Do you find it strange when you don't know where the sea is and what direction the wind is blowing?

I never grew up near the sea but I have strong memories of many very happy holidays on the north coast of Cornwall and a growing feeling that I was going to have to live very close to the sea when I grew up - whenever that might actually be I would like to add! I’ve been living in the south west and close to the sea now for just about thirty years and I still don’t take a day of it for granted. A lot of what we do as a family is based around the sea and where we live, and the fact that going fishing isn’t remotely a mission is something that thrills me as much now as it first did when I arrived at Plymouth university and was able to fully and completely indulge my addiction and sort of forget to put much time into actually studying…………….

So whilst I will never be Devonian or Cornish or what have you, both our girls were born in Derriford hospital and I have lived close to the sea for far longer than I haven’t. Wherever I am around much of the south west I know where the sea or estuary is in relation to where I happen to be, and I know exactly where the wind is coming from. I will also most likely know the times and size of the tide plus what the moon is doing and quite possibly the actual sea conditions out on the coast and the state of the water in my local estuary. All this feels as natural and normal to me as it does putting on a pair of wellie boots to take the dog for a walk. Living close to the sea and all that it offers us feels normal and comforting and thrilling.

And then when I am somewhere far from the sea and I go for a walk and I don’t know where the wind is coming from it feels a bit strange. I am away for a couple of days seeing my folks because my dad is undergoing yet more cancer treatment - very specialist radiotherapy this time around - and I wanted to see them. It’s about a four hour drive to where my folks live and the part of the UK where I grew up, and whilst it’s really pretty and quiet and tucked out of the way and us three brothers had the most amazing childhood around here, the “need the sea” part of me is looking around and I have no idea in which direction the nearest bit of coastline might be. There’s a gentle breeze blowing outside while I type this, so whilst I am guessing the wind is somewhere from the north to east with how cold it feels, when I am at home I almost don’t need to think to know the wind direction. Yep, it’s reassuring and I like that.

Which doesn’t really mean anything at the end of the day save for the fact that I’m feeling a touch reflective this morning and the sort of stuff my dad keeps going through and battling so incredibly bravely I guess puts a few things into some sort of context. I want to grab any of the more positive news articles about where we might be with covid right now and dare to dream that perhaps we are on the road to getting our lives back. I am hoping big time that my dad’s radiotherapy is going to give him back his quality of life and the fact that he’s getting this treatment and being so well looked after during these times is pretty bloody incredible. I love doing this blog and I intend to carry on with it if you lot keep reading it - thank you! - so here’s to hoping that in a few years time we will be looking back on these times and wondering if it was all a bit of a bad dream.…………….