Birthday outing

Today was Owain's birthday - we going to go out into the countryside for lunch, but we got delayed, as he set about installing a new PC in the morning, and ran into wi-fi problems, so my journey to pick him up turned into a trouble-shooting session, during which a friend arrived to greet him and give him a present. By the time we were ready to leave, we decided not to risk being too late for lunch afer our journey and ate at Oscar's around the corner instead.

Then we drove out to Southerndown for a walk along the beach. I did ten minutes' Chi Gung on the beach in the sunshine until the tide was lapping at my feet. Then we walked around neighbouring Dunraven Castle gardens, a place we'd never been before, but which was known to Owain. The Vale's unspoiled Jurassic coastline along this stretch is one of its best natural assets, especially in perfect weather. I counted three falcons flying around in the same section of cliff face above a small inaccessible beach, possibly all of the same family. Both Owain's sisters rang him on his mobile phone - one from Kenilworth and one from Canada, so he was able to speak to them, and his nieces as well. This year uniquely, Owain is exactly half my age. How life whizzes by.