Tuesday June 7th 2016 - I think I got hit by lightning but everything's fine

After the previous day being so dull I woke that morning to a bright blue cloudless sky and a sun which, by only 8am, made the tent far too warm to sit in even with the door completely rolled up. After a leisurely breakfast and a couple of chapters of my book I decided to have a mooch round the shops in the village; I wanted to get a new wipe-clean plastic tablecloth (a cheap one would do as it was only for use on my tent kitchen unit) but neither of the hardware shops had any. I did however get a couple of brilliant bargains from the charity shops - a nice orange sleeveless top which I put on as soon as I got back to the tent, a leopard-print skirt and a gorgeous chiffon-type blouse in cream and black with small cheetahs dotted here and there. It was new but rather see-through and needed something underneath it, so now on a quest for a vest-type top with narrow straps I decided to drive over to Llangefni and have a mooch round the shops there.

It must have been my lucky day as the first charity shop I went in had just the thing I was looking for, and I also found a brand new and very stylish pair of white casual trousers with gold trim on the waistband. They were a perfect length and fit, and for only £3 were an absolute bargain - and they look so good I'll be putting them away for when I next take a holiday in Italy. My next bargain came from the local market - a small cheap bum bag which was ideal for carrying my phone, van key and a bit of loose change when I was wearing cycling shorts and t-shirt with no pockets.

It was while I was walking back to the car park that I noticed the sky - although the sun was still shining the bright blue had gone and dark grey ominous clouds were gathering not far away. I'd just got back in the van when the sun disappeared, there was a flash of lightning, a loud clap of thunder and the heavens opened with a downpour of biblical proportions. Hoping it would stop just as suddenly as it started and I could then go on to somewhere else I stayed put for a while but there was no sign of it letting up so I decided to give up and go back to the camp site.

Just out of Llangefni the deluge had turned one side of the country road into a mini river; the flashing and banging continued and my windscreen wipers couldn't go any faster. I'd just rounded a bend and was on a straight stretch of road when it happened; a lightning flash and clap of thunder both together and BANG!!! - something hit the passenger side of the van. I didn't know what it was, and in that rain I wasn't stopping and getting out of the van to find out, so as both the dogs and I were all okay I carried on driving. By the time I reached the outskirts of Benllech the rain had finally slackened and stopped, and down the hill in the village itself the sun was out and it was as if there'd been no storm at all.

Back at the tent I inspected the side of the van for any damage but could see nothing. If my wheels had thrown up something from the road it must have been a fairly big chunk of whatever it was to make such a loud bang, in which case I would have expected to see a dent or mark on the bodywork, but there was absolutely nothing. So had I been hit by lightning? I'd felt nothing at the time, the van hadn't been affected in any way and there was no damage to the bodywork, but as I can think of no other explanation then maybe I had - otherwise I guess it's just another one of life's little mysteries.