So today. I woke at 5.30 am to the sound of the dawn chorus which although is early even for me, was not totally unwelcome, as the diversity of bird song was incredible...Jackdaw, Finch, Bluetit...even the faint knock of a woodpecker! After, dozing a little while longer, I rolled out of bed and downstairs where my generous air BnB host has made me a slap up cooked breakfast...Yum Yum! Now this was possibly an opportunity to keep me in her company longer as I discovered she does love a chat😂...in the best possible way- big shout out to Julie- as a fellow (ex) mental health worker, we shared a lot of similar ideas and I loved how open and compassionate she was and despite (or maybe because of) a raft of difficult times has managed to keep her optimistic outlook and a real inspiring mindset...I do hope you get back to India on your motorbike and I look forward to reading your book!😊

We chatted so long, that I almost missed my deadline to leave to meet my dad which would have been a tragedy....as we had sailing to do!...well kind of? After a quick slog up to Amble (via Hauxely Wildlife Discovery Centre for some Morwicks Salted Caramel ice cream🤤), I met my dad dockside to go on a Puffin cruise out to Crochet Island. What a beautiful day for it! The tour was amazing...and not just for bumby bumps as we ripped across the waves but we got too see all round the island and armed with my newly purchased monocular (big shout of to Jen for the tip off), I got to see all manner of wildlife close up- Puffins (obviously), Seals and Roseate Terns (which btw only breed here out of the whole of the UK- a special sight indeed. My dad also conveyed his rich knowledge of the area although his obsession with Rip tides is bordering on the insane!

And actually, this is a point I was reflecting on. Some of my father's behaviour could be considered unusual (maybe slightly bonkers) by the mainstream - (I don't know many post 70 yr olds that want to go kleeking for example😂) but it's borne from a lust for life, a unquenchable desire to fill life to the brim with opportunity. Such a mindset can cause trouble and is not compatible with other aspects of life or a lot of other people. I have not always understood that and actually have been angry about it for much of my life but I guess I've reached a point where I can now accept it and sort of admire it. As I sit here, at Beacon point, writing this (looking out to the tide, preparing a Rip Report for my father...don't ask!), I reflect on how much I can't really avoid the blueprint that my dad has laid down for me, and more over, if I really want to?. Part of my conversation with Julie earlier (my wise air BnB host) was about generational trauma and how people repeat the same life patterns as their parents and their parents parents, etc and to change this, you must first become aware of the pattern. Also, how we need adversity to grow. She wants to be a 'generational changer' in her family history- an inspirational but monumental task-I wouldn't say my ambitions are so high and my life has been nowhere near traumatic so far but I can recognise the good and not so good things that I have taken from my parents- and I come to realise that there is a lot of good I want to keep and a few things I'd like to change, going forward! I'll close with a poem I love that may explain things better than I can but I will also say thank you, to both my parents, for all they have given me- both the rewards AND the challenges. ❤️Xxx

The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.

Alden Nowlan