Making the mark

I found the time, and the place, to break the surface of the Wanderings Notebook. The brand of the "Midori-style" notebook I had been given. It was either birthday or wedding anniversry, I can't rememebr which, the look of satisfaction on the giver's face I do remember. 

"I've found something you'l like," 

They were on the mark. 

Last year, I acquired a pair of cats, and that is definitely another story! 

Back in the patch of changeable weather that calls itself Summer on the Yorkshire coast. A procession of sunshine, pleasant, warm, and now and again hot. Rain, running the range from drizzle - walking through a low cloud leaving you feeling wet and uncomfortable - it gets into all the nooks and crannies - to torrential. Saturated in seconds, not as discomforting as drizzle.

The fog, an East coast sea fret, drifts in after warm weather and dense enough to wake the foghorn. Quite a mixture to stir into  a few nights away from home. 

Travel, excitement and activity, good food and then collapse into a cloud of crisp white Egyptian cotton after the sun drops behind the North Yorkshire Moors, and the fog slips ashore. It gets a bit Stephen King, A strange house, a strange bed and the deep sonorous note of mournful resignation from the harbour. A baritone sigh from the belly of the sea, tapping into the light sleep, at one minute intervals until the fog clears about 4.00 a.m.

You wake to brilliant sunlight all around. Fog, what fog, you must have been dreaming!

In the esoteric wrapping of the holiday was the moment I pulled aside the retaining loop and opened the book with intent to write, a review of a Fish and Chip restaurant. Yes, a fish and chip shop. Look, it's Scarborough on the Yorkshire Coast, and they do damn good fish and chips, and Black Sheep Ale. Enough said!

A few scribbled notes, and I forgot to grab the significant point - the Amercian singer who inspired the name "Winking Willy." (Any suggestions, drop me a line.)

No clues line the walls, the decor is strictly nautical, and locally flavoured. The  local maritime bric-a-brac, an occasional tip to the wider world,  with a whisp of baudy seaside humour.

 

The owner plays on the name, Willy, euphemistically male organs - Do I have to spell it out? The serious business of combating the Covid 19 virus gets a lighter touch. The hygiene drill begins with the hand gel, dispensed from the Willy Sanitiser, and Willy Distancing encourages social separation.The largest dish they serve is "Willy's whopper," a real belly buster. 

Social distancing tables reduced the number of seats available, but for the diner, the distance made the evening more intimate. There is no sense of being cheek by jowl with the next table. The staff had more time to jnteract with the customers.

It did the trick, the smooth clear paper had been marked and I could now easily scribble away, and the book has a clip for the Jotter ballpoint. The knock on effect is curious, a reticence to jot things ad hoc has gone and the scribbles, jottings and doodles on the pages are often only connected by their physical recording between the covers . 

The odd thing is, the feel for this style of notebook is so comfortable, like it's been it's around for ever.  A few weeks before lockdown I had no inkling of the potential.  The past few months have opened my eyes to the freedom and flexibility found among the users.

It has the potential to become obsessive.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Martyn