Beautiful Night, Beautiful Morning
I must tell you about the most wonderful sunrise I have ever seen. It was a couple of Sundays ago, 4.45 in the morning and I was on my bike cycling back from Grove House through the country lanes above Sandridgebury. I was dog tired, and just wanted to get home, when above the trees the giant red sphere of the sun began to rise. I just stopped my bike and waited, watching in wonder. There was a very light mist in all the fields which added to this transcendental picture. In those early minutes of a new day I could stare directly at the sun before it rose too high and ignited in the sky. All my fatigue left me and these images have stayed with me, which is why I want to share them.
It is a privilege to see something like that. Yet the sun comes up every day, and I, for one rarely set my alarm clock to watch it. I should do,and as I've got older, ahve found myself going out for a run to deliberatley revel in the day break. But it is really only special occassions when one finds oneself seeing something so special. So why was i up at such an ridiculous hour? I had just finished tidying up the last bits and pieces from the Grove House Midnight Walk. It had been a wonderful evening, with nearly 1000 women (and a few men in drag) turning out to walk the 9 mile route around St Albans.
I 
love this event. It is all about being out at a time when you know you should really be tucked up in bed. No matter how grown up and mature you are meant to be, there is something deliciously exciting about being with a group of rfriends and other people in a show of mass solidarity, when every one else is fast asleep. The atmosphere at the start is terrific. Seeing the participants laughing and joking with their glow-in-the-dark jewellery and then dancing to "Here Come The Girls" canot but make you smile and feel good. We had a very emotional speech from a Grove House patient, Sarah who then joined in to walk teh route herself. She was accompanied by Joe McGann, our celebrity speaker, who gave the participants a rousing speech and sent them on their way. And what a star, he walked the route himself, encouraging everyone, and winning a few more fans, I bet.
9 miles is quite a slog at that time and after the initial excitement of the mass start, the walkers fall into a natural rhythmn. At about 1.30/2ish, there is a quiet that descends on people as they grapple with the distance and the body's natural inclination to want to find its way into a warm bed. But at the 7 mile mark everyone comes to life again as St Albans fire station is reached and those gorgeous fireman dish out drinks and encouragement. Funny how most of the women seem to be a bit more motivated after that, whereas the men in drag are still struggling.
A real highlight is watching the walkers return. Some are desperate for drinks, some just want to get to bed, but the majority are happy to stay and chat and take in the atmosphere. But I'd say there is pretty much 100% happiness on the site. I'm back to it again, but I think that positive energy is that joy of being awake in the small hours, knowing that the rest of the world is still sleeping - and you feel so alive!
I guess that was what moved me so much as I cycled home that morning. I was on a high and that sunrise marked the end of a beautiful night, and the start of a beautiful day. Maybe working at Grove House has made me understand just how important these special hours are.