Standing Out

I have lived in my present home for more than half my life. Prior to moving here I had lived in 14 different homes which on average means a move every two years. That is slightly skewed by the different addresses I shared over 4 years in University but even without that the longest I spent at any one address was 4 years.

One of the consequences of those frequent moves was that it was hard to make or maintain friendships, and it also made it difficult to feel that I fitted in. That being said however, moving around meant that I had a lot of opportunities that other kids didn't have. I got to see more of the country, experiencing life in large towns and in very rural areas. I had the freedom to explore, and even do some pretty foolish things. I have met many  interesting people and had some great times. I learned to be independent and I feel confident going to new places.

I have been thinking about this recently because in my social media feeds I have had a number of "friend suggestions" for people who have attended some of the schools I attended many years ago. Some of the names I remember, most I don't but it has been interesting to think about the different directions peoples lives have taken them.

I have also thought about some of the interesting characters I have met and despite only being in my life briefly have stood out for one reason or another. One such person, whose name I certainly do not recall was a couple of years older than me and I met him at school when I was 11. He would ask people for their full date of birth and then as quick as anything would tell them the day of the week on which they had been born. I was fascinated by this ability and I would get some of my friends to go and test him out, every time he was right. I asked all my family what day of the week they had been born on and used their dates of birth to test him, he never failed. In the book that I have just finished reading there is a character, a 15 year old boy who spends all his time in a library, rarely speaking to anyone but who has the same ability, it felt like a strange coincidence that I had been thinking about that lad in school and then to read about someone in a work of fiction. (There is clearly no connection because my school was in Kent and the novel is from Japan), I had never really considered that there might e someone else who could do this amazing thing.

Despite having this unusual ability this lad had no desire to stand out, he kept mostly to himself and I can imagine that he would have been a little fed up with people like me pestering him to perform. At 11 I didn't appreciate that but now I am so much older I definitely understand. I have been in situations where the spotlight has been on me and while that can bring its own rewards I find that it is nicer to slip into the background and do my own thing.

The images that I have chosen to accompany my musings today were all taken last week. The first is of Little Eye, the smallest of three islands in the small archipelago that consists of Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre Island. It is a good mile offshore and when the tide is out it seems further away and little more than a lump of rock which is a marker for those walking to the other islands. Surrounded by the tide as it is here, it appears larger and stands out a little more.

The wind turbines are also quite interesting, they are part of the Burbo Bank wind farm and at times under different light and atmospheric conditions they appear tiny and far far away. On other occasions they can appear much closer, and sometimes, like here with the mist surrounding them they can appear to be floating above the horizon.

The person in the final image stood out to me, in part because of the way she is silhouetted against the misty hills in part because of her reflection in the calm water of the lake and also because with the tide rising it would not be long before the sea was coming over the path and I wondered whether she would make round without getting her feet wet.