Skinny dipping, & hitching lifts

It was really good to get back to Borrowdale, the people here, and the place. Timing couldn't have been more essential in fact; I walked in the door to find Glen worrying about what a long way it was to Keswick. I was able to reassure him that, 99.9% certain, Keswick was exactly the same distance away as it had always been. & everything was going to be alright. I then added that he must be really glad that I'm back. He started laughing and said, "Yes. Because no one else in the world would possibly imagine that I've spent the past week panicking at the idea of Keswick getting further and further away!" It's good to know that I can be a great source of comfort at such troubling (fictitious) times. 

My departure from Scotland was not quite as smooth as anticipated - the handbrake on my van was stuck on, & it required some standard Al Dargie 'driving' to get things underway. It seems that my cousin is making a habit of having to rescue various members of the Shaw family from the Scottish Highlands (in vehicle related mishaps)! Thanks. I booked my van in for a much needed service when I returned, & sure enough the brakes were number one on the list of things that needed fixing. I hitched a lift back from Keswick with a lovely couple who dropped me right at the doors of the hostel (even though they weren't going all that way). To make things even better we had to stop to let four massive deer cross the road, & they had a story tape (CD) playing in the car (even if the plot line seemed to be about someone being murdered by a stranger). 

It would seem that the skinny-dipping episode in Scotland was far from an isolated incident. I went for a nighttime run up the valley to Seathwaite, & onto Stockley Bridge. It was cold, wet, but the pools there were so enticing I just couldn't help myself. What I hadn't bargained for though, at nearly 9pm, was four guys with head torches walking down off the mountain. It's safe to say that they got far more of a 'view' than they were expecting, and there really wasn't anything I could do - apart from a spot of naked waving. The same thing (minus the audience) happened on a Moonlit run up Honister Pass, & again in Derwent Water last night. It seems that it might have developed into a bit of an addiction, to the point that when I come back into the staff house the first thing Dave ever asks me now is, "did you get naked?" But perhaps more worryingly than that, someone has actually asked me if they can pay me to take them skinny dipping, & show them which way north is. No. 

With my van still in the garage, Bianca very kindly gave me a lift into Keswick one evening so I could have a blood test. She asked if I had everything I needed, to which I gave a moments thought before replying, "Yes. I have my arms right here still." It took a little while to actually leave the hostel though, as Bianca announced that she was not very good at parking, or un-parking (the term now used to describe reversing). It was no time at all though in comparison to how long it took us to set off back to Borrowdale - I wasn't sure of the etiquette of being a passenger and having to tell the driver that they need to turn the engine on before they can hope to go anywhere! Thankfully though, Bianca figured it out in the end. I might have been safer however sat in Booths car park for the rest of eternity - it was slightly alarming when, half way back, Bianca suddenly said, "I really must remember to put my hands on the steering wheel when I'm driving at night!" Three days later my van was ready to pick up. Chris kindly gave me a lift in to Keswick, & the cheerful chap at High Hill garage informed me that everything was now fixed. He did warn me however to be careful when stopping at a junction - "when you put your foot on the brake pedal, you'll find that it actually works now! So don't put your foot down too hard, or....!!" Noted. 

It is really good to have wifi access at Borrowdale - I have been able to keep in touch with folk a lot more readily, especially Rachel (in deepest darkest Eskdale), and Tom-Tom & Evie who are currently in Bali. To the casual observer, Rachel and I have developed a thing for writing inappropriate messages on each other's Facebook profile. I can't remember who started it exactly, but I'd hazard a guess at it being Rachel when she used the greeting, "Hey big tits!" Evie, meanwhile, is having a great time travelling, although I think I have tempted her into changing her flights home so that she can have Christmas dinner at my mum's (I explained how my mum had asked me if I just wanted chocolate for Christmas dinner). Tom-Tom on the other hand was far less chatty - he simply sent me a message which read, 'update on life in general please'.  To which I replied in kind, 'I'm spending a lot of time naked.'