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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 21
Wednesday 11th May 2005 My only walk this morning was for about fifty yards into the wood carrying a little field mouse that I had trapped in a humane trap in my kitchen. When I opened the trap, nothing came out. I thought I had wasted my time but when I looked inside a tiny mouse was crouched in terror at the far end of the very small trap. I had to shake it out to onto the path. At first I thought it had died of fright but then I saw its little eye looking at me out of a bush. Perhaps it would have been more humane to have killed it swiftly. I have no idea how it will survive in the woods without its family and friends. It will have to learn fast. Thursday 12th May 2005 I walked past where I had left the little mouse today. No sign of it as expected. How is it doing? I wonder. Its story could almost be the basis of a children's book. No sign of any peacocks today either, but the lambs and their parents were out in full force. A large dog came rushing at me at one point. Its owner kindly told me not to worry. It was always harmless. That's fine but there are always exceptions to the rule!
Tuesday 17th May 2005 No walk today. Instead, I went to the dentist. I saw the hygienist first. She lectured me on the importance of disturbing the teamwork of the bacteria in your mouth. Once you neglect cleaning your gums, the bacteria have time to unite and attack your mouth. If you clean your whole mouth and not just your teeth, you will disturb the bacteria so that they become harmless individuals once more and will take time to regroup! The power of unity and teamwork made Temujin into Genghis Khan, the man who destroyed one country after another and who succeeded beyond all expectation in his plans for conquest. The same power can destroy your gums and then your teeth! If I apply this knowledge and allow my toothbrush to become a mouthbrush I will have gained more from my visit to the dentist than I would have done from a walk in the woods! Thursday 19th May 2005 I had sore ankles today and plodded along slowly. At least I knew that each step was taking me home. If I just kept putting one foot in front of the other I would reach my goal. I would hate to have sore ankles and be lost. Each step might be taking you further from home. Where is the cracker barrel philosophy in all this? It is this: Have a clear plan of where your going and how you are going to get there. Then as you take each step you can cheer yourself up with the thought that each step is bringing you nearer to your goal. I am reminded with the help of my sister and the internet of the famous Harry Lauder song which goes like this: Keep right on to the end of the road,Keep right on to the end, Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong, Keep right on round the bend. Tho' you're tired and weary still journey on, Till you come to your happy abode, Where all the love you've been dreaming of Will be there at the end of the road. Harry Lauder wrote this song soon after his son had been killed in World War I I was delighted to see that Flusher's pond is still clear of algae and three drakes were swimming around happily. On my way out of the woods I met up with Sam, the warden, and Darren one of the volunteers. I told them to check out my new book 'No Shortcut To Success?' since on the cover of the book is a photograph, I took, of one of the paths in Petts Wood. Here is the photograph which is on the cover:
The woods certainly provide great pictures! I look at this one every day! Thursday 26th May 2005 Reversal Of Fortune I walked or rather staggered along today feeling very tired and hot and fairly depressed. I wondered whether at the age of 65 it was time to stop teaching my martial arts classes. However, as often happens, great things come to you when you least expect them. That same evening Stuart Rider, a former student and good friend came to my Choikwangdo class and announced that Dave Turton of the self defence federation had promoted me to I felt as if I had suddenly become five years younger and should carry on with the martial arts after all! If any of you reading this are feeling down, just hang on a little longer and see what happens. You might be totally amazed as I was. Thursday 2nd June 2005 The Two Herons About a year ago I saw a heron standing in the pond. Today I saw two herons flying across my path near the same pond - Flushers Pond. They were about twenty feet above me and reminded me of the pterodactyls of ancient times. At first I thought they were storks but they weren't carrying any babies and a passerby assured me they must be herons! It is amazing how something of interest turns up on a walk even if it is only one thing.
Monday 6th June 2005 The Disappearing Peacock Tail Today, as I approached Tong's farm from down the hill I saw a peacock's tail disappearing round the corner of one of the houses. Sure enough, as I rounded the corner, it was one of the two beautiful peacocks that live at the farm. Flusher's pond is already beginning to fill up with gunge. I met Sam, the warden, later on my walk today and he told me the gunge was in fact duck weed. This weed multiplies very fast and is helped to grow by the fertilizers used by gardeners who live up stream of the pond. I suggested he and Darren, the volunteer, take a swim in the pond and clear out the weed but they have already tried something similar using a boat and plywood. They had little success! The warden like me had recently had an infestation of field mice. He said they came in to keep warm. Like me he agreed that humane traps are not that humane. A quick death might well be preferable to being shut up for hours in a narrow space not knowing what had happened or would happen to you. I told him that I had released a mouse in the woods not far from his house! I said I had wondered if it would survive. He thought its chances were good as there were so many field mice alive in the woods and in his sofa! Thursday 9th June 2005 I took my camera into the woods today to get a shot of some water before it disappeared in duckweed. I was too late as you can see.
Monday June 13th 2005 Better Than Nothing Today as I approached Flusher's pond, I was surprised to hear sounds of bird life. The sound was a strange one. To my further astonishment it turned out to be a heron which was standing on a log in the middle of the pond, stabbing its long beak into the green Because of the heavy growth around the pond I could not get a decent photo of the heron especially as I knew it would take off if I got closer. Below is what I managed to get. It is better than nothing! I had to reach the camera up well above my head and hope that the lens was pointing in the right direction. Fortunately it was. Sorry about the branches that obscure parts of the heron's body and head.
When I got close enough to get a decent picture, the heron had flown. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. Monday June 20th 2005 Use What Is Available! Today Wimbledon starts. I was not surprised, therefore to see lightning and then hear thunder as I set off for my walk at 7.30 a.m. I got wet but not that wet. There was no more lightning visible to me but I could hear plenty of thunder and enjoyed some refreshing rain. It was still very humid and some of the dogs with heavier coats looked as tired as I felt. The lighter grey hound types looked quite frisky! As I approached the end of the path that parallels the bridle path from Flusher's pond to Botany Bay Lane, I heard some activity from the boys that attend Cooper's school. One group was throwing small stones from Botany Bay Lane at some 'friends' who were further up the lane. One of the 'friends' warned them to stop throwing. "Someone's coming!" he said. I thanked him as I emerged from the end of the path by the bridle path. I am not sure how concerned he was about me. There were very few stones available in the area of the lane that he had reached! The group further down the lane towards Tong's farm were making full use of the abundance of stones in their area! As a self-defence instructor I could have congratulated them for making full use of all available weaponry. As a member of the public I should probably have told them off for throwing stones at all. However I chose, instead, to appreciate the thoughtfulness of the boy who warned the others that someone was close. If you think you might be attacked check out your enviroment for any possible weapons that could distract or hurt your opponent and take his mind off hurting you. Saturday 25th June 2005 Don't Leave Your Door Open! Today was less humid. I headed into the wood at noon. I met J and her dog JJ. We discussed mice and rats! She had seen plenty of field mice running up and down the pavement outside her house but she had never had any inside her house. She had, however, once entertained a rat! The rat catcher told her that they only enter houses when a door has been left open. So be careful when you leave a door open that you either keep an eye on it or close it as soon as possible. Not easy to do in humid summer weather. Sunday 26th June 2005 "He loves everybody" The weather was pleasantly cool today. I went anticlockwise through the woods. As I approached the railway from Tong's farm, a little terrier came up to greet me wagging its tale and looking full of bonhomie. The owner who also looked very friendly commented: "He loves everybody" What a great example to the rest of the world! Monday July 4th 2005 Focus on the path Today was a cool day, thank God! I met Bryan jogging up near Cooper's school. He pointed out that he did not notice things like gargoyles in the trees because he was focusing on the pathway and avoiding tripping over tree roots. I can empathize with that as I have frequently twisted my ankle on tree roots myself. In general, it is good to focus on the path in front of you instead of allowing yourself to be distracted by gargoyles! Monday July 11th 2005 'Flu Strikes Today, I began a nasty bout of flu' and did not walk. Tuesday 12th July was the worst day and then things began to improve. However, I did not go for a walk for the next ten days. Thursday 21st July 2005 Interval Walking I am still coughing up green gunge from my chest ( a bit like Flushers' pond) and still not walking. However, I did come across a great article on interval training as applied to walking by a Canadian called Craig Ballantyne. He writes "By definition, an interval is a brief bout of intense physical activity - such as a sprint - alternated with a longer period of lighter exercise. For example, you might exercise hard for 30 seconds, then exercise lightly for 90 seconds. That's one interval. Yet this rudimentary formula makes interval training the world's most powerful form of exercise. In fact, interval training is equal to or superior to traditional cardio workouts in many ways." Researchers recommend using interval training for 20 minutes a day on 3 days a week. So how do you do interval training? Dr. Martin Gibala (a Canadian researcher) suggests: "Simply use a resistance that causes fatigue in your leg muscles in about a minute." Then take about a 75-second rest and go again. Repeat for six intervals ... and you are done. Here's a sample program for an absolute beginner (someone who could walk for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph): Step 1. Warm up: Five minutes of walking at 3.5 mph. Step 2. Speed up and walk at 4.0 mph for 60 seconds. Step 3. Slow down and stroll at 3.0 mph for 75 seconds. Step 4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 five more times. Step 5. Finish with five minutes of walking at a comfortable pace to cool down.The method is an intriguing one. It could make your walks more interesting because of the many changes of pace. I remember doing similar training for rugby when I was at school. We would walk for 25 yards up the rugby field then jog for 25 yards and then sprint for 25 yards and then walk the rest of the way. Friday 22nd July 2005 Interval Jogging Again to make up for yet another gap in my walks, here is another suggestion from Craig's article for interval training which could be done as you jog or cycle through the woods. Step 1. Warm up: Five minutes of jogging or cycling at the lowest possible percentage of your all-out effort. Step 2. Run or cycle for 60 seconds at about 80%-90% of your all-out effort. As Dr. Gibala said, it should cause your leg muscles to fatigue in about one minute. (Basically, the speed you'd run or cycle at to save your life equals 100% of your all-out effort. From there, adjust how fast and hard you work so your output reflects the recommended percentage.) Step 3. Slow down to 30% of your all-out effort for 75 seconds. (Make sure you slow down to this very light pace.) Step 4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 five more times. Step 5. Finish with five minutes at 30% of your all-out effort to cool down.
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