Perseids

When I was 20 I went on a walking trip along the coastal path from Minehead to Newquay. I soon gave up the walking. The girls who had planned the trip had done Duke of Edinburgh Gold and they were happy to walk 19 mile days. I am not happy to walk 19 mile days. I can walk 10 miles with no problems and possibly even 15 miles but the next day I'll probably just want to have a sit down with a scone. 19 mile days makes your toes bleed and your knees click and makes you cry in a phone box to your mother.

I started getting the bus with the tents. After the initial guilt of having given up the attempt to walk his was great. This was a pre-internet bus navigation mission and I spent lots of time talking to old ladies and eating chips and petting dogs and paddling on the beach and wandering around strange town centres looking for visitor information kiosks.

When we got to our destination we watched a total solar eclipse. It was absolutely amazing. I almost broke my friend's fingers I was squeezing her hand so hard with joy.



The following night there was a meteor shower and the sky was filled with shooting stars. I made possibly a hundred wishes and not a single one came true. I think I was too greedy. Maybe if I had only asked for one...

The perseids are returning tonight. I am going to make one wish, and only one.