Foxtrotting Oscar after random act of unkindness

There’s something quite special about that moment you wake up and, as the fog clears, realising that it’s a weekend. Realising that you don’t have to go to work. Realising that you can go for a walk.

I am often asked if I have a plan and know where I am going to walk from the start. Not usually but – today – yes! This was exploring and confirming the existence of a navigable walking route from Whiteley to Curdridge, thanks to rapid house building in Curbridge, north of Whiteley, and a new pavement south from Botley. There is also a cut through from the Botley Road to the heart of Curdridge. For years, I thought Curdridge and Curbridge were one and the same place, with people just getting the name wrong. I had Street Viewed the seemingly straightforward route.

That proved something of a pipe dream, even after an early coffee stop in Whiteley, which was after less than 3 miles walking. I ventured towards Curdridge but didn’t even make it to Curbridge as more house building had led to a metal fence blocking the road and construction site, even blocked for walkers. I turned back on myself and noticed what looked like an interesting path into woods. I was soon building up my problems to the size of a cow as it became the sort of place that if I had collapsed and died it would be several days before I was found, no doubt at about 6:15am by a man walking his dog.

In fact, maybe I should retire, get myself a dog and a part-time job with the police. I should offer my services to Hampshire Police, working from 5am to 8am daily, walking my dog in a repeating rota of local woodland. Competitive rates. It was something of a shock to the system today when I did meet someone, with a dog of course, and I continued further into boggier ground that necessitated me to negotiate several passages of tricky terrain. I passed a sign for Botley Wood but really looked forward to progressing to more solid ground.

I felt a bit lost but I knew that eventually I would come out somewhere I knew. Unfortunately that was not going to happen when I found the end of the wood and a pavementless country lane. A few vehicles passed close to me though drivers were very reasonable in making space for me. After around 10 minutes, a sign for a footpath could not be resisted. I still wasn’t quite sure where I was and couldn’t obtain much of a signal to examine maps on my phone.

The footpath saw me reach the edge of a golf course. I worked out from tee signs that this was Wickham Park and, as the footpath appeared to become a no-go route, I took to the perimeter of the course, hoping that in time I would reach a better path or road. I was keeping well out of the way but suddenly I heard a golfer shout at me, despite me not appearing to hinder him at all. I was told to “foxtrot Oscar” and then he muttered, “foxtrotting scruff” to his playing partners.

The angel and the devil within me had a very brief battle as to what I should be done. The angel won. There was no point taking it up with a guy who clearly felt that I was compromising his 36 quid worth of golf. I can’t rationalise the reasons why a person feels it is reasonable behaviour to abuse a complete stranger like that. I laughed it off inside but I so wished I was in that sitcom where I would later reappear as the examiner for his driving test, the interviewer at his job interview, or even his dentist at his appointment for emergency dental surgery.

Anyway, this random act of unkindness thankfully occurred not long before I found a decent path, apparently leading away from the course. I caught up with an elderly couple who could easily be mistaken for Lord and Lady of the Manor out on a pheasant shoot, thankfully without weapons. On being asked for directions, they were helpful in explaining where I was and advised just to remain on this path to reach Wickham Square. It came as a slight surprise given that I thought I was nearer Botley but it was simply nice to get a location and know that I had a proper pavement for the remainder of the walk.

I defied convention to have a second stop at around 11 miles though I had really had my caffeine fill for the day. Just a peaceful sit down for a few minutes and a toasted cheese sandwich that set me up for a longish haul to the end. The second half of the walk was as uneventful as the first half had been eventful. My legs and feet were tired but took me home in 20.78 miles. More than enough to be getting on with.

Luga-baruga

For the second time this year, we went away and did a few walks well away from home. No need to catch up miles on the Sunday after walking on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, in between catching up with relatives on both sides of the family in the Midlands. That is fortunate given a rather unsettled stomach last night and feeling a bit of a need to recover quietly today.

We were in the Leicester area on Tuesday night and walked into the city, around and about on the Wednesday. It was good to see a long path away from the main roads, and we took in the free and excellent value-for-money Leicester Museum and Art Exhibition, paying respects on the way to public sector workers striking. In the afternoon we went to the Richard III Visitor Centre. It is amazing how little I know about the history of our kings and queens but it is so complicated back in the day when death in battle or by some purposeful means seemed to be the norm, along with the apparent complexities for deciding who succeeded. If I had been around them, I would have avoided being the king like the plague (though that was nearly 200 years later). Life expectancy was short and even shorter if you made enemies. After leaving a city that appears very organised in a disorganised way – and I mean that in a refreshing and positive sense – we walked back to our place. 7.72 miles.

On Thursday, on advice from one of the hotel receptionists, we spent a few hours at Bradgate Park, just north-west of Leicester. Good choice. This is a big area with deer and some good walking tracks. It was tougher going after an hour or so as the grassy areas were sodden but we walked uphill to Old John’s Tower, a pretty steep climb and we had not taken the easiest route. We pretty much did a circuit of the park plus that ascent and descent; our thighs ached on the way up and our knees hurt on the way down. An ok cup of tea and scone in the cafe at the end. The distance of 5.77 miles in no way betrayed how hard some of that walk was.

We visited Tamworth and then Swadlincote on the Thursday evening and the Friday afternoon. Driving not walking, though coincidentally I did walk between those two towns on my long walk, 9 years ago almost to the day, but not quite the same route. It was a lovely day and – as Charles Hanson often says on BBC’s Bargain Hunt – we made a memory.

Back home on Friday night and out again late on Saturday morning to Hayling Island. It is the 4th time I have walked down the Hayling Billy Line from the top of the island down to the sea front. Pammy and I saw our bench (dedicated to my Mum, Dad and sister Joy) replenished with fresh plaque, replacing the original that had been mysteriously removed last year. We stopped and had fish and chips at my parents’ favourite place (do not say it, do not make that pun) though I had chicken, which I usually prefer. I felt the chicken was a trifle overdone.

On the walk back, I felt a bit more tired than I should have, given the distance, but we powered on back to the car. In a quieter moment, I wondered how Leicester is pronounced ‘Lester’ and I recalled a story of an American tourist saying he was staying in ‘Luga-baruga’. That pronunciation (of Loughborough) was remarkably similar to the sound that my stomach made when I went into a garage to use their facilities. It must have been the chicken and it’s one reason why I rarely walk on a full stomach. 9.70 miles, incidentally.

Feeling better this morning without much energy. Starving yourself of food sometimes works in clearing that sort of thing, but with plenty of water and tea (not too much milk). A day off from walking today and plenty of footie on tv and radio.

Better than lying down on a park bench

It’s rare that I have three nights in one week that are so sleep-disturbed due to thinking about work. It has indeed been an incident-packed few days, with both good and bad. When I have managed to sleep, I have fallen back on some recurring dreams, among them: trying to ensure a dead body is undiscovered (I have never dreamt about killing, just hiding and protecting the result), playing cricket for a team well above my real-life capabilities, and skiving off a school lesson (strangely this is often French, despite it being one of my best school subjects back in the distant day). At least I’m not dreaming about work itself but there might be some related hidden meanings. Perhaps.

I wasn’t then so surprised that – after an earlier stop for coffee at 6.5 miles – I felt extremely cold, tired, not to say unwell to the extent that I considered lying down on a park bench for a few minutes. It was fortunate that there was a convenience store within a mile or so and I found solace in a sausage roll and a 150g punnet of blueberries. I was still barely into double figures in miles but I was fine after that replenishment of energy.

Most of all, though, I really needed this walk after some mental battering over the week. I have to say that it didn’t take too long walking to improve my state of mind and, by chance, there was an article on mental well-being in the newspaper I read over coffee. I ticked off what I could in their checklist:

Reframe negative thoughts. When you start criticising yourself, think what you’d tell a friend if they were in a similar situation. No, I don’t do that but it sounds a good tip.

Connect with others. Can’t say I do that as much as I should. I’m usually better at helping others than helping myself.

Move more. Being active benefits your mind as well as body. At least I can say I do that one, and will continue to do so. Probably need to move a little more during work time.

Be healthy. Balanced diet, stop smoking, reduce alcohol. Very good on the last two but I am a habitual snacker. Not bad but could do better. Blueberries good, sausage roll not so good.

Release tension. Repeatedly squeezing, holding then releasing your fists while breathing slowly for 30 seconds. Yes, I also have a stress ball, particularly useful if I’m being annoyed by any male colleague at work. You can guess what I’m thinking.

Confront sleeplessness. Get up and do something, take your mind off whatever is troubling, then go back to bed. I can’t say I do that. The one time when I did, I couldn’t think what to do and ended up playing on my phone. Talking of which……

Take a screen break. Hmmm that is not going to happen any time soon.

Be mindful. Appreciate the present – remember that you have no control over the past and little over the future. I try. I sometimes play back incidents and conversations from years ago, and I now try to think that nobody else would ever remember these by now. Why worry?

Start small. Break down tasks that seem overwhelming into smaller chunks. Seems like an Agile approach which is good but I find it hard to consider discovery phases and kamban boards (or whatever they are called) in my personal life.

Write it down. Keep a diary of how you feel, to make you identify what is making you anxious and what you need to do to manage it. I have tried that, often in blog posts. I’m sure it’s not that interesting for others to read.

Find a hobby. Or learn something new. That is a thing to do. I don’t find it that easy but I have been meaning to do that for a while.

Ok, that’s the end of the list. My well-being teacher is calling: “See me!” Well it’s not that bad. I know what to do but it is sometimes hard to put into action. Perhaps B or B+. I continued walking and reached a better than expected 22.35 miles. Walking did me the world of good today and some sole soreness is strangely satisfying. Almost up to 250 miles for the year and so well ahead of whatever schedule that may be.

Casing the joint

A week or two ago, I wrote about a possible mini-challenge later in the summer. Now that I won’t have the commitment to score every week, I am looking forward to watching a bit more cricket. Our 1st team play in the Southern Premier League while our 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th teams play in the Hampshire League. The challenge was to take in matches for all five teams on one day, watching a bit of each over the course of a long walk. Looking through the fixtures, the first day of the season – 6th May – would be the most likely chance of success.

The route would take in, from my home in Sarisbury Green, a long trek to Knightwood Leisure Centre, Chandlers Ford (4th team game), on to Wide Lane, Eastleigh (2nd team), Turnpike Way, Hedge End (5th team), and to our home grounds at Sarisbury Green (3rd team) and The Hollow (1st team). I am well acquainted with all these except Knightwood Leisure Centre.

I decided that I would case the joint at Knightwood and planned a route down the A27 to Swaythling before turning into Stoneham Lane past Eastleigh FC (they were away today) and cutting through a new housing estate. It was all going to plan until the road was fenced off for construction. It needed me to divert through Avenue Park, be half assaulted by a dog who apparently was “just playing”, finding Chestnut Avenue and then negotiating a large roundabout with the hypermarket. It became something of a slog but at least I had the designs of a reasonable route.

I reached Knightwood Leisure Centre after 11.5 miles and 3 hours 25 minutes. Not a bad pace given I had had to stop to check my phone map for an alternative when the road had been blocked. I noted that the 4th team game starts at 1pm so I would need to leave home around 9 – 9:15 am to give me time to get there, have a coffee and snack before watching the first few overs. A prominent sign told me there were refreshments but I was disappointed that they comprised a coffee machine at reception and a small rack of flapjacks, crisps and shortbreads. The cost of living crisis has hit hard here with a remarkably small (but reasonable tasting) coffee and a flapjack for £4.20.

Walking is more tiring when you’re not sure where you’re going and my legs already ached a little. But at least I know where to go in 9 weeks time and I might have the company of a colleague on the walk back. I wasn’t intending to preview all the other grounds on the way back today but I did want to check a short cut path through to Wide Lane. It took about an hour from Knightwood to there and I then took a less than direct route home.

It is very feasible. The biggest threat to success on 6th May is the weather but in that instance I have a reserve day on 27th May with a different set of grounds in Curdridge, Netley, Locks Heath and the two in Sarisbury. I must admit that I don’t fancy that one as much. The other threat is that one of the games in Sarisbury (or even in Hedge End) finish before I have the chance to get there. Sod’s law is that it’ll be the day when one of our sides skittle the opposition for next to nothing and then knock off the runs in no time.

My longest walk of the year so far at 25.77 miles. That was far enough for my heels and Achilles to feel the start of my boots wearing a bit thin now. These ones have given me more than a thousand miles so no real complaints. They are still good for walks of about 20 miles but I didn’t enjoy walking up Sarisbury Hill at the end. Recovery started with a nice mug of milk, a hot shower and then some corned beef hash. At least I hadn’t made a hash of today’s walk.