Sea, Pagans and Horrible Necklaces

The past couple of days have really been both the start of a holiday plus the final wind down towards our walk. In our driving around we’ve both had loads of traffic at different times but driving has otherwise been good. Before that our boat trip was alright too.

During our boat trip, I had possibly the oddest genuine text message I’ve ever received. Our mobile phone company is in the habit of sending messages to us when leaving home saying “Welcome to” wherever and telling us the exorbitant cost of roaming calls and all that.

This time the message started “Welcome to Sea”. Very odd.

Having driven across to Wales yesterday, I took the advantage to take in an unusual parkrun which starts in Wales, enters England then comes back again. Severn Bridge parkrun was definitely an experience.

Before parkrun, the run director clearly has a unique style, opening the introduction asking if there were any pagans and druids running today – there weren’t, it’s significant due to May Day apparently. The finish of the run was in a foot tunnel under the Severn which just bounced the noise from supporters everywhere and was really something quite special.

On the way to Reading today, we crossed the Clifton Suspension Bridge having seen it from below last year when visiting Bristol. It was surprisingly short actually but we had the opportunity to walk back over it which definitely reminds you how high it is but was also quite cool looking down at where we walked in Bristol when last here.

At one end of the bridge it has it’s own visitors centre and in there we had the pleasure of hearing a funny exchange over the price of a little charm thing. As the next customers we got to have a bit of a laugh about it, but perhaps didn’t expect the staff (probably a volunteer we surmised) to tell us quite how horrible one of the necklaces they were selling was. They were right – it was awful but you don’t expect the staff to tell you that really.

Before dinner tonight we had the weird sight of a hot air balloon flying low over Reading town centre. A fitting end to the day somehow.

Nearly time for the next adventure

It is now late on a Monday night approaching the end of April 2022 and for a couple of days now we have been talking about where we will be in a week’s time.

The answer to that question is now changing every day because we are now in the final week before the Thames Path walk we’re taking on begins.

The exact circumstances of us taking this on are a little vague to me now but I think it was something that came into my wife’s head inspired by a book she was then reading, and once a challenge of that gravity has been said out loud between us, well, that’s pretty much a done thing.

We’ve applied ourselves in the only way we know how. Lots of preparation in terms of walking and lots and lots of prep in terms of travel arrangements.

Injuries have been reasonably kind to us, although we both had heavy colds (not COVID) a couple of weeks ago and this past Sunday I hurt my back or shoulder but that was a problem that passed within 24 hours.

We still have the slight adventure of possibly changing travel plans very late in the day, but that will be a positive if it can happen. If not, then it’s still fine too.

This last week, for me at least, means getting work as up to date as I can do. That all seems ok for now.

This week also means anticipation. A big challenge and big adventure awaits. We’ve had physical and mental challenges before, but nothing on this sort of scale. It’s a positive anticipation but one that features many unknowns too.

Bring on the weekend!