The Great Escape

Today I have a streaming nose, watery eyes and a throat that feels full of cut glass. To say nothing of my brain which has been reduced to scrambled eggs. What is it about colds that make us all feel the absolute pits? So to distract myself, I’m thinking Escapism.

It started at the weekend when Himself and I had a coffee down at Mylor Harbour before taking Mollie for a walk. Actually, he had a glass of wine and I had a coffee and he didn’t walk Moll, I did. But while we were imbibing, I saw a postcard ad for renting VW camper vans.

For some time I’ve been hankering after a holiday, to no avail. 1) We can’t afford it, 2) There is Moll to think about and we don’t want to put her in kennels and 3) If we could afford it, I don’t like hotels or B&Bs. 4) We can’t agree on the kind of holiday we’d like so we end up not going.

But this website – Campers in Cornwall made my heart leap in anticipation. Well, it gave a bit of a flutter, because I don’t expect we’ll actually get anywhere with this idea – but I can hope.

I don’t propose that we go anywhere far in a campervan, but we could explore, we could sleep in it, we could cook in it and we could take Moll. It would be like being back on the boat, except for the obvious absence of water.

It’s not cheap but what is nowadays? I got enough money for my birthday to pay for a weekend which would be all we’d need. So – go on, have a look. See what you think.
I can just see us trundling along the open roads, parking up for a picnic and a swim.

Of course there is the slight problem of how to convince Himself of this wondrous idea. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Wet wishes (as opposed to dreams)

It’s been a wet week here in Cornwall, prompted by my unfailing capacity to overempathise. I can’t help it – I think I was born with my emotions far too near the surface. It started with Graham’s extremely well written blog – see link on right hand side - which had me sobbing into my keyboard.

Then my friend Viv lost her dog. Another deluge from the Flowerpot department. Last night I met a friend for a drink and was trying to cheer her up but ended up telling her about Sammy and cried so much I choked on my wine. (What a waste.) Deb stared at me I spluttered and coughed, tears streaming down my face. Still, at least that took her mind off her own problems.

Lastly I’ve just finished Marley & Me by John Grogan – a wonderfully touching memoir about a completely mad but loveable dog and the effect he had on his family. I was reading that at 4.30am, sobbing into my pillow. Don’t read this if you’ve just lost your pet, but it’s a beautifully written story of farewells and new beginnings, and what dogs can teach us about life. Very heartwarming.

So in order to stop the floodates, I thought I’d write about something entirely different and one that will keep me dry (I hope).

Looking at the rotten correspondent’s blog yesterday, she asked what we would do with $25,000. By my maths, this equates to about £12,500 and the stipulation is that you have to spend it on yourself and yourself only. I find this difficult as I’m not good at spending money on myself, but here goes.

I’d buy a campervan** so we could take Mollie off for holidays. We don’t have holidays at the moment – they’re not in our budget, and I don’t like hotels or bed and breakfasts much, Himself doesn’t like camping, so a campervan would be ideal. We could take off and adventure when and where we felt like it. I’m not sure how much they cost, but knowing us we’d get a secondhand one.

What I’d really like is to live somewhere with a proper garden – we have a small, very secure yard where Mollie can go and frolic via the catflap (both cat and dog use it) but it’s not the same as a good bit of grass and trees and things – she can’t have a good run. That’s what I’d like but you can’t really just buy a garden and plonk it down next to your house. So -

I’d go to a supermarket and buy whatever caught my fancy – without worrying about the cost. Books, stationery (I love buying stationery), flowers, stuff for my tubs, wine (lots of), food and treats for Mollie and Buster. Am I allowed that?

I would then ring my dearest mates and we’d go out for a meal. Somewhere dog friendly of course.

What would you do?

** I've just told Himself who said he doesn't think much of the idea of a campervan. Spoilsport. So Moll, it's you and me, girl!