The Blurb: July 2007

The Ultimate Night Walk

Friday 27 July 2007  7.15 pm

Woolacombe, via Ilfracombe, Combe Martin and Hunters Inn, to Lee Abbey, beginning at 1941 on Thursday 26 July, finished triumphantly at 0941 today, Friday 27 July.  Fourteen hours after we began, the group of five of us — Louise, Clare, Johannes, Rach and me — was exhausted by the end, aching, complaining and frankly sleep-walking, but we had done it.

We began in high spirits with cheesy chips and ice creams in a sunny Woolacombe on Thursday.  Singing merrily, we rounded Morte Point and covered the ground to Ilfracombe quickly and easily as darkness fell.  Elevenses at 10.30pm was on arrival at Ilfracombe (pictured).

The following section from Ilfracombe to Combe Martin was longer and trickier, being in the dark — but good fun.  Torches were pressed into service as the moon failed us, but we enjoyed it, and that brought us to lunch at 1am on a wobbly bench somewhere near Watermouth.

Hours went by: it was a short night, but still we eagerly waited for the first light of dawn to appear.  We were getting tired by this time, and quiet, as we made the hard slog to the highest point on the coast path — Great Hangman at 318m — and had there what has to be my most unusual fourses to date, right on 4am.

By this time dawn was indeed breaking, and so were we.  The distance (and difficulty) of the path between Great Hangman and Hunters Inn was orders of magnitude greater than I remembered, especially in our condition.  Putting one foot in front of the other became a big deal, as eyes closed and the path just never seemed to end.  Sunrise was a welcome beauty which did a lot to offset the pain.  I can't tell you how arduous those last five hours were, but I am so proud of all my companions (and myself) for finally making it back!

I don't know whether I'll ever do an all-night walk again.  I absolutely loved the challenge, but it's so much harder than the same walk in the daytime when you have slept!  That said, it was an awesome experience, and I'll never regret doing it for a second.
 
Comment on this entry

Journey to brightness

Sunday 22 July 2007  2.56 pm

Over the last few months, I have been investigating what I look like in bright colours.  Before this, I only wore navy, beige, brown and colours like that because I was scared to step out.

Then I started with a bright green jumper and that was good.  Next I added to the arsenal some fairly colourful Primark T-shirts, and a bright yellow one with answers to all the common guest questions on it.  Last month, it was a Marks and Spencer blue T-shirt, and on Thursday the Marks and Spencer sale (together with the persuasion of my friends!) brought me a yellow number and a rather arresting orange stripy one (pictured).

The only trouble is, people seem intimidated by it.  At three of the meals I served in this orange shirt, there were empty seats at my end of the table.  Still, I like it, and intend to wear it anyway.  People near me will just have to invest in some sunglasses.
 
Comment on this entry

It's raining

Friday 20 July 2007  8.55 pm

Apparently North Devon is not the only place where it is pouring with rain.  I hear there are no trains between London and Bristol, London and Devon, London and Wales ... London and anywhere this way, basically.  Very dramatic.  Floods everywhere.

I wonder if summer is still coming...

Ooh, and in other news, I've just noticed that it's the Great Book Launch tonight.  I reckon I should probably start reading Harry Potter at some point.  You know - for research into popular culture.  I've seen the first two films ... does that count for anything?  No, I didn't think so.

Right after "Lost For Words", "Velvet Elvis", "The Bloke's Bible" and "Celebrating Community" then, I'll begin.  Probably.
 
Comment on this entry

KerBINGs and gazebos

Monday 9 July 2007  9.13 pm

Hardened Scrabble players like me who own a Scrabble dictionary will know the feeling of flicking through it for a word, and catching sight of another on the way - one that sends shivers down your spine.

"Is that honestly a word?" you gasp, as you see such things as ZA being defined as "short for pizza" and ZZZS referring to sleep.

I had a similar moment recently, when I came across the word KERBING.  "Ker-BING?" I cried incredulously, stressing the second syllable.  "That is never a real word, any more than SHAZAM or PLOINK."

However I drew back slightly in shame when I looked at the definition.  "KERBING - material used for a kerb." Oh yes, all right, they can have that one.

In other Scrabble news, a friend of mine on Saturday played the word GAZEBOS across a triple letter and double word, and scored a total of 142 in a single turn.  With my all-time single-turn record standing at 96, I have to stand back and applaud that one!  (I scored 91 in the entire game.)
 
Comment on this entry

Birdsong from the fire alarm sirens

Wednesday 4 July 2007  8.41 pm

We had a fire drill this morning at Lee Abbey.  This was not in itself an unusual occurrence.  There was the typical orderly evacuation (hehe), and the typical standing in the Back Yard with our fingers in our ears until everyone was accounted for.

But one thing was different this time.  The sirens were on extra long, because we decided to follow the rules and not switch them off until the All Clear was given.  And something happened to my hearing that has never happened before...

As the sirens stopped, I heard the sound of birdsong.  Then when someone spoke, I heard birdsong over their voice: a bizarre chirpy noise over all the high frequencies of their sound.  And when I spoke, I heard the same over mine.

It was actually quite beautiful.  A memorable moment indeed.  We should have fire drills more often!
 
Comment on this entry