A Quidditch match, and 2 weekends in the Highlands

The week I spent in Eskdale seems a world away now - looking after the hostel, the dog, & getting dragged out for ludicrously long runs by Harry. I loved it all though to be fair, even when his idea of 15km actually turned out to be 20.4km. Bianca came over to visit from Borrowdale for a night, and she hadn't been in the building even 5 minutes when she started routing through the kitchen admiring our nice serving dishes. I made a mental note to ask Chris whether he had dispatched Bianca on a secret inter-hostel 'borrowing' mission. Thanks to the recently installed wifi at YHA Eskdale I was able to get a message to Rachel in La Palma - "Asking for a friend...have you ever had trouble getting in the front door of your flat?!" Thankfully, I was able to send this after finding an alternative method of entering the building (with the help of a long ladder and a degree of flexibility). In between running, dog walking, skinny dipping, and watching in mild horror as the plumber ripped up the floorboards, it was great to spend some time down at the Woolpack. One particularly memorable afternoon was on Sunday, watching Spurs beat Fulham with Peter, Dave, Struan, John, Padds, & Harry. There was also time for a game of chess with Peter across the bar which was made all the more entertaining by some of the moves he tried to pull - "I don't know how to play really, I wouldn't even know how to cheat." The week ended in true YHA Eskdale style - 4am Monday morning sitting on the floor in a cold corridor chatting to Mick and Rachel about sandwich orders, and their being photo bombed by a UFO. It felt a lot like home.  

 

Getting back to Borrowdale it was so good to see Rhys again (after some winter leave), even if I did nearly trip over him as he was lying down in the middle of the staff lounge doing some post run stretching with Simon. Cleaning was taken to the next level with Dave & Simon one morning - we all found ourselves in the same area, and an impromptu game of Takeshi's Castle got underway! I was doing very well avoiding all sorts of obstacles, until Dave got me in the back with an empty laundry bag. Game over. 

The following day Chris said he had something to show me, & that he hadn't shown anyone else yet. Intrigued, I went into the office to find Paddy sat there on the floor. "No....I'm not showing you the dog!" A moment later he put a pair of glasses on, and asked what did I think?! They really did suit him, but it seemed that Chris already had a hang up about them. "Every time I see myself wearing them, I'm reminded of that Michael Douglas character in the film Falling Down....you know the one about the psycho who gets angry and goes around killing lots of people? Well I think I look exactly like him when I'm wearing these." I calmly enquired as to whether he thought it might become a self fulfilling prophecy, before hastily exiting the door (determined never to annoy Chris too much). 

One thing is for certain - there is rarely (if ever) a dull day in this place. Bianca helpfully pointed out to me one evening..."that is a tray of bacon." I should probably state at this point that there was absolutely no confusion on my part as to what was on the tray, or that it was a tray. However, I was extremely grateful for her thoughtfulness on the matter. I must admit that the excitement almost got too much for me one morning - I was entrusted with the bell, phone, and the bed making. & if that wasn't enough I was told to expect a call from someone delivering trees. I asked Tref where they were coming from....Brazil? "Yes....the Amazon rainforest is being relocated this morning. All you need for a rainforest is lots of trees and lots of rain." I agreed that Borrowdale would therefore be an ideal location....."do you think they'll throw in a couple of Toucans as well?! That'll really ramp up the tourism industry." 

On Thursday 2nd March the camping field at YHA Borrowdale was temporarily transformed into a Quidditch pitch. I spent the morning in a state of wild excitement, telling anyone who would listen about the near perfect weather conditions, the excellent air clarity, etc. I did have to warn Chris though that some Quidditch games have been known to last for 7 years, and that he should be prepared to alter the rota accordingly. He seemed surprisingly pleased with the potential challenge - "I've never had to factor in something like this before!" Not everyone shared quite my level of enthusiasm, but I somehow managed to persuade Glen, Rhys, Dave, Bianca, Hanna, Zach, Ellie, and Tref to take to the field. Zach was even talked into wearing a yellow jacket and a pair of angel wings to fulfil his role as the golden snitch. The rules were a little bit vague, and although Tref did an excellent job refereeing, he was at one point handed a pair of Harry Potter glasses for missing a blatant foul. The boys were runaway winners (260-70) - mostly attributed to Rhys' lightweight, aerodynamic choice of broomstick - a feather duster! Even when the weather changed, and we ended up playing through a hail storm (very Harry Potter esk as Bianca pointed out), everyone seemed to be enjoying it! I can safely say that the first ever YHA Quidditch match was wholly successful - thank you to all my suitably mad friends/colleagues for joining in!  

I spent the two weekends either side of the Quidditch match up in the Highlands of Scotland. It made for a long drive, but that part of it was nothing really - some journeys are a lot longer in the making. It's almost overwhelming when you start to think about it - that you cannot discard a single moment of your life in order to be where you are now. Not the good, nor the bad, or the downright rock bottom times. I often wonder if forever is long enough to get to grips with our lives, to accept certain things, and just be happy. It's amazing how difficult that is, to believe that you are deserving of anything good. I stayed with my friend David, and his dog Gill. We had no fixed plans as such, so we headed west and hit golf balls off the beach at Clashnessie in the driving rain. The following weekend we would be back there, running barefoot along the sand and into the sea. Time and space seemed like unfathomable concepts - no more so than when we stood alone under Quinag, the mountain so close and yet the entire universe almost visible in between.