“You know what really makes that outfit, Mum? It’s the poo bag hanging out of the pocket of your dress?” In bad weather, you normally only see other dog walkers. Most people, rightly, reason that there will be better weather another day, or even that there will be another day.
Yesterday, the weather was awful. It was the first chilly day we’ve had since April and it rained. Most people’s lawns were so shocked that they showed everyone just how dead they actually were by going yellow. Birds tweeted excitedly and foxes gave birth noisily (I’m not sure if that’s related). Nature loved it. Humans not so much. It was the kind of weather for staying inside with the fire on, watching Disney films and eating cheese scones.
However, this was the first weekend people could legally make plans. All week, they had looked forward to going to see Great Aunt Mabel, having a BBQ in the garden with their old college mates or meeting up in the park with their families for a picnic. A lot of people faced these plans with grim determination.
Social media was full of pictures of people sitting with blankets and umbrella around a BBQ. There’s no way they were giving up those hard fought plans.
On our morning walk, the Long Suffering Husband, pointed out that it felt like a British Holiday down on the Quay. He was right, people were out, in the rain, determined to enjoy themselves. Groups stood with a beer and burger laughing about the rain. Grandchildren ran ahead ice cream in hand, while the two older generations discussed how anyone could want a 99 in this weather.
“I’ve never known anyone to take so long eating an ice cream,” Grandma said, while the little boy systematically worked the creamy swirl with his tiny tongue. “It’s a good job it’s not hot now.”
“Ha, you’re right, always look on the bright side,” the Mum replied.
I agreed with the LSH, there definitely was a British holiday vibe that wasn’t just to do with the rain. When you go on holiday, you’ve probably only got a week to see the places you want. You wake up, in your cottage on the Welsh coast, and it’s raining - again. Your choice is to sit in the cottage that doesn’t have all the comforts of home or get out there and do the things you’d planned. Obviously, it’s Wales, it’s going to rain tomorrow and you are only there for another 5 days, so you go to the beach. This is how many people in the park were treating yesterday.
We walked away from the quay and noticed another strange phenomenon. It was like being in a John le Carré spy novel. Men sat on either ends of benches, looking forward, as if they were pretending not to know each other. Often a small child would be playing in the foreground and both men would be watching him.
At some point the younger man would say, “So, how have you been?”
The older man would look straight forward.
“He made you this,” the younger man would say before sliding a piece of paper along the bench between them.
The older man would pick it up, look at it and a tear would appear in his eye.
I can’t wait until people can make plans that they can take inside again and be confident that they can cancel those that they do have because there will be better weather and another day tomorrow.
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