June 9

The day began with an early morning hike along Rio del Mar beach with a Meetup group. At my house the fog was in. Half a mile away on Mission street it was brilliant sunshine but as I drove along Highway 1 south towards Aptos I reached a dense fog bank, and the rain was drizzling. It’s 10 miles to Rio del Mar. I think nothing of that drive and treat it as a mere hop, skip and a jump. There’s no let up in the houses lining the freeway and so Capitola, Soquel, Aptos become merely  an extension of the city of Santa Cruz. As I drove I thought about the number of villages that I would pass in 10 miles  of driving in any direction from Hebden Bridge, each village having its own distinctive character, its own market day, its own church with its coffee mornings, lunches, Mothers’ Union. And each village separated by rolling green hills speckled with sheep.

Although this was my final day of teaching for seven weeks and I had to give  last minute pep talks to  my students who will take their National Guild piano exams next week I found it difficult to concentrate. Instead of seeing fingers playing F major scales minus their B flats I was seeing the menu in the Pack Horse at Affetside, and wondering if Turton Church would be open to step inside for a few quiet minutes. My parents got married there. I was baptized there and married there too, and I know my daughters have often dreamed of getting married there themselves.

Getting back home I began to think about packing for my trip, but first I have to do some laundry!