Wednesday, July 12, 2006

A Day Out

Somehow today, that phrase has taken on a new meaning to me. A day out had always seemed to refer to having a trip out, to going somewhere for a few hours. Well, that was partially true too about today, but it seemed to have a deeper significance of having a day out today.

I set off this morning and went to Sunny Hunny (yes, it`s known as that, but if you`ve never heard it, I`m referring to Hunstanton), and it was sunny, it was a beautiful day. I parked along by a large stretch on grass on the cliffs and walked into the town, had a little wander round, then went and got myself some fish & chips for lunch, I took it back to the car, got my folding chair out and sat there on the grass looking at the sea, eating my plaice and chips. Delicious! Why does food taste better in the open air? The sea was like a mill pond, very blue, smooth and going out leaving a long stretch of golden sand. Having eaten my lunch, I got out my book and settled down to read, and it was just so peaceful sitting there, I could almost have dropped off to sleep!

A walk and an ice-cream later, it came to me, that today had seemed more than a day out at the sea-side, it was a “day out” of a busy life, a time to be me, a real rest from routine. That I had literally taken “a day out of the week” and actually done `nothing`, but had enjoyed it. I wasn`t that many miles from home, yet it seemed a world away. I`d appreciated the good things around me, the sea, the cooling breeze on the cliffs which kept it from being overpoweringly hot, the food, the quietness, the space, but most of all it had been `a day out` in the full sense of the meaning.

No comments: