Beverley Park – My London+

Flowers, the moon and nature

The day before full moon

This past week has been catch-up time with friends and a visit to the cinema to see The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. The film kept to the book, which I read some time ago. I often don’t go and see a film if I’ve read the book first, and vice versa, because I’m often disappointed. This time I wasn’t. The film was sad, heartbreaking, but also had touches of humour as Harold Fry, having heard that an ex-colleague of his is dying in a hospice, sets out to the postbox to send her a letter, only to keep walking. He walks from Devon to Berwick-on-Tweed on the borders with Scotland. It really is a beautiful film.

This weekend gone has also been the coronation of King Charles III. Some roads here have had street parties, and while the day of the coronation itself was rainy, last night it was warm and dry for the concert at Windsor.

Bunting in some streets to celebrate the Kings Coronation

The flowers are mainly taken in the park where I jog. Everything is looking spring-like and lush.

I hope my jogging isn’t as slow as this chappie!

We have had to dog-proof the veg patch as Rue freely runs through here and will chew plants. Even so, he’s tried to get underneath the chicken wire. I’ve planted courgettes and aubergines to start with, making a circle of barcarbonate of soda around them to try and keep off the slugs and snails. I’ve just been outside to check them and they are doing fine.

Gardening is something I took to during Covid lockdowns and have kept to it since. I’ve been busily repotting my plants and have tomatoes, basil, borage, peas and sprouts. Some seeds haven’t taken and I’m on the second go.

Aubergines and courgettes

The above photo is of the lime tree which the council put in outside out house, to replace the old one as it was hollow and dangerous. Good to see the leaves looking so well.

Beverley Park shortly after 6am this morning

In the thick of it – Beverley Park

The photo of the moon was taken from my front garden with my bridge camera and hand held (no tripod, but I did lean on a post).

A bit of a random post

Walking into Richmond along the River Thames

I’m dying to get out on the Thames Path again, but the weather has prevented this. As it happens the sections close to the source of the Thames have been flooded after all the rain we’ve had. And it’s the sections further away from London I’m yet to walk. I’m hoping to do some proper planning soon and get back there in June, July and August. It includes overnight stays once we get beyond Goring (Berkshire).

However, last week a friend and I walked a short length of a London section which we’d done before, but separately. My friend has had a hairline fracture of her foot and this was the first walk she’d done. So we took it slowly and had a sit down once. We met at Teddington for a pub lunch close to the river and then walked to Richmond, about 2.7 miles.

Lunch

The day was warm but overcast and we ended with tea and cake overlooking the river at Richmond.

Tea and cake by the river

Yesterday morning I woke to realise I’d pledged to myself to go jogging. I had an inward groan as I slid from bed and wondered whether to bother. I’d not been jogging since the first Covid lockdown and I’d kept it up for around six months. But on Saturday I was trying something on in a shop fitting room and suddenly seeing myself in multiple mirrors my reaction was, how did it come to this? There and then I pledged to get fit. Since I had to stop playing short tennis in December last year (due to tennis elbow), walking was my only exercise. I re-started back at short tennis two weeks ago and now it was time to look at my diet and exercise.

Beverley Park

I was out of the house at 6.35am yesterday. Immediately I got that buzz of being out so early when it’s quiet with hardly anyone else about. Nature seems closer. You can hear the birds sing, the air is sharp, but not cold, and yesterday the sky was blue and the scent of flowers drifted in the morning haze. I headed to my local park and hoped the wet end wouldn’t be too bad. The park looked lovely in the early sunshine and I was the only one there at first. Later a man and his dog overtook me (they were on the third lap when I left after one lap of jogging and walking!)

Dandelion – a favourite of mine

In the wooden area where the mud is particularly bad

I’ve captured my local park in photos so many times over the seasons. I remembered how the first time I jogged there I watched spring turn into summer and then the early stages of autumn. The trees in particular change from stark branches to blossom and then green. The park was muddy in places, but I was determined to walk through my favourite bit down by the wooded part. I had to divert off the path a couple of times to avoid the most muddy parts, but someone had kindly put a few stepping stones down in one section.

Bluebell

Thanks to the kind person for putting down some steping stones

The flowers were looking colourful in the beds near the railings as I came along my finishing path. I saw the post I call my finishing line and sprinted towards it as I always used to. Somehow there is always a small reserve for the big sprint, which I love doing. I then collapsed on the low garden bed wall to recover! I even managed a jog down my road coming home.

I’ve watched these tree stumps rotting over the years

I thought I’d be suffering after that, but this morning I’m not too bad. Legs ache a little, but nothing major. I’m aiming to jog every other day. I need to be mindful of my knees and not overdo it. The diet is a low carb, no dairy, no meat diet, and as I don’t do the last one and only eat diary sometimes, it’s just the carbs I’m going to miss. It’s a sort of detox diet which I did years ago. It’s a 28 day diet. All that chocolate I have is going to have to sit there for a good long time!

Seat, anyone?

My sprint post/finishing line when jogging from the far side (taken from my collapsing point!)

How long can I keep up the jogging? It’s not my favourite way to keep fit. Very far from it. It’s a slog, but during lockdown it kept me fit. I prefer playing badminton or short tennis, but during lockdown all that closed down. Walking was my life saver during lockdown and jogging helped to keep me fit while I couldn’t have a racquet in my hand. Let’s see how things stand in month. Meanwhile, I shall still be out there walking and taking photos. Have a good week everyone.

And then we had snow!

Finally, snow worth taking photos of! I ventured out while it was snowing to do some shopping and came back via a local park where a brief blizzard ensued. With freezing temperatures I have also been taking care of the birds. Each morning I break the ice on the water bowl and throw out handfuls of seed, top up the peanuts and suet. The squirrel is rather partial to the nuts, of course, but it has encouraged a pair of robins, a great tit, pigeons, wood pigeons and starlings. In fact, the robins seem to have moved into the variegated bush and I am hopeful that in the future there will be a whole family of little robins.

At the end of last month I took part in the Birdcount run each year by the RSBP. We didn’t have many visitors in the hour I did my count. They all came in flurry towards the end. When I say all, I mean a wood pigeon and a starling! The pair of robins showed up at the beginning, so there was a lot of staring out of the window watching lots of birds fly over, but they had to land to be included in the count.

Now the weather is colder, the birds are more frequent and they are getting through mounds of seed. It gives me a good excuse to get out my camera and take a few photos. Enjoy!

There is nothing to do but walk

With lockdown extended to who knows when, there is not a lot one can do now except shop for essential food, and maybe grab a takeaway drink. The government in England has just announced that schools will not re-open for at least two weeks and learning will go online.

The weather has turned bitterly cold and I’m not keen to be outside when it is as cold as this. Nevertheless, one morning I did layer up and drag myself out of the house before 8am to take photos of the frost and sunrise in two local parks. I took short walks on both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day as well. Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

Re-visits and photos

With the weather becoming more iffy as October stretches before us, it was a case of choosing the day, or last minute decisions to go out. Having postponed a walk with a friend due to bad weather, I did manage to get out late afternoon on Thursday with one of my sons. I wanted to show him the Wetlands at The Hamptons. It had been a surprise find for me and I wanted to share it.

Before that we chose a sunny morning to visit the local park. I wanted to see the changes autumn was bringing and take some photos. So here is a selection of photos from those two local walks.