What`s your view? Win chocolate !!!

Harlech`s perfect. Don`t tell a soul. 

Say you lived in a beach house. Maybe you do. Every day, you wake up and see wintry waves crashing against the shore, or shining and shimmering in the sun.

It`s dynamic; changing...so you`d never tire of it, right? Or can you have too much of a good thing?

This train of thought rolled in on a chilly, bright walk along the seemingly never-ending stretch of sand at Harlech yesterday. It was a bit of a change from my regular haunt at Aberdovey, but if you time it right at either beach, it`s just you and a dozen or so other people -- and a few dogs darting in and out of the water.

Harlech, Wales.

And I always look back at the nearest houses with envy, thinking that if I could pick my favourite view to wake up to...it would be this one: sea and sun, clouds and rain but always a calming, mesmerising seascape stretching into infinity.

And then I heard about a couple I know,who`d had just that. An incredible house, high on a hill, not far from where I was standing, with a clear view of the sea. They`ve just sold up. In their early sixties, they started wondering how much of a comfort the coast would be if they fell ill. So they`ve moved inland, to a town with a hospital, shops and a station close by.

I remember sitting with friends beside the pool in their idyllic garden in rural France. Over a barbecue and a few glasses of wine, everyone gazed at their enviable view--bucolic, beautiful, unbroken.....but..boring? `It IS lovely`, said our friend. `But it never really changes. We know it so well now.` I didn`t get it. It seemed like paradise. They`ve sold the place now, and, admittedly for all kinds of reasons, are back in Britain.

`Top of the Rock`, NYC.

Fast forward a couple of years to New York and the observation deck at the Rockefeller Center. Call me fickle and pitch me a one woman tent on top and I`d be pretty happy waking up to that view, too. Ten seconds of the stunning sights and sounds of the city that never sleeps gets  my blood pumping faster than an espresso triple shot. One of the most exciting places on the planet. . But then .......looking out at London--my birthplace, has the same effect. And Paris. Oh, actually, and the Cumbrian fells. See--I told you I was fickle.

Shropshire: up my street.

Maybe it`s just a case of the other man`s grass being greener. Or just nicer than no grass at all. When I was stuck in suburbia I dreamt about living in a place like Shropshire. In a little house with trees front and back. I`m here.

So how about you--what`s the view from your home or office right now? Does it inspire you or depress you? What would be your perfect view?

Send me a picture of the view from your window today, or the view you`d love to have, and I`ll add some to the blog. And because I`m feeling generous and happy after my seaside escape, there`ll be a lovemymondays.blogspot.co.uk  prize of chocolate for the best one; from gifted Shropshire chocolatier Julia Wenlock, who runs www.tootsweetschocolates.co.uk at Shrewsbury Market Hall. OK?

Please send your pic and a note about your view... to: janemcintyre1@btinternet.com  . Pictures from anywhere in the world would be just great, and the more the merrier...so thankyou in advance.

IMPORTANT (quite large, actually ) SMALLPRINT: If nobody sends me anything, I do, of course, reserve the right to eat all the chocolate myself. Every chunk. And I`m dieting.So save me. 

FAT CHANCE!!! YOUR PICS HAVE COME IN THICK AND FAST... NO MORE FOR NOW PLEASE AS WINNERS` PRIZES ARE NOW ACTUALLY BEING MADE BY JULIA THE CHOCOLATIER.  THANKS SO MUCH...HERE THEY ARE:

Judy Mansfield: nr Banbury

From Mike Howell in Folkestone :
Hi Jane
You wanted pics from people`s houses. Ok here are 2 views from my flat in Folkestone
View 1 (left) is looking over the English Channel, on a clear day I can see across to France.
The second view (below) is overlooking the town towards Caple le Ferne the site of the Battle of Britain
Museum and statue.

Thanks Mike. Envious!

And these from Kerry in Shrewsbury:

Kerry says: This (above)  is my favourite scenic view - I just have to look at it and I feel instant relaxation - It is at Llandanwyg Beach, I go down the road towards that beach and it feels like I am going home, even now just thinking about it I can feel  the waves of relaxation taking over me.  To sit there and the big rocks at the entrance to the beach and just look out over into the sea, listening to the waves gently rolling in, bliss! :)  Saw a Dolphin in the bay the last time I was there back in September, that was a fantastic sight. 

But she adds: This is my favourite of all views, never fails to bring a smile to my face, I will never tire of this view :)

And Kerry`s third pic; added because: " I thought I'd better include another of my favourite views - This (below)  is Porth Beach just outside Newquay in Cornwall, Sunsets here are beautiful!" Thanks Kerry! And Luke!!

Thanks to Scott Stephenson (aka @wasinthenavy on Twitter,)  for this picture, below . Scott`s description: "the view from Scott's Snack Shack in Shrewsbury!... Not the most picturesque"... (but thanks for sending it, Scott...you`re also in the draw!!)

Nita`s in Pwhelli. Which, in spite of having blog readers in Taiwan, Russia, Malaysia, Texas, New York, Uzbekistan and Germany, is the closest (SO FAR) to an international entry. Nita braved subzero temperatures, (she claims...) to net these gems (er...and the one of her laundry, which has its own charms...) Anything for chocolate, probably....!

But like Kerry.....Nita`s not averse to having a go at the awwwwwwwww factor....Here`s little Livvie...`dong yoga with the Waybuloos` !! 

And back to bucolic. Or possible Friesian. Anyway...it`s peeping through the kitchen blinds at Roy Williams in Longdon on Tern in Shropshire. No privacy, sometimes, is there?!

And thanks to Cathy Brown for this one.She might live in Shropshire...but today she`s a city girl in the smoke, working close to one of the capital`s most beautiful landmarks. Cathy says: " Can't see it from my desk but the wonderful sight of St Paul's Cathedral will greet me when I go out :-) 

How about yours? ( Come in, Belize.....over....) 

Oh. Not Belize, really, or anywhere near it...but *this just in* from another (nearly) foreign correspondent who loves chocolate but clearly thinks I was born yesterday. Yes, Ian, you may have used a telephoto lens but this isn`t *the view from your window* and you`re fooling no one ;) 

OK...back to reality now...and chilly winter driving, with a picture from Alec Dyche from a different kind of of window. Here`s what he saw, and what he has to put up with as he clocks up the miles.

And a couple of late entries from Tracey, who runs Hoboflorist in Oswestry . I`ll put Tracey`s pictures in the `views I`d like to have` category --as they hold special memories:

"Allan and I married at Niagara Falls in Canada.We walked up past the Falls the day after we got married back up to the Botanical Gardens where we were married outside in the rose gardens. On our way we saw the "Dalai Lama" and his friends, followed 5 minutes later By a family of Mennonites! Wonderful memories!"