Hey! Those geese are honking!
21 June, Summer Solstice - the longest day and the shortest night of the year.
Longest day began as a piece of irony I refused to find funny. I'd had an abysmal night and woke feeling sluggish and surprised at having finally managed to get some sleep. Ignored the day as long as possible then had a bath (never a good sign when the long dark teatime of the soul kicks in before noon). I crashed, woke, crashed, ate, crashed, read and crashed. That helped two hours go by. Then just as I dozed off, a friend called and not only gave me whining privileges but helped to make some of it better (thanks, Al).
After that, I dozed properly, then got dressed and went to meet Lara for a run. We haven't been out for two weeks so I was dreading it, but as it turned out, not only was it a gorgeous evening but we finally managed to complete our first target. That felt pretty damn fine, let me tell you. I even did a lap of honour round a tree at the end of it :)
It's becoming like Twister though. Last time, the move I made was Left Ankle Swollen. Today it seems to be Right Knee Twinge. All very worrying. We both feel ridiculous running around, even though we both don't look it, but as Lara gets spots before her eyes, I begin to wonder if one day I will just hack up a lung :)
She mentioned that Solstice plans were being made, so I pootled off to check my email (the one I was dreading and had spent the day avoiding wasn't there…) but my editor was moaning that I couldn't do the impossible for him (fine, you go do it) and I made it back up the road in time for seven of us to head down to Portobello beach, pick up Mo, get on to the sand and light a fire.
I've just had the most wonderful evening. For a day that started and passed in miserable anticipation, it was glorious that it ended so well. Me, Seth, Lara, Graham, Eireann, Sharon, Alex and Mo ate, drank, talked nonsense, took ninja pictures, made sandy pigs nipples, watched geese honk their happy way overhead and watched the tide come in, change its mind and go all the way back out again.
Some time after Mo left (well after 1am), we saw an illumination flare and, calling the coastguard, discovered they were already out looking for a lost boat. After that, I lay on my blanket and dozed by the fire, hearing intermittent bits of conversation and occasionally just watching the embers flicker and dance to their own orange-blue tune. For quite a while, there was no grief in my head and lying on cool sand, warmed by the fire and listening to the tide sneaking in, it just wasn't possible to be angry or disappointed or harangued or pressured, and that felt really good.
The sun set, the sky went midnight blue for a little while, then it all started to get light again and as we drove away at half past three, the sea was just turning a deep greeny blue, and it was hard to tell where sea stopped and sky started.
We drove up Arthur's Seat, just to see the clouds turn a little pink and the sky get a notch bluer. The city was quiet, the air still warm and entire committee meetings of seagulls were colluding on lawns and Lara said it was so they could learn the new day's dance steps :)
The longest day became a fun evening, a languid night and a peaceful dawn, and I'm not sure I can or want to ask for more than that.
Longest day began as a piece of irony I refused to find funny. I'd had an abysmal night and woke feeling sluggish and surprised at having finally managed to get some sleep. Ignored the day as long as possible then had a bath (never a good sign when the long dark teatime of the soul kicks in before noon). I crashed, woke, crashed, ate, crashed, read and crashed. That helped two hours go by. Then just as I dozed off, a friend called and not only gave me whining privileges but helped to make some of it better (thanks, Al).
After that, I dozed properly, then got dressed and went to meet Lara for a run. We haven't been out for two weeks so I was dreading it, but as it turned out, not only was it a gorgeous evening but we finally managed to complete our first target. That felt pretty damn fine, let me tell you. I even did a lap of honour round a tree at the end of it :)
It's becoming like Twister though. Last time, the move I made was Left Ankle Swollen. Today it seems to be Right Knee Twinge. All very worrying. We both feel ridiculous running around, even though we both don't look it, but as Lara gets spots before her eyes, I begin to wonder if one day I will just hack up a lung :)
She mentioned that Solstice plans were being made, so I pootled off to check my email (the one I was dreading and had spent the day avoiding wasn't there…) but my editor was moaning that I couldn't do the impossible for him (fine, you go do it) and I made it back up the road in time for seven of us to head down to Portobello beach, pick up Mo, get on to the sand and light a fire.
I've just had the most wonderful evening. For a day that started and passed in miserable anticipation, it was glorious that it ended so well. Me, Seth, Lara, Graham, Eireann, Sharon, Alex and Mo ate, drank, talked nonsense, took ninja pictures, made sandy pigs nipples, watched geese honk their happy way overhead and watched the tide come in, change its mind and go all the way back out again.
Some time after Mo left (well after 1am), we saw an illumination flare and, calling the coastguard, discovered they were already out looking for a lost boat. After that, I lay on my blanket and dozed by the fire, hearing intermittent bits of conversation and occasionally just watching the embers flicker and dance to their own orange-blue tune. For quite a while, there was no grief in my head and lying on cool sand, warmed by the fire and listening to the tide sneaking in, it just wasn't possible to be angry or disappointed or harangued or pressured, and that felt really good.
The sun set, the sky went midnight blue for a little while, then it all started to get light again and as we drove away at half past three, the sea was just turning a deep greeny blue, and it was hard to tell where sea stopped and sky started.
We drove up Arthur's Seat, just to see the clouds turn a little pink and the sky get a notch bluer. The city was quiet, the air still warm and entire committee meetings of seagulls were colluding on lawns and Lara said it was so they could learn the new day's dance steps :)
The longest day became a fun evening, a languid night and a peaceful dawn, and I'm not sure I can or want to ask for more than that.
posted by Adele at 3:24 am
1 Comments:
Thank you write so well.
I had a great time, and still made it into work - amazing. For some reason I wasn't at all sleepy last night, I felt I could have stayed for hours more but the sensilbe person in me told me to try to get some sleep.
Still it was a very good night.
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