Dugs n Beaches Revisited

Polly
Most people’s idea of a librarian is of a middle aged or elderly woman who is set in her ways, and rather boring. Polly had negotiated herself a month off work. She had a plan. In her mind the plan was a week to finalise the planning stage and purchase anything that she needed but didn’t already have, two weeks to do it, and a week to recover. As far as she knew no woman, and only one man, had done what she was planning. Much of the planning was already in place, she had most of the gear needed, only some bits and bobs to buy, and the route well mapped.

The plan? She had come across a piece of video, and had watched it many, many times with the increasing conviction “I could do that”. So, she was going to do it, but with the exception of repeating one particular scene. The day came, the last working day before her ‘holiday’, she endured that Friday, and the pub after work, stoically. She endured all of the ‘have a good holiday’ comments, ‘yes, I will’, the ‘where are you going?’ questions, ‘Scotland’, the ‘what will you be doing?’, ‘just chilling out’ - well, she wasn’t going to tell them until after the event. That night in bed she was reflecting on the past year, and the traumatic year it had been, starting with the sudden death of Michael, her partner of many years. They were perfectly matched, and really enjoyed doing sporty challenges together. Polly had done nothing since Michael had died. Well, that was going to change now. She knew that Michael would have embraced her plan enthusiastically, and would have wanted to video it. Such thoughts gave her the will to do it. She would do it for him, even if it killed her.

Her month away from work passed like a flash of lightning. Her plan executed to more than her own satisfaction, and she felt changed by it, a very different person. She knew that this first day back was going to be hell, but she had to face it, sooner or later. She walked through the door, and there they all were, waiting - as she knew they would be. The Head Librarian walked up to her
“What’s all this about then?”
“What’s all what about?”
He unfolded a newspaper, and held it up.
“This!”
And there it was on the front page, the headline - Librarian! First Woman to Cycle the Cuillin Ridge.