Tuesday 27 April 2010

Lakes of Luxury

I have lived the British way for twenty years now; it’s a simple life but it’s full of systems and hierarchies which you work through without a second glance. The ideology of public education escalating to a prospective wealth is embedded in our sub consciousness from such an early age. Money is good, good jobs bring lots of money. It’s a simple rule of thumb but how they underestimate the steepness of the ladder.

We juggle many things in life, we want friends and we want success. Success brings friends but they’re not necessarily the ones we would make if we were broke. These are the ones we want, those who are there through everything, and those who love us for who we are, not what it says on our CV. After another year at university where my main objective has been to try and gain decent grades, the path has been lined with thorns which have swayed me. I never want to lose those at home whom I never used to go a day without seeing, this now spans to weeks and only recently have I realised, that if they are worth keeping, they’ll be there when I get back home in only a matter of weeks.

This allowed me to take a much needed break. I had a day off work last Saturday, on the way to university the previous Sunday; I received a text from a friend whom I haven’t seen in at least a year inviting me to many a student’s menace, yes, the pub. I had already planned my weekend because my parents had booked a weekend at the Lakes... This posed a potential problem for me, I wanted badly to go and see these friends but I also wanted to spend some time with my family, especially since, when I go home; they seem to get the least attention despite how much they do for me. I figured that my friends could continue fine without me for a few more days and chose the lakes.

It wasn’t the most exciting of places. However, spectacular views and the overall feeling of content, which overcame me once I stopped obsessing over uni work, was worth missing one night at a Manchester indie venue. I was able to relax but also visit so many places in only two days, I relished being able to take in the vista passing me by so leisurely whilst I listened to music on my iPod. Windermere prompted a boat ride, which lead us to a little known town called Bowness. It may seem obvious but again, as my parents pointed out, who goes to the lakes without taking a trip on the water? There was a magnificent view across a marina where I spotted a boat called Meerkat, I smiled at this as I enjoyed yet more splendour through the window of a pub restaurant on a Saturday evening, we returned there the following day after visiting Keswick which felt rather strange as the same staff served us our meal.

Such places boast a spirit, which surpasses many, with unique little shops and a tiny local public house on the curve of the junction. Another pub half an hour into the journey was set back against the rolling hills with bikers sitting outside, something about these small businesses suggests such a tight knit community. This is sometimes lacking in the suburbs of cities. It makes a change to see trees proceeding in lines along the road, rather than the usual scattering of run down shops, preened cul de sacs and alleyways. Not even the stream of Conservative signs nailed to every other tree and fence perturbed me. The only form of repetition that did annoy me seemed to come in the form of the iPod. I cannot fathom how to make shuffle last through a power off!

It only seemed right on my return to uni that we did a bit more sightseeing but of the Liverpool area. We visited Crosby to see the statues by Anthony Gormley, who is also responsible for the Angel of the North. I had preconceptions that there would only be a couple of statues, perhaps in a line and there wouldn’t be much to it. In fact, there are 100 of these figures which are moulded to the shape of the artists’ own body scattered across the entire beach, all of whom are fully submerged at full tide and some were already ‘wading’ in the water as we arrived. Of course, the first one was fresh with graffiti ‘2k10’ scrawled across the chest. Nobody can leave anything alone these days. We visited the leisure centre which was intriguingly shaped... almost like a UFO as my dad pointed out, I wonder who was responsible for that. We did find other statues that were untarnished and were able to absorb their atmosphere without being distracted by the scrawling.

On my return to Ormskirk, I felt refreshed. I was able to settle back into my room having unpacked my suitcase again. Living in a suitcase might not be a lifestyle choice for me in the future, where my life will take me is unforeseen. As I was reminded today, I don’t have to have one main route in life, I can dabble in many fields which can be applied to now. I have friends at home, at work and at university, I love them for who they are and with the knowledge of a solid base I can push to achieve without any worries that I will lose anything important on the way. Hopefully these avenues will lead to something I can be proud of.

Pictures soon =]