Poorliness and Presents

Summer colds are horrible. It’s just not the right time of year for such poorliness. The cold didn’t know that it was the wrong season, and my goodness, did I feel grotty for the eight days (yes, eight whole days) that it afflicted me.

I’m happy to say that it finally bid a retreat just in time for my birthday. Yes, another year has passed; my age has crept up another notch.

There’s usually a very strong outdoors theme in my birthday wish-list, and this year was no exception. However, whereas usually I use such occasions as an opportunity to get frivolous gear (i.e. stuff that I want but, strictly, don’t need and therefore struggle to justify buying for myself) the only items on my wish-list were books.

So, with my outdoorsy-books obsession fed for a while longer, I now have:

- Two Josie Dew books.
I discovered her by accident last year when Ma-in-Law dragged me into a cheap book shop and even though cycling has never appealed to me as a past time, I’m hooked on her adventures, so I’m now on a mission to read everything she’s written.
- GR5 Guidebook from Cicerone.
I’m trying to work out if I can fit both that and the TGOC into next year whilst also back working full time!.
- North to the Cape Guidebook from Cicerone.
Another one on the to-do list.
- Down Under by Bill Bryson.
The excellent B&B in which we stayed in Welshpool had a copy of this on its bookshelf and I read the first couple of chapters. Reluctantly, I put it back on the shelf before we left; now I can finish it.
- National Trails Book from Cicerone. I bought a copy for a friend last year and had book envy, so put it on my wish-list. Due to a bit of a lack of co-ordination (entirely my fault) I ended up with two copies – one has been returned to Amazon and replaced with:
- Two Chris Townsend Books – The Rockies one and the Alaska one.

I also have a little bit of present-money to fritter away, and can you believe that I can’t think of any outdoor gear that I want to buy with it? So I may just be a bit girly and buy some new earrings instead (after all, since Cannich on our walk I’ve been sharing two earrings between four holes, so it’s about time I replaced those I lost on the way).