I am a creature of whimsy and a lover of adventure.
A very warm welcome accompanies this return, which should be heralded and applauded en masse!
Winter Woods is alive and well - and back for more of living life to the maximum under the cover of clandestine activities and fun.
This one is so full of joy and wonder that it could be described as my prior blogs’ hospital hallucinations, but I can confirm it is very real and delightfully so.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who reached out or sent a little something over to help in my recovery. I am still recovering; my confidence is a little down, but I’m working on that! My energy levels are my main ‘Winter’ concern, as it seems I’m still a little low. I have to keep reminding myself that baby steps are the way forward.
My slip back to play dates came a little before Easter, and it’s been a surreal experience. I couldn’t wait to write a blog about it, as I want to remember this past week, always.
I returned home from a date a few days ago with a wide grin on my face, over a week headache-free at this point, and I am finally feeling much more like Winter Woods and less like the corpse bride held together with stitches of whimsy.
You may be aware, but if you are not, I’ll do a refresher now… This year, due partially to my brush with death but also never-ending lust for travel and adventure, I’ve been suffering due to a lack of travel and far too many quiet nights in. So, with that in mind, I’ve got a little deal in place.
The details of which are shockingly good value, it didn’t take long after my posting them before the very first email landed in my inbox with an invitation I practically jumped to say ‘Yes!’
I am, of course, referring to my ‘run-away-with-me’ offering, where I’ve got three various-length trips either at home or abroad that are comparatively lower than my hourly rate. In fact, the shortest offering of one to three days is a little over the cost of an overnight with me. I can hear you all running to that page on my website right now to confirm that, I know you are - I can sense these things!
A darling suitor had been paying attention from afar, and as soon as I listed this wonderful little temptation, he composed an introduction; the timing of it could not have been more fated. As it is exactly what I needed upon my return from the edge of mortality, and mentally, my bags have been packed for months.
Mr Wild, what I’m going to call him, with an A star on the report card for planning and execution, invited me for a few days to escape to the country and explore pastures new. Call me part whore part toddler with a sugar rush, as from the first second of talking with Mr Wild, I knew the connection was there and boy was I right!
I packed my bags, with a few surprises to ice this scrumptious, devious and delicious little cake we were preparing to feast upon.
And from the moment we met, it was electric.
He was a surprise in many ways. We connected on shared interests, to which there were many! And there was a palpable attraction that seemed so pure yet also so very naughty. Mr Wild took me to see the wild creatures (do you get the name now… mind out of the gutter!) and that will live with me until the day I actually do die. I had no clue that we possessed such wild and free creatures in this country; they were so healthy and cared for, and oh so many of them! It was as if they sprouted from thin air, or perhaps I just wished really hard for them, and they answered the call.
Dinner the first evening was a highlight, from playful discussions over whisky and travel to a cheeky disagreement over whether a bust in our Tudor ancestral setting was William Shakespeare (my suggestion) or Sir Walter Raleigh. In the end, we asked ChatGPT as a bunch of slightly tipsy teenagers, and the AI sided with me! I am more than a pretty face; the computers have spoken.
The play time the first evening offered something new to my many years of pleasure seeking, sensory deprivation. I was snuggled up in a sexy slip dress with my earplugs in and eye mask on when he skilfully brought me in for a passionate encounter where I could not see or hear - only feel.
I loved every second of it. But trust is key, and with the connection between Mr Wild and me, the trust was easily found from the get-go.
On the second day, the considerate Mr Wild, having taken into account my recent troubles, booked us a couples spa day where we lay next to one another as our worries washed away. I will truly always be grateful and cherish this memory for the rest of my life, so close to my heart.
You may be wondering how the rest of the second day went.
Well, Mr Wild may have set the bar very high for these run-away-with-me dates, as not only did he indulge two passions of mine back to back, but I’ve come home with something new to add to a growing collection.
The secrets shall stay with me, though. I shall leave you to ponder what on earth the astute gentleman worked out about my interests and what he could have done to pull on my knicker strings so succinctly.
The final night we spent together, we dined out, and afterwards, I may have been so relaxed and happy that I fell asleep against Mr Wild’s chest.
The few days we spent together were a whirlwind of newness, creatures, adventure, nature, relaxing, enjoying and making memories. Which is exactly the point. I want to make more memories like this, where I come home with so much to remember and private jokes only he and I (or you and I) would get. I’m sure if I waved something saved in my handbag at Mr Wild if we were to meet again, we would both have a chuckle, and it’s just ours - as I won’t be sharing that tale either. There was so much laughter I felt at times that my ribs would burst, which is quite worrying as I’ve seen enough hospitals as of late to last me a good while!
As I look back on the past week, there is so much happiness there that I feel I could exist off of it alone for months. But I’m a greedy little thing, and now I have a taste for what these run-away-with-me dates could be, I can’t help but hope that there are more on the horizon with new faces or familiar faces, new places or much-loved returns. What is in the cards for dates as we step ever closer to the glorious summer months that just scream, let’s get away!
There are so many things happening in the world right now, it’s exhausting to consume the news every day and hard to ignore the bone-deep weariness that it seems to summon. I hope that with this on the table, it can be an escape from all that, even if just for a day or two. Where the world slips away, and we can be just two people brimming with whimsical energy and a need to turn the world upside down and give our souls a good shake in the right direction.
Out there in the wild is where we should be, beside oceans or lakes, in nature, nurturing ourselves via this big beautiful planet we happen to inhabit, or exploring history one city break at a time. Forget the noise that is exploding all around us and create a little bubble where we can just be, see and enjoy - everything together.
I am manifesting more because this taste was so tantalising, I may actually be addicted.
Could someone reading this want a hit of this, too?
Let’s dream big as always, and with a little bit of luck (and some planning), perhaps there’s a day not too far away, where you and I are meeting at some port of call and starting on our own unique little adventure.
With Love,
Winter x
