Urban footpaths and a limbo summer

I have always been a sucker for a footpath. Something about seeing those signs gets me all excited. This odd obsession has led me on quite a few wild goose chases in my time. It has led me astray, miles from where I wanted to be. Sometimes, it has caused me many miles of backtracking, or unnecessary detours. But, still, I cannot resist the lure of the footpath. Maybe it’s because there are no cars, and, generally, no people? Or it could simply be the anticipation of stumbling upon something strange or beautiful at the other end. Whatever it is, I’m hooked and on 15 April, with blue sky overhead, I needed a fix. Unfortunately, time, a lack of available transport and the need to knuckle down and do some work on my next book, meant I was going to have to keep it local.

Continue reading Urban footpaths and a limbo summer

The importance of trees

28 September 2017

Last week one of the Deep Dene trees fell, crushed a car, damaged a house and completely blocked the road for the whole day. It happened during the morning rush hour. By some miracle no one was hurt. Commando heard about it on the radio and sent me a message to warn me in case I was planning on walking that way. As I had to go to the village anyway I decided to take a detour and asses the damage.  Ok, I’ll be honest, it was completely out of my way but I’m nosey.   Continue reading The importance of trees

Weight loss and the giant boat in the garden – first published 28 January 2014

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January 2014 was all about walking off the unemployment blues as much as the weather would let me. My penultimate January walk. took me to some of my childhood haunts. Some surprised me by being very different to how I remembered them, others surprised me by being much the same, if a little older. One in particular had me thinking about how weight goes on without us noticing and, more importantly, how it stays there. Continue reading Weight loss and the giant boat in the garden – first published 28 January 2014

Leap Year’s Day, Spring flowers, swans and woods

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29 February 2016

The bonus day of 2016 came with blue skies. If you are going to have an extra day in a year this is just the kind to have so CJ and I set out early to visit the swans and take advantage. It felt like a spring day and I smiled as I walked past gardens with quirky ornaments and blossom on the tree near Monks Walk. Continue reading Leap Year’s Day, Spring flowers, swans and woods

Light and shade

Much colder than it looks
Much colder than it looks

27 & 28 Declener 2014

On Saturday I had to go back to work but consoled myself with a reminder that we were all allowed to go home two hours early so I’d only be working nine to five. Unfortunately this reminder put the Dolly Parton song in my head and it followed me all through the cold streets to the office. Winter appeared to have arevived  overnight and, although we had no snow, or even frost, the wind that kept me awake by trying to blow my house down was icy cold. The sunrise photo I took on the river made it look far warmer than it felt and, up on Horseshoe Bridge , even the bars of golden light shining through the struts couldn’t make me hang around to try for a decent photo. Continue reading Light and shade