Holiday

This is a very short note because I am writing from my bed in the camper whilst Mark has his shower.

It has been the most splendid day.

As you know, we thought yesterday that we would have a day off, and so set off for Blackpool after work last night. In the end we arrived here at about half past two in the morning.

We anchored on Bispham promenade where my Dad joined us in the morning for coffee and a long walk up and down the beach whilst the dogs charged up and down chasing seagulls and getting soaked. It has been a glorious day, warm and mellow and sunny, everything you could possibly wish for on an unscheduled holiday at the seaside.

Mark and I swam. Well, we put our swimming costumes on and went in the sea. Mark was braver than me and dived in. I got knocked over by a big wave, the result was the same, which was that we both spent the rest of the day feeling very salty and with sticky hair.

It wasn’t at all cold really, probably because we rub ourselves over with ice every evening after our sauna, because we like the dizzy exhausted feeling that you get afterwards, and compared to that the sea was quite tepid, also possibly because of Heysham power station, Sellafield and the sewage works, all of which help to warm the sea up along that part of coast. I got some water in my mouth, you may not be surprised to hear that it tasted vile. There were lots of tiny crabs and bits of seaweed in the water, which also may have helped with the flavour.

After that we went into Blackpool and had a mill around the shops, and Mark bought me some more soap. This can only be because he loves me because his sense of smell has got awful as he has got older and so he doesn’t appreciate the niceness of having a fragrant wife any more.

We had a glass of wine in the beautiful and civilised Winter Gardens and another one with pasta for dinner in the camper van, and then when it went dark we walked into Blackpool centre and admired the lights and the Tower and watched the dodgems and the waltzers on the pier, and walked along the promenade looking happily at everything and eating chocolate covered doughnuts.

It was an ace day, and I am sorry to be so very brief, but Mark is out of the shower and my battery is almost flat, so normal service will be resumed tomorrow. It has been brilliant. There is nothing quite like the bleak darkness of the sea on one side of you, and the astonishing colours of the lights on the other. We have had an amazing day.

It is my bedtime, before I fall asleep  whilst writing. See you tomorrow.