I’ve just got back from a brilliant two weeks away with my family. We went where we go every year, a beautiful little seaside town called Polzeath, Cornwall. I can honestly only describe this place as a little touch of heaven. It’s gorgeous, without being stuck up, the people are friendly and down to earth and every time we go the sun seems to grace us with its presence (which is very lucky considering we’re still in England.)
And sun we did see. There was rain (a little), sun (a little bit more) and A LOT of hunky surfer dudes, with their muscles, and their tans, and their muscles, and… you get the picture. Needless to say the views were mind-blowing.
But it wasn’t all sweetness and light, no no no nothing ever is when you’re Abbie Williamson. On the third day mother nature decided she wanted in on the holiday and decided to grace me with her presence. Cue a mad dash to Spar to grab an emergency supply of jumbo jumbo sized tampons and as many sanitary towels as I could fit into my arms without dropping them everywhere and embarrassing myself in front of beautiful surfer number one.
This was not the end of my worries though. A few days later a number of family members were struck with a sickness bug, I’m talking non-stop spewing for a good 24 hours. This meant I was holed up in bed for a day with the most excruciating stomach pains, and whilst I wasn’t sick, I completely lost my appetite for two days (and still managed to put on weight.)
And then finally there were the jellyfish. Not just one jellyfish though. Hundreds of jellyfish wherever you stepped. I’ve been going to this beach since I was six years old, and never in those 17 years have I seen that amount of jellyfish. There were clear ones with pink bits, purple ones with tentacles, purple ones without tentacles, all different shapes and sizes. We were kindly informed by the lifeguards that the clear ones wouldn’t sting at all, and only the purple ones with tentacles would sting, but it would literally be like a nettle sting that would last five minutes. That’s not so bad you think. Well it’s not so bad unless YOU’RE THE ONE BEING STUNG. I wasn’t even in the sea, I was paddling around the rock pools whilst all the kids were looking for crabs. Suddenly all up my right foot and ankle started to sting, it felt like a really bad shaving rash, and it went all red and blotchy. And I can tell you that it most certainly did not last five minutes. Try ten. Okay, so it wasn’t that bad, and I did make a bit of a fuss for nothing, well until my cousin asked who was going to do the deed. Suddenly the pain was gone. There’s nothing like horror of someone peeing on your leg to relieve a jellyfish sting.
After that it did take a couple of days for me to build up the confidence to go in the sea again. I know I’m 23 and jellyfish shouldn’t really scare me, but I’m not a great sea lover. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m a water baby at heart, give me a heated swimming pool or the nice clear med, but there’s something about dark, murky sea water that gives me the heebie jeebies. Once back in the sea though, I did some shit hot body boarding, and some, well just shit surfing. I was more like a poser with a board to be honest. Gotta attract those surfer boys somehow.
Finally, and probably the most heart-stopping ordeal of all was losing my iPhone on a crowded beach. Sad I know, but it really is my life-line. After running back and forth frantically searching through the sand, I had almost given up hope when my mother appeared from the lifeguard hut clutching and iPhone with a pink polka dot case. Hallelujah. Scrolling through my pictures a couple of days later I noticed one that I hadn’t taken. Of someone I didn’t know. A lifeguard.
After all those (mini) ordeals, I could finally get on and enjoy my holiday. I did a lot of sunbathing, and a lot of reading. Two of my favourite things. And I thought all my Christmases had come at once when there was a rave on the beach. House music, hot DJ’s and surfer boys, what more could a girl want? Sadly none of my family are really into the house scene, and the fact that it was full of old people kind of ruined the vibe.
All in all I had a fantastic two-week break with my family. I’ve come home with a cracking tan, which is always important and I feel refreshed and ready to go.
Oh and by the way, if you’re that lifeguard, get in touch.
AbbieElizabeth 