The best laid cliches and positivity

7th May 2009

Mice sleep, men (and women) stare glumly out of the window, and I spend hours poring over maps until the hours dawn on me and I cast the maps away.

Yes, it's a dull day that doesn't even have any rain to make it interesting. It's a bit breezy but nothing to really make the sea pound. It's one of those dull days that makes you thankful it's spring and there's a bit of bright green to alleviate the dullness. It isn't even gloomy or brooding; nor is there a touch of brightness, except something like a weak smile of sunlight that's swiftly gone. It's like the day is sulking.

However! I have at last put away my maps and waiting for the better rain tomorrow which will make the woodlands come alive with water. I've just acquired a new Tilley hat ...

... and Peter Storm trousers (they've been in their own pocket hence the fashionable crinkled effect) ...

so I'm looking forward to trying them out!

I've also aquired a photoprinter and have come to realise the difference between what makes a picture and what qualifies as a snapshot.

I have an idea for scrapbooking my walking life using my photos, plagiarising my own blog and getting a footprint stamp so I can stamp little ramlbing footprints all through the scrapbook.

So much for Experiment Thursday, trying out new walks and expanding my comfort zone. This is not an expandable day. It's just dull. Roll on the rain tomorrow!

Not a walking entry - an apology for absence

7th February 2009

My last walk was the day before yesterday, cold and grey and a blessing after the last fortnight. I followed a local route which I extended for a little way along the Itchen Way up towards the airport. Owing to the late afternoon and the light starting to dusk I turned back and found a delightful path across the water meadows which are part of the Itchen Valley Country Park. It made me feel very much that I live right on the edge of the countryside. Why would anyone choose the rat canyons of the city centre to living in the suburbs? I really feel my good fortune!

Now, you may be asking: where are my snow pictures? The recordings of the snowy walks I should have taken?

Well, thanks to the deterioration of the main cable carrying my telephone line I have been unable to access the internet. A nice man from the telephone company came and moved my line to the newer cable and now I'm back on track.

As for the snow pictures, I missed the opportunity for walking and photography due to frozen roads, accidents, sliding to a halt and then the "fun" (not!) of playing bumper cars with the traffic at 7 in the morning. The road became blocked (by the way, this is about 400 yards from my front door) by skewed cars and a stranded bus, with the emergency services having the same difficulties and only attending accidents where people were injured. What was quite interesting was my being the liaison between the police and the public, as I had called 999 and was in contact with a very pleasant woman who relayed information to me as she got it. In the end, those of us able to leave our cars at the side of the road were advised to do so and head on to wherever we were going.

The next day and driving through a blizzard coming home after work again at 7 in the morning, I ended up at my parents' house because they don't live on an "up and down" road that turns into a ski run at the slightest hint of snow.

So, why did I not get out to walk in it anyway, even around the local area with its parks and woodlands? I'm a night owl so my sleeping is during the daylight hours, and when not sleeping I was waiting for telephone calls and engineers.

Thank you for listening to my tale of woe. I am now on holiday and looking forward to getting out there again.

Not today!!

4 October 2008

Distance: A few yards around my apartment
Parking: The chair in my study
Map: N/A



This is the view from my study window! Not very nice, and even worse when you can see the moving picture with trees waving around like oversized triffids and the rain sheeting sort of sideways.

Oh well, hoping for better things by Tuesday.