Simple Pleasures ...

Fade Haziran 23, 2022

An entry from my diary for this week.

The weather gods must have been listening to my prayers; we had a brief window of sunshine today (Sunday). After breakfast of poached egg on Marmite toast I donned my Wellington boots and headed off across the fields whilst David watched the Remembrance Service on the TV.

Everywhere was very muddy after the rain all day yesterday (Saturday). Squelch. Squelch. Squelch (great word). The grass was heavy with glittering dew and everywhere shone in the sunlight. I walked a little then just stood still taking everything in, then walked a little more - even a short walk takes me an age.

Not a sound, not another person in sight - just me and the wind in the trees - I felt like the last person on earth, it was so quiet and peaceful.

I cracked my knee as I climbed over a stile; it was very sore and hampered my progress. I struggled back up the hill, my heart thumping with the effort of it - but still happy to be out of doors, albeit limping and out of breath.

The last field near home was muddy where the cows had trampled the ground, I had to keep my wits about me to avoid cow pats and try to remain upright over the rough and boggy terrain. When I arrived home I made a cup of tea and switched on the radio to listen to the afternoon drama - Watership Down by Richard Adams - so long since I read the book.

Later I finished reading 'The Little Paris Bookshop' - I loved this passage:-

"With every bite of food steeped in the herbs and oils of Provence he seems to absorb a little more of the land that lay ahead, it was as if he were eating the surrounding countryside. Already he could taste the wild banks of the Loire, covered in forests and vineyards."

Today I decided to have a mooch around the town, supposedly getting ideas for Christmas presents

- I didn't make it much further than the bookshop, where I stayed - my idea of heaven. I replaced a book that had been totally ruined by the flood water earlier in the year (what a long time ago that seems now).

I also found a card, which I loved - and bought that too - it is a picture of a member of the Auxilliary Territorial Service (ATS) sitting on her suitcase beside the luggage trolley as she waits for her train. She is accompanied by a dog identified as the unit mascot (1944).