the common and another lucky escape

27 January 2015

Commando took up running almost four years ago. He’s always been slim and fit. He used to teach martial arts but it’s a dangerous occupation even if you do have black belts in several disciplines. There were injuries, broken ribs, black eyes and any number of strains, sprains and assorted bruises. Throw working nights and lack of time into the mix and it became harder. Something had to give.

Around about this time, I was competing in my first Moonwalk. Seeing me walk a marathon inspired Commando to give running a try and he began with a Couch to 5k app on his iPhone. Yes, I did give it a try myself but hated every second. Running really is not for me. Commando, on the other hand, fell in love with it. He joined the ParkRun, organised Saturday morning runs in parks all over the world. There are two Park Run locations in Southampton, on The Common and Victoria Country Park, he regularly goes to them.

His first race was the annual Eastleigh 10k. Then he graduated to the Gosport Half Marathon. His first full marathon was Bournemouth. Like all marathon runners, his ambition was to run the iconic London Marathon but, places for that are hard to come by, a little like rocking horse poo. It seemed it would remain a dream but, at the end of 2014, he was lucky enough to be offered a charity place running for Southampton Sight a charity providing services for local blind and partially sighted people. This was largely due to the amazing Uncle Bill, who is himself registered blind but doesn’t let it stop him doing exactly what he wants.

He’s been quietly training since before Christmas, running in weather that had me tucked up indoors refusing to go out walking. It takes a lot of motivation to go out and run ten miles in the cold and rain but despite his working hours and the mountainous task of clearing Commando Senior’s house, Commando has still found time to run.

The people at Southampton Sight wanted some action shots to boost their fundraising efforts and, on Tuesday afternoon I was given the task of taking them. Not long after Commando got out of bed, we drove over to the Common and parked up on Cemetary Road. Commando knows The Common far better than I because of his Park Run experience. He was going to run laps and suggested a walking route that would have us meeting on the other side of The Common at about the same time given our respective paces. Before he set off I took a photo. For a while I watched him run off until he was just a dot in the distance then I set off on my second walk of the day.

Usually, when I walk on The Common, I head towards the cemetary but Commando suggested I walk up past The Cowhereds Pub. It seemed like an interesting plan. The story of the Cowherds is almost as old as the Common itself. Back in the thirteenth century, a dispute over land rights was resolved when the Borough purchased the land and declared it common land. Amongst other things it was used for grazing and there was a cowherd who was paid to look after the cattle.

The Cowhered lived in an inn on The Common and, in 1762, the current Cowhereds Pub was built on the site. With such an historic pub it would be odd if there were no ghost stories and there are rumours that the pub is haunted by the ghost of a nineteenth century landlady who was murdered. I’ve also heard tales of a mysterious short man in a tall hat who walks through walls. This could all have something to do with the town gallows that used to be nearby. The last public execution took place in 1785, so the ghosts of any victims are probably fairly ancient.

Not being much of a drinker, I’ve never been inside the pub and I’ve certainly never seen a ghost but, like most people, I do like a good ghost story. Commando says the Cowherds is always crowded and there were enough cars outside, even at two o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon, but maybe one day I’ll sneak inside and have a look around. There was no time for that on Tuesday afternoon though so, after a few photos, I carried on walking.

Last spring The Common suffered badly after the floods and gales and many trees were lost. In fact, in August, trees and bits of tress were still falling and, tragically, an elderly man was killed when a large branch fell on him as he was taking his daily walk. This was in the back of my mind as I strolled along the avenue of trees. One in particular caught my attention, very dead but still standing, the bottom half was completely stripped of bark and it seemed to have a sad face to me.

Even with my vague knowledge of the place I knew I was coming towards the lake where people sail remote control boats. In fact I was quite looking forward to it because I’ve seen swans there in the past and you can never have enough swans. It was a surprise then, to find the lake drained. Some dog walkers were coming towards me at this point and even the dogs looked a bit puzzled by the lack of water. Why it’s been drained is anyone’s guess.

Just after this I was tempted to veer off and have a look at the Beyond Graffiti project to see if there was anything new. It’s a little way off the path Commando had suggested though and I was worried about time so I resisted temptation. It was a good thing I did because, not long after the turning, I saw a yellow spot in the distance and, as it grew bigger, I realised it was Commando running towards me. He gave me the thumbs up as he passed and I snapped a couple of pictures.

Once he’d disappeared again I carried on along the path. There were more fallen trees and others that looked as if they might fall. Those I gave a wide berth, just in case. Then I came to a cross roads. Because of many Race For Life events, I thought I knew the right path to take to come out at the top of The Avenue. Of course, I didn’t and I ended up coming out on Burgess Road feeling rather silly. Luckily, I found a leafy trail that took me where I needed to be, but the light was fading and I was glad to come off this lonely path out onto the busy road.

The trail joined the path I should have taken right by a handy map that I could have done with earlier at the cross roads. Just as I was laughing at the irony, a yellow dot appeared around the bend. With perfect timing, it was Commando at the end of his 5k run.

We wandered up to Southampton Sight, just off the Avenue a short way from The Common and had a brief meeting with the lady who is working with Commando on his sponsorship. Then it was a slow amble back to the car at the other end of The Common. Commando, in his running shorts, was feeling a little chilly at this point but I was still quite warm in my new coat.

As we reached the corner by the car park I noticed something red on the ground, in fact several something’s. They looked a bit like rhododendron petals. Puzzled I looked around to see where they’d come from and could hardly believe my eyes when I saw a large rhododendron in full bloom. This really is the strangest winter ever.

On the walk I’d been thinking a lot about falling trees even though I know the chances of being hit by one are very slim. It would seem that Lady Luck was at my side on Tuesday though. First I missed an earthquake because I had no time for the walk I’d planned, then, almost exactly twenty four hours after our visit, a huge tree crashed into several cars in a car park by the Cowherds, from the photos it looks like the one we were parked in. Thankfully no one was hurt or trapped but the cars were badly damaged. I’m beginning to get a bit of a complex about all these disasters though. If there’s a tsunami on the Itchen any time soon I’m staying indoors for the next year!