Freedom From The Mundane - A Writer's Blog

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Park Life

It was so warm last night I had to sleep with no covers or clothes on and with both windows open. This is almost unheard of in Scotland since records began (last week). Yet I still woke in a pool of sweat and gagging for water.

It's just not on. One of the benefits of being Scottish is you get used to the cold and rain. I'm just not acclimateised to heat and have no clothes to wear that are suitable. It's a total pain. I want it to rain. :-)

I do appreciate the warm weather; really I do. But I am just not built for it. I seem to retain the heat like some kind of large insulatory sponge. The best thing about these hot days is the twilight period; when the sun starts to set and shadows lengthen, insects hatch and the birds twitter brightly and the cats come out on the prowl. Even Smashie, my goldfish, is feeling the strain. I'm having to replace a third of his tank water every couple of nights just to keep the temperature low enough for him.

Soon he will get a new tank. Once Laura's bedroom is complete she can move in, which will release the spare room for me to decorate. I don't intend to take long about it either. I am going to get a new desk, a new carpet and new wallpaper and light fittings. I'm also going to get a futon for when guests stay and a cabinet to keep other books and papers. It will be my own private writing den and I won't have to live out of boxes like I am doing just now. Nothing is available and finding notes is a struggle. It will be perfect. I'll be organised and professional.

My new aquarium will go on top of the cabinet. I have always wanted one, preferably tropical, but with Smashie growing day by day I want to give him a good tank in which he can grow and be happier. That means a larger freshwater tank. Just now he is in a simple round bowl with a wee bridge and coloured stones. It's crap and it's getting too small for him. He's bored.

The new tank will be up to a meter in length, have dedicated fluorescent lighting, water filter and air pump. Inside I will cultivate real freshwater plants and add in some rocks and features for him to hide and play. It will be just like the real thing. And to top it off I will introduce some more fishes for him to get to know and muck around with.

This is all in the future though, but I have been reading up on it in more detail and a visit to Leith's aquarium specialists (http://www.aquatic-rooms.co.uk) is in order soon. They have hundreds of fish and tanks and equipment so it is the best place to start. I could just sit and watch the fish all day.

Anyway, since the weather was warm and sunny today, I left the office just after noon and went to the shop for a roll and bottle of water. I walked round to the Botanic Gardens and found a bench in a nice quiet spot in the shade and ate my lunch.

My mobile went off and it was my sister. We spoke for a few minutes and then I went back to my lunch. My mobile rang out again and it was my Dad who had heard I was in the park from my sister (as they were having lunch together). We spoke and then I turned off the phone.

Bliss.

I took some notes for the KIC soap that I am going to write this evening after work. It's a good structure but I'm worried the story might not be strong enough. There are other options if I don't like it when written so it isn't a problem. I also took some notes of what I saw around me, which form the next couple of paragraphs you will read here.

I sat back in the bench and appreciated the shade from the sun. The ancient trees around me blew in the wind like seashells secrets and the leaves on the branches swayed with waves of easy calm. In the distance, rivers of traffic flowed past, stopping and starting and congesting, reminding me how lovely it was to be sat in this oasis of calm, removed from the rat race.

A pigeon landed with its mate in front of me and together they wobbled along the path searching for morsels of food. Their feathers shone warmly in the sun reflecting oily patterns and rainbow colours. A squirrel scampered across the grass, stopped, and scampered into the green bushes to the right.

It was a wonderful scene and the silence and calm just what I needed. So much so, in fact, that I didn't want to go back to work. But I had to and when I got there, found I was already in an improved frame of mind.

I was shattered when I got home; a combination of a couple of late'ish nights and the heat getting to me. I was determined not to lose a night though and I wrote my episode of the KIC Soap opera. It's still rough and needs aligning and tidying but it's there and I quite like it. It came in at a whopping 2000 words.

I was glad to get it done - something - anything. I don't want this month to go to waste because of a sore head.
Colin 10:33 am

2 Comments:

Oh my heck you are JUST LIKE MY HUSBAND!!! What is it with men and being "too hot to sleep" at night?
I even blogged about it today. Then I read your post and after the first sentence I started laughing...

;-)
Smashie - that is the coolest name for a goldfish I have ever heard.

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