Blown away

Jon has a lot of lovely friends. Unsurprising really, as he is a lovely person.
I hadn't made plans for the second long weekend in a row. I'd been too obsessed with the first one, as it provided my first days off so far this year (illness excluded as that's no fun). Then, all of a sudden it was here, and miraculously, the sun was still shining! So I went for a cider after work, then a burger, then found that I was remarkably tired and slept early, and lengthily.
On Friday, after satisfying my compulsion to clean the house, I was ready to celebrate not working by drinking, doing this first in a garden, then in the studio, welcoming various friends who dropped by. We'd intended to find a street party but never really got that far, as when we left the studio it was already time for tea, then the pub, then a bar.
One of the friends we'd seen on Friday had convinced us to join him the following day for a trip to Mersea, so we had an early start on Saturday.
It was the first time I'd been to Mersea. Actually, I'd not really heard of the place before, and I can't tell you how to get there as I spent the journey asleep. Anyway, it's quite far from Bristol, and very windy. We pitched our tents in the campsite and stomped across the beach to Jon's house, where his generous parents were hosting the bank holiday for Jon, his brothers and around 40 of his friends. They have a massive garden, which is thankfully sheltered from the wind.
The next two days were spent drinking, barbecuing, walking across the beach and huddling in a tent while the wind threatened to blow us into the air and across the sea. We wouldn't have gone far, as the sea at Mersea is more like a muddy estuary, with a view of houses and power plants on the opposite shore, but I didn't fancy being blown across it.
I have been utterly spoilt growing up in Cornwall, and in terms of natural beauty, Mersea does not compare. However, what it did offer was sunshine, fresh air and seafood, a beautiful sunset and lots of lovely people. I was blown away, almost literally, by Mersea.