but I think there is some light at the end of the tunnel because I have been craving a good old Golden Age mystery this morning, and not a re-read.

Other than this, I finished Lucia in London (1927) by E.F. Benson and have really enjoyed it. For all of her social scheming and snobbishness, there is a scene at the end of the book that again shows how Emmeline Lucas, “Lucia”, is not the horrible pathetic person that she seems to be in much of the book. While the lure of London’s vibrant life sees Lucia abandon her friends in Riseholme and come up with the most pretentious of machinations, by the end of the book Lucia seems to sort of find herself again.

This is really a delicious series. There is much spite between the characters, but in a way, the books remind me Jane Austen’s world of intrigue and struggle to maintain or attain a certain social position.

Anyway, I’ll continue with my re-read of the series, but may take a break to add in that GA mystery that has been calling to me.

Other than slumping, I’ve managed to make the most of a break between our seemingly never-ending winter storms (5 so far, mostly back to back), and went adventuring to one of the nature reserves just north of the city. Not the same one I went to last time, even tho the scenery is quite similar.
Just north of the beach that is a dedicated seal haul-out, is another coastal reserve with massive sand dunes, a gorgeous beach that is very quiet (because there are no roads to it – there are three trails, each about 2 or 2.5 km, which put off most people from visiting. Also, no amenities.), and a moor to the north. I had not been there before so didn’t know what to expect. I also didn’t know how long the trail was and didn’t realise there were no short-cuts back to the main car park. So, after we passed the point of no return (or so it felt like), the trail became a real adventure for me.
Two hours and 6 km later, I was glad to see the car park again. So, was Andy, I think. Once we came home, we both slept for the rest of the day.

I think what I enjoyed best about this walk (apart from having to jump over a small stream), was the change in scenery – we went from an estuary to the dunes to the beach to a moor. Each looked different, and each was as enjoyable as the other.