Baths, prunes and World Records.

After a lovely Christmas with family and extended family we are now having a weeks break in Sidmouth. We normally book to stay in rural holiday cottages but this time we are in a lovely Victorian townhouse. Billy dog loves the view from the large bay window seat where he can watch the passers by, and we are enjoying being in a town for a change.

One thing that I do always insist on in holiday accommodation is a bath tub. At home, as my flat is the size of a postage stamp, I only have room for a shower so it's always a treat to have a soak in a bath when on holiday. We have a lovely big bathroom in this holiday house at the top of the first flight of stairs, so after a walk yesterday I was looking forward to coming back for a bath. A cup of tea later I ran the hot water, added some bubbles, stripped off and climbed in.

The one problem with the bathroom here is that there is no lock on the door, this should not have been an issue as we agreed that if the door is shut then the room is in use. I lay back in the scented water, letting the bubbles engulf me and anticipated lieing there until I resembled a wrinkled prune. Bliss.

This was when I understood why there was a door wedge on the floor behind the bathroom door, not to hold the door open as I had mistakenly assumed but to keep it closed. It seemed that the hot steamy air had a lubricating affect on the door catch because as I lay back in the water the bathroom door slowly  but inexorably opened.

My next realisation was that the bathtub was in line with the glass paned front door. I had a direct view from the bath down the stairs and out the front door. With a vague sense of amusement I realised that if it had been light outside I could have lain in the bath and watched people walk by outside. A bath with a view. Unfortunately as it was dark I couldn't see out.

My third epiphany, which struck me almost at the same time as the cold draft from the front door, was the realisation that although it was too dark outside for me to see people going by, it was in fact very bright in the bathroom. Thanks to some very efficient lighting the people going by would have no problem seeing me! I sunk down below the water, not only to avoid prying eyes but to try and keep out of the Arctic breeze that was racing up the stairs towards me.

Needless to say my bath wasn't very relaxing after this as I spent most of the time trying to keep out of sight, stay warm and planning how I was going to get from the tub to the radiator, where my towel was warming, in the shortest and least exposed period of time. If there was an Olympic sport for getting out of a bathtub I feel sure that yesterday I set, not only a personal best, but a new world record.

Happy new year everyone, please bathe safely.