Yes, I am back in the land of 'no sleep' for the time being I think. It's 5.51am as I type this and I have been awake for a couple of hours although it feels like longer. I have already loaded and put on the dishwasher, fired up the tumble dryer, sorted out the airing cupboard.....and eaten some Pringles! Admittedly, it was only a few Pringles but, even so, Pringles at this time of the morning. Ridiculous.
Our latest news is that our house is on the market, we have had a few people looking around at it and the feedback, according to the estate agent at least, is all positive. We have had a couple around for a second viewing but I haven't heard anything else so we will have to wait and see how it goes.
Hubby and I spent Sunday afternoon looking around the local areas to where would like to move to and I viewed a couple of properties near to my beach hut but neither of the houses that I looked at were what we are looking for. One of them was immaculate but in the wrong area and the other, well....car tyres in the lounge is all you need to know.
I think the reason for my disrupted sleep pattern is due to the excitement/turmoil of the prospect of moving and the mountain of thoughts that are going through my head. Goodness knows what I'll be like if we actually sell this house. I'm really excited and positive about it all and I don't feel stressed but there is no other reason for my 'insomnia'.
Yesterday, August 4th 2014, saw the centenary of the start of World War 1, the war when so very many young men gave their lives for their country and, in a way, for us. The Lights Out campaign was organised, I believe, by the Royal British Legion and the idea was that as many people as possible across the UK switched their lights off for an hour between 2200 and 2300 and lit a candle as a mark of respect to those who gave their lives for us.
I dutifully purchased my candle, and couple more for 2 of my daughters, a few days before the event and I lit it last night and put the candle on my windowsill. I love candles,as do my girls, and I don't ever need an excuse to sit in candlelight and reminisce so last night was the perfect way to honour the fallen.
At about 10.30pm I took a drive around the local area to see if anyone else had switched their lights off. It was hard to tell really because there were no candles that I could see but there was certainly an air of quiet and calm and many houses were in complete darkness. Now, obviously, many folks go to bed at about that time so it's hard to tell but I like to think that the houses in darkness were taking the time to pay their respects.
Not so impressive was the drive through town and the area where the bars and clubs are that the youngsters frequent. There was no sign of Lights Out or respect there as far as I could see. There was the usual collection of lads walking around with bottles of beer in hand, young girls in short skirts and skyscraper heels clinging onto each other as they struggled to cross the road trying to avoid the traffic without falling over.
It struck me that most of them had no idea about the poignancy of the hour. They had probably not heard of the Lights Out campaign and I just felt sad for a minute. I heard myself give a disapproving 'tut' and a shake of the head and then told myself off for being such a misery guts and being so judgmental. I'm not sure why I felt that I had the authority to judge those people. They were just kids out having a good time and enjoying the summer evening. The sobering thought was that, 100 years ago, most of those lads with beers in hand would have been going off to war, to engage in battles that they couldn't imagine and see things that would live with them forever. Most of them would never come home. We are the lucky ones. I cannot imagine watching my son go off to war, not knowing if I would ever see him again, not having any contact with him, thinking about him all the time and trying to live a normal life.
On to lighter things and, after my viewings of the two properties that I mentioned earlier, I spent a wonderful afternoon at my hut with my dog. The weather was, once again, glorious. I had tea and biscuits, we went for a long walk and several short ones, I finished my latest book and then drank more tea. It was sublime.
We stayed so long that I had to go to the local shop and buy some dog food because it was way past his tea time and I was nowhere near ready to go home. I also brought a sandwich and some raspberries and cream. We went back to the hut, dog was fed and I ate a punnet of raspberries and a carton of double cream and sat about for a bit longer before we made our way home. It was a really lovely day.
I'm always surprised when my dog behaves himself and I'm not sure why to be honest. He's a good dog and he's never happier than when he's with people so for him to spend a whole day with me, right by my side, must have made a pleasant change for him.
This post is a bit all over the place for which I can only apologise. It's a bit like myself at the moment! I've just remembered that we went for a walk around Guildford castle grounds the other day because I wanted to see the WW1 flowerbed that I had heard about.
Isn't it sad that we take local things for granted? The castle grounds is a place that I spent a lot of time at when I was young (I remember playing draughts there on a giant draughts board) and I don't go there often these days but on the day that I went last week the sun was shining and the grounds were full of people having their lunch and a break from the office.
The list of names on the photo above is part of a monument at the castle grounds that lists the names of locals who were in the armed forces and who lost their lives in World War 2. One of those named is a relative of mine and to see his name there fills me with a sense of sadness but also a sense of pride.
I have little knowledge of what my relatives did in either of the wars and I was always hopeful of finding a hero amongst them. I know that one of my grandfathers spent time in India with the army but I don't know any more than that so to see my family name every time that I go to the castle and to know that the name is there for everyone to see and as a testament to my great great uncle's bravery and sacrifice makes me proud. Maybe I have found my hero.
Oh, and I have found the armadillo pics that I couldn't find for the last update! This little chap visited us when we were on our hols in Florida.
So I think that's it for now. Time for a cup of tea me thinks. Hopefully I will be back with good news re the house selling/hunting situation very soon. Keep everything crossed for me please!!
Have a great day.
Much love xxx
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