This weather is just incredible - I am loving this Indian summer! It is going to come as a bit of a shock to the system when the temperatures plummet us back into Autumn later on this week.
E and I have really tried to make the most of this weekend. The last 2 weeks have been really busy for both of us, with us working last weekend and me starting a new job at the investment company again and hitting the ground running and E having to dash off to Switzerland for a funeral, sadly.
I must admit I haven't been quite so stressed for a while now...it was a good reminder of how it can be, when you don't seem to have much time to do anything and you can't sleep because the lists are running through your mind and you suddenly remember at 3 in the morning that you haven't included so and so on the contractual agreement!! Plus of course the weather was so wonderful and like so many of us, I was stuck inside - this wasn't the flexible and balanced working lifestyle I had imagined!! (and actually that is half the problem - when our expectations are not fulfilled!).
So it was with some relief that Friday evening arrived and we were able to go and enjoy low tide at Petit Bot before meeting a friend for a drink in the lovely gardens of Les Douves, with its magnificent oak tree and get a much needed early night as we both started to unwind a little. Phew!
Saturday we were awake early so E could fill the truck with branches from a tree job the weekend previously and we could get to the dump before it closes at 10am. I find this whole experience rather entertaining because you have to wear a bright yellow reflective vest and a hard hat if you are entering the area, despite the fact I am only ever wearing flipflops on my feet. Anyhow the whole place stinks, like badly. There is the smell of methane of course, but where you dump the green waste smells of decaying green waste, which makes me feel sick and it is literally filled with sea gulls, it must be some sort of seagull heaven.
What I like is the fact it makes me think about waste and recycling. I mean seriously, there are just so many plastic bags dumped in there and yet they are going to take forever to break down. And seriously, what are we going to do when that land fill has been filled up, how can we possibly keep managing all the waste produced over here.
The thing is, it could be so easy to get slack about recycling, but it really does make a difference, as does having some thought about the packaging you are buying from the outset. We were staying with a friend in London recently who doesn't recycle for one reason and another, and it felt strange, just putting everything into the bin. And back at the dump, all those plastic bags sticking out of the mounds, not going anywhere for a very, very long time.
Anyhow after the fun of the dump, we went for a swim at Grand Havre, which is a first for both of us. It was high tide and stunning, we had to pinch ourselves - here we were swimming in the sea on 1 October in bright sunshine! From there we enjoyed the warmth of the sun in the garden of the new cafe at Earlswood garden centre - I love it there, it always makes me think how peaceful it would be to teach Yoga in that sort of environment, like the greenhouse perhaps, with all the trees and plants. The place is alive with prana and I always want to take home all the pretty flowers, the herbs and the lavender!
In the afternoon it was time for some serious garden crashing and book reading before we decided we ought to do something more active and we headed out on the bikes. of course I got a puncture within 10 minutes of being out but as luck would have it, we were only a matter of minutes away from a bike shop in St Martins and catching them just before they closed they very kindly put a new tire on my bike!
From there we headed out beyond the airport and all the way through the lanes back on ourselves a little to the Gouffe. We cycled right down to the point and carried out bikes down the path towards the launching bit for the boats. In all my years of living on Guernsey I have never been down here and it was lovely to pass a group of Latvian youngsters hanging out together enjoying the views, and just as lovely to meet two guys fishing all the way at the bottom.
So we clambered down the rocks and onto the pebble beach below, which is rather incredible with the cliffs looming above, and offers a whole different perspective on the Gouffe generally, and was novel going swimming down there at low tide with all the sea weed, which irrationally scares me sometimes!!!
The trek back up the cliff was a little testing, what with having to carry the bike, but I stopped from time to time to feast on the scrumptious and plentiful blackberries lining the path. And you know the weirdest thing. Gorse. Yes, the gorse is back again, which I am sure is not normal, not at this time of year. It seems the weather is confusing nature now too.
A stunning day and with a lovely evening - a party to wish Sally a safe bon voyage as she leaves the Island shortly to go off travelling for a year or so. Great to meet some new people and sit around the bonfire staring into the flames - I certainly didn't have any trouble sleeping with the release of all that melatonin, a little like Tratak, one of the 6 Shatkarmas, which involves staring into a candle flame, and has the effect of increasing concentration, memory and mental power, reduces stress and tension and slows the rate of breathing.
Well all that swimming in the sea, cycling and staring into a fire certainly helped me to sleep well last night!
So today dawned sunny again, how wonderful, it reminds me of living in Australia! We made the most of the morning high tide again and after a Yoga practice we headed down to Petit Bot, which was beautiful. Needless to say we weren't alone, it is great to see so many people on the beach and in the sea this weekend. I wish i could take photos while swimming, it is stunning looking up at the cliffs above, all the vibrant colours and this incredibly blue sea. I love it here in Guernsey, we are so blessed to have such beauty on our doorstep.
We bought breakfast and some take away drinks and headed out to the model yacht pond and sat in the sunshine chatting and watching all the boats heading out to Herm before I headed down to my parents' house for a long lobster lunch in the garden and a chance to lie in the sun and read books again. And to think that it is the 2nd of October!
At tea time E and I headed back out for another swim, my second of the day and E's third!! It was low tide and we settled on Cobo to enjoy the setting sun and the warmer sea - it really does feel warmer on the West coast! A perfect way to start the Sunday evening slow down, and again so many people still out and about, Guernsey really is in its element in this weather, it shines!!
So all in all it has been an incredibly uplifting weekend for so many reasons, not least the sunshine and swimming, but all that fresh air and the conversations which such a range of people. Essentially I am reminded not to take life so seriously and to lighten up!!
With love and gratitude.
xxx
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