Damn it

Damn it I thought,,,,,,,,

"Damn it,, burn in hell,,,,,,,

Blast it and fff,,,,,, fuff,,,,,,,,,,,,"

"is everything ok" asked Jane

"it's just that your face has turned a funny colour,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and you're bending the steering wheel ,,,,, and all the veins in your neck are bulging,,,,,,,,,, and,,,,,"

"mmmmmm ,,,,,,,, yes ok" I muttered,, mentally wrestling with the red mist that threatened to make me behave like a two year old Victor Meldrew, ,,, and so depressingly,,, make me feel,,,,,, once more,,,like the idiot I feared I might really be!! !

I forced calm words out through clenched teeth; "It's ,,,,,just that,,,,, we may have a problem!!" ,,,,,,

Two days before, we had rattled off the ferry from Skye with shining eyes and high expectations of fulfilling the dream of a Hebridean holiday so cruelly cancelled last year because of the fuel crisis.

We didn't make many plans for the itinerary as we like to let our holidays develop their own identity. Too many vacations intended to be restful,,are unrequited because of rigid plans ruthlessly followed,,, so now we agree on places we would like to visit,,, and places we're not bothered about. Happy holidays are free spirits and work the route out for themselves,,,,,

So ,,,,,,,after the long grind up from Wales,,,,, and on Hebridean soil there was need to rest before starting the adventure,, we needed to compose ourselves,,,,, we needed to be serene. Jane pored over the map for a couple of minutes then jabbed it with her finger

"There!" she said with a tone of voice that brooked no buts; ,,,, "let's go there,,,,,, It's only a couple of miles",,,,,,,,,,,,,

Twenty minutes later I could feel my eyes bulging,,,,,,,"it must be at least fifteen miles" I squeaked,,,,,,, ,, I had stopped driving after Jane said it might be a good idea if I looked at the map myself,,,,,,,,,,

"It's the scale" she added innocently,,,, nonchalantly ,,,,,, "I'm not used to that map yet",,,,,,,,,

"Let's carry on" I said tiredly,,,resignedly,,,,,,,not caring,,,,,, "it's as good as anywhere"

So that's how we found ourselves at Hushinish beach,,,,,,,too far up a dead-end narrow road it wasn't considered to be important enough to warrant a place on the sketchy wish-list. Serendipity took us there,,,,,,,,,,,,,, three hundred yards of shell sand that the light made vary from blinding white to a dark tan,,, in front of the turquoise sea that darkened towards misty islands,,,, and the intense cobalt blue sky that stretched from over here ,,, to way over there,,,,, with nary a cloud between



Paradise!!! with only two other vans to share it with.

I blipped the throttle a couple of times ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"What's the problem?" Jane asked cautiously,,,,,,,,,,,, I blipped the throttle again ,, and glared at the dashboard,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Bugger it!"