McHugh's Miscellany - A change is as good as a holiday . . .

I have had a few days off to reflect on life, liberty and having engaged in some soul searching and inflicted upon myself some general idleness that can sometimes come with the territory of having a few days off, I peaked when reaching a brief period of Zen.

Now, I can safely say that a change is indeed as good as a holiday.

But this was definitely a staycation, rather than packing my bags and applying to ingratiate myself with the joys of the fair Irish skin, landing in warmer climes, which by all recent news searches, was an experience on the Continent that was nothing short of dreadful.

A case of switching off rather than recharging the batteries was required.

A case of turning the focus on oneself, rather than everyone and everything else!

You can sometimes feel guilty, if not engaged in some productive activity or ignoring those little jobs around the house, that you promised you would start or even finish.

Or when you wake up naturally and realise that the rising from the slumber has not occurred after ten slaps of the snooze button of the alarm clock or the retrieval of the mobile phone that you eventually threw out the window in exasperation.

I tried to avoid news bulletins, newspapers, television (apart from documentaries), Barbie and Oppenheimer films as much as possible, with the exception of the Irish ladies soccer team at their first World Cup finals in Australia.

Ok, there was a bit of Gaelic and hurling gazing too, but when the final protagonists are a repetitive deja vu scratching back to my first All Ireland final attendance in 1975, when the likes of Pat Spillane did his talking on the field, it can become onerous, if only for the teams which tend to dominate the decades and history of Croke Park.

Exciting yes, but egalitarian, definitely not.

On the other hand, it's equally amazing how quickly you can adapt to new circumstances, that at other times of the year are the bread and butter of modern life - text messages, Facebook, the new alphabet letter thing, Netflix, Spotify.

Or could it be the realisation that processed foods give you more time to enjoy the shortness of the day, rather than the reality that these same foods are more likely shortening your life.

I have had the good fortune to have travelled to a few places across the globe when younger and with more notches on the belt to choose from.

But what we have on this island is nothing short of majestic and the great thing is that much of it can be done within the county.

With kids the options are more limited, but every stop does not have to include an obligatory ice cream or food menu. Make with what you have and whether that budget is €100 or €1,000 a bit of creative thinking can elongate the budget or even eliminate it.

For example, the Office of Public Works offers free admission to individual visitors and families on the first Wednesday of the month at participating sites, while a bucket and spade has never been rejected by a child on any beach in Ireland, which are also free of charge.

The picnic is now in vogue and for those who are older the walking and hiking trails are amazing.

Now, this is not some travel brochure which is sponsored, but I have always been a firm believer in starting local, whether that be travel or history.

In having a greater appreciation of your own surroundings, in time, this manifests itself in greater appreciation of places that you may wish to visit abroad, and with some more activity, than just soaking up the sun, on a Spanish island.

The general detox of the head and no pressure destinations or deadlines, elevated the spirits at a time when it was badly needed.

As for the kids, the emancipation they felt when freed of their online games and other brain shrinking click bait material, was equally refreshing for them, on their holiday sojourns.