Matthew Munson: Libraries, a ghost tour and dad and son time

I’ve had the chance to spend a week with my son, just pottering, and that’s been lovely. I hadn’t structured much for this week; it’s nicer sometimes to take things as they go, and I did that with gusto.

Unbidden, Bryan wanted to write a short story in Spanish (which he is still working on), so on Monday we decided to set up a proper workspace in Broadstairs Library. We both took our laptops and worked on our respective stories. We took it easy, didn’t put any pressure on ourselves, and just wrote.

On Tuesday, Bryan was still very engaged with his story, so decided to go back to a library – Ramsgate this time. While there, I bumped into two friends and chatted with them; one friend helped me with a writing dilemma and the other friend and I put the world to rights. Once again, Bryan and I spent the afternoon writing in each other’s company – perfection.

Bryan wanted to do this again on Wednesday, so we schlepped back to Ramsgate Library, and on Thursday, we went a little further afield to Birchington Library. Yep, you’d better believe we spent four days this week writing in libraries. It was lovely to see friends I once worked with on Wednesday and Thursday; I don’t see them very often, but I think highly of them, and it was wonderful to chat and laugh with them.

I hadn’t known at the start what I was going to do during the week, but how it ended up was lovely. Thursday evening, we went on a tour of Canterbury; a Ghost Tour, which fit in nicely with Halloween. The chap behind The Canterbury Tours – John Hippisley – runs a few different tours and he had arranged for a friend and colleague to conduct our tour on his behalf. He was brilliant, and one managed to make Bryan jump so much that the lid of his hot chocolate container popped off and went flying into the air. The work of a master.

We spent a fantastic 90+ minutes in his company, strolling around the centre of Canterbury in the dark. We were only interrupted twice; once by a lady who – I suspect – was a little too refreshed, and the second time by some very strange sounds coming from an upstairs window. I don’t want to know what he / she was up to. Our tour guide was fascinating, talking about Canterbury’s history. He was funny and thought-provoking, and it was a great way to spend an evening. We didn’t get home until 11pm or so, so I wasn’t surprised that Bryan had a lie in the following morning. I was up early and pottering, but that’s fine – I like the quiet of early mornings.

It’s been a genuine pleasure to spend some quality time with my brilliant son this week. He’s growing up and heavily involved in school and dance, both of which consume a lot of his time. I utterly support Bryan’s passion for dancing; he comes very much alive when he’s in the dance studio. Every year, we go to the Marlowe panto in Canterbury, and this year, I had to change the date we were going; the original date I’d booked was on the day when he was meant to be doing three dance lessons, so it was the panto that obviously needed to be moved. He really didn’t want to have to miss the dance lessons, and I totally support that.

For me, simple weeks like this are lovely; no pressure, very little clock watching, and just going with the flow. Oh, and spending time with my son – I probably should have put that first, shouldn’t I?