Just a couple of old fossils

The Knap, looking east

Today has turned out to be one of those priceless, special days. You know the ones I mean. Not much happens but you are with people who care for you and you care for them and it just works.
I went to bed fairly early last night. No point in staying up if you have to stand up to stay awake is there? I don't remember Mr M coming to bed but he must have done because when I got up at 4am - A Pox on getting old I say! - to go for a wee he was snoring for Britain. By 7am, when I woke again I just knew I was completely recharged and no more sleep could get into my batteries so I got up and did all the morning things that this household requires, plus the odd reset of the central heating boiler that isn't usually on my list.

The Knap, looking west

Slight tangent here but if you knew before you bought it that a central heating and hot water boiler would require you to occasionally twiddle taps and recalibrate pressure would you buy it? No, I thought not and if I had known that this all singing all dancing combi boiler was going to require me to do anything except adjust the timer I certainly wouldn't have let them put it where they did! OK rant over.

Fossils

I let the chickens out and filled their food and water, took the tablets required to stop my head blowing off with high blood pressure, discovered that there wasn't enough washing to make a complete load - that made the day get off to a good start - and then Mr M was awake and sitting........ no I'll rephrase that..... And then Mr M was sitting at the end of the table looking all fuzzy and out of focus.

another fossil

A cuppa in Porthcawl

"How about," I said in a clear voice that would cut through the deafness of sleep, "How about Bacon and Eggs?"
"OOh, bacon and egg sandwiches!" he said still looking a bit fuzzy.
"No, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, black pudding and a slice of fried bread, how about that?"
The fuzzy edges were gone, he sat at the end of the table fully awake and smiling from ear to ear.
After this repast we had to go out to a shop called Buyology. They always have something we desperately need and they didn't fail us this time. I have a Christmas card holder that is crying out for me to "embellish " it a bit and there were some excellent stocking filler type things for the older grandchildren and some cute little LED candlelights that look like mince pies. I also found a pocket diary and a desk diary for next year so now all the important dates have been transferred and when we go to the dentist next month I have Mr M's shifts all sorted for when I have to make the next appointment.
"Where shall we go now?" he asked as we climbed back into the car. "Anywhere you like" I replied.
So we went to Morrisons in Barry for a cuppa and then carried on along the coast to The Knap.
Now I have never been there! How could my father not have taken us there? anyway I was enchanted. The beach is totally made of pebbles but when you look at the cliffs they are of a totally different type of stone - how can that be? It's not man made, as far as I am aware. It is certainly a good beach for finding fossils as Mr M shows. The pebbles are quite a uniform size, or they were where we were standing. It's just so lovely. We decided that we could live there in one of the waterfront apartments with a big patio space so that Mr M can sit and listen to the waves splashing over the pebbles and then sucking them back as they retreat.
From there we travelled past Cardiff Airport to Porthcawl. This used to be the holiday destination for the welsh miners and every year the town would be full to overflowing with folk from the valleys, during miners fortnight. Of course it wasn't just miners but steelworkers and foundrymen who came to Porthcawl for their annual few days of fresh air and sunshine. Plus the odd pint of beer. Porthcawl was traditionally the place where people came for a holiday while Barry was the day trip capital of south Wales.
The Knap is the posh part of Barry, where the white collar workers would stay in bed and breakfast for  their holidays and the middle classes retired there. The rich went to Penarth of course.
You cannot go to Porthcawl without going to the fairground or having a cuppa at the chip shop. My cup of coffee was absolutely what you expect from a sea front kiosk, weak and tasteless, but it was hot and did go down very well. Mr M said his tea was just the same.
We had a little walk along the front and watched the people for a while. Then the sea breeze reminded us that even with such beautiful sunshine it was still October and the cold was creeping under our fleece jackets so we climbed back into the car and came home.
The sunshine was a delight, the company was superb. The conversation flowed between us with barely a pause, except for a few moments on the beach where we stood arm in arm and just listened to the waves. Just a couple of old fossils