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Up early for a run, but even at 7.30am it was too hot for me and I cut it short and walked back through the green fields in the boiling morning sun. Still a nice way to start the day.
And we were out pretty sharpish to take up our slot at Hitchin outdoor pool, on the last day of social distancing. With limited families in the large pool it was rather luxurious and with the sun beating down on us like a massive bar heater it felt very much like we were on holiday. We weren’t the only ones who felt like that. Another mum went out of her way to make the observation to us and talking to strangers is the kind of thing you only do on holiday, so she didn’t really need to use those actual words.
I was reminded of my own childhood (as usual) and days spent in Cheddar’s outdoor pool (don’t look for it, it’s not there any more), though my main memory is of the time a lady’s bosom had popped out of her swimming costume and she hadn’t noticed. Probably the greatest day of my childhood. I didn’t tell her. Probably more out of embarrassment than being a pre-teen perve.
No boobs out today or at least only my own. And no one wanted to look at those.
It’s a decent sized pool which we’ve never actually been to before and we bravely ventured into the deeper end before being told my the life guard that we couldn’t take our floaty noodles out that far. My wife took away the floats and I found myself struggling to keep myself and my daughter above water. I could hold her up, but I couldn’t actually move any closer to safety. Even as my life flashed before my eyes (it was mainly only the lady in Cheddar swimming pool’s breast) I found it amusing that we were going to die because of the life guard. You have to enjoy ironies even as they kill you. My wife chucked me back the noodle and I somehow managed to scramble my way to the bank. Frightened the wits out of my mum and dad. And you can bet they had me taught to swim pretty soon after that…. Oh no, sorry. That’s the Rolf Harris public information film. That ends with a load of kids trying to “get him”. I hope he enjoyed the irony too.
Normal life continued to feel like a holiday, which is one of the only positives of Covid, as we went for a pizza and then the kids had a go on the merry-go-round in the town square. Even doing the family shop felt a bit like a vacation. It’s the first time all four of us have done one since early 2020 (or maybe longer). I just had to hope that we wouldn’t get the check out woman who thinks I have 6 kids.
Home to play with the sprinkler in the garden and then I went on what turned out to be a green odyssey to buy fish and chips for the others (I was making my own dinner as I didn’t want two high calorie meals in one day). It turned out the fish and chip shop in Stevenage that we usually go to isn’t open on Sunday, so I headed to Hitchin, where all the chippies were shut too. I had promised my daughter fish and chips if she did all her homework so I wasn’t going to give up and I managed to find a pub that did takeaway food and landed my fish and was home a mere 90 minutes after I’d gone out and the kids had a late dinner.
But my God these kids nourish my soul. I am looking forward to the summer holidays and the fun we’re going to have, even if it will be punctuated by breaking up fights and wiping away tears and faeces.
