Bluebells, witches and a family grave

Southampton Common

The Common looked glorious as we walked towards the last parkrun of April. Everything was fresh, green and bursting with life. The air was crisp and rich with the smell of spring, freshly cut grass and damp earth. It was one of those mornings that make you glad to be alive. Of course, my main aim for the morning was visiting the dead, like I do most Saturday mornings. I was especially interested in the bluebells I’d heard were bursting out everywhere in the Old Cemetery.

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Bluebells, not parkrun and a magical mystery tour

The Old Cemetery

April turned to May, and although restrictions were slowly being lifted, not everything was back to normal. Even though I’m not a runner, one of the things I really missed was parkrun. I missed all the people I’d met there and my quiet morning walks in the Old Cemetery. To fill the gap, the parkrun people had started something called not parkrun, where registered runners could complete a 5k run at any time each week and submit their time to get a result. On May Day 2021 Commando decided he’d run his not parkrun on the Common. Of course, none of the people I missed would be there but I jumped at the chance to go along and take a wander around the Old Cemetery.

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