A SCILLY IDEA

It's as though a sort of unseen fog is slowly swallowing people up, like in that movie I forget the name of - you know the one about the fog that er... swallows people up.

I kind of hope it's over soon. I think it will be.

Anyway, all that aside, today I got sent my latest update of "Isles of Scilly Newsletter". It fluttered into my inbox like a summer butterfly. It's a mailing list I must have joined years ago, I suppose. I usually ignore it.

"Haven't had time to book your annual getaway? Here on Scilly we provide you with the right balance of thinking, doing and nourishment for the soul."

I am a sucker for good copy-writing.

A 'cluster of low-lying islands amid a turquoise sea', 'white sandy beaches', 'bathed in a light of vibrant intensity'... what could be more appealing on a grey February afternoon where the fog is swallowing up your colleagues in drizzly redundancy, and the atmosphere is like an old wet sock?

Dark-skies too (you know how I love the stars)...

'On a clear night, the sky is full of stars, which fall down to the sea, because there is little, if any ambient light to detract from them.'

Vibrant creativity, tranquility and peace by day; exquisite star-gazing by night. Why am I not there already?

Well. It's hard to get to the Isles of Scilly. The train journey to Penzance is long and expensive, and then when you get there, the trip to the islands (by boat, plane, or even helicopter) is quite the adventure. The islands are popular too, so for me (single supplement) it would be super-expensive to stay there unless I take a tent. And for the cost, I start to wonder whether I'd get more from the Italian mountain lakes.

And I'm not the greatest camper.

It's still nice to dream though - of succulent seafood, of sunshine and lighthouses, of galaxies and galleries - of a part of our country that's far enough away to feel like it isn't part of our country, in every possible way.

I rubbed my eyes blearily at the email. I'm so tired. I'm not sure I'm processing anything properly anyway. Navigating the fog is one thing - when your feet are sinking softly into the white sand of a warm beach, and your body tells you something you hadn't fully realised you needed, I guess that's a good time to start listening.