Ever been to a spa? Or had a massage? I like massages and sometimes write posts about them – read Learning How To Listen From A Masseur. I recently visited a spa for a massage and some much-needed tranquility. The steam room was lovely. The pool was warm too and the jacuzzi was quite fierce, but in a nice way. Wonderfully calming. Or so I thought…

Maybe it was a hen weekend or perhaps a synchronised swimming team on a break or maybe both, but either way, a group of five women in matching dark blue swimming costumes and pink swimming caps had just entered the pool area and I was getting a strong sense that their accompanying volume was about to put paid to my tranquility.

As staying in the pool was now starting to turn into a challenge, I moved back into the steam room to escape for some kind of silence. The amusing thing is that since starting this blog a few weeks ago, it was the first time I’ve literally been trying to get ‘away from the noise’. Fortunately, they chose to stay in the pool chatting rather than come into the rather hot steam room, so I was left to sweat away in silent tranquility. Bliss!

What struck me most about this experience was of course the irony of going somewhere for some tranquility and then having to get ‘away from the noise’ while you’re there. However, it did get me thinking that perhaps the ‘noise’, whatever that may be to each of us, is always with us and it’s how we choose to react to it that is the ongoing challenge. Either way, the thai massage I had afterwards was fantastic, so I’m definitely going back. Noise or no noise…