Simple Pleasures

Well, I knew that we would be busy as soon as we got back from holiday, but the last few days have been just beyond reason. The trouble is of course that, having had a relaxing and stress-free time makes coming back to the daily routine, where it seems as if everybody has a claim on your time, both in and out of normal working hours, rather hard. instead of recounting what we did on our holiday, like we used to have to do on our first day back at school, I have chosen to highlight the things that made it so special to me.

We were talking to Trixie (in itself a highlight, and the subject of a separate post) about the evening she had spent in Town with another blogger, Loving Annie, who visits and writes about hotels and restaurants all over the world. The list of places she visited while in UK was simply mind-boggling, a who’s who of all the Michelin-starred restaurants within a hundred mile radius of London. While I found her reviews very readable and enjoyable, they might as well be describing an alien planet as far as I am concerned: I don’t posess such sophisticated tastes. So I decided to list the simple things that I experienced on holiday which brought me pleasure and filled me with a sense of well-being.

1) People at play: We stayed a few days with our good friends, George and Kat near London. On the Sunday afternoon, after a HUGE full English breakfast with all the trimmings (not just some of the trimmings, but ALL the trimmings, including black pudding) we went down to a park by the Thames. It was as if the stress and jostle of everyday life was forgotten, and everybody was out with their family in the sunshine. There were rugs and picnic hampers dotted around all over the grass, parents kicking footballs around with their kids, several impromptu games of cricket in progress, one bloke was demonstrating the finer points of rugby to about half a dozen kids, showing them how to do line-outs properly. Along the path by the river people were jogging , cycling or just sauntering along eating ice cream, as we were, stopping every so often to feed the ducks. On the river a regatta for small sailing dinghys was taking place. The whole scene was one of peace and one-ness with the world.

2) Our mountain retreat in North Wales: This is where we chose to spend the larger part of our break. A little cottage up the side of a valley, overlooking the town of Llanberis. I have already posted the view from the bedroom, but the view from the terrace outside was even better. On the day we arrived we were able to sit out there in the bright sunshine and relax with a cup of tea while watching the trains ascend Snowdon. Over the next few days we were able to get better acquainted with places such as Barmouth, Beddgelert and Betws-y-Coed which, until then, had just been names on a map but are now permanently linked to happy memories.

3) The Welsh Language: Although I don’t understand a word, I love the sound of it and I love the way that road signs, and virtually every other sign for that matter, are in Welsh as well as English (or should that be '...are in English as well as Welsh...'?). Heather chuckled at me one evening when I was channel-hopping with the TV and came to rest on S4C, the Welsh language Channel 4. Rhodri Morgan was holding forth, looking very stern and statesmanlike, and despite the fact that the only two words I understood during the whole thing were 'Alastair' and 'Darling', I just sat listening to him for a full 10 minutes (dare I suggest that this is longer than most Welshmen can take?). Two other moments spring to mind: We were travelling on one of the many narrow-gauge railways in the area and at one station a little boy of about 3 or 4 was standing on the platform watching the trains go by with someone who I assumed was his grandfather, both talking Welsh with each other. One evening in a pub in Caernarvon at the table next to ours were two young women of about 20-ish, obviously having a night on the town, chattting animatedly, also in Welsh. I don’t know why I am surprised by this. Perhaps I had assumed that it was a language kept artificially alive by official decree, but I was delighted to be proved wrong. People, young and old, were speaking it in their everyday lives and it is a joy to hear.

Enough for now. Heather always says I’m too long-winded, so I’ll finish off tomorrow.