|
So I was getting into my car and this bloke says to me: "Can you give me a lift?" I said: "Sure; you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it." Tommy Cooper Success is doing what you plan to do whatever the results. John Watson |
Walking in Petts Wood and The Hawkswood Estate Page 16
Wednesday September 1st 2004 Today, I reached the woods at about 11 a.m. and met up with old friends R, I and B whom I had not seen for a while. They were all in good spirits and cracking jokes. I took a photo of all three of them sitting on one of the new benches that had been installed by the new warden. Thursday September 2nd 2004 No photos today. Just sung affirmations like I can hit and kick very hard I demonstrated singing affirmations to my martial arts class in the evening. They were amused but not impressed! Tuesday September 7th 2004 Take the camera anyway I left my camera behind today as I had carried it for two days without seeing anything worth photographing. It also looked dark and gloomy. I thought the peacocks would be inside. As luck would have it 2 peacocks and 5 peahens walked towards me as I walked up Botany Bay Lane where it starts at Tong's farm. They were within a few feet of me and would have made a fantastic photograph. I should have taken the camera with me anyway even if I thought it was a waste of time. Those are the days when things do happen Wednesday Sept 8th 2004 The Volunteers Today I met Reg and we chatted about life and death for about half the distance of my usual walk . We met two of the volunteers Sam and Darren who were clearing the area around the Willett Memorial. Brian also showed up and we discussed whether there should be more litter bins in the woods. The volunteers felt this would make the wood too much like a park and Reg felt that vandals would not use the bins anyway. I was glad I had the camera with me today and took a photo of the two volunteers. I mentioned the missing peacock photo of the day before. Darren lives close to the peacocks and is woken by them frequently. They also attack his car when they see their reflection in it and leave many dents and scratches. They probably think other peacocks have moved in on their territory. However, Darren can imitate the peacock call to perfection as he hears it so often. Reg and I moved on and I introduced Reg to the gargoyle in the oak tree. He was quite impressed. Thursday 9th September 2004 I met the volunteers again today at Botany Bay Lane. I asked Darren for a repeat of his peacock call and went off practising it. I think I am improving. Later I met Reg and Inge. Reg as usual was surrounded by several women. Sunday 12th September 2004 I have now kept this walking diary for just over a year. My step brother hints that it must be the least read part of the internet but I know I have one or two readers at least ! Today I met the farmer at Tong's farm and belatedly asked permission to photograph the peacocks. He kindly replied: "No problem." Later I met Joe who I had not seen for a long time. He pointed out the tall Scotch pines to me which he said were used by Petts, the shipbuilder for the masts on the ships way back in the sixteenth century. The oak trees were used to provide planks for the decks etc. Thursday 16th September 2004 A great Attitude I met up with Don and Reg again today. Don's dog photographed earlier has died. He now has a new Alsatian but she is too boisterous for him to take out at the moment. Don has not been too well but has a great attitude. He wisely commented: "It is no use thinking about what you can't do. You might just as well think about what you can do." Monday 20th September 2004 Reg's poems Today I met Reg and borrowed his copies of two great poems about aviators killed in World War II. These are the poems: High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth Requiem for an Air Gunner The pain has stopped
Tuesday 21st September 2004 I went looking for Reg today with copies of his poems and the original copies to return to him but could not find him. I gave out a couple of copies to friends who might be interested. I finally met up with him later in the week and returned the poems. Wednesday 21st September 2004 Ducks nest in trees. I met David in the wood's today near the end of my daily walk. He pointed out a drey or squirrel's nest high up in the trees. He also mentioned that ducks occasionally nested in the trees. There has been a duck in a tree near Wood Pond. This is a pond you will find, not surprisingly, in Pond Wood. The ducklings are so light that they float down from the nest when they are ready to take to the pond. We also discussed how the ship builders managed to use the scotch pines for masts as the pines are not totally straight. We decided that neither of us knew the answer. Saturday 25th September 2004 I again came across David and his two dogs Jesse and JC (John Courage) today. Jesse still barks at me but in an increasingly friendly manner and comes up to be patted. JC has always been friendly and is a real diamond. Later I met Reg and Bill. Reg asked me if I would be his Vice President if he took over the world. I readily accepted this offer and we both agreed that the first thing we would do would be to eliminate Bill so that we would not have to listen to any more of his jokes. In the end we relented. His jokes are quite witty. The conversation turned to death and burial. Neither Reg nor I liked the idea of burial underground. But even, if your body is laid out above ground on a hill or tree, it is still vulnerable to attack from birds and other animals. Bill remarked that the cost of a can of petrol was not much. You can see what I meant earlier on by 'quite witty'! Reg mentioned how a glass had shattered in his kitchen for no apparent reason. I suggested that, possibly, Bill was singing outside. Older and none the wiser, we went our separate ways. Sunday September 26th 2004 Friendly self-defence Reg was telling me today about some dodgy situations he had been in where just being friendly had probably got him out of trouble but occasionally that would not be enough. He decided to catch the bus one day and saw a youth kicking the bus stop post. Reg is not one to keep quiet in these situations and asked the young man why he was doing this. Predictably the man asked "What business is that of yours?" He then asked Reg if he was a pensioner and did he get much money. Fortunately at that point the bus showed up and the man shook Reg's hand saying "Just joking" and then climbed upstairs into the bus. Reg did not believe he was just joking but was saved by the arrival of the bus. Probably his calm, friendly manner prevented an earlier attack. On another occasion in broad daylight, he was walking along when three young men moved in close. One man was behind him and the other two were on each side of him. One of them asked him if he was alright. Reg replied that he was alright but was slightly deaf. "Why is that?" asked the young man. "I used to be a professional boxer", said Reg cannily. The young men realising that their victim might put up a fight moved on. One of them tapped Reg on the shoulder reassuringly and said: "See you, mate". Monday Sept 27th 2004 Local computer problems? I walked along today singing Hey Jude (yet again) and I am strong, clever and wise I don't know whether this is having any effect on me but why not give it a try? Later on I met Bryan who has been having computer/internet problems.I mentioned my computer problem solver and web designer. I recommend them both if you live locally. Here are their phone numbersDanny Burke 020 88501830 Danny sorts out all kinds of computer problems and has co-written some of the articles on this site. My website designer Gerard Evans phone number is 020 8295 2937 Bryan mentioned Reg's poems from World War II. He felt these were powerful but that the greatest poetry had been written in World War I by people like Wilfrid Owens and Siegfried Sassoon. The topic of most of these poems is obviously death. Since I wrote the above paragraph Bryan has kindly corrected me. He has put it well so I include his actual words: "Concerning your comment on war poetry, whilst
death, particularly sudden and violent death, certainly features
prominently in it is by no means the only subject matter. The
poetry can, and does, deal with many other aspects of life and death,
including inter alia, love, absence, suffering, incompetence, particularly
of leaders, longing and, a theme which recurs most often, the sheer
futility of war."
I was watching the film 'Gladiator' for about the fifth time last night. It was the first time I had noticed this great saying by Marcus Aurelius. It is quoted by the hero Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film when Commodus, the Emperor, sarcastically suggests that the invincible Maximus knows no fear. Maximus laughs and says "I knew a man once who said: 'Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.' " Commodus asked if this friend smiled when he met his death. Maximus replied: "He was your father, the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius." Wednesday September 29th 2004 Double your efforts I went out early this morning and met two friends from the early morning shift. They told me, to my surprise, that they would go out again in the afternoon. I only go out once and am not losing weight. One of them has lost two stone this year. There is a clear message to me here. I need to double my efforts. Once is not enough The solution to overweight is simple. Halve the amount you eat and double the distance you walk! Simple but not easy! Thursday September 30th 2004 The determination to go on and on Last night a BBC2 program called "North Pole: the Challenge" described how Paul Hogan a businessman aged 33 walked 360 miles over the frozen Arctic Ocean with two Royal Marines to win the Fujitsu Challenge. Dr Mike Stroud Polar explorer and endurance expert commented that Paul would need huge determination to succeed. "It is the mental determination to go on and on even when it gets cold; when your fed up - that strength he must show." On some days he walked for 9 hours pulling a sledge behind him. On other days he walked for 16 hours. The temperatures were below 30 degrees. One man developed frost bite of the penis and had to be returned to England. Two inches of tissue had to be removed. As I walked through Petts Wood today for just over an hour I thought of Paul Hogan. It is easy to think of walking for an hour as quite hard until you hear about challenges faced by people like Paul. Fortunately, the temperature in Petts Wood is well above freezing. Home
| Contact
| Subscribe
| Biography
| Blog
| Life
Lessons In The Woods
|
||
