Saturday 25 July 2015

Bonjour Paris

Never been to Paris, not properly any way, nor Disneyland. Now I get paid to go to both. Admittedly I have to take a load of kids with me and make sure I bring them all back again, but still, not bad as jobs go.
     Tomorrow I head to France, my first stay there since the year 2000. It's a long coach ride down (hopefully not delayed by Operation Stack, or any other tunnel issues) and then a week of activities and excursions in and around the capital. All this because things have quietened down at Winmarleigh for the summer after a busy few months, and it'll be a fun change to the routine.
     I don't speak French, or at least no more than the average Englishman, but I'm still working on that.

Saturday 18 July 2015

Waves on the western shore

We made our way to the western edge of the island and on to a small strip of land, which at high tide is almost an island of its own. The wind was blowing fiercely off the water and we battled against it as we descended the stony beach. The sea was a foaming mass of white breakers, and large waves attacked the shore. With the tide coming in too, we turned and walked down the beach. In land the hills were layered in cloud but above us and out to sea the sky was blue and it would have been warm if not for the vicious gusts that battered us. Not being the place to linger we pointed our backs to the sea and the wind and were driven back up to the road.

 

Monday 13 July 2015

Comfort Zone

First there is the Comfort Zone, then there is the Stretch Zone, and finally the Panic Zone.

To enter the Stretch Zone is to give up your comforts, securities, and to trust that everything will be okay.

To enter the Panic Zone means you have been pushed too far and usually means you just give up.

To watch someone walk along a pole five metres in the air is comfortable for most people, to do it themselves is either a stretch or a reason to panic. But of course having done it and found themselves back on the ground and still alive, they want to do it again (mostly). It's the way it goes with most things. Until you trust you won't leave your comfort zone.

Still working on that.

Thursday 2 July 2015

Spatial Surprises

A few nights ago I had the pleasure of watching the sun go down in the west under a clear blue sky, while in the east, a full moon rose. The two lights opposed and yet in union, both large and bright. Slowly the sun dipped and disappeared while the moon seemed to grow, large and clear against the darkening horizon; it seemed to be within touching distance. The Moon, however, is further away than we often realise. In fact, did you know, it is possible to fit all of the other planets in our solar system (including Pluto) between the Earth and the Moon? The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400km, and even with the other eight giant orbiters of the Sun squashed in between there would still be more than 2,000km to spare!