It’s been a mixed week this week.
Hayfever – is it normal to still be getting hayfever in June? I spent several days this week doing comedy AH-CHOO! sneezes and trying to scratch my itchy eyes out of my head. What is in flower now that could be causing this? I remember being at the park recently and seeing clouds of white fluffy pollen stuck to the fence – is it some tree? is it just grass? I don’t know but I want this season to pass because I am quite fond of being able to breathe through my nose and see out of my eyes.
Fleetwood Mac – I’ve had the song “Hold Me” in my head since hearing it while we were last away in Ramsgate. It seemed like a good hot weather song so I spent an afternoon listening to it on repeat this week. Their song “Everywhere” is apparently a Millennial anthem. Of course, once you start thinking about something you hear it… well… everywhere. And so it is with me and Fleetwood Mac. Every shop, every bar, every time I switch on the radio (admittedly, Husband prefers Classic Hits radio so it goes with the territory), I hear Fleetwood Mac.
Summer shoe torture – the first hot weeks of summer are always hell on my feet. Feet which have been used to being wrapped up and cosseted away from sun and light for so many months are suddenly taken out of their cocoons and thrust into hot daylight and strappy sandals. And they react badly.
Blisters bloom, toes are rubbed raw, the balls of my feet swell and curve with redness like actual footballs. And the worst sin of all, the one that always catches me out, the one that will make me a social pariah, is my toes. My poor toes, forgotten in the rush to switch to sandal season, bare and naked of nail polish.
I can paint my toes but I can’t magic away a big painful blister on the ball of my foot. Stupid thing to do a few days before going away for a hiking holiday. But repeated applications of ice to reduce the heat and swelling did help. As did those Compeed blister plasters.
Life goals – I’ve got a new role model in MacKenzie Scott – if I have to be a billionaire, she is the kind of billionaire I want to be, giving away $4 billion to “women-led charities, food banks and Black colleges.” MacKenzie Scott might not be a name that’s familiar to you but if I also describe her as “Mrs Jeff Bezos of Amazon” you will know who I’m talking about.
Boy George turned 60 this week – That’s a bit of a shock. Culture Club was I think the first proper band I ever saw live. And here’s a fun fact, in my very early teenage years, I learned how to put on eye make (my mother’s and sister’s cast-offs) looking at pictures of Boy George (so if my eye makeup tends towards a drag queen kind of style, that’s the reason). Back in the day they referred to him as a gender bender. I can’t imagine anyone being able to say something like that about anyone now. Was he one of the first celebrities who contributed to breaking down gender boundaries? To remind you, here’s a link to one of my favourite Culture Club songs, one that I think has stood the test of time.
Holiday time is not healthy time – I’m writing this two days into holiday and I am already feeling tired and bloated with bad food. We haven’t done any hiking yet, but we have done lots of eating. And we’ve bought three more jigsaws.
But tomorrow is another day, and the start of another week, and the start of our hiking at last! We’re staring with 9 miles (14.5km) on the Monsal trail. I’m looking forward to testing out my almost-healed foot and hoping it will hold up.
Tales from Tobhamhor 