A Brief Moment of Contentment.

For those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, you will have seen that I have been suffering from sunburnt hands and that, despite unusual punishment to my thighs, I am still walking. All of this is a result of a rather ambitious bike ride on the weekend. OK, so it was not the Tour de France - it did not even include a small hillock, let alone the Alps, and it was only 30km long. It turns out that was about 15km too long! Mr. DBM and I are not exactly couch potatoes, but we don't get out on our bikes very often - let's just say that I had to dust mine and clear off the cobwebs - so we were using muscles that don't get used too often. I ended up with very sore thighs, he knackered his knees and both our bums are still recovering from 30kms worth of juddering and jarring. The lesson learnt from all of this is that cycling is probably not the sport for us and that we should probably stick to hiking!

Having said all of that, I did enjoy a brief moment of contentment. It was on the trip home and my screaming thighs were demanding a rest. So, we found an isolated bench just off the trail. This bench faced out, with a panoramic view of the bay - just sand and sea as far as the eye could see. Soft, wispy-white clouds floated past against a backdrop of azure blue. A swallowtail butterfly fluttered by and a bald eagle glided lazily overhead. I lay my head on Mr. DBM's shoulder and closed my eyes. I could hear a bird chirping in a nearby bush and the wind rustling through the long grass growing along the trail. A faint breeze trailed its soft, warm fingers across my face. In the distance there was the faint hum of a small plane, but otherwise all was quiet, all was still, all was well with the world. Of course, it didn't last - it couldn't last.......one minute all is perfect, the next I have a crick in my neck, the distant hum of the plane has become an annoying, angry buzz and some small child is screaming at a flustered parent. So the bubble burst and everything returned to normal. Still, it was a little bit of peace in a world full of hustle and bustle, noise and distractions.

This reminds me of an advert that Lexus has run. A guy driving along an empty desert road, the sun at just the right level in the sky to make everything look gorgeous, hints of gold, red and orange on the rocks, sand and vegetation. A bunny rabbit hopping away from the vehicle - nowhere near the wheels and so in no danger of being squashed horribly. The breeze coming in through the open window is gently ruffling the guy's shirt and hair - all is perfect. The driver realizes this and starts to think that this is the perfect moment..........until..........he wonders what is for supper, the spell is broken and he thinks "Shoot!" Of course, we all know that what he actually thinks is "Shit!", but god forbid this word would actually be used in a commercial. Well, the world would go to hell in a hand basket, wouldn't it? A bit like the brilliant advertising used by French Connection U.K. Some bright spark must have thought all her holidays had come at once when she thought of this one - oooooh, let's call it FCUK - that could easily be mistaken for F#*K, and just think of all the people who are going to get their knickers in a knot over it, think of all the free advertising that we are going to get.........Brilliant, and it worked like a charm. All I have to say to those people with knotted knickers - Get Over It! I think that we have bigger issues to worry about and bigger fish to fry.........Now that has made me wonder what is for supper?!