the perfect midsummer

imagine if you will a perfect summer's day in the south west of England, at the mouth of the river Exe, near the (no longer existing) harbour in Exmouth. A group of students have just, after a very intense year, had their final exhibition for the first year of their degree course. The exhibition was wonderfully diverse and we (because I was one of them) were presenting our ideas and plans for getting children interested in science,, maths, music....and everything else on the curriculum...we had exhibitions about rocks, about Indian music, about folk stories, mine had something or other to do with plants and art...and one student - one that I had shared a house with for a year, a terraced house down by the harbour* - had prepared an exhibition about celebrating festivals....and what better way to teach about festivals than to celebrate one? So, we celebrated midsummer - I can't actually remember if it really was the same day as the exhibition but it feels like it was and it was certainly very close....
She built a big bonfire down on the sand and we had great fun jumping over it, throwing our midsummer dreams into the fire (written down on paper!) and planning how to make them come true....and after much fun and laughter and, I think, beer, we went back to our lovely house and sat for hours chatting about the world with friends. Little did I know that I would never see any of those people again because I had decided not to become a teacher after all......

Yesterday, a wonderfully HOT summer's day, I attempted to capture some of that again. We cooked something nice, we made a fire and watched as the storm clouds came closer and closer....we managed to eat (nearly) but the thunder and lightening was approaching fast. I stuffed my last mouthfuls in and ran to get the washing off the line. Child#1 ran to close up the greenhouse and the rest of them rescued the food. Then we donned raincoats and went to jump over the fire before the rain put it out.....

After the rain (which meanly wee'd on our party and then went away after ten minutes!), the children all showered to warm up again and went to bed....I gathered the bits of fire together and rescued my blip and Mr. Spitzi went back to the office to discover that the storm had knocked our internet connection for six and rain had stopped not only play but also work. So, we read for a bit and had an early night. Which wasn't quite what I'd planned.

We've just got the connection to the world back again!

* about that house - it has been pulled down and no longer is, but if there is any house that I would move to immediately and leave behind the paradise I have here, it's that one. The street ended on the beach. It was absolutely wonderful and the person who knocked it down and "developed" the area belongs behind bars.

EDIT: have just explored google maps and have found that the house still exists, but one can't get down to the beach anymore because that's all built on. Was rather shocked by the house prices!!!!! I think I'll be staying here ;-)