Always, and I mean always, carry a torch at night...

The night is dark. That shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. But for those of us who are used to living in large towns or cities, the dark, true darkness, is reserved for forest, for when you're in the middle of nowhere. Not for your walk home from the pub.

Apparently I live in the middle of nowhere.

I left the pub. All was good. I could see my hands in front of my face, I could even see the road - what an easy walk home. Every step though, the darkness encroached, as the lights of the pub were left behind. The sky was overcast, even if there was a moon somewhere, it was well and truly hiding.

It was dark. Oh so dark. No moon, no stars. The white line in the middle of the road soon disappeared, melting into the darkness of the tarmac. I couldn't see a thing, not the road, not even my own shoes. Thankfully my phone was charged, and I turned on the torch - barely impacting on the darkness, as if it was sucking the light directly from it, enveloping it in a shroud. Yet it gave me just enough to be able to follow the road, the sound of the waves a few meters away, crashing against the rocky shore.

Thank goodness I had my phone, and that it had battery left - groping around in the dark, with ditches and rocks, would not have been a fun end to the day.

Maybe it's time I find my head torch.