Today, Monday, was yet another warm day in the woods. A big 700 page report on global warming by Sir Nicholas Stern has just come out demanding action now to save the planet.

Hopefully, everyone will respond. Cheap flights and gas guzzling cars could be taxed heavily. Aviation is the main source of pollution. I for one haven’t used a plane for many years!

Off shore wind farms could be extended massively. We could spend the money we would have spent on a nuclear deterrent on dealing with global warming instead.

I noticed three women sitting on a bench by the oracle of Delphi with a man standing nearby. I immediately assumed he would be ladies man, Reg. However, as I drew nearer, I realized he was not Reg.

We had a pleasant chat about labrynthitis and feeling dizzy and who was the greater ladies man – Reg or Charles. I moved on towards the Edlmann Memorial where I had been so ill a few weeks ago.

When I reached the gargoyle in the tree – a mile or so further on – I spotted two huge alsatians approaching. I knew the owners and the dogs a little but the hair still rose on the back of my neck – nature’s warning of possible danger.

One Alsatian came up for a pat and then the other. One of the owner’s said:

“He wants a pat too.”

In fact, all of us want a pat on the back from time to time to keep us behaving well.

As the Alsatians moved on, both owners said “Good boys, good boys!”

This was not too reassuring as it suggested that both dogs could be bad boys and needed praise to keep them on the straight and narrow!

We all need that pat on the back and the occasional word of praise like the Alsatians. If no one else gives us that pat on the back, we shall have to pat ourselves on the back and boost our own self-esteem and self-confidence!

Before going into the woods today – Thursday – I used a juicer to squash some rather sour oranges to squeeze out some juice. The juicer was far too fragile so I had trouble getting much juice out.

However, I will order a stronger juicer off the net. I will also look for one that is easy to wash after it has been used. Quite a few people are put off drinking juice because of the hassle involved in cleaning the juicer.

Getting vitamins through a juicer or tablets or any other way is important.
I met an acquaintance in the woods today who had to visit his doctor recently.

The waiting room was full of people coughing and sneezing etc.

When he entered his doctor’s room, he asked the doctor why he wasn’t dead.

He explained to the doctor that he was surprised he had not yet contracted a deadly illness from daily contact with his sick patients.

The doctor told him that he recognised the problem but overcame it by taking one tablet of vitamin C a day. Maybe we should follow his example.

It was quite a windy day but still hot. In ‘Question Time’ tonight, the Environment Minister said that Global Warming is the biggest problem facing the world today. I agree to a certain extent and am thankful that I have lived for so long in a fairly cool climate.

Today, Monday, is still a warm day in spite of some rain.

Few people were in the woods but I did meet Freddie, the dog who barked at me last week and M his owner. We had a chat about giraffes and people in wheel chairs going across Africa.

Both topics were based on recent TV programs.

During my walk, I tried some interval walking. One interval was a brisk walk; the other was a slower, more relaxed walk.

I ran through some bagpipe marching tunes in my head while I did the brisk walk interval; these helped speed up my pace. One great marching tune is ‘The Black Bear’.

I did not actually come across a black bear in the woods although I was once chased by a brown bear when I was a boy. I was in the gardens of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

A young brown mountain bear had been chained to a sapling. It had pulled the sapling down until the chain came over the trunk and he was free. He came after me either to play or to attack. I didn’t stop to find out which.

I ran at some speed and dashed into the porch of a nearby house. Fortunately the door was open and I dived inside.

When I came out some time later, the bear cub was up a tree surrounded by some Iranians carring some china on a stretcher. The cub climbed down and knocked some of the china off the stretcher.

It was the cub’s turn to run. My last sight of the brown bear was of it running away with the angry stretcher bearers in hot pursuit. The tables were turned!

Today, Saturday, my only walk was up and down Eltham High Street.

I first visited the Halifax and then walked down the street to the bank. I passed a man selling Shelter. I told him I had no change but as I normally give him a pound without taking the paper he gave me his blessing anyway!

After the bank, I headed for W.H. Smith’s which now has the sequel to Peter Pan on sale at half price. I bought a copy and some computer books for my brother whose birthday is coming up in November.

On my way back up the High Street I met a colleague from the school I taught at. He is now retired and is getting used to the free time. It was good to see him although he like me had aged. I think we both had trouble recognising each other.

Maybe reading the sequel to Peter Pan will bring back some of my youth.

I watched the great film ‘The Robe’ in the afternoon. I prefer the book but the film has some very moving scenes in it.

Today, Thursday, I went into the woods for the first time since my illness. It is over ten days since I was staggering around the woods with labyrinthitis.

As I set off, I noticed two mushrooms on the front lawn. The first acquaintance I met in the woods, R, had a digital camera with him loaded with shots of the mushrooms he had been checking out in the woods.

He had found a Tommy mushroom (covered in red spots) This has hallucenogenic properties. He had also found many others. However, although he had been studying mushrooms for over 20 years he still did not feel expert enough to decide for sure which ones were edible and which were poison0us.

We chatted for quite a while and found we had several interests in common.
He teaches the Martial arts. So do I. He is interested in healing; so am I.

A few yards further along the path I met up with P and had a long chat. He had been in the Royal Bershires many years ago. He remarked that in 1800
the Berkshires had been fighting unsuccessfully in Afghanistan.

We should have stayed away both then and now in his opinion.

Later I met up with M, J and Jo Jo and had another interesting chat.

I still felt a little off balance in the woods today but the walk was a huge contrast to the one I had about ten days ago when I thought I was about to leave this life.

Instead, here I was alive and well and chatting to interesting people. I thanked God.

Yesterday, Monday, I had no idea what Labrythitis was. By nightfall I had experienced it.

In the morning I bent over to put some washing into the machine. When I stood up I felt dizzy and shaky on my feet.

I went off to my walk as usual believing that the fresh air would put things right. I started feeling worse and was staggering along like a drunken man.

I walked on a good way beyond the Edlman memorial when I decided to turn back. Soon I went down on my hands and feet vomiting and sweating heavily.

I thought I was at death’s door and remembered the film War and Peace where one of the characters dies outside looking up at the trees and skies.

As I did not die, I turned back for my car and the short drive home. I had to stop once to vomit although nothing was coming out.

I lay in bed for the rest of the day vomiting ever two hours or so. I rang an emergency doctor who told me I had Labrynthitis. This is a viral ear infection that affects your balance and make you vomit – both of these are controlled by parts of your inner ears.

Another name which was new to me was that of two little ‘monkey dogs’ I met as I was staggering along.

These dogs are called Affenpinschers. Affe means monkey in German. One of them came up to greet me and they seemed friendly although their play involved biting each other fairly gently.

They weigh 7 to 8 pounds (3-4 kg). They do not exceed 11 inches (24-28 cm) in height at the withers. They have harsh rough coats which are usually black.

Today, Tuesday, I am feeling much better but still do not know too much about the illness I suddenly experienced yesterday. I hope you never have
to experience it. It is similar to feeling very seasick on dry land!

I was reluctant to head into the woods today but having written about the benefits of walking in my last post and about the joys of feeling smug after going for a walk in a recent article, I dragged myself out of the house and into my car for a short drive to the woods.

The woods were comparatively crowded as today is a Sunday or family day.
One family was cycling down a path that they should not have been on. The dad slowed down and nearly fell off his mountain bike. I think he might have hit a large tree root. I smiled but tried not to laugh.

I had started the walk with a headache and feeling slightly ill. I ended it without the headache and feeling smug or excessively self-satisfied – a great feeling!

If I don’t get out for a walk I usually feel slightly dissatisfied for the entire day.
I prefer the smug feeling of having done what I should have done.

The next time you don’t feel like taking exercise, imagine how smug you will be able to feel if you do.

Today, Thursday, was rainy and I only managed a very brief walk in Petts Wood whilst waiting for an appointment with my dentist.

I walked down the High Street and realized that the police station had been turned into an Italian Restaurant called ‘Papa Charlie’ – a clever and apt name.

The police now hang out in a hut in a corner of a car park! Apparently at the start of the 20th century there were 40 police in Chislehurst. What is going on!

I had an outstanding email today from the USA written by Dan Robey confirming that brisk walking is a great form of exercise. It quoted an important statement from the Executive Health Organisation.

“Not running, not jogging, but walking is your most efficient exercise and the only one you can safely follow all the years of your life.”

A study in the September 2002 New England Journal Of Medicine showed that women over 40 who walked regularly lowered their risk for heart disease just as much as women who did more vigorous exercise, such as playing sports or running. This study suggests that walking is just as good for your heart as heavy exercise.

Even though the study consistedof women, it is likely that men would experience similar benefits from the positive habit of brisk walking.

It is easy to walk; just go out of your front door and start walking or drive to a pleasant area, get out of your car and start walking. However, sometimes people feel they are too tired or too busy to go for a walk. They might well consider the following list of benefits which was included in the email I received.

* Walking burns calories and helps you lose weight and burn excess body fat.
* Walking can help to improve your posture.
* Walking requires no special equipment or gyms.
* Walking can help lower blood pressure and help prevent circulatory and heart disorders.
* Brisk, aerobic walking will give you the benefits of other exercises, such as
jogging and cycling, but without the risk of injuries.
* Walking at night can help promote better sleep.
*Walking increases the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream.
*Walking helps elevate good levels of cholesterol.
*Walking can help ease lower back pain.
*It improves mental performance and mood.
*It helps build bone strength.
*It helps reduce anxiety and stress.
*It helps to boost your immune system.
*It slows the aging process.
*It helps to prevent certain cancers.
*Walking regularly can help prevent osteoporosis.

Today, Wednesday was another cool and pleasant day which reassured me once again that global warming has not totally taken over.

I went into the woods later than usual as I was listening to David Cameron’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference.

He spoke quietly and confidently without any attempt at prophetic fire and vision but he seemed to mean what he said and that can be much more effective than a lot of shouting and fierce denunciation.

One can’t help but warm to him and his general attitude.

Few people were in the woods at this time. A border collie walked past me purposefully and then suddenly came sprinting back at full speed. Her owners were obviously walking too slowly for her so she got her exercise by going twice the distance that they were.

I had a pleasant chat with the owners about how lucky we were to have been born in the last century when the weather was typically British.

Most self help gurus teach that what you focus on is what you get so I must stop complaining about global warming and think more about the cold and the snow which I have now come to appreciate!

Today, Monday, I chose a gap in the rain for my walk. I only got slightly wet from light showers as I neared the warden’s house and my exit to the woods.

I read, recently, that walking is not enough. A study has been done at Alberta university. A ‘walk at your own pace’ group improved their oxygen intake by 4%. Another group that practised intervals – short bursts of high intensity activity mixed with low intensity activity improved 10%

In other words you have to breathe heavily at some point to gain maximum benefits. You can do this by

1 Walking uphill – I jogged up two hillocks today.

2. Walking up stairs – I have been upstairs twice so far today

3. Adding some intervals to your walk – I jogged during the showers today

4. Adding some deep breathing exercises – I didn’t do any of these today!

I met a nice lady with her Airdale along Soldiering Field. I asked if it was an Airdale and if it was a terrier. It seemed too large to be a terrier.

“It is an Airdale and it the largest of the family of terriers,” she said.

” My grandad had Lakeland terriers” I said to explain my interest.

“They’re gorgeous. I wish I could shrink my Airdale down”

” It would eat less food,” was my rather obvious reply!