After just one day and a chaotic night in town to celebrate the beginning of the World Cup I was back on a tiny plane bound for Jersey. After visiting the War Tunnels, Zoo and all the other typical touristy places in three days the last half of the holiday was dedicated to walking about and taking in the views. The average age is around 50, you have to stay there for 14 years - and be loaded - before you can buy a house and the longest / only motorway was about a mile in length. Unlike New York where everything is supersised, life on Jersey is quaint, downsized and rather old-fashioned.
On the last day we stumbled across the first place I would actually call paradise. A shimmering turquoise sea, tiny gold beach, costal view to die for and bright blue sky scattered with white vapour trails fashioned a view that I’ll never forget. Although it was a really nice place to relax there really is very little to do and see that doesn’t involve the 5-year period of German occupation, which stands on the middle ground between fascinating and depressing. The only way I’d to go back before I hit middle age would be for some more sightseeing and romancing.
Holly’s 21st birthday party at her parents’ farm provided yet more iconic pictures of this summer. Attempting to play football under the moonlight in a torn-up, soaking wet field and diving around in the reeds... for fun; a stupid o’clock walk in the hills with some smokes and two ‘skadgers’; watching the sunrise on swings with sludge, laughing our tits off. It was like one of those parties you wish you had when you were 10, but was still so much fun when you’re twice as old.
Finally got the dissertation off the ground with a few early visits to the abandoned library. The working theme at the moment is ‘solutions for combating the Latin American drugs trade’ but because the reading material is so fascinating it’s too easy to get completely preoccupied with irrelevant detail, the end result of this could be absolutely anything. It’s also the only thing I’ve encountered - other than teaching - which I really believe could develop into satisfying career. Whilst I thought it would have nothing to do with work, I’m pretty sure I served my first pimp the other night; an overweight and friendly Latvian with a stunning lady by his side who paid for his shopping by skimming 20’s off a roll worth at least £1,000.
Going back to old age, I attended my second funeral ceremony this month, which happened to be in the same place as the first, and brought back many memories from the day I parted with my Granda. Whilst the service was reasonable I definitely wouldn’t like my family and friends to see me off with the standard Christian goodbye. Not only are they sombre and depressing affairs but they seem to be more about hammering home the message of Christianity than the celebration and recognition of someone’s life. It also got me thinking about the scary situations you wouldn’t wish upon anyone, like growing old alone or losing the person you’d spent dozens of years with.
Finishing on the lightest of light notes, a possible solution those nasty scenarios. I’m starting to think that being ‘Mr Nice Guy’ (a.k.a. genuine, honest and actually caring about girls) for so long is finally standing me in good stead. Whether this is in my head or an actuality, only time will tell but it will be very interesting to see how the next few months pan out.
On the last day we stumbled across the first place I would actually call paradise. A shimmering turquoise sea, tiny gold beach, costal view to die for and bright blue sky scattered with white vapour trails fashioned a view that I’ll never forget. Although it was a really nice place to relax there really is very little to do and see that doesn’t involve the 5-year period of German occupation, which stands on the middle ground between fascinating and depressing. The only way I’d to go back before I hit middle age would be for some more sightseeing and romancing.
Holly’s 21st birthday party at her parents’ farm provided yet more iconic pictures of this summer. Attempting to play football under the moonlight in a torn-up, soaking wet field and diving around in the reeds... for fun; a stupid o’clock walk in the hills with some smokes and two ‘skadgers’; watching the sunrise on swings with sludge, laughing our tits off. It was like one of those parties you wish you had when you were 10, but was still so much fun when you’re twice as old.
Finally got the dissertation off the ground with a few early visits to the abandoned library. The working theme at the moment is ‘solutions for combating the Latin American drugs trade’ but because the reading material is so fascinating it’s too easy to get completely preoccupied with irrelevant detail, the end result of this could be absolutely anything. It’s also the only thing I’ve encountered - other than teaching - which I really believe could develop into satisfying career. Whilst I thought it would have nothing to do with work, I’m pretty sure I served my first pimp the other night; an overweight and friendly Latvian with a stunning lady by his side who paid for his shopping by skimming 20’s off a roll worth at least £1,000.
Going back to old age, I attended my second funeral ceremony this month, which happened to be in the same place as the first, and brought back many memories from the day I parted with my Granda. Whilst the service was reasonable I definitely wouldn’t like my family and friends to see me off with the standard Christian goodbye. Not only are they sombre and depressing affairs but they seem to be more about hammering home the message of Christianity than the celebration and recognition of someone’s life. It also got me thinking about the scary situations you wouldn’t wish upon anyone, like growing old alone or losing the person you’d spent dozens of years with.
Finishing on the lightest of light notes, a possible solution those nasty scenarios. I’m starting to think that being ‘Mr Nice Guy’ (a.k.a. genuine, honest and actually caring about girls) for so long is finally standing me in good stead. Whether this is in my head or an actuality, only time will tell but it will be very interesting to see how the next few months pan out.
No comments:
Post a Comment