Outandabout March 2022 Issue195
Welcome to March 2022 the Spring air has arrived and St Patrick's day will be celebrated again in Benidorm without restrictions. Tourism is already back to pre-covid numbers and the British holidaymakers who love Spain and the Costa Blanca are already on the beach and sunny terraces eating, drinking, and having lots of fun in the sun. The new Out and About magazine is right here to read and find out what's going on in the Costa Blanca region of Spain. Lifestyle and leisure articles and reviews are written by the people who know, business professionals, and members of the public living in Spain. There are also popular pages that include puzzles and horoscopes with a host of supporting businesses that supports the charity work that editor Carol Leavy has undertaken for many years in Spain.
Welcome to March 2022 the Spring air has arrived and St Patrick's day will be celebrated again in Benidorm without restrictions. Tourism is already back to pre-covid numbers and the British holidaymakers who love Spain and the Costa Blanca are already on the beach and sunny terraces eating, drinking, and having lots of fun in the sun. The new Out and About magazine is right here to read and find out what's going on in the Costa Blanca region of Spain. Lifestyle and leisure articles and reviews are written by the people who know, business professionals, and members of the public living in Spain. There are also popular pages that include puzzles and horoscopes with a host of supporting businesses that supports the charity work that editor Carol Leavy has undertaken for many years in Spain.
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Clambering<br />
over Rocks<br />
Sitting one Sunday at a bar near the Lonja I was<br />
reminded about former times when I would<br />
clamber onto the rock-built breakwater that<br />
protects Moraira Town from the open sea.... the fact<br />
that I was looking towards the inspiring reality of<br />
the timeless Ifach underlined the moment!<br />
Every Sunday I would walk carefully along<br />
the breakwater, not just taking a light-hearted,<br />
adventurous stroll but also performing a kind of<br />
‘ritual act’ to acknowledge the Presence of Mother<br />
Nature,<br />
She who cannot/will not be ignored.<br />
Each step I took along the uneven surface of the<br />
breakwater was a calculated risk. If I put one foot<br />
wrong I could easily coggle or twist my ankle, fall<br />
over and do myself serious injury. If I misjudged<br />
any of the narrow gaps between the rocks I could<br />
end up with my foot wedged in an awkwardlyangled<br />
space, unable to extricate myself!<br />
When I found a comparatively level crouching<br />
or sitting area there came a feeling of relief! Now I<br />
would be able to better enjoy the panoramic vistas<br />
and think great thoughts.... able to feel at one with<br />
the world around me!<br />
Go back 50 years to the early 1970’s - we (my wife,<br />
our 4 pre-teens children and I) were sun-bathing<br />
and relaxing in the summer heat on Moraira’s<br />
Ampola Beach (no official lifeguard look-out stand<br />
in those days - only a basic beach bar).<br />
The 4 were clambering over the jagged rocks that<br />
still fringe the Castello promontory today, jumping<br />
into the shallow waters, clambering back up onto<br />
the rocks, jumping and splashing into the waters<br />
time and time again with inexhaustible energy!<br />
Just watching the children was enough to send<br />
my wife and I into a drowsy siesta.... for a while<br />
at least!<br />
Go back even earlier (the late 1960’s) - a deserted<br />
Loch in the Scottish Highlands, calm weather,<br />
picnic hamper waiting, our children clambering<br />
over a jumble of rocks and boulders at water’s<br />
edge, their grandfather (my father) with us on that<br />
occasion, all looking forward to a simple alfresco<br />
picnic.<br />
The water was in no hurry and lapped gently<br />
onto the shore, lightly blessing mossy rocks and<br />
boulders.... at that moment, at least!<br />
FEBRUARY <strong>2022</strong> | 21<br />
by John<br />
David<br />
Moorhouse<br />
Now go back even further in time (the 1950’s -<br />
65 years ago) - I was courting my future wife, headover-heels<br />
in love with her, thinking wedding bells<br />
and looking forward eagerly to starting a family!<br />
As an only child I was determined to create a<br />
family. Not that my childhood years had been<br />
unusually challenging or dysfunctional (although<br />
my mother had died when I was only 5 years<br />
old).... in fact those young years (looking back<br />
some 70 years from the present) had been exciting,<br />
challenging and full of colour!<br />
The thought of Eunice producing a family<br />
of “happy, healthy wee bairns” thrilled me<br />
enormously.<br />
In 1956 and 1957 I was invited to join Eunice’s<br />
family for two summer holidays on the Isle of<br />
Arran in Scotland.... two unforgettable holidays<br />
(full of love-filled moments) that remain clear in<br />
my mind to this day!<br />
On one occasion (1957), led by my future inlaws,<br />
6 of us went climbing up one of the many<br />
challenging, mountainous slopes that inland Arran<br />
offers to energetic folks. We clambered upwards,<br />
negotiating rocky outcrops, wild heather tangles,<br />
tricky little streams, etc.. It was a lot of fun as we<br />
helped each other up the steep terrain!<br />
Actually, we never reached “the top” - there<br />
were more than enough “thrills” in the clambering<br />
towards it!<br />
Why ‘clamber’ if you can use an uncomplicated<br />
‘easy route’, e.g., a well-paved road.... there are so<br />
many ‘easy routes’ these days!<br />
But, oftentimes, the ‘easy route’ can be<br />
uninteresting, not to say boring!<br />
Let’s face it, we need unsettling challenges in<br />
our lives (from time to time!), circumstances that<br />
cut across our ‘normal routines’, that drag/push<br />
us into new and invigorating activities, making us<br />
react creatively!<br />
Does my “clamber over the rocks’ fascination<br />
reflect my primeval antecedents?<br />
Go back no further than when each of us is<br />
born.... we emerge into a strange, uncomfortable<br />
(?) world.... we have no choice but to ‘clamber<br />
forward’ as best we may.... and the ‘process’<br />
appears to be lifelong!