Dignity - lost and found!

Brixham or Balamory?

Home again after three fantastic days in Devon, the highlight of which was several hours of rain! I never thought I would describe rain as a highlight, but in the current spell of sustained hot weather, it came as a welcome relief!
I would have preferred it if rained back home and provided a welcome watering for the garden in my absence, and stayed dry in Devon, but it was not to be. The rain didn't even make it sufficiently far north to rehydrate our garden! Pity.

Meanwhile, poor DH went off for his shower on Sunday morning and found it was just as wet outside the toilet block, as inside the shower cubicle, when he wanted to return to the van!

Saturday had been a very pleasant day spent on the beach at Goodrington. As that is a much sandier beach than our favourite sheltered spot, we thought we might swim, but there was a lot of very hazy cloud, which saved us from such rash endeavours. On Friday we had been applying regular smotherings of suncream, on Saturday only one application was required! What a difference a day makes...

Train-tastic

Goodrington is a great beach for trainspotters, as the Dartmouth Steam Railway runs along an embankment behind the beach. A tad disconcerting if a train passes by when you are visiting the public conveniences at the southern end of the beach, as the line is above the roof level, so it sounds like the train is in the next cubicle!

The trains give an exuberant 'TOOT' as they pass by the beach, guaranteed to make any snoozing sunbathers jump, as I found to my cost!
"Did it wake you up? asked DH, observing my undignified jump, and knowing full well that it had!

Sunday started rainy, drying up after lunch. It then got progressively warmer and warmer! We visited Brixham. We started off by the breakwater and then went for a walk around the harbour. At this point, the cloud finally cleared and the temperatures rocketed.
"Shall we have an ice cream?" I suggested
"Don't mind if I do," replied the KHT.
So we did.
The KHT had double mint choc chip with a flake,
DH had strawberry and coffee, also with a flake.
I had salted caramel and coffee, embellished with a flake.
Well, it would have been rude not to have had the flake, wouldn't it!


After fish and chips, we ended up at Broadsands. It may have been evening, but it was so warm, that I ended up going in the sea, and very pleasant it was too!
A boat trip passed by, occupants waving enthusiastically. The KHT waved back.
"Wave Mum! You must wave to them," she ordered.
"I can't wave, I am in my swimming cossie", I thought to myself, but I waved anyway.
What had I to lose, but my dignity?

By now the tide had almost reached the walls, so DH retreated to a vantage point on a raised area halfway up the steps. This seemed a good idea until I realised I was going to have to get dressed up there! Normally, if I plan to get my cossie on, I wear a skirt, or have one with me. It just makes all the required manoeuvring much easier to manage, whilst maintaining one's dignity. I had no skirt and I was on a ledge 4ft in the air, attempting to get dressed under a towel, and failing. Regularly! Losing my dignity was becoming disconcertingly recurrent!

Mondays often seem to be busy days on the M5, as other people also go for long weekends.  No sooner were we home, than the washing machine was whirling its way through a succession of loads. Due to the warm windy weather, the washing was dry enough to come indoors by the time the next load was done! Then I had to fill the watering can and give emergency treatment to my flowering tubs. The ones at the front had obviously missed me, as they were wilting badly.  I did wonder if a lot of the plants would die, but when I took a sneaky peek out a few hours later most of them seemed to have revived. Dignity restored in one small area of life - it would have been embarrassing if they had all shrivelled up and died before the neighbours' very eyes...