Secret Garden Stay

A blue sky sunny day with time after breakfast to start packing my case for our mini break in Oxwich Bay. Clare had a bad cough, so I went to the Eucharist at St Catherine's on my own. Once the Sunday school children joined us, we were about fifty in church with Fr Sion celebrating and preaching in a relaxed way. He told us the church hall had been broken into on Wednesday evening, and apparently the local Scout hut the next night. Apart from window damage and the chaos of every container being emptied, there was no vandalism. It was probably someone searching for money with little idea of what goes on in a public hall used by several different groups. A box containing cans of beer remained intact, overlooked, or perhaps ignored rather than emptied. Inexperienced thieves maybe?

We had lunch early, then I finished packing and loaded the car. It was half past two by the time we left, and I had to get petrol at Culverhouse Cross Tesco filling station before we continued our journey. We reached Swansea about quarter to four, and stopped at Sainsbury's to use their convenient toilet, buy wine and a bottle of water. Clare and I got separated. I waited outside, as the store was closing. I phoned her to check where she was, just as she emerged with a triumphant look on her face and a bundle of clothes in her hand. 

She regretted not having packed a swimming costume, and had popped into the clothing section, found one and dared to try it on, just as the store closure warning announcement was made. She could so easily have got shut in a changing room! She's bought a costume and was carrying a layer of clothes she decided to discard as it was now warmer than she expected when she dressed for the journey. Such a laugh!

I took a wrong turn for Gower in the vicinity of the University and this took us up on to the east end of Clyne Common rather than the west, prolonging out journey by fifteen minutes, so it was nearly five when we checked into our 'pod' accommodation at the hotel. The Secret Garden is an arrangement of six spaces and paths defined by tall hedges, and in each space is a self contained room equipped with a sofa bed, bathroom and shower, a table and chairs, both indoors and outdoors. An ingenious use of space, and just thirty yards from the dining room entrance of the hotel.

After unpacking we went for a walk on the beach. Clare had a paddle, I took photos. Given that it was such a pleasant afternoon, there weren't a huge number of people out on the beach. Perhaps they'd all gone home by the time we arrived, I don't know. We had a picnic supper in our pod, then I walked up the length of the village, remembering places we'd stayed on our previous visits. The sun was setting as I returned, so it was time to draw the curtains on the large glass windows and settle down to enjoy the silence of night and a peaceful sleep.