Optimism

Sorry we haven't been so forthcoming on blogs of late. We've had a stock take that demanded our full attention. We're feeling a little brain fried..!
It's been a long Winter. From the depths of snow and ice to the heavy rains and floods. There have been sunny skies, moody skies, wild skies and occasionally it's been so dark that some days there seemed to be no sky at all.
I was walking along my local break last night, just before it got dark. It was pouring down with rain, a really low tide and bizarrely (as is often not the case) my dog, The Jeepster, seemed to be enjoying himself in the downpour. I kept him keen with blackened sticks that were sporadically littered across the tide marks. I snapped this quick shot with my phone. It's not a cheap phone, so it was a bit of a gamble... but it was so inspiring that I couldn't resist. I was on an empty beach, wandering a deserted shore. There was not a car in the car park, not a wandering soul on the cliff tops, nobody in the sea, and for miles in front and behind me the only signs of life were swooping Guls, taking advantage of the residual daylight to feed their young.
Nobody. Only me and the dog, approaching twilight in a rain storm by a disorderly sea.
Know what I did?
I shouted. All various kind of shouts. Noises, names. It didn't really matter, it was the shouting that was important. Shouting is so often the preserve of anger or attention, or to be heard over noise or other people. Rarely can you get away with just shouting for the sake of shouting, especially in public. Were I spotted, no doubt it would have looked (and certainly sounded) a little odd. But it felt great, my racket resonating off the cliff faces, bouncing back out into the Atlantic. I've had a rubbish couple of weeks, so it was nice to audibly unleash with no preserve. It instantly put me in a better mood. The dog, to be fair, was left confused - no-one else there, I guess he figured he was the target of my outburst. I did my best to reassure him, with the aid of half a chew stick, that he certainly wasn't. With the dying day to my back, I picked up my step to the car, feeling a little less blue. I highly recommend it, just find somewhere empty and be careful not to get spotted - there are people in coats with big nets who are paid to catch people who shout in public. You've been warned.