I’ve lived in Cornwall since I was five years old. My parents decided to move here after we spent a holiday in Newquay in 1979 and fell in love with the sea air and the space. Every weekend was spent at our local beach (still local to me now) Looe, on the south east coast and I knew that even if I ever moved away (which I did for a few years when I first met my husband) that I would always want to come home to raise my kids the same way.
So you can imagine how I am feeling now as everyone is trying to navigate lockdown and make a new ‘normal’ life for themselves whilst we wait for the next step on our life’s journey.
Being by the sea is my happy place, it’s the place I go to ground my energy when I’m feeling overwhelmed or overtired, or just need to get away from the hustle and bustle. I know it’s not just me feeling this way, we are all feeling hemmed in and stressed, not used to spending 24/7 with our immediate family for weeks on end, not being able to leave the house as much as we want to, or to escape from the kids just for a few hours on our own.
It’s time to find a new way to occupy ourselves, to find a moment in our day to remember to breathe and know that these times won’t last forever and to focus on something else to help uplift our spirits. As I was sorting out some old boxes the other day, I came across a tub of Dead Sea salts and sprung upon the idea of creating my own beach in my garden using a paddling pool and dissolving the Dead Sea salt in the water! Maybe I’ll start a trend for the locals here that also can’t get to the beach right now? 😃 I’ll dangle my feet in the cool salty water, whilst I sit in my garden chair sipping lemon balm and mint tea made fresh from the herb pots next to me and imagine I’m sitting on the steps at Looe beach as the waves gently roll onto the soft golden sand, with a ‘Mr Whippy 99’ ice cream cone in my hand. Well, now I’m craving ice cream – does that count as essential food? Well it does in Cornwall! 😉
Take care, stay safe, maybe create a beach in your garden too? Kate x