Onwards and Upwards

It's turning out to be quite a year for scaling heights - and some small physical, and perhaps even mental, goals and ambitions achieved en route...

Starting off at the very top of the British Isles looking up at Ben Nevis from the foothills around Fort William – the outdoor capital of the UK... Early morning walks up Cow Hill a couple of times whetted our appetite for further exploits and perhaps more achievable and accessible goals than attempting to climb Ben Nevis in March – with a covering of snow, changeable weather and distinctly chilly conditions. Certainly a bridge too far for me at any time of year!

So, a month later, especially to mark my husband's birthday, and as a nod to his 5 years in the RAF Mountain Rescue team, we returned to those days with a trip to Snowdonia. We actually climbed to the summit of Snowdon – taking the Pyg track up and the Miner's track down – on his special day – April 18th, exactly 60 years after one of his earlier (and by this time – historic!) climbs. But – as he wishes to say, he did once climb all the '14 peaks' in about 12 hours.... so Snowdon was only one ascent of many and definitely taken in his stride! However – quite an achievement for me, with my inexperience and fear of heights, but 2 things helped enormously...

Firstly, the clouds descended at just the right moment to cover any views of steep 'drops' or precipices, and a sort of team spirit seemed to prevail amongst all of us tackling the climb that day – never mind the differing levels of expertise.

And that's it, isn't it really? Taking things a step at a time, not looking back, just concentrating on the present, and then realizing that we are all 'in it' together and jollying and encouraging each other along the path or way ahead.

Other goals await and many more hills and mountains to climb – but maybe I'm now just hanging onto the first rung of the ladder!

Meanwhile, the numbers following me on Instagram (pariscelia_author) have increased nicely, with some positive and enjoyable discourse, my own book reading has definitely expanded in quantity and variety, and I'm even finding time to run through my scales on piano most days! All set down on paper at the start of the year as 'goals' or endeavours to try and achieve in 2024.

Plus of course, the on-going ambition to get another book published – my own personal bookshelves are fast filling up!

So, onwards and upwards – here are some photos to inspire and illustrate my News:-

A view of Ben Nevis in March,

and a couple marking our ascent of Snowdon in April.

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