Aspiring Author & Life Juggler
Ramblings, daft and humourous, dark and sad, but hopefully mostly happy
Along with the quad burn this morning, I’m feeling a melon and yoghurt breakfast coming on with … of course, that honey 🐝
What is it about outside eating which is so lovely?
Al-fresco my mother would correct me…. I wonder how she is…
Gold dust moments; The Holy Grail?
I have my eyesight to watch light filter through leaves moving in a breeze, and my hearing that I hear that same foliage; a varying rush of sound as it’s tested against stalks.
A 737 high high above, a faint boomb at 37,000 ft leaving white trails across the blue.
Resting after a morning’s exertion. A ‘pretty muddy’ cancer research 5K run. Two days ago I decide to join my daughter (how hard can it be? I was running 2K quite happily without stopping this time last year 😀) and this is not a serious event for most. It is about getting round, walking if necessary, negotiating pink inflatable obstacles and being prepared to get caked in mud on the way round.
Didn’t want the two paramedics on their bikes to be bored, so I gave them something to discuss. Y’know, just to make sure they weren’t asleep on the job.
Twang. Definitely ‘felt’ it go. Right calf … 2K in. “ooooh, that’s not good.” I grimace, hobbling immediately.
As the minutes tick by, along with the majority of the cerise-clad ladies from our 10:30 start group, daughter sweetly walks alongside me.
“It’s ok. We can walk the rest!” She turns and notes my facial expressions with each step, “or we can finish now?”.
No bloody way.
I have known far too many cancer sufferers and even right now know three dealing with that shit. Cancer Research is doing wonders for them and our future, as the various strains of this disease are likely to touch someone we know in the future. Hell, it could even be me one day, so I am here to give my support – and support the volunteers who’ve given their day to throwing buckets of mud at us I shall.
I sat and massaged offending calf which basically said to me “WTF were you thinking? Didn’t you even consider a sensible stretching and warming up session before you started? You plank 🙄”
I missed out the cargo nets and watched daughter hurl herself over them, groups of women all shapes and sizes and ages running and walking past my seated position on the scorched grass of our county town’s showground.
I hobbled on to the 3K mark, by which time I won’t say it had eased. That would be lying. But I’d discovered a style of gait which caused me only mild discomfort as opposed to nausea-inducing movement.
I may have looked less like an athlete and more like a drunken Saturday night reveller mixed with Long John Silver.
But I got round!
Half hour frozen peas then half hour hot water bottle. Hot and cold – usually the best encouragement for blood flow to the damaged area.
I’ll give it a day or two then ask my Physio friend to come round with her ultra sound … I can’t be lame for too long, not when I work for myself! Man of the Woods has been luscious and brought me tea and crunchy toast with melting butter – my favourite snack.
(Hey – least it doesn’t stop me reading or writing! 👌🏼 I’ve even been doing some chapter planning but wanted to pause and share my day with you peeps) 🌸
Any suggestions from doctors or physios, shall be much appreciated!!
Man of the Woods farms whilst simultaneously taking care of nature 🐝🐝🐝🐝
A cafe moment… and hopefully no ‘upskirt’ photo scenarios going on here. Just an ambitious writer hoping to progress her novel.
Daughter is fine (thank you readers for commenting and sending messages of support following my earlier post; I couldn’t relax and sleep and writing about it was therapeutic)
Daughter returned to London this morning and is excited about her onward journey to Nottingham to see old college friends. She’s made of tough stuff and won’t let bad experiences take her down 💃🏼💪🏼
Have you tried a frothy chai latte? I can highly recommend ☺️
I read this idly this morning at one point during my usual in and outs to the kitchen… didn’t think any more of it. Just one of those articles which won’t really affect me.
Until one phone call from twenty year old daughter at 10:30pm who wanted to update me on her evening’s events.
On a train in East Anglian travelling from Liverpool Street out onto a station not on the mainline. A journey she’s done many times before to her boyfriend’s. He was waiting for her as normal.
Two stops away, she’s reading her book having come straight from work, wearing black thick tights (she only wears the expensive ones from M&S) and a neat skirt which sits just above the knee when seated.
A middle aged lady gets up to get off and beckons daughter over and informs her that the mature gentleman she’s been sat next to has been taking some ‘inappropriate’ photos of her and she’d like her to take her business card as she’s going to report him to the police.
Daughter’s head now in spin, turns to look at man who meets her eyes, gets up and moves to different carriage.
Lady gets off but they’ve kept in touch and she’s checked daughter is ok, which she wasn’t. Luckily BF there to scoop up one now scared and worried daughter and the following two hours is spent on phone to police who ring her back to confirm Transport Police have looked at CCTV and have identified the carriage and can clearly see his iPad at a relevant angle.
What the fuck they are then planning to do about it I don’t know…..
Should the helpful lady have spoken up in the carriage the minute she noticed the photos (she’d been sat next to him whereas daughter was diagonally opposite in an aisle seat). My mind is racing that they were both in on it…. can’t be… she would not have called the police, would she.
I can’t sleep now. Daughter is fine although she says she feels violated. She’s to give one more official statement tomorrow …. but really – what can they do? She was not harmed or attacked in any way… though this lady was presumably attempting to ‘do the right thing’ ?
I mean yeah … she’s young and pretty and she’ll be letched over, daily. But usually it’s silently and she’ll never know it’s happening (but we all know it is) yet this guy had the gall to do what the new bill is hoping to what? STOP? You’re having a laugh … I’d like to see you/government put this one into practice. She needs, as we all do, to remain vigilant, be aware of iPhones and iPads positioned at suspicious angles and maybe even have the confident to ask “excuse me, are you taking photos?” and say it really loudly with lots of witnesses.
There are some serious creeps out there. I might Twitter about this …. I’m really angry 😡
Toes hold on to sand far beyond the beach,
Hose it off, yet it still grips.
The hiss of the breaking waves,
Relentless in their takeover of the beach,
Flattening castles built with effort
Throughout the days by enthusiastic toddlers
As the sun moves effortlessly across the sky.
Mothers with sleeping babies
Wrapped in body carriers and nuzzled close,
While dad’s run ragged after siblings
Attempts at cricket lasting a few minutes
Before squeals of delight that the ball is lost.
Crunching gravel as cars arrive and depart
Coins chinking onto palms in exchange
For takeout cappuccinos, a taste of home,
A pick me up, lip-smacking sighs of appreciation.
Older people sat in beach chairs,
Panamas still the most stylish form of shade.
Dogs panting, seagulls cawing, children crying
From stubbed toes, lost ice creams, tiredness.
The sounds of summer. I sneak to solitude
An empty holiday house, a rock in a cove,
A book page slides between my fingers,
And the sea and a more distant rolling sound,
Reminiscent of a lullaby
