and Mark is back at work tomorrow. Oliver has gone, and Lucy is planning for her new job in Manchester.
Oliver’s girlfriend is also going to Manchester. She has got a place at Salford University where she is going to do wonderfully arty things. We are all very impressed.
I am going to go and sleep. It seems to have been a very busy day.
