Moors Valley Country Park

What do a Bloody Mary, canned fish and moist river sand all have in common? They are all meant to supposedly cure a hangover. Okay, canned fish has plenty of minerals and a Bloody Mary has tomatoes and celery, but why ‘moist river sand’? In Ireland, it is said that burying a drunk up to the neck in mud will cure them. I cannot fault their logic.

"I don't want to be buried in moist river sand!"

I find the best way to get over the night before is to wake up and get on with things. Charlie Sheen admitted to being drunk when filming the majority of the film, Wall Street. He said: “I'd begun drinking all the time. We shot in New York City, so I'd be out to the bars every night till 3 or 4 a.m., then try to show up for a 6 a.m. call to stand toe-to-toe with Michael Douglas and handle 50% of a scene.” Wall Street went on to make $43.8million dollars in Northern America alone – not bad for a guy that acted when drunk. The Charlie Sheen of today, however, has been in rehab three times but still isn’t afraid of relapsing – how did he cure himself? “I blinked and I cured my brain, that's how.”

Waking up with a hangover is significantly different than overdosing but the same principle applies. This morning I decided to get over my hangover with a trip to Moors Valley Park with my sister, her partner and their son. To get to the Park, (which is about ten miles north of Bournemouth) we went by car and travelled through the New Forest. This meant driving through the network of country roads, bypassing remote Dorset villages and towns: Alderholt, Fordingbridge, Downton.

A brook in Moors Valley

At the Park, it was great to walk around Moors Lake and down small paths to the woodland area. Harry, who celebrates his first birthday in June, seemed to like the sun more than the ‘grown ups’ did. He would throw off his sunhat every five minutes; we would try and stay in the shade underneath Dogwoods and Maples. Jess was, as far as I could tell, indifferent towards the weather.

Richie, Steph and Harry

Overall, it gave me the chance to recover and reflect upon how things are in the South as well as spend time with my family. It’s the small things like returning home and eating my first roast since the Christmas holidays that make you realise how much you miss things. But not in a sad way – I never regret moving to University. Spending time with family instils you with a nostalgic sense of pride.

Moors Lake

Tomorrow, we are all visiting Stonehenge – a place I would pass on my journey to school every day. It’s been a year since I’ve seen the Salisbury Plains so I’m quite excited. In fact, both the Plains and Stonehenge have crept into one of my poems at University – I achieved three percent under a first. 

Most importantly though, Stonehenge means I can spend time with my family. 

I can't wait for my next trip with Uncle Jon!