Today, Thursday, I took the long walk round the local neighbourhood twice.

My second walk was in the evening at about 9 p.m. when all the Christmas lights were at their best. I awarded an imaginary prize to my own road, Marlings Park Avenue, for the best lights in my immediate neighbourhood.

Some parts of the Avenue looked like Las Vegas with flashing, moving lights. I was disappointed that the Father Christmas saying ‘Shh’ was not lit up but much of the rest of that house was.

It is interesting to note that Jesus told his disciples on the one hand to give in secret and on the other to let their light shine so that men might see their good works and glorify their Father in Heaven.

Perhaps there is no inconsistency. He did not say ‘Tell men about your good works.’ You could hardly stop people seeing some at least of your good works.

Anyway, the people of Marlings Park Avenue have no inhibitions about letting people see the hard work they have put into their Christmas lighting.
Some curtains were wide open so that you could see the lights within!

In relation to this theme, I came across a great quote from Alexander Pope:

‘Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.’

News came through today that England have lost the fourth test to the Australians by an innings and 99 runs. The match only lasted three days.

Former all rounder and giant of English cricket, Ian Botham was scathing about the England management’s protestations that they had prepared properly for the Ashes Test series:

“Just look at the scoreboard.”

We all need to check out the numbers on our own scoreboards. How many walks have we been on today? I am pleased to reply ‘Two’! etc etc.

This is the only way to keep in touch with reality. Once we face the truth we
can reexamine what we are doing and get back to the basic building blocks so that we can remould our lives more successfully.

Today, Saturday, I visited Morrison’s early to avoid the Christmas rush. The place was packed!

The young man serving at my counter on the way out was not a fast worker. The customer in front of me, however, was! She put a few purchases on the slide and then rushed to the front to pack them up as they came through.

When the counter was too crowded with purchases, she packed them and put them on the floor. She was at least twice the age of the server but rang rings around him. I was impressed. I hope he was too.

Later, after unpacking the shopping, I walked round the local area. I passed the Father Christmas who was holding on with one hand to a rope attached to a second floor window. He looked like he was struggling to climb up the roof.

Then I passed another Father Christmas who was standing on a roof with a reindeer next to him. His hand was near his mouth and from a distance it looked like he was smoking a cigar or eating a mince pie.

I crossed the road to take a closer look and realized he was holding one finger in front of his mouth to urge secrecy. He may only have been saying: ‘Don’t wake the children.’

However, one can see him as a symbol of the key idea found in many religions that one should give in secret. Jesus urged his followers to not let their left hand know what their right hand was doing when they gave gifts to others.

If people give in secret, Jesus promises that God will reward them but if they give publicly they already have their reward from the praise and respect they receive from other humans.

The original Father Christmas or Santa was St Nicholas – a Christian saint who clearly took Jesus’ words seriously and gave gifts in secret.

It would be good if everyone tried to do at least one kind deed or give one gift to others for every day of the year. The meaning of Christmas would not then be lost in the queues at the supermarkets.

Today, Friday, I walked around the Marion Crescent and Poverest Road area.

I saw a pit bull type dog biting into a tree branch with great enthusiasm and another dog sniffing the walls along the pavements with equal enthusiasm.

Dogs are a life lesson to us all. They appreciate the smallest pleasures and enter into them with great gusto. They have fun and give 100 per cent in all their favourite activities!

I passed a Bathroom Showroom which promised ‘Quality products – fantastic prices’ and ‘Prices to suit everyone’. The price is obviously a key feature in the minds of most buyers especially at Christmas time when many people get into debt.

I entered the chemist’s in the Crescent and wondered aloud if a blood pressure testing kit would make a good Christmas present? The sales girl
wisely commented:

“It depends on the reading!”

It might be a morbid present but checking your blood pressure might be a sensible move at Christmas. In the end, I didn’t buy any of the kits. We have enough health warnings to go round already.

Recently, I have read that one of the best ways to improve your health is to
do intense exercise for a short time rather than easy exercise for a longer time. For example you could skip for a minute and then rest for a minute and then skip for a minute and rest for a minute and so on.

I mentioned in an earlier post that the Roman soldiers used to skip using vines to get them fit for battle. Maybe we could do the same for Christmas!

A week has passed very quickly since I last wrote an entry in this blog and it is now Sunday once more. I went out in the daylight today on the long pavement route. The sun was warm and bright.

The first thing I saw was a huge black limousine with ‘Men In Black ‘ on the sides. It had huge thick tyres and and a message that warned that it needed extra space when turning.

The limo clearly needs extra energy as well and should add to the global warming problem. 2006 is the hottest year in recorded history. Sir Richard Attenborough was saying on BBC1 this morning that in a few years people should feel too ashamed to drive a large gas guzzling car.

Today, people feel guilty about lighting up and having a cigarette when others are around. Soon they should feel guilty about leaving unnecessary lights on. Young kids are telling their parents off when they waste energy. The kids will have to live with the world their parents leave them.

On the other hand, who wants never to see a limo again? Surely we can allow for their occasional use just as we can allow people to hang some Christmas lights on their houses for a few days over the holiday season.

One house I passed on my walk had Santa Clause hanging from a rope attached to the window on a roof. He is struggling to climb the rope and get into the house through the window.

This would be difficult for a large man like Santa. I hope he practices hanging from ropes or pullup bars to build up his strength!

I took the long pavement walk again today, Sunday. I am beginning to miss the woods.

But the pavement walk is very convenient in the dark and, when I am short of time, it saves at least 10 minutes.

Clarendon Way has no bumps and is used almost as a racing track by some car drivers. They drive at great speed ignoring the fact that a family dog or cat or even a small child might decide to cross the road as they approach.

Several houses are already decked out in Christmas decorations. I got round to decorating the sitting room today largely because the tree and decorations were easily accessible in a room upstairs.

If they had been in the attic I might well have delayed until a day or so before Christmas day. My bonus for swift action was discovering a pile of classy Christmas Cards left over from last year. They will probably save me a fair old bit of money as there is still plenty of time to send the cards.

The benefits of accessibility and preparing ahead of time are considerable!

I took the longer pavement route today, Monday, after watching some dvd’s by Ed Baran and Matt Furey about Primate Power.

These teach exercises based on the movements of Gorillas, Chimps, Orangutans and Monkeys. I was just about to try out the Chimpanzee Swagger when Steve, our window cleaner pulled up alongside in his car.

I demonstrated the walk to him and he seemed quite amused!

One drawback of the pavement walk is that there are not many trees you can hang from like an Orangutan. I reached up to one branch but thought it might well break and land on my head so I left it alone.

When I got home I hung from the iron bar in my gym. When I tried doing this with one arm I had some pain in the shoulder so I stuck with the two arm approach. I clearly need much more practice.

One probably needs to install bars inside the house so that hanging from them can become second nature as it is with monkeys.

I took the short pavement route today, Sunday.

I set off after dark when it is not a good idea to walk through the woods but the pavements round here are fairly well lit by the lamp posts.

I only met only one person as I neared home. He was a jogger who was jogging down the middle of the road. He looked slim and trim. Good for him!

I read today that there are three essentials to keeping fit. Get moving. Strengthen your muscles and stretch.

In the martial art I teach, Choikwangdo, you stretch in the warm up and do some pushups and leg raises which strengthen you and then do the training which certainly gets you moving.

I watched the Dubai sevens this afternoon in which South Africa were the winners after beating England in the semi-final and New Zealand in the final.

I think the seven-a-side rugby game is in many ways superior to the 15-a-side game. It is much shorter for a start and gives you a great work out in a very short space of time.

Everyone has a chance to run with the ball including the forwards. In the 15-a-side game the forwards are the dogs bodies who have to get the ball for the backs, the glamour boys who are expected to run and score the tries.

Sevens are great to watch but possible the 15-a-side game is more exciting when two powerful sides are playing and fighting for the ball.

Today, Saturday, I walked down Eltham High Street on my way to the bank.

After I had finished at the bank, I visited the local public lavatories. I shut the door of one cubicle and then, when I attempted to leave, found I could not open the door.

It had jammed shut and had no handle on the inside. I should have checked this before shutting the door which was ill fitting. It took some effort to close it properly!

In the end I had to stand on the loo which had a fragile plastic cover that might break at any moment. I imagined one leg plunging through the cover and getting ripped up by jagged plastic in the process.

I had no mobile phone with me so I might have been stuck there for some time.

Fortunately the loo cover did not break and I was able to grab the top of the door with enough force to pull it open. Next time I will check the door has a decent handle before I jam it shut!

I did some Christmas shopping on my way up the High Street and then drove to Petts Wood. I walked around Petts Wood and bought some more Christmas presents and did some shopping at Iceland.

I arrived home exhausted. I hope my experience in Eltham will save you from a similar harrowing experience!