Significant numbers...

I am not superstitious, not really, but I have found that significant things happen to me on certain dates. Sometimes happy events, such as The Ragazza being born (14 days after her due date) on the birthday of my brother, my cousin's husband and my brother-in-law, and then my having left work to take maternity leave on the same date that I was, ten years later, offered my first job back in IT after the career break..

That kind of thing.

Sometimes they are not happy events.

June 6th was the date on which we buried my father and on that same day my mother-in-law died, and three years ago it was the date on which I had my first chemotherapy.

I started my day feeling sad, remembering my Dad and Millie, my crazy, lovely mother-in-law. And a little spooked because, well, once you've had cancer you can never really relax. So I decided to get out of the house. I made a flask of coffee, packed a towel and my swimsuit and some food for the dog, made sure my camera and pocket money were in my little bag, and set off for my No 1 Playground, Trégastel. 

First, a coffee and kouign amann, no guilt at the salted caramel topping because I only eat these pastries at Trégastel and this was lunch...   

And I was planning to head for my favourite swimming pool.
Or  rather, the beach by the pink castle.

People, the sea was cold. The air temperature was cold. And there was a cold breeze, as you can see by the outfits other people were wearing as they walked past.

But I had come to honour my Dad who would never have passed on the opportunity to do something fun, and so I changed into my swimsuit and headed to the water.

It wasn't as cold as my first wild swim of the year last month, but it was still cold. I told myself, 'Come on! Think of winter in Lapland and how cold that was' and I swam. And swam. And swam some more. It was exhilarating and relaxing, and it made me laugh as I splashed on my back, and then did a few 'lengths' between the rocks.

I swam for 30 minutes and as I walked out of the sea the water actually felt warm.

So, wrapped in an old bathrobe (perfect for warming after a cold swim, I sipped my coffee while Tashi (released from the car where he must wait because he gets very worried when I disappear under the waves) enjoyed a drink and a picnic of dried dog food...     

And I gazed at my favourite view, that pink castle...

And then I dried and dressed and we set off to drive to the Sentier des Douaniers for a brisk walk.

It was very busy, Many other people were enjoying the pink granite coast.
I must have looked like a local: several people asked me for directions, a couple wanted to know where they could find a restaurant, someone asked me to look at her map and explain where she was.

And one couple praised my accent, told me they assumed me to be Swedish, laughed when I told them I am a Brit and wished my countrymen good luck with Brexit, they are going to need it.   

There were a lot of flowers...

Tashi doesn't care about the flowers, he prefers to be snuffling in the sand.

And then it was time to turn round and head back to the car.

I've been back in Brittany for almost a year. When I first walked this path twelve months ago I struggled a little, both with the distance and with the impact on my arthritic knees. Today I almost skipped back to the car. Almost. give me another few wild swims and fun walks and I will be skipping. 

I like to think my dad and mother-in-law were with me in spirit today.

I know they would have approved of the adventure.