I was particularly happy as we drove back from shopping at Newton Abbot this afternoon, not simply because it was a hot sunny day, or because everything looked so picturesque under the sun and the sky of blue and white, although it has to be said that these things put a smile on everybody’s face; but no, the main reason for my jubilance was because my mum had just bought me two fishing rods and tackle. Well, they weren’t solely for my use (I can use only one at a time) but it was my desire to get them as I intend to go fishing. A good friend is coming over from Australia and he loves fishing, and I’m hoping that Chris will develop a liking for the sport (or pastime, in my case because when I go fishing I don’t usually get much sport). I already have a fishing rod but, truthfully, it cost only £7 and I have my suspicions that it’s a children’s rod because it’s quite short and reedy. Our new rods cost £15.99 and are much bigger so I have higher hopes for some sport.

So that’s mainly why I was happy, plus the fact that, when I asked Chris if we could drive off the busy road to the lookout point in order to look at the river and take a few photographs on my mobile, after a little grumble, and against his better judgement (because we would “never get back onto the main road again”) he actually turned off and we spent a lovely twenty minutes or so enjoying the view. Chris even offered me a piggy back off the wall that I was standing on, though I preferred to take a gigantic step down (luckily I can nearly do the splits) with him to steady me.

We made it back onto the busy main road alright but the traffic made our progress home quite slow, but even that couldn’t spoil my happiness; on the contrary, it was quite handy for my purposes….

“What are you taking photo’s of?” asked my mother as she could see me holding my mobile up, and to the sides, this way and that, and she could hear me clicking away.

“The clouds,” I answered.

“Clouds?”

“Yes, you know how you can see faces and animals in the shapes of the clouds? Well, one day I’m going to produce a book with illustrations of faces in the clouds and it will be called ‘Head in the Clouds’ – I’m collecting heads.”

“No-one could say that you aren’t an unusual girl,” said my mum dryly.

She may have meant it as a compliment; I certainly took it that way – I was so happy!

Here are some shots of the river and the heads in the clouds, just to show I’m not mad.