A very long walk
You can tell we are getting old - on Saturday TOH and I met the Robbs, Fawcetts, Birds et al for a day of walking along the Thames path.
Steve, Jo, Sarah, Gail, Chris, Natalie and Will are going to walk the entire length of the river to the source beyond Oxford over a series of weekends, which is a commendable thing to do.
When the venture was first mentioned, only those who intended to walk every leg were allowed to join in but after much ribbing Steve relented and agreed people could dip in and out when they could. That is good for us as TOH and I are going to walk Hadrian's Wall in March and I need the training.
So, we were very excited about the day, TOH even got up super early to get some new walking boots before the meeting time so he could bed them in before the wall. However, we (and Natalie and Will) were then about 40minutes late because the District Line was playing silly buggers.
Almost immediately I sensed Steve was regretting his decision as we rather held the expedition up. He even texted me to ask if 'I could walk any slower' as we crossed Putney Bridge to meet them!
It was a lovely day, the weather was quite kind, the company excellent and the scenery wonderfully Thamesy. I have been up there many times on the Good Ship Ganges but it all looked different from the side. One thing I did notice though was as I walked along, I tended to look at the muddy path and watch out for puddles instead of taking in the views.
We were past the half-way mark when we stopped for a welcome lunch in Richmond.
I took my instant camera with me with the intention of sending the snaps to Sara in Iraq but she will be home within a couple of weeks and there is doubt over whether or not they will arrive before she sets off for home. So, Sara, if you are reading this, the thought was there (watch out for a letter though - I posted it off today).
As we left Richmond there was a heron standing about two metres from the path, totally unconcerned people were up close and staring. He was a very handsome creature.
The final stretch of the walk to Teddington seemed very short and all too soon the walk was over. I wished I was joining the guys on Sunday for the next leg, but to be honest I rather doubted my actual legs would be up for it.
So we said our goodbyes and headed back to West India Quay to see A Very Long Engagement at the flicktures. It was a kinda good film, yet kinda bad too. Sort of Amelie meets the first half-hour of Saving Private Ryan - a whimsical yet graphical look at trench warfare in France.
On Sunday my legs were not as bad as I anticipated they would be. Perhaps that's because of the serious stretching I did before going to bed. Only my feet hurt as my shoes were rather unsuitable for an 11-miler.
After popping round to the boat to tidy up and stuff, we headed over to Alex's for Sunday lunch. She cooked up a magnificent stew, mash and 'cauliflower cheese surprise', the surprise being it also contained sweetcorn and mushrooms. Yum!
And so, we did something I have done since I really can't remember when - sat there drinking wine all day until it was suddenly about 10 o'clock and we had to go home.
Steve, Jo, Sarah, Gail, Chris, Natalie and Will are going to walk the entire length of the river to the source beyond Oxford over a series of weekends, which is a commendable thing to do.
When the venture was first mentioned, only those who intended to walk every leg were allowed to join in but after much ribbing Steve relented and agreed people could dip in and out when they could. That is good for us as TOH and I are going to walk Hadrian's Wall in March and I need the training.
So, we were very excited about the day, TOH even got up super early to get some new walking boots before the meeting time so he could bed them in before the wall. However, we (and Natalie and Will) were then about 40minutes late because the District Line was playing silly buggers.
Almost immediately I sensed Steve was regretting his decision as we rather held the expedition up. He even texted me to ask if 'I could walk any slower' as we crossed Putney Bridge to meet them!
It was a lovely day, the weather was quite kind, the company excellent and the scenery wonderfully Thamesy. I have been up there many times on the Good Ship Ganges but it all looked different from the side. One thing I did notice though was as I walked along, I tended to look at the muddy path and watch out for puddles instead of taking in the views.
We were past the half-way mark when we stopped for a welcome lunch in Richmond.
I took my instant camera with me with the intention of sending the snaps to Sara in Iraq but she will be home within a couple of weeks and there is doubt over whether or not they will arrive before she sets off for home. So, Sara, if you are reading this, the thought was there (watch out for a letter though - I posted it off today).
As we left Richmond there was a heron standing about two metres from the path, totally unconcerned people were up close and staring. He was a very handsome creature.
The final stretch of the walk to Teddington seemed very short and all too soon the walk was over. I wished I was joining the guys on Sunday for the next leg, but to be honest I rather doubted my actual legs would be up for it.
So we said our goodbyes and headed back to West India Quay to see A Very Long Engagement at the flicktures. It was a kinda good film, yet kinda bad too. Sort of Amelie meets the first half-hour of Saving Private Ryan - a whimsical yet graphical look at trench warfare in France.
On Sunday my legs were not as bad as I anticipated they would be. Perhaps that's because of the serious stretching I did before going to bed. Only my feet hurt as my shoes were rather unsuitable for an 11-miler.
After popping round to the boat to tidy up and stuff, we headed over to Alex's for Sunday lunch. She cooked up a magnificent stew, mash and 'cauliflower cheese surprise', the surprise being it also contained sweetcorn and mushrooms. Yum!
And so, we did something I have done since I really can't remember when - sat there drinking wine all day until it was suddenly about 10 o'clock and we had to go home.
posted by The WyeBird @ 6:44 pm
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