tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39037556649969047312024-03-15T18:12:54.241-07:00 GEOFF NICHOLSON: THE LONG LOST WALKERUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger800125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-1996032942282406412024-03-11T09:36:00.000-07:002024-03-11T09:36:19.002-07:00DAY TRIPS WITH DAPHNE<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU6gTloczmg1jvT7ThegD0ikcfFl7vZdb8ppNgGNItJT1HbstXPcF718Ju7mlaTqXig_zdMxVH5kYBWoX175KJn7Dfhy7B1vpE3FL8kCUHT7m1sFtzE5XiKO3h7fISDqdGN8KHzFZToBvG07BFdU8SsH_OD1yoNW0Onva-A_drME1IR94rboF0cIMtwuA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="317" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU6gTloczmg1jvT7ThegD0ikcfFl7vZdb8ppNgGNItJT1HbstXPcF718Ju7mlaTqXig_zdMxVH5kYBWoX175KJn7Dfhy7B1vpE3FL8kCUHT7m1sFtzE5XiKO3h7fISDqdGN8KHzFZToBvG07BFdU8SsH_OD1yoNW0Onva-A_drME1IR94rboF0cIMtwuA=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">One of my infinitely minor claims to fame is that I was once, in some sense, “portrayed” on radio by Bill Nighty. He read my book first-person travel book <i>Day Trips to the Desert </i>on BBC Radio 4. </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Bill NIghy doesn’t sound remotely like me and yet I thought he got the tone of my “voice” and of the book, exactly right.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPXsV94tWaOzPNRxpfOc7vtDORuqOI0R0j5EwTFHFbszXOX_T5xKv5GiETsUgtv-14Zwr-PqbqOoGl8FdELu1QXmH-wgzxdnTUUJ54IRMX6msnUlwUwY7MeMJDdu5pAAaEYOna0NsjpiBJYdhDPWWGg8kmE-sdJdCLQwQCx0Q0wMjQ8uUmB08glcxcX_A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="662" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPXsV94tWaOzPNRxpfOc7vtDORuqOI0R0j5EwTFHFbszXOX_T5xKv5GiETsUgtv-14Zwr-PqbqOoGl8FdELu1QXmH-wgzxdnTUUJ54IRMX6msnUlwUwY7MeMJDdu5pAAaEYOna0NsjpiBJYdhDPWWGg8kmE-sdJdCLQwQCx0Q0wMjQ8uUmB08glcxcX_A=w413-h640" width="413" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> I met him very, very briefly in a studio in Broadcasting House and he was entirely the Bill Nighy you would want him to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Day Trips to the Desert </span></i><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">isn’t exactly a walking book (whatever the heck that is) but there’s a reasonable amount of walking in it, walking that I did in Australia, the United States, Morocco and Egypt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I can’t say how much of a walker Bill Nighy is but there are quite a few online pictures of him walking, such as this one in which he’s carrying a jar or Marmite, no I don't know why.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRFKKhX00_Ku_ZoUOs74wLCd3nCMG5CBeqlO4PCjD5wfVjl1QSXg6vx1DlaEzqQBfl85ihE4j7e2VMKeZbOu0HGkJIlJUkvWb_vzKBNQ_G6xWZO-F7F4rmpbXVMqHpOg1tYImw5sW52krkrqWpXVNVHJInedOLUUSZWhVpOWPn8FeK7WfTwu3snvNEHVA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRFKKhX00_Ku_ZoUOs74wLCd3nCMG5CBeqlO4PCjD5wfVjl1QSXg6vx1DlaEzqQBfl85ihE4j7e2VMKeZbOu0HGkJIlJUkvWb_vzKBNQ_G6xWZO-F7F4rmpbXVMqHpOg1tYImw5sW52krkrqWpXVNVHJInedOLUUSZWhVpOWPn8FeK7WfTwu3snvNEHVA=w357-h640" width="357" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;">And sometimes he’s seen, in a professional capacity, with Helena Bonham Carter:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiblEvmzheDjyc8fL3-59Aw5o7mykE3g_Dq4qwJm100aM8mIjQbsr-wtwOOeaqn1DY9H6LKqryf1S7qlvWWQpIv-uopieN9JXwJEmEQaawl3dD5MLPzQF3Emstr1eG8MPLB6RBojze48NbRIASUd8W81tPEsNafZwUln6HkdvEtV-7eCxEgByEvMfqkVwc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiblEvmzheDjyc8fL3-59Aw5o7mykE3g_Dq4qwJm100aM8mIjQbsr-wtwOOeaqn1DY9H6LKqryf1S7qlvWWQpIv-uopieN9JXwJEmEQaawl3dD5MLPzQF3Emstr1eG8MPLB6RBojze48NbRIASUd8W81tPEsNafZwUln6HkdvEtV-7eCxEgByEvMfqkVwc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0u-fG6nz8toH_Mj5K1aMqVdmf4R6mnUKHE_Wm0hp2Gecyb2wVPKOG53_KrGHmMdAEn3zGuu3q4hjFFtoBTLklNGZgTCZMQGI0aa4Pkq-EL-NTF1U83uxigl4wNAnlH1QnH6OOj1D5LWxAjWiPlkHfKA15zTBq5R5uUaP7MozCjiuj6x-wlCxd5DM7W5w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="631" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0u-fG6nz8toH_Mj5K1aMqVdmf4R6mnUKHE_Wm0hp2Gecyb2wVPKOG53_KrGHmMdAEn3zGuu3q4hjFFtoBTLklNGZgTCZMQGI0aa4Pkq-EL-NTF1U83uxigl4wNAnlH1QnH6OOj1D5LWxAjWiPlkHfKA15zTBq5R5uUaP7MozCjiuj6x-wlCxd5DM7W5w=w528-h640" width="528" /></a></div></div><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>Just last week the two of them were on the radio performing a play titled</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #1d2228; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Beside Myself</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #1d2228; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">, with Bonham Carter as Daphne du Maurier and Nighy as “man”. To quote the publicity materials, the play allows the listener to “follow Du Maurier as she starts a conversation with a stranger while on an amble.”</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Yes really, an amble!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">“</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">When a stranger approaches, Daphne … picks up her stiff stride, eager to get away. However, this one’s not to be deterred. As they walk along Daphne, to her own amazement, finds herself revealing much to the man about her life. Why is she compelled to divulge so much? Perhaps too much.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">This is Daphne du Maurier:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRO7ElBAq3SR9WAHop9x9pGNAV6zF6Dxi5mxF5f54bMM5_0Pl2SABo_bfFky33S6JOhOiyZE-OlHzVVNvtXkllh7OCPW4PpmggpVDi7pMpjzPKvc0sDOAzebJ6pUkdtTJbxpCLhGZxKX9Y5Igsp-ziuNBauLRl1odVchvUSXBuCQqPP3_sNW_3qVUmVbw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="634" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRO7ElBAq3SR9WAHop9x9pGNAV6zF6Dxi5mxF5f54bMM5_0Pl2SABo_bfFky33S6JOhOiyZE-OlHzVVNvtXkllh7OCPW4PpmggpVDi7pMpjzPKvc0sDOAzebJ6pUkdtTJbxpCLhGZxKX9Y5Igsp-ziuNBauLRl1odVchvUSXBuCQqPP3_sNW_3qVUmVbw=w344-h640" width="344" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt;">And this is Helena Bonham Carter, not walking.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7XibRXMUlOafvSllwm4ZQQsiHxqOuE7kxb_SphqvTJIpeojoNwPr8QZF9_Ioemr99Be4FCKvw3mzu6h2TaRRW-Q7YvsaCjMBVao6CfqDc19p0yp-l_drEaU_Hasbai3DwIn9lxdD7H214cpbXH1feCnI8gWdO2VLlT-RoGppSJRNqrJfImcgiqAdgCBI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1089" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7XibRXMUlOafvSllwm4ZQQsiHxqOuE7kxb_SphqvTJIpeojoNwPr8QZF9_Ioemr99Be4FCKvw3mzu6h2TaRRW-Q7YvsaCjMBVao6CfqDc19p0yp-l_drEaU_Hasbai3DwIn9lxdD7H214cpbXH1feCnI8gWdO2VLlT-RoGppSJRNqrJfImcgiqAdgCBI=w640-h394" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">She seems to be divulging quite a lot, but not too much, I’d say.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><sup><span style="color: #202122; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-35645085079650923732024-03-06T02:50:00.000-08:002024-03-06T02:50:41.463-08:00METHODICAL WALKING<p><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrNF5-pb0xFHA2i7XCpJl7YGMWU_fMBAI-6wFYkr09Kg-TJRIKn1ixju9Sg6svdAPQybtji1d7S9qDsqSswpVUnW0_VEfUI5cuUOft0eQ4O64Bg-l4Uu6VpeV5jYIZrqF3nN_jODAH3rD7wzzfaBPXxi1FyHdL4X_duyOJQrxp-vcQJJHuftcqAxOIMAI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrNF5-pb0xFHA2i7XCpJl7YGMWU_fMBAI-6wFYkr09Kg-TJRIKn1ixju9Sg6svdAPQybtji1d7S9qDsqSswpVUnW0_VEfUI5cuUOft0eQ4O64Bg-l4Uu6VpeV5jYIZrqF3nN_jODAH3rD7wzzfaBPXxi1FyHdL4X_duyOJQrxp-vcQJJHuftcqAxOIMAI=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />If you find yourself at London’s Temple tube station there’s every reason to follow the signs and walk up a set of steps to the Artist’s Garden which is <span style="letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">‘an open-air public space for art by women artists.’ So maybe it should be 'Artists' Garden'?</span></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;"><span> </span>It’s </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">actually on top of the station building itself; a roof terrace or I suppose roof garden. It’s surprisingly big, 1400 square metres. I mean it’s not like walking around Versailles but it’s definitely a place you can wander.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX0jk02k5D6gIp7IOm7DTRz3CK7ESgtm1fe9plClQN7r9LCwNqszy9UbjX4EDJR0dbBjhJj6TI0T3WFd0_RL2iN3AT47S-vZGuMjo5cLeiICn9nbGaOcRRZMzCUGa7wNEZByRfu7yhsv5DxvHCxR_mGTVbENZzO4w2CtIGd6zIJSc-aAtjLCMEBWjUMWk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiX0jk02k5D6gIp7IOm7DTRz3CK7ESgtm1fe9plClQN7r9LCwNqszy9UbjX4EDJR0dbBjhJj6TI0T3WFd0_RL2iN3AT47S-vZGuMjo5cLeiICn9nbGaOcRRZMzCUGa7wNEZByRfu7yhsv5DxvHCxR_mGTVbENZzO4w2CtIGd6zIJSc-aAtjLCMEBWjUMWk=w480-h640" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The current exhibition is by </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Holly Hendry and titled <i>Slackwater</i>, a sprawling installation chiefly made of <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; letter-spacing: 0.8pt;">industrial ducting. The contrast of the curved shiny metal of the art with the solid straight masonry of the buildings behind it, is spectacular, and of course on the other side you have the Thames. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">There was also this by </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Annabel Tennyson-Davies who’s artist in residence at the garden.</span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7E6cQqNa_3a6m-T7coH7GJpG0dWcnUxcybV1c_IKuQxWB2hrLed9bXFd9Ey1GtmP_FB3RW_jEEB41M2bSeJ0_d7pTrEse683_IaEjRLl6FyqJTgrOiqrKpOXjiNr6kSmm6O-gQDHxJIL_hps9c9wnInHCjYVz-EjtdJUWnntMy_EqYDoDbhvKYg_IV3A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7E6cQqNa_3a6m-T7coH7GJpG0dWcnUxcybV1c_IKuQxWB2hrLed9bXFd9Ey1GtmP_FB3RW_jEEB41M2bSeJ0_d7pTrEse683_IaEjRLl6FyqJTgrOiqrKpOXjiNr6kSmm6O-gQDHxJIL_hps9c9wnInHCjYVz-EjtdJUWnntMy_EqYDoDbhvKYg_IV3A=w480-h640" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; text-align: justify;">I’ve been up there once or twice and it’s never been busy with people, although I did see one visitor who’d found it a great place to have a kip.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8TWZVKy7sf6DbTytdQ-fgjM2MsQNt6WytVCa0kujmFpXcJj5DYFSaw-BOUyFd2HmFbg_WB37yOl1v1zFOP1e8VLUPoiURC8LCa7Sd7BheRHBMNt_ZIlE3i7sWjtgJ4u21jXjL65GjZIY5qiherTjy5YrFxFh8cyTiEKrGmoSEwGP-XW65J7UuSF1MPZE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh8TWZVKy7sf6DbTytdQ-fgjM2MsQNt6WytVCa0kujmFpXcJj5DYFSaw-BOUyFd2HmFbg_WB37yOl1v1zFOP1e8VLUPoiURC8LCa7Sd7BheRHBMNt_ZIlE3i7sWjtgJ4u21jXjL65GjZIY5qiherTjy5YrFxFh8cyTiEKrGmoSEwGP-XW65J7UuSF1MPZE=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">If you walk down the stairs when you’re finished you can then go into what you might call the non-artists' garden, or in fact the Victoria Embankment Garden, with a sign directing you to the Middle Temple Gardens, the end point of the City of Westminster Fitness Route, which is apparently a thing, though when you think about it, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">isn’t the whole world a fitness route if you want it to be?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilD2wmHJ5hfjg_SGKNOjlYIjGlSmGNsLJUCLR0myqJwt8N9pGVOfyFMPoJL8hAwjlVQtRPml45xWxUTZ8bg_PGznPtfurBb8JnZW_yY45gfXcIpRJvBNBaUdruiEFR7OgeQWEbCXEieBCSr4i20wusMPkyCqryXxKrrw6msTI7vgHE7DdlVKi1iE_8eVk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilD2wmHJ5hfjg_SGKNOjlYIjGlSmGNsLJUCLR0myqJwt8N9pGVOfyFMPoJL8hAwjlVQtRPml45xWxUTZ8bg_PGznPtfurBb8JnZW_yY45gfXcIpRJvBNBaUdruiEFR7OgeQWEbCXEieBCSr4i20wusMPkyCqryXxKrrw6msTI7vgHE7DdlVKi1iE_8eVk=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_iDqFW8cL3V_OwXDn-Y9yq__NuEqnrJaJbDVm6LxRLfNJc71xD7Gr_t_WMJm364IJGAv88xdrkmn3ZRWYHY-ZaQZp-CwTgvQA0l1ZhKrloJxVigEYdtsjIFX8rgozvCRp8Ir4exruw7xrW0FslbrW9AamkPpTH_EK7Kp0Cen1UK-cIlJh-eHAMqgIsNo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_iDqFW8cL3V_OwXDn-Y9yq__NuEqnrJaJbDVm6LxRLfNJc71xD7Gr_t_WMJm364IJGAv88xdrkmn3ZRWYHY-ZaQZp-CwTgvQA0l1ZhKrloJxVigEYdtsjIFX8rgozvCRp8Ir4exruw7xrW0FslbrW9AamkPpTH_EK7Kp0Cen1UK-cIlJh-eHAMqgIsNo=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">In fact I was only in those parts because I was on the way to see a </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">‘site specific and participatory installation’ by Zheng Bo in the center of the Somerset House courtyard.</span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuWggylbF_tqmSjw_BX5tQVrKTe8LNAxLuRSlm7Ej2zC239X57dmvt6IaQ8r4DmagkBIAqOcHUys7UO8osbce-eJdsq8EP5KzEf5CcFSfv1HIDOrSUM7aBKQitIKUOyDa3uoS2Skykp1_jndttvqoKmIK-Qbn_LlWrFX6s_X1KZZS4zhQ1aSb1H_1WeSg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiuWggylbF_tqmSjw_BX5tQVrKTe8LNAxLuRSlm7Ej2zC239X57dmvt6IaQ8r4DmagkBIAqOcHUys7UO8osbce-eJdsq8EP5KzEf5CcFSfv1HIDOrSUM7aBKQitIKUOyDa3uoS2Skykp1_jndttvqoKmIK-Qbn_LlWrFX6s_X1KZZS4zhQ1aSb1H_1WeSg=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The artwork’s title<span class="apple-converted-space"> was ‘</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Bamboo as Method’ </span></em>which according to the online artspeak ‘pays homage to the Ming Dynasty thinker and scholar, Wang Yangming. Wang’s pursuit of enlightenment through the practice of gewu zhizhi (the acquisition of knowledge through the investigation of the nature of things) is encapsulated in Zheng Bo’s profound reference.’ There’s also a board up in the courtyard telling visitors that Zheng Bo is ‘eco-queer.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimKGYmrAuo5M12-co_-D0HbeTbnQ86ih6TJ9dwDh5AattnDzXjFJuvV05BAMJ6C_wVw62LthAR8uhCsTC3p1SzimMn4PN8ppBsKmdELEBGcblhm7wC0MdUhZMaXBzkFR86BF410hDK9l-v5lNf1XUHTRys7hh5RyWHCNw3ab5ltTQJzumxwYZhrmOy9MU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimKGYmrAuo5M12-co_-D0HbeTbnQ86ih6TJ9dwDh5AattnDzXjFJuvV05BAMJ6C_wVw62LthAR8uhCsTC3p1SzimMn4PN8ppBsKmdELEBGcblhm7wC0MdUhZMaXBzkFR86BF410hDK9l-v5lNf1XUHTRys7hh5RyWHCNw3ab5ltTQJzumxwYZhrmOy9MU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">But none of that was obvious from seeing the work itself. In fact it looked as though Mr. Bo had done a tour of quite a few garden centres, bought up all their bamboo and arranged it in planters to provide what was really a very interesting environment in which to walk. </span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkiYgd3FB_Lvj4TaKv8nw45sYe28LATTy-Ed1c5tGEsk7wE1qlA1FHg7MnMU4qGyrocZA2_eTmjM_I2z24zfU-1eFDWl6X7MMAsl9-Smf5PrRu-kW5R1Rw0TBrUdq8OdtprpBbXKY8PmoAvX8HxrQ8oWzBM0sknd3QCiwtYUgiEbbcOPB1sVtp6KD5Guk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkiYgd3FB_Lvj4TaKv8nw45sYe28LATTy-Ed1c5tGEsk7wE1qlA1FHg7MnMU4qGyrocZA2_eTmjM_I2z24zfU-1eFDWl6X7MMAsl9-Smf5PrRu-kW5R1Rw0TBrUdq8OdtprpBbXKY8PmoAvX8HxrQ8oWzBM0sknd3QCiwtYUgiEbbcOPB1sVtp6KD5Guk=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I like bamboo a lot ,</span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">without being any kind of expert, but I understand there are over <span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">1,400 known species in 115 genera. Zheng Bo had managed to round up 10 different </span></span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">types.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The participation wasn’t the walking, or even the looking, but visitors were invited to draw the bamboo, or I suppose draw anything else they fancied, - pencils and paper were provided – and then drop the result in a box. </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> But one participant hadn’t made a drawing. He or she had made a paper plane and dropped it on the ground. Of course I found myself thinking about </span><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Harry Smith, the avant-garde filmmaker anthropologist, and collector of ‘lost’ paper planes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgvzktlpAhEGadCLtAV6wP0Ic5esgaaR3DUur243SxpOjCuuE3FODKAFq9RqjuQBwcVBbxuoHhkihgE5yyQbq0p0rPxw7XWYIK1pEgjd3QFTU-T0yA09JmwmNL-XJstCFkj1t9nseEpZvKSHWNIeQlnQMb9H36qBjz2D-SewRtBaD6qVKPRA8ZgZwM5Y8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgvzktlpAhEGadCLtAV6wP0Ic5esgaaR3DUur243SxpOjCuuE3FODKAFq9RqjuQBwcVBbxuoHhkihgE5yyQbq0p0rPxw7XWYIK1pEgjd3QFTU-T0yA09JmwmNL-XJstCFkj1t9nseEpZvKSHWNIeQlnQMb9H36qBjz2D-SewRtBaD6qVKPRA8ZgZwM5Y8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">As discussed elsewhere in this blog </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Harry Smith used to walk the streets of Manhattan in the late 60s to early 80s, finding discarded paper planes wherever he went, picking them up, then annotating and cataloguing them to form a ‘proper’ anthropological collection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">But this was the first time I can ever recall seeing a paper airplane lying on the ground when I was walking. Obviously I swooped on it. Do I feel an anthropological collection coming on? No, but the plane has gone straight into the archive of ‘things found while walking,’ which is a form of participation.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><o:p style="font-size: 11pt;"></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><h2 style="font-family: Times; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 48px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-68775725201419176362024-02-28T06:36:00.000-08:002024-02-29T10:52:07.466-08:00 WALKING AS ART SUBJECT AND ART OBJECT<p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUC12Kvg-00AqpMSmWE_yz0AqDtbXBVeKBrBC47zidT4ROsDZPsR868S4ulTTV5WmGUv3tMZ0aYdHGK8-8VNiIajf_kHIyyyR69NmLyPgaI45X7XmtiGpLLELOWs-XQ8XDrhnEP_gKsJG_MStmyNRPullurmFrrc_AXAMk0-_R5XSE670VMD7cnsdS9t8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUC12Kvg-00AqpMSmWE_yz0AqDtbXBVeKBrBC47zidT4ROsDZPsR868S4ulTTV5WmGUv3tMZ0aYdHGK8-8VNiIajf_kHIyyyR69NmLyPgaI45X7XmtiGpLLELOWs-XQ8XDrhnEP_gKsJG_MStmyNRPullurmFrrc_AXAMk0-_R5XSE670VMD7cnsdS9t8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">As a person walks through the world he or she inevitably sees other people walking through the world, and it seems that lots of people have decided this is a suitable subject for art.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">More often than you might imagine, you see <i>sculptures </i>of people walking through the world. This is Brancusi’s <i>Walking Man:</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgh76ADtTezW-uunxeT6DFANMC2b4XAfRMwpIHZwBrx-eqFbE8xfaKs4gG5yoMDeP1oqee2xSW4EMOy3QxB8fiw4oWZhJ2B4UYkRpJQNzIBryIJrDqeEb6CTaqsXb2pw6T8mBY2RBv6Sp7V_4bgiERSXo_ifOd-UaICirVwtivJpycgXsFvg7jPgFqvF2I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1354" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgh76ADtTezW-uunxeT6DFANMC2b4XAfRMwpIHZwBrx-eqFbE8xfaKs4gG5yoMDeP1oqee2xSW4EMOy3QxB8fiw4oWZhJ2B4UYkRpJQNzIBryIJrDqeEb6CTaqsXb2pw6T8mBY2RBv6Sp7V_4bgiERSXo_ifOd-UaICirVwtivJpycgXsFvg7jPgFqvF2I=w360-h640" width="360" /></a></i></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">You would have to say that Brancusi walked the walk as well as made the art. In 1903 and 1904 he walked from Bucharest to Paris – Peter made a film about it, <i>Walking To Paris</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL65Ayl1m3EkkK1u5H3_PE-c4wCZhKuPRaEFaD8nnUSRbIgOMVmOGrCkIjx4IwinztKMB_OUUy_grR5Q69YJYENZZe0ojXF2Ax7CT4SqlsK3jdryasZVcUEFNTN44ZCSWNh-HGU_4gnp9USyq6XMPiAmPzuc1vyEHJcmJ3KSuR_pSdT_1M4wOQGfWY56E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL65Ayl1m3EkkK1u5H3_PE-c4wCZhKuPRaEFaD8nnUSRbIgOMVmOGrCkIjx4IwinztKMB_OUUy_grR5Q69YJYENZZe0ojXF2Ax7CT4SqlsK3jdryasZVcUEFNTN44ZCSWNh-HGU_4gnp9USyq6XMPiAmPzuc1vyEHJcmJ3KSuR_pSdT_1M4wOQGfWY56E=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course there are walking women too, though not as many as we might like, including this one by Giacometti, <i>Walking Woman</i><i>1</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKCybwooMvLTxoWgJ1qXTXKK_Psf58wHo3nGLdhr-X0ROnWNdF6lSbozJyJ3E9_VOKAY3yiiybcYGLVsnl1nwXRoaD695A-dbsK1c1HoyywlqfC-wah53rHMSId0IPmKJ9UNgUw8XcmaY3OaoFOXr9ivrWN-uhvMYC1DEO2kiAJYcMaZskvRsEjn6IPck" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2534" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKCybwooMvLTxoWgJ1qXTXKK_Psf58wHo3nGLdhr-X0ROnWNdF6lSbozJyJ3E9_VOKAY3yiiybcYGLVsnl1nwXRoaD695A-dbsK1c1HoyywlqfC-wah53rHMSId0IPmKJ9UNgUw8XcmaY3OaoFOXr9ivrWN-uhvMYC1DEO2kiAJYcMaZskvRsEjn6IPck=w363-h640" width="363" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">You’re unlikely to be walking along and suddenly come upon a work by Brancusi or Giacometti – for that you probably need to be in an art gallery or sculpture park - but I realized that in my walking, without actively looking for them, I’ve come across quite a few sculptures of walkers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not so long ago, walking in Holland Park I came across this by Sean Henry, titled <i>Walking Man</i>. The statue is painted bronze but the path he’s walking on is genuine concrete:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNSlZmpO1jnJoxtW-Z-A0EnCCFTo96RLU21KNNbgiFNcf47vNV26rDpgEhnprR_ZTOdt-KqIvND3-ZYfGQ4JKTH9wRGyV_2ifsbrl_nf8N109oCIXZsGrpNSAQOawJ63VSQMmacl4KYhpqBFpdmiyO1vY3VS4Ezm85a0I_l3Ir1xIJs8mdZVatSJQTac" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNSlZmpO1jnJoxtW-Z-A0EnCCFTo96RLU21KNNbgiFNcf47vNV26rDpgEhnprR_ZTOdt-KqIvND3-ZYfGQ4JKTH9wRGyV_2ifsbrl_nf8N109oCIXZsGrpNSAQOawJ63VSQMmacl4KYhpqBFpdmiyO1vY3VS4Ezm85a0I_l3Ir1xIJs8mdZVatSJQTac=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I was reminded of the W<i>alking Man</i>in Sheffield by George Fullard, which I know fairly well, being a deracinated Sheffielder. It’s positioned outside what is now called the Winter Garden. I feel that most Sheffield walkers aren’t quite as lean as that statue – but let’s call it artistic license.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI573ZfOpOmRqlEvPsPNEcQ9n9IuPNnb_d-4k2azjAKnbFpIvhYSJFN_DZ-G4AAj68nEYNmy7B3Ivhq5yCqR-9KenDLqLqpSTaUBDfun0WGCBjEQFwCjAsY1BP4RWn70onIf9ndbzLWOzG0Eue4GJ-fVcoWD6KBjgjXtcU1RTyPfuDE2bCaMVbD7rEIzI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="2304" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI573ZfOpOmRqlEvPsPNEcQ9n9IuPNnb_d-4k2azjAKnbFpIvhYSJFN_DZ-G4AAj68nEYNmy7B3Ivhq5yCqR-9KenDLqLqpSTaUBDfun0WGCBjEQFwCjAsY1BP4RWn70onIf9ndbzLWOzG0Eue4GJ-fVcoWD6KBjgjXtcU1RTyPfuDE2bCaMVbD7rEIzI=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Naturally there are some interesting ironies in all this. The viewer is walking but even though the statue shows somebody walking they’re perfectly still, frozen in a moment. And sometimes of course the human walker stops to admire the stopped walking statue. As in this statue by George Segal, titled <i>Walking Man </i>which is at the (wait for it) Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfn3PF9V-8OWMKMBnq-m-YyIy-8onjEzvkdIw6n9EWWtGsA8ExqapKdlOFJb5Cqt1MPj-aG7rRG2vAvrfvT4GwS8mrzp9EIcwleJw8oQTGQFwefEJE8EqiCcm0NtAYC_zTT0T4Y39IuDxwu-qg6RO4JU9hMCso3BOY_12sPVjXN_7qwzzYnzh6DJJOmLs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3456" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfn3PF9V-8OWMKMBnq-m-YyIy-8onjEzvkdIw6n9EWWtGsA8ExqapKdlOFJb5Cqt1MPj-aG7rRG2vAvrfvT4GwS8mrzp9EIcwleJw8oQTGQFwefEJE8EqiCcm0NtAYC_zTT0T4Y39IuDxwu-qg6RO4JU9hMCso3BOY_12sPVjXN_7qwzzYnzh6DJJOmLs=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then it clicked that Sean Henry, the artist who made the walking man in Holland Park was also responsible for this <i>Walking Woman </i>in Colchester, who’s a favourite of mine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUnj2qc8adErd-cZVObcrUZa2vJGucu7cp_lz8CI8-A34q6jTRdZbjk0kZrdsyoEI4c6XSZy9nX7IcZvMpYxFBy1NyVz4HXIMdpcyLxOMlfsS7Rm-1POCWKS2DqI5pg8MmTZ1XNuPxsXgVHTgSPsvF5lIaGUjJ5sE9g2uPtcNU3MBsv4v4h6ddeGZJCOc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUnj2qc8adErd-cZVObcrUZa2vJGucu7cp_lz8CI8-A34q6jTRdZbjk0kZrdsyoEI4c6XSZy9nX7IcZvMpYxFBy1NyVz4HXIMdpcyLxOMlfsS7Rm-1POCWKS2DqI5pg8MmTZ1XNuPxsXgVHTgSPsvF5lIaGUjJ5sE9g2uPtcNU3MBsv4v4h6ddeGZJCOc=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Apparently there are different versions of Sean Henry’s woman, placed in different locations, often in snowy climes. Frankly she doesn’t really look quite dressed for it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then there’s this fellow by Toni Matelli, titled <i>Sleepwalker,</i>who was in Regent’s Park for Frieze Sculpture 2023, who doesn’t seem to be dressed for anything at all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0VTVNNzJ3uGZRti4P-_I_uWhaslbKQLePwdJZqI4RmU70OXnHg2UBiEPUQsvrXSOGAi1Ds8s2AQ_aZgvTimORLZFfeSxMuhHrCSz83X_feJR3mrWwFapzG41_9WIt0W51KnZyizqcwG83nvECk63rStdRs_0YUTJ9WGUlRJFhoP1sJ3QTolexMW3swdk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0VTVNNzJ3uGZRti4P-_I_uWhaslbKQLePwdJZqI4RmU70OXnHg2UBiEPUQsvrXSOGAi1Ds8s2AQ_aZgvTimORLZFfeSxMuhHrCSz83X_feJR3mrWwFapzG41_9WIt0W51KnZyizqcwG83nvECk63rStdRs_0YUTJ9WGUlRJFhoP1sJ3QTolexMW3swdk=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-8339914385357131882024-02-22T03:35:00.000-08:002024-02-22T06:33:45.970-08:00THE SOLACE OF WALKING<p><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGXjxgBOLXVfTfhhVtO15hjcdLpamkts4FP82NJ7xuUZMq0Zs-8h2xCXc0i47g6RLntdZY5oaNB-rU1277_iON0kkBa74Wj-Noc-ydfGZmkqbrHLJMx_cotiTeunnMjp5Erpw06w0Otzn4VGpSohqG7hlxMXo29FgPq0j4s9SmnD5gSwO0NAkK9GltUVs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGXjxgBOLXVfTfhhVtO15hjcdLpamkts4FP82NJ7xuUZMq0Zs-8h2xCXc0i47g6RLntdZY5oaNB-rU1277_iON0kkBa74Wj-Noc-ydfGZmkqbrHLJMx_cotiTeunnMjp5Erpw06w0Otzn4VGpSohqG7hlxMXo29FgPq0j4s9SmnD5gSwO0NAkK9GltUVs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I was in Faversham last Saturday for the Literary Festival, being an author, and I was on </span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;">s</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;">tage with Sonia </span><span style="font-family: Geneva;">Overall, author of</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"> </span><i style="font-family: Geneva;">Heavy Time: A Psychogeographer’s Pilgrimage</i><span style="font-family: Geneva;">.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: x-large;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmxnDuJ23h8jmSiSSUjettOVixDOtZqKZiY7Sb4S2wl19vOXXHxilWLgoV9MTO_Cfstak74c3lRz9nLEEIP9rqouvqJryemQBy_Recg2tKKqArgY43YOlz0KxGXMc98n4u_vHkJqemRnUwuyqYQTVrd_AZaIjpu4Bh5Pb4maeazlKZrttjy-hM9Ifv2Vk" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmxnDuJ23h8jmSiSSUjettOVixDOtZqKZiY7Sb4S2wl19vOXXHxilWLgoV9MTO_Cfstak74c3lRz9nLEEIP9rqouvqJryemQBy_Recg2tKKqArgY43YOlz0KxGXMc98n4u_vHkJqemRnUwuyqYQTVrd_AZaIjpu4Bh5Pb4maeazlKZrttjy-hM9Ifv2Vk=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Caroline Gannon</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: x-large;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNnB2d30nnLIUKiJIPksGiOm3RBYWPuUaJfDwC6MtCCMoC41hC5gf2Yfpyay0cPaPhiGzQyw_uMBfcneoD5r4Ztbp4bSc68lXXhM0Pi_8FxVdOT2jzLSET-r5bagWwk7hWj1cX1-qfov7Yvz_hSzN8hpdFTtyvUZz_DufkN5_Hdwsrd_75o6eoQmAq2I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="284" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNnB2d30nnLIUKiJIPksGiOm3RBYWPuUaJfDwC6MtCCMoC41hC5gf2Yfpyay0cPaPhiGzQyw_uMBfcneoD5r4Ztbp4bSc68lXXhM0Pi_8FxVdOT2jzLSET-r5bagWwk7hWj1cX1-qfov7Yvz_hSzN8hpdFTtyvUZz_DufkN5_Hdwsrd_75o6eoQmAq2I=w255-h400" width="255" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Among the many things we discussed and agreed on, was that a large part of walking and drifting is about <i>noticing</i>. You walk, you see things, you record them in some way, in memory or a notebook or a photograph. and later, somewhere along the line, they become something else – a book, an essay, even a blog post.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the event, the inamorata and I stayed in Whitstable for a couple of nights with pals Jacqueline and Nick (thanks kids), and it seemed only natural that we should all go for a walk and a drift Sunday morning and do some noticing. So that’s what we did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />And what did we notice? Well I noticed this sign:</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhywxijdGsDbL_j0OTjDvYBy1FH0p1MOMOM7YuXwlqm8W2KibLsmb3jaAwscmINXos1m_rS6wwJAsuhBicubxkPUZMNAj1PpkDTncpIus6tbI-wkxyI2xoiayGVjig6QZ7o2DmuirbDxK3ZkmtkFjyXOzoSk1-ONxTCg7GTZh2w3fbNkEX6OuSXT8eQJIs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhywxijdGsDbL_j0OTjDvYBy1FH0p1MOMOM7YuXwlqm8W2KibLsmb3jaAwscmINXos1m_rS6wwJAsuhBicubxkPUZMNAj1PpkDTncpIus6tbI-wkxyI2xoiayGVjig6QZ7o2DmuirbDxK3ZkmtkFjyXOzoSk1-ONxTCg7GTZh2w3fbNkEX6OuSXT8eQJIs" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> I</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;">’m not sure that we actually walked along the Crab and Winkle Way – we certainly didn’t get as far as Canterbury - but we may have covered some small section of it</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I can’t speak for anybody else but one of the things I noticed was the the intersection of what we might call nature with what we might call the built environment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;">We saw gardens including this one decorated with a stone bearing the message ‘One Who Plants a Garden Plants Happiness.’</span><span style="font-family: Geneva;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvRJSVrX3Ncl3LYFyKF3VirzJM5s3owwpDam7yLgkELlFbrBaMNsHXZK5FA1rXRIHW0GZE0X-idZ6wKfRxjh0eBtXPXG0VxmdE7SU7WJqYq7wHeb7lyK3qX9tjSKi4AvA_5PFsnONXKngB6JglmjTR9oZ1-Pb9YFc2n7vMo3ZikYLupN_tp5-3S2xDSSc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvRJSVrX3Ncl3LYFyKF3VirzJM5s3owwpDam7yLgkELlFbrBaMNsHXZK5FA1rXRIHW0GZE0X-idZ6wKfRxjh0eBtXPXG0VxmdE7SU7WJqYq7wHeb7lyK3qX9tjSKi4AvA_5PFsnONXKngB6JglmjTR9oZ1-Pb9YFc2n7vMo3ZikYLupN_tp5-3S2xDSSc=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Geneva;">Now you could argue that one who plants a garden is just as likely to plant frustration, disappointment and thankless labour, but I don’t want to rain on anybody’s gardening parade.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There was nature creeping up the walls of houses:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh0ULvw_hIDRjHchO3g1K2yPn0M5XBwDKJHacroYjokgIT5mxtF3SzHAaCy0IMc3wmIl93B4e-a0KpA_2UmAdVM-zQRFrdU8_HsMdlJmew8X-NU_BXLUtO6VKsXxbHUcjc3OGuxoy8nvZhaUljs7bxg_Z7aCvvac6Szf5FrArdFHn_lld_HpUh7YnKcpM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3138" data-original-width="3396" height="591" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh0ULvw_hIDRjHchO3g1K2yPn0M5XBwDKJHacroYjokgIT5mxtF3SzHAaCy0IMc3wmIl93B4e-a0KpA_2UmAdVM-zQRFrdU8_HsMdlJmew8X-NU_BXLUtO6VKsXxbHUcjc3OGuxoy8nvZhaUljs7bxg_Z7aCvvac6Szf5FrArdFHn_lld_HpUh7YnKcpM=w640-h591" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: large;">We even saw a couple of Nicholsons:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7LOjCOYyP3OypKpKgCaVayA2BjBmK2hXck_U_8r-khcJyB4y3vsRovjmJgPOD8TtbH03PRl6rHwVqVnxSTSKnpR-qJB_S0Uc6XzPm7UrIvmhSJB0J56uFWkk7y5BsnVepoT7vt7_bkOIXx_XA-myI81Q4qpdZYS2TniWz7Cn2pKf_7xEkDAYG1P_YO9M" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7LOjCOYyP3OypKpKgCaVayA2BjBmK2hXck_U_8r-khcJyB4y3vsRovjmJgPOD8TtbH03PRl6rHwVqVnxSTSKnpR-qJB_S0Uc6XzPm7UrIvmhSJB0J56uFWkk7y5BsnVepoT7vt7_bkOIXx_XA-myI81Q4qpdZYS2TniWz7Cn2pKf_7xEkDAYG1P_YO9M=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2LvuRigxlSvbctTdJYms1aUuXYyTfmJAIumJS4gpCWuDASo5I72JqIN8QmnWQquwjfQCkgGNYtbxHWNC4as-cuPBTl9E9YV99FwnrgO3yZWXZ05Qi-C4jdaIojht9PSbppdhufNgFBcjdnU-A9u9k80WssCa2T4rR6jLX6jNPJxFQ59MC_IoLfyHxON0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2LvuRigxlSvbctTdJYms1aUuXYyTfmJAIumJS4gpCWuDASo5I72JqIN8QmnWQquwjfQCkgGNYtbxHWNC4as-cuPBTl9E9YV99FwnrgO3yZWXZ05Qi-C4jdaIojht9PSbppdhufNgFBcjdnU-A9u9k80WssCa2T4rR6jLX6jNPJxFQ59MC_IoLfyHxON0=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;"><span style="font-size: large;">We saw some interesting ruin:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh60UOsuPnwfkHw_0_dVRJ33FVFLGkl55wu7qGdyokli1N1f7tCbWUOicK4W9vQSbFXWMGRq7T7eRGJIAU0TvMSfiwWF08rL4Uh3bvxRTNo9Wf3I6CW3fVCaDZ4VDMyKzSAewPlaPe0iBXMI0TKUF5hQ_Ngbp1ta5sVmmpM0p-w-vwNx-TlnXYTr1ydJdU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh60UOsuPnwfkHw_0_dVRJ33FVFLGkl55wu7qGdyokli1N1f7tCbWUOicK4W9vQSbFXWMGRq7T7eRGJIAU0TvMSfiwWF08rL4Uh3bvxRTNo9Wf3I6CW3fVCaDZ4VDMyKzSAewPlaPe0iBXMI0TKUF5hQ_Ngbp1ta5sVmmpM0p-w-vwNx-TlnXYTr1ydJdU=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />And we saw this classic VW bus – every drift is better when it includes a VW bus:</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3fbRZ5vy9JX9FAL1C1sfGhG0b_kaMRxsmT0VnmHSr0UQcgDE7rN1RDzVV_WQ94hVsGhxA3Oi7gl6EaML9UNyOQ7Kmvaebf6vmQw_bMUDpJBN-k-W1SjCFQ5_SFWnltfzFet-r3a-pbxOMy39B1nwCQN3MEgKmibtXlyzjYVQrggqNHY7mkNFUhVsQd_A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3fbRZ5vy9JX9FAL1C1sfGhG0b_kaMRxsmT0VnmHSr0UQcgDE7rN1RDzVV_WQ94hVsGhxA3Oi7gl6EaML9UNyOQ7Kmvaebf6vmQw_bMUDpJBN-k-W1SjCFQ5_SFWnltfzFet-r3a-pbxOMy39B1nwCQN3MEgKmibtXlyzjYVQrggqNHY7mkNFUhVsQd_A=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There was also this very noticeable mural of Somerset Maugham:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmhgdyOylCuXi3t357iObGvLCarc-X18mlUIpm9hme_vBZZAPYf1QIM2F3shiDzv9AnoDGi699QdpIS0DuWuxdpilFItWj7tmhon0U7B5FMrCAc9_KISP5XakZaAxaRVFgW8280Z6sXwWzfs5lPBLgiZArrMj-feenfS6SyOqs5gxoTKe91PB1_tMpHeM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3367" data-original-width="2831" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmhgdyOylCuXi3t357iObGvLCarc-X18mlUIpm9hme_vBZZAPYf1QIM2F3shiDzv9AnoDGi699QdpIS0DuWuxdpilFItWj7tmhon0U7B5FMrCAc9_KISP5XakZaAxaRVFgW8280Z6sXwWzfs5lPBLgiZArrMj-feenfS6SyOqs5gxoTKe91PB1_tMpHeM=w539-h640" width="539" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Now, I didn’t know that Somerset Maugham was a Whistable lad: he was born in the British Embassy in Paris. But </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">after both his parents died he was sent to England to live with his uncle Henry MacDonald Maugham, vicar of Whitstable. </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">You know it’s a good while since I read any Somerset Maugham – I think the last book I read was <i>Ashenden</i>which I really enjoyed, so Maugham is definitely all right with me, but even so, from what I know of his life, I think perhaps he found some forms of solace even more supreme than writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7JMGyCFNRM6YRokOYtyURgqsXPg-CFKrVKEel1qIcvUwF5-D4SPU3BoqE8cdu1xOM4sld79S_ycBUwje6RFjPirnB2X4K52dRd-NjjOUYF6U2aN3n7AbmBpeFRXpfUASu0lA62EzamfQrDETpUJgjYv77hcc6XZWlZzQX3gSKlN9QsL8auGXX9ZEfxWM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7JMGyCFNRM6YRokOYtyURgqsXPg-CFKrVKEel1qIcvUwF5-D4SPU3BoqE8cdu1xOM4sld79S_ycBUwje6RFjPirnB2X4K52dRd-NjjOUYF6U2aN3n7AbmBpeFRXpfUASu0lA62EzamfQrDETpUJgjYv77hcc6XZWlZzQX3gSKlN9QsL8auGXX9ZEfxWM=w493-h640" width="493" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-8120791898443846362024-02-21T05:32:00.000-08:002024-02-21T05:32:17.280-08:00YAY - I GOT A NOT BAD REVIEW<p> <b style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-heading)", serif; font-size: 24pt;">Sands of an Hourglass: On Geoff Nicholson’s “Walking on Thin Air”</span></b></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; padding: 0in;">By </span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/contributor/tom-zoellner/" style="color: #96607d;"><b><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; padding: 0in;">Tom Zoellner</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; padding: 0in;">February 6, 2024</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi02QVETBLkDro94tkEyE7x3KcWhTtq_drshaVdD7wPVw1zQFf96X74xoyWEEMl0mjZuYRxGed5DzNTPS3ABwkg6lDzkppuRX9hkSLbRoDKNbUfTWksNhwDiMW9p5l9TCCUC9uT4jhO7IBWvfbPoBNRguM9bgyyWqSiAyIElMFdPxHV7n-IQ0b49h70kc0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="363" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi02QVETBLkDro94tkEyE7x3KcWhTtq_drshaVdD7wPVw1zQFf96X74xoyWEEMl0mjZuYRxGed5DzNTPS3ABwkg6lDzkppuRX9hkSLbRoDKNbUfTWksNhwDiMW9p5l9TCCUC9uT4jhO7IBWvfbPoBNRguM9bgyyWqSiAyIElMFdPxHV7n-IQ0b49h70kc0=w268-h400" width="268" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 12pt; padding: 0in;">Walking on Thin Air: A Life’s Journey in 99 Steps</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> by Geoff Nicholson<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-serif)", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-serif)", serif; font-size: 12pt;">MEMOIRS ABOUT the walking life are, by definition, all over the map. But they tend to fall into one of two general categories.<br /><br />There’s the directed hunt, in which the author has pointed themselves at a specific target: the end of a long trail, a shrine, a lost geography, a bit of treasure—books like Cheryl Strayed’s <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Wild:</span></i> <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail </span></i>(2012), Valeria Luiselli’s <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Sidewalks </span></i>(2010), or any number of accounts of trekking the Santiago de Compostela.<br /><br />Then there’s the musings of the ambler not going anywhere in particular but writing about the multiple joys of simply traveling around on foot, usually in cities, musing at the unfolding scenery—books like Alfred Kazin and David Finn’s <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Our New York</span></i> (1989) or <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Thinking on My Feet: The Small Joy of Putting One Foot in Front of Another</span></i> (2018).<br /><br />Geoff Nicholson’s new book <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Walking on Thin Air: A Life’s Journey in 99 Steps </span></i>is firmly in the second group, a well-established genre that lends itself to episodic structure and ample philosophizing. Nicholson’s unenviable twist, though, is that he’s walking on the sands of an hourglass. He has a diagnosis of a rare bone marrow cancer—“not rare enough, obviously.” But this writer from the industrial English Midlands has been walking all his life and intends to “continue as long as [he] can.”<br /><br />Nicholson is a marvelously direct writer of indirect subjects who doesn’t have a lot of truck with pretense or a sense of misgiving about his subjects. He treads where he likes and doesn’t seem to care about commercialism when describing his enthusiasms. His 1996 novel, <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Footsucker</span></i>, was an apologia for shoe fetishism wrapped in a murder mystery. And his further tributes to the parts of us that meet the ground include two previous works on the ambulatory life: <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">Walking in Ruins</span></i> (2013) and <i><span style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;">The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Literature of Pedestrianism </span></i>(2008).<br /><br />The artistry embedded in this basic act can be reduced to a simple apothegm. “I go to places,” writes Nicholson, a contributing editor of this publication. “I walk when I’m there, I look around, I write about what I see and feel. It’s not the only thing I do with my life, but it’s probably the best part.”<br /><br />Turns out that Southern California is one of Nicholson’s prime turfs: “When people used to ask me why I’d moved to Los Angeles I always said, ‘Oh, I came for the walking.’ That was met with varying degrees of hilarity.” But he gets the last laugh. His favorite hiking desert is the Mojave, where the myriad dangers led him to embrace the traveler’s counsel of “creative cowardice” favored by Reyner Banham, another Englishman in California. It was also the place where an unnatural fatigue one hot day prompted him to make a doctor’s appointment, which led to his cancer discovery. (He did not blame the desert.)<br /><br />Nicholson also crafts an ode to Franklin Avenue, “one of the less glamorous and less celebrated streets of Los Angeles” with none of the name recognition of its neighbors, and which locals think of primarily as a glorified on-ramp to the 101. Through some detective work, he locates the house where Joan Didion reported on the moral chaos of the 1960s and posed in front of a Corvette. It’s now a spiritual retreat called Shumei America Hollywood Center.<br />But this is a rare example of chasing an image, or its afterimage. Nicholson does not go for oft-trodden paths that project a certain civic or cultural iconography. What would be the point of that? “You can’t really walk in Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles or on the banks of Thomas Cole’s Hudson River—though I’ve tried to do both—because essentially these places are inventions, artistic creations,” he writes. “They exist sure enough, but they exist on the page or on canvas and, of course, in the mind and imagination of the reader or viewer.”<br /><br />As long walks can take meandering patterns, Nicholson bounces among subjects in numbered sections, not always connected. The reader quickly becomes aware that Nicholson is less concerned with subject than motion. As he puts it: “Admittedly I would in general prefer to walk in the Peak District than through the nearby industrial estate, but I’m not averse to walking through industrial estates, and true enlightenment might not even recognise the difference.”<br /><br />In the days before GPS could be slid into a pants pocket, Nicholson often shunned the conspicuous and deliberate act of carrying a paper map, especially in London, where “a general sense of direction, a sense of how neighborhoods related to each other,” was often good enough.<br /><br />Do the “neighborhoods” of this book relate to one another? Not always. Part of the appeal of discursive narratives sorted into number-headed chapters is the thematic puzzle of how things that shouldn’t fit into other things somehow do, or are made to, through the sleight of the writing. That assemblage isn’t always apparent here—the neighborhood is a jumble of architecture, and the promise of the subtitle, “a life’s journey,” resembles more of a stroll through a bric-a-brac emporium.<br /><br />Then there’s the “thin air,” which provides the dominant key of the book. Nicholson keeps finding ways to drift away from seriously contemplating his cancer diagnosis. Perhaps, it could be credibly argued, this is a mimetic device. Such medical knowledge may indeed foster a constant desire to think about other things—to find alternative paths. Who can live their life for very long in constant dread? Come look at this discarded magazine on the sidewalk. And this colorful rock.<br /><br />Herein lies a matter that some readers may consider a deficiency. Nicholson spends no time on the spiritual aspects of living and dying, not even to dismiss them. Does he think there’s a survival of the soul—a hidden path soon to become visible? We don’t get to know. The mysteries of dying are perfectly replicated by his authorial silence on this point.<br /><br />Instead, when contemplating his own mortality, Nicholson turns to some of the imagery he likes best: “If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, then every journey, of whatever length, must also end with a single step. I wonder exactly where and when that step will be in my own case. I can’t say I’m ready for it, but I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”<br /><br />Nicholson’s writing career has been varied, admirable, and courageous. He stops to notice uncommercial and even bizarre subjects, shunning well-traveled roads. He goes where he likes. He gets out often. Nobody can imitate him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 1pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; padding: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-sans)", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-transform: uppercase;">LARB CONTRIBUTOR<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-serif)", serif; font-size: 12pt; padding: 0in;">Tom Zoellner is an editor-at-large at </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; font-family: "var(--font-serif)", serif; font-size: 12pt; padding: 0in;">LARB<i> and a professor of English at Chapman University. He is the author of eight nonfiction books, including The Heartless Stone, Uranium, The National Road, Rim to River, and Island on Fire, which won the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the Bancroft Prize in history.</i></span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "var(--font-serif)", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/sands-of-an-hourglass-on-geoff-nicholsons-walking-on-thin-air/" style="color: #96607d;">Sands of an Hourglass: On Geoff Nicholson’s “Walking on Thin Air” | Los Angeles Review of Books (lareviewofbooks.org)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-32034376153584485052024-02-21T01:19:00.000-08:002024-02-21T01:21:56.882-08:00ROAMING WITH NICHOLSON<p> </p><p><br /></p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40); color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Do you want to hear me on a podcast talking to Stefan Van Noren about walking on his blog Nature Revisited?</span></span><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);">Well, why wouldn't you?</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);">This is Stefan Van Norden </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr0-3exM7BAkr0Y6CdBqAOBnrP-2xY88yJT5BIUdWARrBYqs38k1jXTmKMZrcW6UT6_iFRIUUmzXJrohwSAx4uDZPtqQ2oiFWDGvxeeaSxAAjT7auweFqnF0z3MeX2cytlfuue263ghrAMMhFjcdupoHLEIF8djjo5mkYE_Yiqq7mV2iy3PpAf3eiDd5Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="946" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgr0-3exM7BAkr0Y6CdBqAOBnrP-2xY88yJT5BIUdWARrBYqs38k1jXTmKMZrcW6UT6_iFRIUUmzXJrohwSAx4uDZPtqQ2oiFWDGvxeeaSxAAjT7auweFqnF0z3MeX2cytlfuue263ghrAMMhFjcdupoHLEIF8djjo5mkYE_Yiqq7mV2iy3PpAf3eiDd5Y=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(29, 34, 40);">and this is a link to the podcast</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href=" https://noordenproductions.com/nature-revisited-blog/episode-115-geoff-nicholson-the-right-to-roam" target="_blank"> https://noordenproductions.com/nature-revisited-blog/episode-115-geoff-nicholson-the-right-to-roam</a>x</span></div><div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-18704608271091628512024-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:002024-02-13T07:31:47.962-08:00JUMPING JELLICOES<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiiNss_G4Q7oBipC_NbFR4-vIjBQG1u5G8tE1Vmoovw4g-hYIK1fTPFvhku39CEc2_GFZMMUkt2dbORa_zX3h2SubBzCHTBnNFY5ZuZ3cUsJUYXS7dauggGdhBnCmDGLHlsU37yIzDeDwHZSlBHrPXTk4umNDpS2e7eTDQxnu0gVUheqlmLkFru5zpkI8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiiNss_G4Q7oBipC_NbFR4-vIjBQG1u5G8tE1Vmoovw4g-hYIK1fTPFvhku39CEc2_GFZMMUkt2dbORa_zX3h2SubBzCHTBnNFY5ZuZ3cUsJUYXS7dauggGdhBnCmDGLHlsU37yIzDeDwHZSlBHrPXTk4umNDpS2e7eTDQxnu0gVUheqlmLkFru5zpkI8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">If you grew up in Sheffield, as I did, there’s a good chance that many of your formative walking experiences took place in the Peak District.<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I was going to say it’s ‘just down the road’ from Sheffield, but in fact parts of Sheffield are now actually in the Peak District.</span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Much of my own walking, often with my dad though sometimes with others, centred around Castleton which is at the head of the Hope Valley – undulating peaks and tors, some of them exhaustingly steep, and pierced by various caverns. There was a local expression, at least in our house, ‘We live in hope but we’ll die in Castleton.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjC1yPQJvF6egcF2GbDyFnStoGqLmLZwclWfwk4GBNYBCEgi1hb7lLirfmAoNbnh_e8GemIfdI5UjQMEY7X3rt96rTJOYX5Y75wbXo7CYuy0JItdcIjO5Sf4y4C9AzQQUleqJjBH9vCv1uaEDyOvLq1Guxq16RqMan1X4g3bgWKsyQd-8tergSekX6Xbw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="810" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjC1yPQJvF6egcF2GbDyFnStoGqLmLZwclWfwk4GBNYBCEgi1hb7lLirfmAoNbnh_e8GemIfdI5UjQMEY7X3rt96rTJOYX5Y75wbXo7CYuy0JItdcIjO5Sf4y4C9AzQQUleqJjBH9vCv1uaEDyOvLq1Guxq16RqMan1X4g3bgWKsyQd-8tergSekX6Xbw=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PHOTO BY JOHN FINNEY PHOTOGRAPHY</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">And at some point as we looked across the Hope Valley we’d see a white industrial conglomeration in the distance. It’s what used to be called The Hope Valley Cement Works, now </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Breedon Hope Cement Works.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Most observers would think it’s a blot on the landscape, but looking back I can’t believe how unsurprising it seemed. Perhaps this was because wherever you walked in Sheffield you were bound to see industrial sites, mostly concerned with the steel and cutlery industries, so in one sense it was just more of the same. But I’m still surprised by how accepting everybody seemed to be. It was just part of the landscape. I understand there are </span><span style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">now two public footpaths that go through the site but if they were there in my day, I certainly wasn’t aware of them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> Only recently did I decide to look into the history a little</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">. The Hope Cement Works opened at 1929, and was extended in 1935-8, against some resistance, not enough to halt the plans but enough for the owners to bring in Geoffrey Jellicoe, </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">architect, landscape architect, town planner and garden designer, and by many accounts one of the great garden theorists, </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">to create some sympathetic landscaping, using waste products from the mining operation, to hide what were essentially two big quarries. This wasn’t until 1942 when – for Pete’s sake – there was a war on, but Jellicoe produced a plan of intent for future quarrying, which held up at least until the 1980s. Jellicoe was born in 1900 lived to be 95</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoOyLoxZoci4rJ2L37ORqLJg4BHoyGEx9VXVmE6V3gesldDAQ7sUeD-4d3QZuRuej5r8wpgSh3psIRrc0pxLmCPN0B8TY84HyRWoHnpanngZu31rvXOW7SB1I1wWNdxzb2WwiXEGLlB3nA4STXQBC8k00hb4cARNkoGEfSqb_Dalqk3IVg1jGT6AV6i-w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="984" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoOyLoxZoci4rJ2L37ORqLJg4BHoyGEx9VXVmE6V3gesldDAQ7sUeD-4d3QZuRuej5r8wpgSh3psIRrc0pxLmCPN0B8TY84HyRWoHnpanngZu31rvXOW7SB1I1wWNdxzb2WwiXEGLlB3nA4STXQBC8k00hb4cARNkoGEfSqb_Dalqk3IVg1jGT6AV6i-w=w629-h640" width="629" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> Now, Geoffrey Jellicoe is some way from being an open book to me, though I knew the name, and a little further research revealed that</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I’d done more walking in Jellicoe’s footsteps than I’d imagined. For instance, I now know that when I walked around the pedestrianized center of Gloucester I was treading the ‘Via Sacre,’ part of the Jellicoe’s redevelopment plan for the city centre.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve been in Fitzroy Square in London which was <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">pedestrianised in the 1970s, as part of a Jellicoe scheme. I know I’ve been to</span>the RHS garden at Wisley where Jellicoe designed the Canal Garden, though I can’t say I remember it. And I’ve always been an admirer of the Ben Nicholson (no relation) wall in the Jellicoe-designed garden at Sutton Place, but I’ve only ever seen pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-SxFxrHXhddQ0wJH9MdwHOvysx7gPQPvLDci6oIrMugaFBiUf1y1qZvBRzIEo2Ir9bqNhmsmg_Kn-u1StQPnN_HT3LnHuBy_ss7nd7NtO0J_AumQ3sXhAz5E_BZzLwFr83SYUgztB-145osAAz16955GhBjkPNE9aycbIHFxDpnUEcEDfJCndawfpdnc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="2500" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-SxFxrHXhddQ0wJH9MdwHOvysx7gPQPvLDci6oIrMugaFBiUf1y1qZvBRzIEo2Ir9bqNhmsmg_Kn-u1StQPnN_HT3LnHuBy_ss7nd7NtO0J_AumQ3sXhAz5E_BZzLwFr83SYUgztB-145osAAz16955GhBjkPNE9aycbIHFxDpnUEcEDfJCndawfpdnc=w640-h430" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then, while looking for something quite else on a map of London I spotted something called Jellicoe Gardens, north of Kings Cross and St Pancras stations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Now, the Jellicoe Gardens weren’t designed by Jellicoe but by </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Tom Stuart-Smith Ltd who were, and I’ll quote, ‘commissioned by Argent to work with them and the Aga Khan Development Network to design a garden inspired by the early Persian garden traditions, where sunlight, shade and water are balanced to create a place of calm, comfort and quiet reflection.’ </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">A visit seemed to be in order.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> That bit of territory around Jellicoe Gardens is now all linked open squares and fresh out of the box architecture, and nearby is Lewis Cubitt Park which seemed a bleak and desolate place on the day of my visit, though you can just about see one or two people walking there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBBZfUtSdWNZkEfOiFGfEaDoGkD0ez2clkYTDbq1Lnq3Ia_-0En380Fw7AhDqOY-6JdACP4kGIl1ed3N-HSJ39d56_BQKGtH4M3IIGg_UT5TJVp3oVAr6YugTvNBhSAShvQwacHz3B0fFgpHX74LucL4D2t0ObUhyvbLVKP26SKRsShA68x99KSSw28_s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBBZfUtSdWNZkEfOiFGfEaDoGkD0ez2clkYTDbq1Lnq3Ia_-0En380Fw7AhDqOY-6JdACP4kGIl1ed3N-HSJ39d56_BQKGtH4M3IIGg_UT5TJVp3oVAr6YugTvNBhSAShvQwacHz3B0fFgpHX74LucL4D2t0ObUhyvbLVKP26SKRsShA68x99KSSw28_s" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkg8dVIrsqdz2Wl2DkiBPXmjbBQzX6wBE7_n9MvX0lXJOAapuSvnqEcq6k5l2DB3iMj8DadLrrZQV_F5-NkSKSAjn7Bmdx5VMi1aulFvLSV9nFcUtv7o3ohzS7ytDUK0dN4Ns2GOxiB5fyTOT7J9aGizY5bEwhtNyca1FAIdNFglr8yMPoDY8OWYPIHfE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkg8dVIrsqdz2Wl2DkiBPXmjbBQzX6wBE7_n9MvX0lXJOAapuSvnqEcq6k5l2DB3iMj8DadLrrZQV_F5-NkSKSAjn7Bmdx5VMi1aulFvLSV9nFcUtv7o3ohzS7ytDUK0dN4Ns2GOxiB5fyTOT7J9aGizY5bEwhtNyca1FAIdNFglr8yMPoDY8OWYPIHfE=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">And as for Jellicoe Gardens themselves, they seemed to be, let’s say, minimalist. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I saw exactly one person there, sitting on a bench looking forlorn.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD0Usa1JqLtCG42eq1w7P3xvNOS1Yw3mYrYrn0KgDR8P45Xi-v2E9KZwPUX4TEokTRnYi-Zwt2yCK6fWUfaiwfRs3-72sz6SraGGoK299R-SDO8LKhVby_JnqGcgzMknN5LYpAETJsYr-K71rabPJENUVtwB0_u4_YTeTxl8Ft6fpcFP36ztQz6PZP4ZA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiD0Usa1JqLtCG42eq1w7P3xvNOS1Yw3mYrYrn0KgDR8P45Xi-v2E9KZwPUX4TEokTRnYi-Zwt2yCK6fWUfaiwfRs3-72sz6SraGGoK299R-SDO8LKhVby_JnqGcgzMknN5LYpAETJsYr-K71rabPJENUVtwB0_u4_YTeTxl8Ft6fpcFP36ztQz6PZP4ZA" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9U6SUZoKOjKpAnT2FuqRxti8M6lfzD4nMEvnwUJ-OVkk5DWLfnVEgZJUZH1yRhyUuE9sTWPNLKI8hs7RpBU0Adv9gSU_SkRvxcRUGCGQvnSgRVRCPXnms_-OLjKXT15ITGPvQ6Sn4F_cO66nrO74l3XByPA7Q55F9MAyAnDLF5AVjT1L7CVBZEBP1Lfk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9U6SUZoKOjKpAnT2FuqRxti8M6lfzD4nMEvnwUJ-OVkk5DWLfnVEgZJUZH1yRhyUuE9sTWPNLKI8hs7RpBU0Adv9gSU_SkRvxcRUGCGQvnSgRVRCPXnms_-OLjKXT15ITGPvQ6Sn4F_cO66nrO74l3XByPA7Q55F9MAyAnDLF5AVjT1L7CVBZEBP1Lfk" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This may be only to say that my visit was in mid-February and not much was growing and thriving as yet, but the place undeniably has good bones. And I really did like the pergola, if that’s the right word, through which you see the zesty modern architecture all around it. A second visit will surely be called for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">To quote Tom Stuart-Smith Ltd again, ‘Inspiration has been taken primarily from the great garden Bagh-e Fin, a traditional Persian garden located in Kashan, Iran. It is on a much larger scale, but the plan is quite similar.’ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I can’t say how many visitors to the Jellicoe Gardens know anything about Geoffrey Jellicoe or about Persian Gardens, though since they’re adjacent to the Aga Khan Centre perhaps they may be more familiar with the latter than the former. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">On a final not-quite-Jellicoe note, and returning obliquely to thoughts of the Hope Valley</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">, I’ve observed that cement works are curious beasts wherever they are. When I lived in Los Angeles, and I sometimes walked along La Brea Avenue and there amongst the rather fashionable shops and restaurants was another cement works – in its way even more surprising than the one in Hope Valley. This was the CEMEX Hollywood Concrete Plant, which had been in business for over 60 years. It was a magnificent monster of a place covering one and a half acres, although when I mentioned it to Angelenos, most of them had no idea what I was talking about. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1PabEs-Yb5EW4sFi-xeUJA_2NQMKhX0rQpA2ti02gaFYeftiqEA2Qt_qECXiynz16nc9Ipm9yWlttSXpw-9JLj-6UJlJehNqR7nZs26ueJQ3tFfB2wytxacOUQ8rZ2yy6kfkVb13dpWwblPrivuvXq4fLkU0m0wIrM8UIyk_zCd9fU3jd75PxSNmRSZk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="2304" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1PabEs-Yb5EW4sFi-xeUJA_2NQMKhX0rQpA2ti02gaFYeftiqEA2Qt_qECXiynz16nc9Ipm9yWlttSXpw-9JLj-6UJlJehNqR7nZs26ueJQ3tFfB2wytxacOUQ8rZ2yy6kfkVb13dpWwblPrivuvXq4fLkU0m0wIrM8UIyk_zCd9fU3jd75PxSNmRSZk=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">In fact I gather there are now plans to build a huge apartment block on the site. I’m not sure whether or not that’s a pity.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-90053399237405454962024-02-01T02:07:00.000-08:002024-02-01T02:07:40.608-08:00SHANDY WALKING<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjarqKnh9OZkmHNDa7tf9l-wR3aUMGbjq91kdHr2tHl2fWGsB2ODmbvAl17FkSObaN-yOTi-L9cO3wWPShlQFeIAQob1_bMhyw8BNXxx7jFzJSlF_7nPyfThiFVbzD6J2GZj6dcL4kFN3uTTmawRlstybnlQarVdWE_7mPcdrIRE2MHb9pAO5R1aG4dI2A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjarqKnh9OZkmHNDa7tf9l-wR3aUMGbjq91kdHr2tHl2fWGsB2ODmbvAl17FkSObaN-yOTi-L9cO3wWPShlQFeIAQob1_bMhyw8BNXxx7jFzJSlF_7nPyfThiFVbzD6J2GZj6dcL4kFN3uTTmawRlstybnlQarVdWE_7mPcdrIRE2MHb9pAO5R1aG4dI2A=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br />This is rather good, I think, from Laurence Sterne’s</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <i>A Sentimental Journey (1768):</i></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">‘I was walking down that which leads from the Carousal to the Palais Royal, and observing a little boy in some distress at the side of the gutter which ran down the middle of it, I took hold of his hand and help’d him over. Upon turning up his face to look at him after, I perceived he was about forty.—Never mind, said I, some good body will do as much for me when I am ninety.’</span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Well, <i>A Sentimental Journey </i></span>is essentially a novel, so the narrator is not exactly the author, but crossing the road when he was 90 was not a problem Sterne ever had. He died some months after <i>A Sentimental Journey </i>was published, aged 54.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE835q1MDrk7vCvJp3_d0K-ljHAz6j2-I9TKb3FxJeSUx0fgMnoI8XmVgkJpiuJ1ZFyuMzg39FlLweH1oYE1WUvZE1d0DglqZOiFq_fXOsG9Q-7MYNoaE-2bML7mBICzx8SfWKJRJAmOGNq0wUoH17gHAdQZxdBopTxcrykoYweEB9TOFBfl7RqTOFf1E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE835q1MDrk7vCvJp3_d0K-ljHAz6j2-I9TKb3FxJeSUx0fgMnoI8XmVgkJpiuJ1ZFyuMzg39FlLweH1oYE1WUvZE1d0DglqZOiFq_fXOsG9Q-7MYNoaE-2bML7mBICzx8SfWKJRJAmOGNq0wUoH17gHAdQZxdBopTxcrykoYweEB9TOFBfl7RqTOFf1E=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">And then, there was a piece in The London Review of Books, by Thomas Keymer, about the difficulty of pinning down the meaning of satire, and about ‘getting the wrong end of the stick.’ He writes:</span><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">‘The cleverest inheritor of the phenomenon was Laurence Sterne, whose<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; padding: 0in;">Tristram Shandy </span></em><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">(1759-67) intersperses its narrative with explicit rebukes to imagined readers … The work was there to be grasped or debated as the reader wished, and when one of them sent Sterne a walking stick as a gift, it was, Sterne replied, ‘in no sense more Shandaic than in that of its having more handles than one’.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I must say I’d never seen a walking stick with more than one handle, but I find they do exist, like this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCvXPbVs_haAWCKXqioIQ7Pp1InAxNUrhl9ShnfjQVuvaEbId9rcuSzrL2_P1_4HAyR188aiY5Gq9UBfp0Lby_OhlFDUKDuL96u7tnDXb7D-5kdIRnvtsgE6NJfQMAw2Q2__GB9n89elwWTZT3bLT2ljdcDr1xxJ7ZN1ifprbtoiVw5zqeg5-wjho3EAM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="399" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCvXPbVs_haAWCKXqioIQ7Pp1InAxNUrhl9ShnfjQVuvaEbId9rcuSzrL2_P1_4HAyR188aiY5Gq9UBfp0Lby_OhlFDUKDuL96u7tnDXb7D-5kdIRnvtsgE6NJfQMAw2Q2__GB9n89elwWTZT3bLT2ljdcDr1xxJ7ZN1ifprbtoiVw5zqeg5-wjho3EAM=w451-h640" width="451" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">But that’s not the same as grasping the wrong end. In most cases, with most walking sticks, there’s surely only one end you’d really want to grasp.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZqG-FBAzGYrt4Q3a2630l1WO3RKyD374nS9QZU4zRhfynCzzkE0q0hjGn7iN4AIiBv5e5h2WI4rPQ3be8MXw6ne2h6eTg70zyFrwTz4hKLYsL_6Dc8U83WegBvrNAQhUY0i4Qu5NwDJkNPqSKz5fSvJolRVmpPjo7ve03q7gDG76sMxbAZbSWRPg4d0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1279" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJZqG-FBAzGYrt4Q3a2630l1WO3RKyD374nS9QZU4zRhfynCzzkE0q0hjGn7iN4AIiBv5e5h2WI4rPQ3be8MXw6ne2h6eTg70zyFrwTz4hKLYsL_6Dc8U83WegBvrNAQhUY0i4Qu5NwDJkNPqSKz5fSvJolRVmpPjo7ve03q7gDG76sMxbAZbSWRPg4d0=w533-h640" width="533" /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 9pt 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: #fafaf7; color: #494746; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-58958825575896503252024-01-29T04:25:00.000-08:002024-01-29T04:25:37.968-08:00THE DANGERS OF WALKING – ONE OF A VERY LONG SERIES<p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><h1 style="font-family: Times; line-height: 64px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here’s the kind of thing you don’t read every day. In fact I read it in the Evening Standard on January 12<sup>th</sup>and have been waiting to hear further developments, but as far as I can tell there haven’t been any. <o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><div><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3ptpKaVyQfygJz6BZTQwe3J7QBPznT_HxFXAZnkDRHtb9QATxJ6DwdKMvCGUw6mr_6ShlGs0XJa6kHfE8Oe-MDJm45JV6n1YHCZ-LbbbW4FQI9zdYManbl2XzuKMYLrdgakDQsud4LUtN9_-Fob3i13BDNnY8YlHLr1h1rRasYgLqpq_8MBx95WNYpAo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3ptpKaVyQfygJz6BZTQwe3J7QBPznT_HxFXAZnkDRHtb9QATxJ6DwdKMvCGUw6mr_6ShlGs0XJa6kHfE8Oe-MDJm45JV6n1YHCZ-LbbbW4FQI9zdYManbl2XzuKMYLrdgakDQsud4LUtN9_-Fob3i13BDNnY8YlHLr1h1rRasYgLqpq_8MBx95WNYpAo=w640-h400" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></span></div><h1 style="font-family: Times; line-height: 64px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">There in the paper, along with the above picture, was the headline ‘Crumbling Justice’ and the sub-headline ‘Pedestrian hurt after old Bailey Masonry Crashes into the Street Below.’ </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-weight: normal; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">From this you and I would imagine a someone was walking down the street, and a lump of stone fell off the building from a great height and hit the walker below, But then you read the article (by Tristan Kirk, who I think also took the pictures), and it reads, ‘A member of the public<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was hospitalised after masonry over the “decaying” historic entrance to the Old Bailey </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">crumbled and crashed into the street below.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘No one was hurt when the stone fell from the building, but a pedestrian was injured after tumbling over debris on the pavement before the area had been cordoned off.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Am I wrong to be disappointed by this? Walking along and being hit by an unidentified falling object has a lot of drama, maybe even cosmic drama, this kind of thing:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPxEAk3QpeFI6SQt8AJ-IB2WFEYCF-ApgFdkiCDDHR7ao_8220QgnXzRrzDJUMPeO6kbzokm60nkFGer8uoGmJeXPTraRfzfhiCGFMpJ7AllrftVh8KrnVQ6Y9vkOPHXPaL9clKAzXXIXc0jFSKrIwgvCM5WdzEFyw4-L40kvgi1OURtPkt8oz78ht-50" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="521" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPxEAk3QpeFI6SQt8AJ-IB2WFEYCF-ApgFdkiCDDHR7ao_8220QgnXzRrzDJUMPeO6kbzokm60nkFGer8uoGmJeXPTraRfzfhiCGFMpJ7AllrftVh8KrnVQ6Y9vkOPHXPaL9clKAzXXIXc0jFSKrIwgvCM5WdzEFyw4-L40kvgi1OURtPkt8oz78ht-50=w400-h364" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> <span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;">But tripping over a lump of stone that’s lying on the ground, really lacks grandeur.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;">The fallen piece doesn’t even look to have been very big. The little white bit on the statue in the picture below is where it fell from. </span></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRGhGWhnwwhCLQbl0nldbL9FIiwamSZPW4Q6qLAAZDZqmS02BGoBxWZexnYN6OMZt-_YYvFHSBbDoqyz9r1vmFHCLK3ca2SxKp2SFVaXm4UxHhFTBhf60X96X0nsdOg1rSVEgbsWyZUh_mLeg4Rvx7Ipi4R3-bEryWr-QdOuEaEvMTVYhchqGr3zJ8AcU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="389" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRGhGWhnwwhCLQbl0nldbL9FIiwamSZPW4Q6qLAAZDZqmS02BGoBxWZexnYN6OMZt-_YYvFHSBbDoqyz9r1vmFHCLK3ca2SxKp2SFVaXm4UxHhFTBhf60X96X0nsdOg1rSVEgbsWyZUh_mLeg4Rvx7Ipi4R3-bEryWr-QdOuEaEvMTVYhchqGr3zJ8AcU=w640-h446" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Interestingly it seems to me, the pedestrian is not named in the news item. I wonder if the journalist was sparing his or her blushes. I don’t mean to mock this or any other pedestrian but falling over in the street and ending up in hospital is pretty hopeless and humiliating. I know because I’ve done it. And there wasn’t even a lump of masonry to trip over.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTzNBWgyJc174OujMuZdnxXUeFRbun6ZI0iNENpUx8yslm6BVAr66DHjbV9Gh_dL4c4CAklLH-ePBtHQtTnyp39vcDGZhsA2zSUK47G-7KUuq2ziImxnY2pclcvCXgXOFgvNNf8xbvUFA06SwwgmXzxly-d3rZzD0Kz8-wk_YGsGiz74-Mwv10SRwAswk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTzNBWgyJc174OujMuZdnxXUeFRbun6ZI0iNENpUx8yslm6BVAr66DHjbV9Gh_dL4c4CAklLH-ePBtHQtTnyp39vcDGZhsA2zSUK47G-7KUuq2ziImxnY2pclcvCXgXOFgvNNf8xbvUFA06SwwgmXzxly-d3rZzD0Kz8-wk_YGsGiz74-Mwv10SRwAswk" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-22649548281408455702024-01-22T04:49:00.000-08:002024-01-22T07:17:44.463-08:00KEEP ON RUCKING? NO, NO JUST DON'T EVEN START.<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">You and I, of course, are familiar with </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Betteridge’s Law of Headlines which states, ‘</span><span style="color: #040c28; text-align: justify;">Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">.’ But not everybody is so familiar. And a little while ago in the Times there was this</span><span style="font-size: large;">:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSsPI6quRslxLSttwU970-oISEqZDVT1nE7x0pPChG2hic6wf0yoWyltxf0qeSObBfHApcxtnnjkb2YIwEN8C0iTwyiLbE_pu7oy0dYTmqNK-gRxTXfOjDlYshExpsAdQ1GmKOLcTx1wLF76vnleTUVJV01JjqwOHfptR_3MrZj0tyvfL6f2H9K2p6aec" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1545" data-original-width="4311" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSsPI6quRslxLSttwU970-oISEqZDVT1nE7x0pPChG2hic6wf0yoWyltxf0qeSObBfHApcxtnnjkb2YIwEN8C0iTwyiLbE_pu7oy0dYTmqNK-gRxTXfOjDlYshExpsAdQ1GmKOLcTx1wLF76vnleTUVJV01JjqwOHfptR_3MrZj0tyvfL6f2H9K2p6aec=w640-h230" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Rucking, it turns out (and maybe everybody in the world except me knew this already), consists of walking with a load of stuff in your rucksack. It can be metal plates, a few bricks or I suppose a couple of bottles of gin. According to the article, by Bridget Harrison, rucking is ‘being touted as the big fitness trend for 2024.’ Well, not in this house it isn't, young lady.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">There are many, many ways of spoiling a walk and this seems very high on the list, though still better than golf, admittedly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Here are some lads enjoying the benefits.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #202124; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #202124; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgysoavvl71RaeGTsdJtWCQyslP-XpP2Op0oNHwcvAj53V87aOAvDke7iQ08E0s2BcKKuEz8ZOChByBOYq2arK4Z3TIjr7I1gR85AZOKx_spvBQPWfrt19ny7VhML6PDST9VS3G5srs4k7NozuSWGGrd5YGRiiYMZagfho5ZbqoUAhELUK6s0bKVp9-Skk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1988" data-original-width="2776" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgysoavvl71RaeGTsdJtWCQyslP-XpP2Op0oNHwcvAj53V87aOAvDke7iQ08E0s2BcKKuEz8ZOChByBOYq2arK4Z3TIjr7I1gR85AZOKx_spvBQPWfrt19ny7VhML6PDST9VS3G5srs4k7NozuSWGGrd5YGRiiYMZagfho5ZbqoUAhELUK6s0bKVp9-Skk=w640-h458" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #202124; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-25218267458027248352024-01-15T05:12:00.000-08:002024-01-15T05:12:18.523-08:00COME INTO THE GARDEN, JIM<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> Being a fan of walking, gardens and religious kitsch, and having a spare 50 pence in my pocket, I was able to buy a copy of the Jim Reeves album <i>God Be With You </i>from my local charity shop.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCxOcMQfBDGfWf1Jjzd1Fg2UIBeVTsIRqRrn0WVNUF0o7Uw5Abnfe036DQkV1UAN7i4-1EJvY_hUAiqZgaQ8yXUHAFnRo_Fwr3T2KkJdHhaFkrNoFBqa8uLEBNqPCtcG8EdRKpTXUvNFtyDABc1vcuVJ4t3ZqclA5i0VDJJMuEG-PGFbGc-c5d94A1ZqE" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="595" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCxOcMQfBDGfWf1Jjzd1Fg2UIBeVTsIRqRrn0WVNUF0o7Uw5Abnfe036DQkV1UAN7i4-1EJvY_hUAiqZgaQ8yXUHAFnRo_Fwr3T2KkJdHhaFkrNoFBqa8uLEBNqPCtcG8EdRKpTXUvNFtyDABc1vcuVJ4t3ZqclA5i0VDJJMuEG-PGFbGc-c5d94A1ZqE=w640-h640" width="640" /></a> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">T</span>he walking element comes from a song on the first side, titled ‘In the Garden’ written in by Charles A Miles in 1912 or 1913 – sources differ. This is, or was, Charles.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpoQ_IQ1aF7Valx2AODSDi8bnVB-PVuV_zAcxU5JgCOj-wTHnPKZJ3X2qcgd1V5lQW9pLJCqBqJnlmUxdQKE3m1yTTADF_debtQfn2mdnCkASFqXZxmUjMMemCKwYmDtJo3yjsKTQbBucdmFIT-DxItakDBE5-vALYRryCf7dQsf1vUBqTFsDLKZNGLH8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhpoQ_IQ1aF7Valx2AODSDi8bnVB-PVuV_zAcxU5JgCOj-wTHnPKZJ3X2qcgd1V5lQW9pLJCqBqJnlmUxdQKE3m1yTTADF_debtQfn2mdnCkASFqXZxmUjMMemCKwYmDtJo3yjsKTQbBucdmFIT-DxItakDBE5-vALYRryCf7dQsf1vUBqTFsDLKZNGLH8=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />The first half of the chorus runs</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">And He walks with me, and He talks with me,<br />And He tells me I am His own;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">which I suppose is fair enough if you like that kind of thing, but the second half of the chorus runs<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">And the joy we share as we tarry there,<br />None other has ever known.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">None other? Really? Not ever? And it’s not just the singer’s joy, it’s god’s joy too. They're sharing a joy that nobody, god included, has ever experienced before </span> in the long history of creation. I mean really? Anyway the final verse runs</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I’d stay in the garden with Him,<br />Though the night around me be falling,<br />But He bids me go; through the voice of woe<br />His voice to me is calling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">So even god’s had enough of this walking and talking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">The song has also been sung by all manner of people including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Meryl Streep in a duet with Garrison Keillor, and not least by Doris Day. Doris was my mother’s favourite and by some process she made me a fan too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I can’t swear how much of walker Doris Day was (though she did have dogs), and her version of ‘In the Garden’ is on </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">her album ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDWap31N-dswRbifDvCUp_Niytw_slfmsIIwlEX3UnWUUrca9VluMqE180jFeWOad-Wfr4pAduQS-mq3UFWEEL5UOu69W0TMVK5TOxloOipEo39RxCMblU8aSdCmOcFcc3Kge1F8kalnrpLLKoVPZeX6LQ28bAwV-oi50Ob3Ui0p0nIO7S6lzbPxBY-9Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="598" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDWap31N-dswRbifDvCUp_Niytw_slfmsIIwlEX3UnWUUrca9VluMqE180jFeWOad-Wfr4pAduQS-mq3UFWEEL5UOu69W0TMVK5TOxloOipEo39RxCMblU8aSdCmOcFcc3Kge1F8kalnrpLLKoVPZeX6LQ28bAwV-oi50Ob3Ui0p0nIO7S6lzbPxBY-9Y=w637-h640" width="637" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: left;">But </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: left;">she was definitely a gardener.</span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFcgARtOZSiK-7YREIUQEhPDx6y00NoKhlphbaYdm428vwI-iiJtpB2Aqby1M5ydANMT2m06o6Z1Es0ohW01ETil7vS9vzC5fzjQs5sqFmcCofaKEokVDu5P3Mzua6rc8A4XQSvmftFxXZk8qCDEhz1oCuWaa8IQDiHW8j1YRSRe4UBTvUtVZOpMVIln0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="361" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFcgARtOZSiK-7YREIUQEhPDx6y00NoKhlphbaYdm428vwI-iiJtpB2Aqby1M5ydANMT2m06o6Z1Es0ohW01ETil7vS9vzC5fzjQs5sqFmcCofaKEokVDu5P3Mzua6rc8A4XQSvmftFxXZk8qCDEhz1oCuWaa8IQDiHW8j1YRSRe4UBTvUtVZOpMVIln0=w515-h640" width="515" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">See how it all fits together?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">But you know, I keep looking at that Jim Reeves album cover. Is he in a garden? It does look a bit like a garden, I love the giant saguaro cactus. But when I look more closely I think it could be a former gas station – there are a couple of antique gas pumps in the background. But maybe they’re being used as garden ornaments. Who knows?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">However, more than that, whether it’s a garden or a disused gas station, Jim clearly isn’t there at all - he’s been cut out and collaged in to the album art. An earlier version of the album cover looks like this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivkTx0YkY3S-B-VGxrJh11ztyWjwVbt0NwttNZ0pl98jN5lUpES8sdbcIZm76vVkGO8uKlFmyPMRf8lVLQ7z3CWDN8qKk9qnn77m84dCLZBL6gMdCkIKNAlNASgL-O-U7yqZG-sQvEVMbh7eibmHi0AYdcDOhHm7Jm0rbSSC26f8qmGi1hXVHBKA85BSQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="315" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivkTx0YkY3S-B-VGxrJh11ztyWjwVbt0NwttNZ0pl98jN5lUpES8sdbcIZm76vVkGO8uKlFmyPMRf8lVLQ7z3CWDN8qKk9qnn77m84dCLZBL6gMdCkIKNAlNASgL-O-U7yqZG-sQvEVMbh7eibmHi0AYdcDOhHm7Jm0rbSSC26f8qmGi1hXVHBKA85BSQ=w637-h640" width="637" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">He’s still not in a garden, he actually seems to be sitting in a field. And I have no idea if he was a walker – I can’t find a picture of him walking - but he did sing a version of ‘Just Walking In the Rain.’ I suppose that’ll have to do.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI1-XX7u_gQK79bd1cHcrkEkUozDhxlTez78q0EhkuaVr5L5Edvsm6CoAgsiTQ5z_QM9eIfXFwJqwRAv7M5W2eI9_-MYkClHKS9fQSbD5g3VvTfYStsdc03XW6sairtquCbOyZYTbnBNE-RXfs29WOcfL3POISkIuKiH7oi1um69mfk_0IHBmErrUs1-I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="489" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiI1-XX7u_gQK79bd1cHcrkEkUozDhxlTez78q0EhkuaVr5L5Edvsm6CoAgsiTQ5z_QM9eIfXFwJqwRAv7M5W2eI9_-MYkClHKS9fQSbD5g3VvTfYStsdc03XW6sairtquCbOyZYTbnBNE-RXfs29WOcfL3POISkIuKiH7oi1um69mfk_0IHBmErrUs1-I=w627-h640" width="627" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> <span class="text">Incidentally, if you have a moment or two to waste, try typing ‘Does god have feet?’ into your search engine. You’ll be surprised how many people have asked that question. A debate rages. Believers are divided between those who think that since we’re in god’s image, and since we have feet and can walk on them, then god must have feet too. Others say that god is a spiritual being without form or body, and Biblical mentions of his hands, feet, eyes and so on are purely symbolic. I’m going for a walk while I think about that one.</span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-11782115934470194192024-01-07T05:49:00.000-08:002024-01-24T09:28:21.649-08:00SAME OLD TOPOGRAPHICS<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Walking is crucial for a certain kind of photographer, and these tend to be the photographers I like, Vivian Maier, Garry Winogrand, Daido Moriyama, among many.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNXEGgcMB2eikH3d9Yzu8ypECND0g3Xlvs30-vFVs7gypsrG1b7KCVA_0T7YDVScv4-v7jnblpCovz-fs_2p6U-imSKQ6Hq2bKNaaEDWfxkbg3_yCBxYl6S8QXRkOlqIJotetBCH0Dhy5NdnizdWTH6YaXAwlT3BhJz_q5r6gCMsuwfhNKxTSiMN5wXyw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNXEGgcMB2eikH3d9Yzu8ypECND0g3Xlvs30-vFVs7gypsrG1b7KCVA_0T7YDVScv4-v7jnblpCovz-fs_2p6U-imSKQ6Hq2bKNaaEDWfxkbg3_yCBxYl6S8QXRkOlqIJotetBCH0Dhy5NdnizdWTH6YaXAwlT3BhJz_q5r6gCMsuwfhNKxTSiMN5wXyw=w640-h428" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moriyama has even published something, not quite a book, titled <i>Random Walk</i>, an empty album that comes with 62 black and white, and 38 colour Polaroids that can be put into the album in any order, thereby creating a ‘random walk’ through the streets where Moriyama took the photographs. Pretty cool huh?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKrazB4LPynIR689mO571TdAOeSLQ8tG9i-cnZq8DKjrYl9dLxKd8IIOW6ZYcd3Dyv-LGRbnXGb-eC2kANh-e5cdv7zQvdwIUtnZCqsPTGmz8oc5RIA6IdowOI5hV_RA2LkOBMVPsGYD-fJvzMyD2RhTL53E4VtsKsJiv0iHzGfOgqYaM6dLEtGwE54hE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="500" height="551" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKrazB4LPynIR689mO571TdAOeSLQ8tG9i-cnZq8DKjrYl9dLxKd8IIOW6ZYcd3Dyv-LGRbnXGb-eC2kANh-e5cdv7zQvdwIUtnZCqsPTGmz8oc5RIA6IdowOI5hV_RA2LkOBMVPsGYD-fJvzMyD2RhTL53E4VtsKsJiv0iHzGfOgqYaM6dLEtGwE54hE=w640-h551" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTd0-L_LrD6ApCsfLrKrxf4MRZqwlmpK7GrvXc8LVmteTneQ6Q8gP7O-rKpVNeT5huT2K-4dYGYvBKTGxWY0El4lU05ru_5UuMR2t6R9W1zlcRDxlX-CPYnyAluLBlUs-gcwvsESaYFmmq8AW03jxs8CSkc9fbcxYCR5jbwEj6liBzyuOXbTiIaC_Z-sE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1809" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTd0-L_LrD6ApCsfLrKrxf4MRZqwlmpK7GrvXc8LVmteTneQ6Q8gP7O-rKpVNeT5huT2K-4dYGYvBKTGxWY0El4lU05ru_5UuMR2t6R9W1zlcRDxlX-CPYnyAluLBlUs-gcwvsESaYFmmq8AW03jxs8CSkc9fbcxYCR5jbwEj6liBzyuOXbTiIaC_Z-sE=w579-h640" width="579" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I see there’s a new edition of Robert Adams’ book <i>Summer Nights</i>, first published in 1985 and now expanded and retitled <i>Summer Nights, Walking. </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIxAbMylowREi-0qHcPDmFprn9qxGwpsiHnsbS9JV9PJVGl3x0hszze7aNdUosY4uwgiQN9CUK0gFzFbLUsm8ijyf_AcoZixYBm8dzKgxGSOcU1fyZyKTnH-6zMvQsqigim9zZf6YewNmKOT4qUk3zPkKQp3uvUxUc6qbkougwgyQGgBsKaRbQSJRtnxw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="572" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIxAbMylowREi-0qHcPDmFprn9qxGwpsiHnsbS9JV9PJVGl3x0hszze7aNdUosY4uwgiQN9CUK0gFzFbLUsm8ijyf_AcoZixYBm8dzKgxGSOcU1fyZyKTnH-6zMvQsqigim9zZf6YewNmKOT4qUk3zPkKQp3uvUxUc6qbkougwgyQGgBsKaRbQSJRtnxw=w640-h436" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1PDvDh1IGlMkKL3bbeck2od1wB3rhHgi6lo_AvxP4qQuuIu8XYzNHANrdvBuXexqtAZh7qUwy0FzZ7yo7E-dOgA3Frjz_zlnpX6qNzOIgQrQdgyT2_Mfs-UetXY5LTpjPvhGCs36VdhSC0hoIAbEzC2DvSM7o58RuY1UH2Cdrj7hBcgq7mW_zYZnMaJ4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1060" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1PDvDh1IGlMkKL3bbeck2od1wB3rhHgi6lo_AvxP4qQuuIu8XYzNHANrdvBuXexqtAZh7qUwy0FzZ7yo7E-dOgA3Frjz_zlnpX6qNzOIgQrQdgyT2_Mfs-UetXY5LTpjPvhGCs36VdhSC0hoIAbEzC2DvSM7o58RuY1UH2Cdrj7hBcgq7mW_zYZnMaJ4=w640-h336" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The publisher’s blurb says ‘</span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">In the mid-1970s, Robert Adams, </span><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">began recording nocturnal scenes near his former home in Longmont, Colorado. Illuminated by moonlight and streetlamp, suburban houses, roads, sidewalks and fields seemed transfigured.’ I wonder what the neighbours thought about this man wandering around in the dark taking pictures.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not trying to compare myself with Robert Frank or Daido Moriyama, or any other ‘proper’ photographer, but I do sometimes take pictures while walking in my own neighbourhood, and just once in a while it gets me into a small amount of bother. I had an unnecessarily confrontational episode came one afternoon right after I’d taken the picture below.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsaVzRp8sGPCsSnb2yrcO1jis5Z4UBpza2oYNblBj2HLrvIf8LM705Gkw8r9Bjnoh5MBqU52RfAMaatv0kmwvMymI4MGtfu_mXN_EQlNep97pKeGXLwogRRqvym7Te1BsM5FKzCeBmVl3RcxlKO96-6AkqbFLNLGps0q5nWclTDv5SBQOZMdYeYaACytI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsaVzRp8sGPCsSnb2yrcO1jis5Z4UBpza2oYNblBj2HLrvIf8LM705Gkw8r9Bjnoh5MBqU52RfAMaatv0kmwvMymI4MGtfu_mXN_EQlNep97pKeGXLwogRRqvym7Te1BsM5FKzCeBmVl3RcxlKO96-6AkqbFLNLGps0q5nWclTDv5SBQOZMdYeYaACytI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span> </span>Some youngish fellow came running out of his house demanding to know what I was up to.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4hazMSTpKNuovCCPdKbzpVHHw4zlQCoOVCsX49bZlNwpA4pvT1wl98OCJCkkKcDZWcOX9SD4wId5znUvYU0e_P5bsoBOr7PSqkgGHsYFtfunTH4NIJw8i-xx55qnGNR7qJ5Vf_82OTDbPwJr2cjrPGJ2nk6pVF3Wv-XIsfpmuAfRedpWiNad6smEV64Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4hazMSTpKNuovCCPdKbzpVHHw4zlQCoOVCsX49bZlNwpA4pvT1wl98OCJCkkKcDZWcOX9SD4wId5znUvYU0e_P5bsoBOr7PSqkgGHsYFtfunTH4NIJw8i-xx55qnGNR7qJ5Vf_82OTDbPwJr2cjrPGJ2nk6pVF3Wv-XIsfpmuAfRedpWiNad6smEV64Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, Bruce Gilden (above), a photographer I admire, and once interviewed, has or anyway had (he’s now 77 and may have slowed down a bit) a confrontational, in-your-face style as a street photographer. His reaction if anybody objected to being photographed was to shrug and say, ‘Got a problem with it? So call a cop.’ And if fists started flying, he was more than ready for that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I took a more conciliatory approach with my neighbour. I could have talked to him about New Topographics but I thought it was probably better not to. I said I’d recently moved into the neighbourhood, which was true, and that I was taking pictures to share with my friends, to show them where I was now living, which was slightly less true. I don’t think he was convinced. I can’t really believe he thought I was doing a reccie for a gang of burglars but it did seem that way, but in any case I shrugged and went on my way and we didn’t come to blows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I can only imagine how more much worse the altercation would have been if I’d been walking around taking pictures at night. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-32505812781233560882024-01-04T08:10:00.000-08:002024-01-04T08:10:50.168-08:00FRIENDLY NEW YEAR WALKING<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5LlDxl6iOc6s41H9RRh_gZ6U5NyVIRa8MvMJTGQtHc0SYrEPugMDMCgzIEY7C4cySzCt1HBvIBqOoZCH8_CJ4-W0AlvrvXDyLGtoJuWf2fPhkwreL7KIvxtxMl0_hN6U1US12ZCOADopOVm2NYzk6F1AtG_plnLX9D7TvqtRo0ke-IFK3gTdeKy8P1Cg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="804" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5LlDxl6iOc6s41H9RRh_gZ6U5NyVIRa8MvMJTGQtHc0SYrEPugMDMCgzIEY7C4cySzCt1HBvIBqOoZCH8_CJ4-W0AlvrvXDyLGtoJuWf2fPhkwreL7KIvxtxMl0_hN6U1US12ZCOADopOVm2NYzk6F1AtG_plnLX9D7TvqtRo0ke-IFK3gTdeKy8P1Cg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; padding: 0in;">Some good walking news to start the year, and especially good news for Santiago Sánchez, the Spanish football fan who was "detained' in Iran while walking from Madrid to Qatar for the 2022 men’s World Cup, and held in Tehran after visiting the grave of </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian woman who died in custody after being arrested by morality police, for wearing her hijab "improperly."</span></span><p></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-paragraph" style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; padding: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-paragraph" style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; padding: 0in;">The Iranian embassy in Spain said </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">that Sánchez's release came thanks to the two countries' "friendly and historical relations."<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-paragraph" style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-paragraph" style="font-family: Times; line-height: 26.666664123535156px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">So that’s all right then.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-81806211853203378262023-12-29T05:25:00.000-08:002023-12-29T05:25:24.204-08:00THE CONTROLLED WALK<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> <span style="text-align: justify;">I always enjoy the post-Christmas, pre-New Year walk; it’s never very serious or arduous but among other things you do get to look at</span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"> other walkers.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;">Some no doubt are fully paid up pedestrians, but some definitely aren’t, and I imagine a certain percentage are having their only walk of the year. Still, a little’s better than nothing. (The picture below is from a different Christmas walk).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiycDUmhAdrDmReuoqU8F6BGiP0xk_GAO6NMJ0SdTMZ_KPZbiIQ-131WZNGOnx9lS5CkG1nC1zegfvEK6FWBDVL7kEOy4VS4Ko0178L2lW25Sf1bLAt4MwEkIAw2i_sHFxYYOjcWAClG5DNjaZivvcFuMAEmVBh_DdAmuYyAkq_LJtv-UXNHP8trVGfIY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiycDUmhAdrDmReuoqU8F6BGiP0xk_GAO6NMJ0SdTMZ_KPZbiIQ-131WZNGOnx9lS5CkG1nC1zegfvEK6FWBDVL7kEOy4VS4Ko0178L2lW25Sf1bLAt4MwEkIAw2i_sHFxYYOjcWAClG5DNjaZivvcFuMAEmVBh_DdAmuYyAkq_LJtv-UXNHP8trVGfIY=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">We didn’t go very far, up to the estuary, past the WW2 pill box, and home via the supermarket, which we surprised to find open. But along the way we did see these things, were new to me, a couple of what at first looked like pig sties, though this isn’t pig keeping territory, and they were in with grazing sheep, so I suppose they were sheep shelters, and I thought they had a lot going for them as examples of minimalist architecture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7T5yr_O8RyVGKrcyluLWJG4KoYC9r5l2c33dM4Jq03wzr0dtmVBr2iUBvoOYVXogjvLhewhn-36pZ22EFF6F-S4-wrCguPIH310iQDqPvnHJtx56rBQqc9Dw80iLzz7rBjg-G3wDZpfByxenn9prUEqjhTC1AZTiLtTJItqPjVeUhxCH3sj3O9TsixYw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7T5yr_O8RyVGKrcyluLWJG4KoYC9r5l2c33dM4Jq03wzr0dtmVBr2iUBvoOYVXogjvLhewhn-36pZ22EFF6F-S4-wrCguPIH310iQDqPvnHJtx56rBQqc9Dw80iLzz7rBjg-G3wDZpfByxenn9prUEqjhTC1AZTiLtTJItqPjVeUhxCH3sj3O9TsixYw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I’m not pretending this was one of the great walks of the year, however as you know by now, I’m a sucker for the detritus, the flotsam and jetsam that you find while walking. It was a good day for that. First, this nicely distressed metal plate from a Ford – my old Escort had one of those, and it did fall off but only on the driveway so I could retrieve it, and I still have it in the archive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpblxrJKg0j-j0diaPaSbi6vNc9BBIA1GLI3ZnxzTfEl7LDCKFNhmUZVt98bHlUBgQr-Si0N6DO34Odv_SAVLn97zXCAZdjAFTvKLM5PFg7Lw5kBmqvPocLZtFm3t-XcOmj1VK3VDcWAWJwnkATCWtKThFCtgWCeC1w7s3T-GNKrnChGn9cS4I2GPfWDI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpblxrJKg0j-j0diaPaSbi6vNc9BBIA1GLI3ZnxzTfEl7LDCKFNhmUZVt98bHlUBgQr-Si0N6DO34Odv_SAVLn97zXCAZdjAFTvKLM5PFg7Lw5kBmqvPocLZtFm3t-XcOmj1VK3VDcWAWJwnkATCWtKThFCtgWCeC1w7s3T-GNKrnChGn9cS4I2GPfWDI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">The second, far more inscrutably, is the label, complete with staple marks from (I assume) a package of legally obtained drugs. I mean I don’t suppose a real drug pusher would bother with that kind of labeling, but I could be wrong.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRUKbXouPJyei3Eshvw1rt1dzITmo50If9XwXGKYYzZDNiDUnqcXOgLawI0LHwvKuiJvwpCVspdBxRYCs2qFIapY4uhaq8uI6FbA3fJy4OiJ_OoxB9CZpejtd1hftnbu3K6SCtUf06mlliKxwyuRnqsVKVlGzyJri24f_ocLPmWmnATaLdoJOL76fNVIo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRUKbXouPJyei3Eshvw1rt1dzITmo50If9XwXGKYYzZDNiDUnqcXOgLawI0LHwvKuiJvwpCVspdBxRYCs2qFIapY4uhaq8uI6FbA3fJy4OiJ_OoxB9CZpejtd1hftnbu3K6SCtUf06mlliKxwyuRnqsVKVlGzyJri24f_ocLPmWmnATaLdoJOL76fNVIo=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-12609217995567610042023-12-22T06:03:00.000-08:002023-12-22T22:53:23.273-08:00PROMENADING WITH PEPYS<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Finding myself near the Tower of London, I decided to walk to (and in) Seething Lane Garden, a place I knew a little about but had never been to. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Chiefly what I knew was that Samuel Pepys had once had a house there, in the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Navy Office, his place of work. Both house and office are long gone, and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Seething Lane Garden, is a sliver of land tucked in beside the Four Seasons Hotel, what used to be the headquarters of Port of London of Authority.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg49oGn6LL10T3LhRp2hCjMfl0hcj5s17DX9nDY7Q7MruoPg2YjNjVTuQI522InfpIp0CZOzMiWppOhjxhM2ZM1ou8WZsUNiEjBbtiwYPCw29vsu0un_c68IrLV1K4IUzV7iLlsRrtbIhmJ2jokH2CRxGy1iQDBXzUp3jAJdLc3RwSz4q1dG9tLD-k7FQ0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg49oGn6LL10T3LhRp2hCjMfl0hcj5s17DX9nDY7Q7MruoPg2YjNjVTuQI522InfpIp0CZOzMiWppOhjxhM2ZM1ou8WZsUNiEjBbtiwYPCw29vsu0un_c68IrLV1K4IUzV7iLlsRrtbIhmJ2jokH2CRxGy1iQDBXzUp3jAJdLc3RwSz4q1dG9tLD-k7FQ0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">The garden is far too small for a ‘serious’ walk: by some accounts it’s a ‘pocket park,’ which only adds to my confusion about the difference between parks and gardens, but a walk doesn’t always have to be serious.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvihfLxZC9AcYtnQ12T2lUDo8aY4TNk4j4WEPSBdzf0IkEQ2kT5RK8sfnCbnHAZl8ijQqrQdU_w0rlW-j2OP3tFxXPWCOegEt9_hrt9Ko9W48TymCPSXxshG5V5dU0IJUWQXff2BrkLp_1tt8vOKLdTMR4yqsZsQGjRC00X2dNUmMadnZL13MdRnqdujQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvihfLxZC9AcYtnQ12T2lUDo8aY4TNk4j4WEPSBdzf0IkEQ2kT5RK8sfnCbnHAZl8ijQqrQdU_w0rlW-j2OP3tFxXPWCOegEt9_hrt9Ko9W48TymCPSXxshG5V5dU0IJUWQXff2BrkLp_1tt8vOKLdTMR4yqsZsQGjRC00X2dNUmMadnZL13MdRnqdujQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">On the day of my visit the garden was wintry and windswept, which was only to be expected in December. Presiding over it is a very fine bust of Pepys, created by Karin Jonzen and put up by </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">the Samuel Pepys Club in 1983.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgv1cUk0qn3GqOZpmkGY1VGhTmqXIoASc7CEdoqJqAsy37n4IkZ63YN3ThGFh3mm0Kr9lw9YxFsTIvfK1OUS34UFa9qGBwlC5tuFq5P0uAv6uvWRf31VfVyYOef5DfKvcxKQrpiA6-CkuEYC4FZVrm-uQtyhNS5tWR9WZaojPqDvTKEUYLMsz2mJXmZ_8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgv1cUk0qn3GqOZpmkGY1VGhTmqXIoASc7CEdoqJqAsy37n4IkZ63YN3ThGFh3mm0Kr9lw9YxFsTIvfK1OUS34UFa9qGBwlC5tuFq5P0uAv6uvWRf31VfVyYOef5DfKvcxKQrpiA6-CkuEYC4FZVrm-uQtyhNS5tWR9WZaojPqDvTKEUYLMsz2mJXmZ_8" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> On the ground are some even finer paving slabs showing a map, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT2bkM5GnrJVr6j-KJtcGdX69QpU1qzeYOJaGgoTZHbnz-zxGBZNOOrzwyOo3KU0OGChDVpAf70V1I_SV7M6Nbl4J8ghgDSPzV9u4PMhERbeJfzDWY8YMliUwzwb4u28XNNBmis0R3Qka3f6sXr3JMk0QQ6nQjgY3K-HNz_SMCAqaehBcPBLOanpPIvL0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2689" data-original-width="3555" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT2bkM5GnrJVr6j-KJtcGdX69QpU1qzeYOJaGgoTZHbnz-zxGBZNOOrzwyOo3KU0OGChDVpAf70V1I_SV7M6Nbl4J8ghgDSPzV9u4PMhERbeJfzDWY8YMliUwzwb4u28XNNBmis0R3Qka3f6sXr3JMk0QQ6nQjgY3K-HNz_SMCAqaehBcPBLOanpPIvL0=w640-h485" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">a plague doctor, <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFTBdyxsppkdvoBvB2M93wPwJDRFq6Bm80RSeCY9Zj1xGR-LNYPcMfa-roCgG3HBOCs3QtfPYx33ip3_5NLBD0rxVdfPhBNDNJrV7tnqQgIXBLkDmX5mA4rBABSmAn4__N5oTGeqRyyhSbzaQS8QTyF59dwrepuQG3y22xp-2wy-1t5KoC-sXzQD0GQ3w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3797" data-original-width="3043" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFTBdyxsppkdvoBvB2M93wPwJDRFq6Bm80RSeCY9Zj1xGR-LNYPcMfa-roCgG3HBOCs3QtfPYx33ip3_5NLBD0rxVdfPhBNDNJrV7tnqQgIXBLkDmX5mA4rBABSmAn4__N5oTGeqRyyhSbzaQS8QTyF59dwrepuQG3y22xp-2wy-1t5KoC-sXzQD0GQ3w=w513-h640" width="513" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">among others, but best of all is a parmesan cheese, like the one Pepys buried in his garden to save it from the Great Fire of London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi59oIMajkdtHkHhsDQib5jcCPA4pRwu40vBN9y7CyrMdVuYgNBXdDwir0aqmMA0IRo4p9AMTlBuByIiwmqyXn1DyJte3L_0H11i2aK7biMuQa7T0yt0ve4Akt4eUPA4YH-bNhmuB-IF4kJcx3X4WcoUYbftMoktoQco_plBvQ-dPlcxGjcWjqqcFDqAuc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi59oIMajkdtHkHhsDQib5jcCPA4pRwu40vBN9y7CyrMdVuYgNBXdDwir0aqmMA0IRo4p9AMTlBuByIiwmqyXn1DyJte3L_0H11i2aK7biMuQa7T0yt0ve4Akt4eUPA4YH-bNhmuB-IF4kJcx3X4WcoUYbftMoktoQco_plBvQ-dPlcxGjcWjqqcFDqAuc=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">I suppose the pavers are there be walked on but I and the few other people I saw in the garden seemed to take pains to avoid them as though they were too precious for tramping feet. The pavers were made by</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> past and present students of City & Guilds London Art School under the direction of Alan Lamb of Swan Farm Studios Ltd. </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was pleased to have walked in the Seething Lane Garden but it didn’t take long and isn’t one of the great London walks. Rather more fun can be had in and around St Olave’s church just across the road, though the address is Hart Street rather than Seething Lane, and best known (to me, anyway), for its skull-festooned gateway.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi766m3_4Be1jfdRJ1FdfdOnI5zACRLgTKnGY8rekPmQ9zEvept9WfdxLVPHt-Vgh_jbX6lmWgrCyhqY6NW9dZYilvLC-jnVo8W5aK29-Pb2LoafomVAy0IrSt7sB8xYJrVHEOuBdJQDQyrFMf068Csxp9NiZXVgILVGIQKvcgeUKzYBfZXmyRya8ZhysQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi766m3_4Be1jfdRJ1FdfdOnI5zACRLgTKnGY8rekPmQ9zEvept9WfdxLVPHt-Vgh_jbX6lmWgrCyhqY6NW9dZYilvLC-jnVo8W5aK29-Pb2LoafomVAy0IrSt7sB8xYJrVHEOuBdJQDQyrFMf068Csxp9NiZXVgILVGIQKvcgeUKzYBfZXmyRya8ZhysQ" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Dickens liked it too apparently</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">. The </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">churchyard and the garden were again wintry but there was a labyrinth – some walkers do enjoy a labyrinth: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdEE6DBqyW-7qGgxDH72BeksiNtmDP4vIRV0AdRkAGaH5eXuHGExeeBOLwDoR0uu1jRqWyx2vV561ewdPFikKliWG8shk0JJQEc7rqNI8Dxn1JOM2U0b8GFFc37Fm-vZPUpa4acXmk5y8tiyZfzVIduSor3KgvkxA9oWsvlF2LlzDE5ZvlEkcMWBHB-U0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdEE6DBqyW-7qGgxDH72BeksiNtmDP4vIRV0AdRkAGaH5eXuHGExeeBOLwDoR0uu1jRqWyx2vV561ewdPFikKliWG8shk0JJQEc7rqNI8Dxn1JOM2U0b8GFFc37Fm-vZPUpa4acXmk5y8tiyZfzVIduSor3KgvkxA9oWsvlF2LlzDE5ZvlEkcMWBHB-U0" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Inside the church there are memorial busts of both Sam Pepys and his wife Elizabeth; their bodies are buried in the vault, away from prying eyes.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">But you know, the thing that really delighted me, the small thing that made the day for me, was a piece of stained glass in the church – showing teasels. Nature it gets everywhere<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvfeACghwQ67Svq32S82Qrv3IbgZLLMsuP748Mde8E_9gz5j6hH8limmvFMZNx-wtd7O_ysDyrqB-7RkE5RhzNk3Wbe-eTawJwn3IrPDkpZcWFPKiRmWpP0bUs5dXe9DnC5r3Yw82-glZiX0TUrYU6fhk40IaWj0bWEKoq2Ycjmo2xeBVD1ZXbSrti_DQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvfeACghwQ67Svq32S82Qrv3IbgZLLMsuP748Mde8E_9gz5j6hH8limmvFMZNx-wtd7O_ysDyrqB-7RkE5RhzNk3Wbe-eTawJwn3IrPDkpZcWFPKiRmWpP0bUs5dXe9DnC5r3Yw82-glZiX0TUrYU6fhk40IaWj0bWEKoq2Ycjmo2xeBVD1ZXbSrti_DQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva;">In fact, as I soon found out, the teasel is a symbol of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers, of which Samuel Pepys was Master, but I’d have been perfectly happy for it to remain an enigma.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pepys himself was, of course, a great walker. The word walk and its derivatives appears 1068 times in the Diary. There’s a really good book by Jacky Colliss Harvey titled <i>Walking Pepys’s London.</i> I recommend it, though your feet will get tired.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-sSdxYklBofiSAqVZ036Em46n3r5zijxPjaZAlDMnLZvThqI64i8DO5-mi0dI-nnpr_Pm6UNIJ6umhcWviKqCgM5QL_bftlJu27g9vsCv9v5jc8SQTaSi5cCNmOrq2Y_IoAW0nFp6uAmQ0Iy8-9uHq42JQcUkgbfnIBbHnR0aj6NkZRt2KJJQ6FnU3CA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="679" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-sSdxYklBofiSAqVZ036Em46n3r5zijxPjaZAlDMnLZvThqI64i8DO5-mi0dI-nnpr_Pm6UNIJ6umhcWviKqCgM5QL_bftlJu27g9vsCv9v5jc8SQTaSi5cCNmOrq2Y_IoAW0nFp6uAmQ0Iy8-9uHq42JQcUkgbfnIBbHnR0aj6NkZRt2KJJQ6FnU3CA=w424-h640" width="424" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-30621178322865237132023-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:002023-12-20T10:47:03.940-08:00IT'S NOT JUST THE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS ...<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Oh wait, it is ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivDHuXCxpYrvKgtuAUXPG2Z8yYau3n9gBb8HzMp4MVWc9kf9PIDQrIcOVxmCkNf0cbX4BgIc9FYQfQsLxezn-rFGP0EAl6W--_wjYd3q6uhT4vnPja2y6Ji2qWVg6ep4cCUODXFSme1LJZCqr5_J3q29oPzgUuRURP89215voecE0jXKPEmEb6YY54cnA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="927" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivDHuXCxpYrvKgtuAUXPG2Z8yYau3n9gBb8HzMp4MVWc9kf9PIDQrIcOVxmCkNf0cbX4BgIc9FYQfQsLxezn-rFGP0EAl6W--_wjYd3q6uhT4vnPja2y6Ji2qWVg6ep4cCUODXFSme1LJZCqr5_J3q29oPzgUuRURP89215voecE0jXKPEmEb6YY54cnA=w640-h390" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-10020509333048634082023-12-15T00:13:00.000-08:002023-12-15T06:36:12.962-08:00AN OCCASIONALLY WEARY AND SOMEWHAT LONESOME TRAVELLER<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Life being as it is, it turns out I’m in the current issue of National Geographic Traveller, writing a very short piece about walking in the American desert. The opening is below.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigSgAHTvX6H4xfxCEvkbjLiuI5ZnIj0Kl4vAgFcgcB0zI4pcVjnA0UgN86ULigHE8MLHyuOoOoxfbU5yKyd9Zn081NF0bwuJtZuEqVcowT0zbgccJ7p0N7-1WnW_C13gVG4_PqWUF21K2ud7XoJlOnUnaqbbL8KysfeOYe9D82GNBpqMR0UMox6tMuSdo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="311" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigSgAHTvX6H4xfxCEvkbjLiuI5ZnIj0Kl4vAgFcgcB0zI4pcVjnA0UgN86ULigHE8MLHyuOoOoxfbU5yKyd9Zn081NF0bwuJtZuEqVcowT0zbgccJ7p0N7-1WnW_C13gVG4_PqWUF21K2ud7XoJlOnUnaqbbL8KysfeOYe9D82GNBpqMR0UMox6tMuSdo=w472-h640" width="472" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">More than that they’ve got an illustrator (Jaqui Oakley) to do my portrait – from photographs not from life - a perfectly decent-looking man who only very very vaguely resembles me.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUmtFvZrgUF5z87aMvmFe0Ucif-q1oPEu9b3LXpUAKwlEqyBrl3AeXLnS_UNX1oIZhCYXxIYVdAZhYKwaMpw47snejXLo9EmpyUFQCNCYE9Xot6_R6Gdr3MJfrJxb7RW0H0Vllba3hOYYku-EjQ0c5vKscx8YmqBjgyXPOlT5y7XmaLAnVGBwOuI79O6Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="581" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUmtFvZrgUF5z87aMvmFe0Ucif-q1oPEu9b3LXpUAKwlEqyBrl3AeXLnS_UNX1oIZhCYXxIYVdAZhYKwaMpw47snejXLo9EmpyUFQCNCYE9Xot6_R6Gdr3MJfrJxb7RW0H0Vllba3hOYYku-EjQ0c5vKscx8YmqBjgyXPOlT5y7XmaLAnVGBwOuI79O6Y=w640-h428" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br />The first two paras of the article:</span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 31.9pt; margin: 12pt 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Times; letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Geoff Nicholson<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 12.95pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Helvetica; text-transform: uppercase;">NOTES FROM AN AUTHOR</span></b><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Helvetica; text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 12.95pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Helvetica; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 21.35pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-size: large;">The memories of my first encounter with the California desert are so clear and intense that sometimes I wonder if I invented them, but I don’t believe so. I was hitchhiking across the States —it was the 1970s —and I was a young Englishman ‘on the road’, having read too much Jack Kerouac. My lift dropped me at a gas station near Barstow, a city in the Mojave Desert, in the south of the state. The car was air-conditioned and as I got out, I was hit by a wall of heat as strange and thrilling as anything I’d ever experienced. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 21.35pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1e1e28; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was wearing a cotton T-shirt, and I went into the petrol station’s bathroom to drench it in water, then went out looking for a place to hitch. By the time I found one, the T-shirt was completely dry. It was a learning experience, proving that the desert has to be treated with huge respect. It isn’t a monster, it won’t bite you, but it does demand that you’re on your mettle. That was the start of a long relationship with the American desert, chiefly the Mojave, especially Joshua Tree National Park, Yucca Valley and Death Valley. I’d always lived in cities and done lots of urban walking, but the moment I set foot in the desert I knew it was a very special place for me. Nothing in the English landscape moved me the way it did. I began to make regular desert trips and for a decade and a half I lived in Los Angeles. I had many reasons for moving there, but the fact that I could be in that landscape in a couple of hours was a large part of the attraction.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-71738291549891236212023-12-11T06:17:00.000-08:002023-12-11T06:17:31.204-08:00RUSKIN ROCKS, AND SO DO I<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWL9uBhBckiFNw6zR4xnUOQHojQ3DiMZpmJIUnKesArD5kl09-ZXkNs11Bifap3A_LrkjpI79m01oH4UInnixHkKE39i0TABaGZD7nVPl2CX9zaUQYXjv2RMNZH2Wkv1xJ4wZjlvncBSXBVux1X49pTFUhY2adV7euMMwPQd31x7ZSU68zI73DLW58hw/s4608/P1010370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWL9uBhBckiFNw6zR4xnUOQHojQ3DiMZpmJIUnKesArD5kl09-ZXkNs11Bifap3A_LrkjpI79m01oH4UInnixHkKE39i0TABaGZD7nVPl2CX9zaUQYXjv2RMNZH2Wkv1xJ4wZjlvncBSXBVux1X49pTFUhY2adV7euMMwPQd31x7ZSU68zI73DLW58hw/w640-h480/P1010370.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Last year, at LAX airport coming back from a trip to the States, my luggage and I got pulled aside by security.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I’m one of nature’s worriers but I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, and I knew that I had, a little reluctantly, left my legal recreational marijuana behind.</span></div></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VeuyVC380nVMiUtVBFCXv0_NKqFOv8d4YewzxeUjL9zyMKNoTPNbsrmSKz_wVyXQNaZUJI-7VbFkTnd6bRw3wb8IZo0gA_RmY5NzXqZKgcGNzw1b0g50hLsbrFAflhZahdgrxiKsVEA15hIxIDDuEkjslSbGIBnaaLYxp1nb8_0xiYGr00CqJpjmwQU/s4608/P1010590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Geneva; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VeuyVC380nVMiUtVBFCXv0_NKqFOv8d4YewzxeUjL9zyMKNoTPNbsrmSKz_wVyXQNaZUJI-7VbFkTnd6bRw3wb8IZo0gA_RmY5NzXqZKgcGNzw1b0g50hLsbrFAflhZahdgrxiKsVEA15hIxIDDuEkjslSbGIBnaaLYxp1nb8_0xiYGr00CqJpjmwQU/w640-h480/P1010590.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It turned out that the security woman had looked at the X-ray of my bag and seen something worrying in the side pocket. I unzipped the pocket and found that the thing worrying her was a rock that I’d picked up while walking in the Mojave desert.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately I did not end up being interrogated in a small room by uniformed men with small mustaches. And when I showed the rock to the security woman who’d pulled me over, she seemed to find the situation, and me, rather quaint and charming, and she let me go on my way with my rock. But I couldn’t help worrying that maybe a stricter woman or man might have taken it more seriously and accused me of trying to steal part of America, like it was the Elgin Marbles or something.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think this is the rock in question but I’m not 100 per cent sure. I really need a cataloguing system.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzuO8AyqbpOzn5UY3bRbuzx24iOVocJOaFpUG0eHiyyU-f2jaE_MoEzT9kcQhuR4Zm7R2NWvRRze0WfNbmL2oadkt-avi2Kz1VHTQ95VmjeYY_A_bKFkqXoppwvKQsqOc-h5e9RF6hGKDNVYKLKnsp3u90eBSAJHU5TRXVCP5DSnlaiwkrJaBtBVhSTs/s4608/P1010044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzuO8AyqbpOzn5UY3bRbuzx24iOVocJOaFpUG0eHiyyU-f2jaE_MoEzT9kcQhuR4Zm7R2NWvRRze0WfNbmL2oadkt-avi2Kz1VHTQ95VmjeYY_A_bKFkqXoppwvKQsqOc-h5e9RF6hGKDNVYKLKnsp3u90eBSAJHU5TRXVCP5DSnlaiwkrJaBtBVhSTs/w640-h480/P1010044.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This year the inamorata and I were walking in the Saguaro National Park, in Arizona, on the Broadway Trailhead, a very dramatic-looking but incredibly safe- feeling bit of walking territory with people just going for an afternoon stroll or exercising their dogs, </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwP52jKM9R8X99Jrdp7-Q8BINzNgxc6oaITKtT_dYrrPmM2Upq3S3P4fyPUE0_YeXFl9oW__3fnI1OFFCqBGlavLwGPQMWDpuqzhdPOfSptOnYmN807Qli0HCpyWpVsn6RRNxA3EYn5lfmsqUB7G21ILNfzK-xmeu7wic-wWFsDTPBQFrTqbMj7NP2KE/s4608/P1010350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Geneva; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwP52jKM9R8X99Jrdp7-Q8BINzNgxc6oaITKtT_dYrrPmM2Upq3S3P4fyPUE0_YeXFl9oW__3fnI1OFFCqBGlavLwGPQMWDpuqzhdPOfSptOnYmN807Qli0HCpyWpVsn6RRNxA3EYn5lfmsqUB7G21ILNfzK-xmeu7wic-wWFsDTPBQFrTqbMj7NP2KE/w480-h640/P1010350.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we saw a man heading towards us who was jogging rather than walking and he had something in his hand and he slowed when he got near and he said, far more to the inamorata than to me, ‘It’s turquoise and copper. I collect pieces to give to people,’ and he handed her a very small rock he was carrying, perhaps just a pebble, that looked, and stills looks, like this<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYWgCARPDMGkteY4nbO1_5A4hT3vyZ0iZudtzyuorrL4bFAvJQtafWYTkYrPSoysCcAFR0ZOfUub2FJqNqaeDoec6o-xvKTXkdVJj_-LkQVjw7JNywLnZ7Qjz477j-UznHvse0V9vs5SvyqJl5pGVvvfHQ2rxkVbVxwL4HwiEaI6qPN2spaFtwi6qnnQ/s4608/P1010042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYWgCARPDMGkteY4nbO1_5A4hT3vyZ0iZudtzyuorrL4bFAvJQtafWYTkYrPSoysCcAFR0ZOfUub2FJqNqaeDoec6o-xvKTXkdVJj_-LkQVjw7JNywLnZ7Qjz477j-UznHvse0V9vs5SvyqJl5pGVvvfHQ2rxkVbVxwL4HwiEaI6qPN2spaFtwi6qnnQ/w640-h480/P1010042.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">To my untutored eyes it didn’t look much like either turquoise or copper but it was a nice little gift. We had no problems at all at airport security.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the two weeks later in </span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">Sheffield, England we saw some of the Ruskin Collection, and it turns out, and I did sort of know this anyway, that John Ruskin was quite a collector of rocks, displayed in the museum like this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMV6bLpFk36igmcp5BkheCNKL5DyWDcnKoSBskR-3IdcHDZG8icdjLFRQYUj2PHRCkL3-MnHePS4p0dmJS6lcxgAcz3JyHwFZxFDFxNVMEAHHXqFBIZntTX9Mne5Yqt2BdB8TMo_xjQYPxTgc6xN8QETc22-9ebgvtz9bB2o2mtdGNUV6yfZ1TApw7YE/s4608/P1010022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMV6bLpFk36igmcp5BkheCNKL5DyWDcnKoSBskR-3IdcHDZG8icdjLFRQYUj2PHRCkL3-MnHePS4p0dmJS6lcxgAcz3JyHwFZxFDFxNVMEAHHXqFBIZntTX9Mne5Yqt2BdB8TMo_xjQYPxTgc6xN8QETc22-9ebgvtz9bB2o2mtdGNUV6yfZ1TApw7YE/w480-h640/P1010022.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">They seem to have a very adequate cataloguing system</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-20002521353288688892023-12-05T11:42:00.000-08:002024-01-18T08:20:24.171-08:00WALKING WITH TOM AND THE LORD<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Tom Waits is always with us, and he’s especially with me whenever I walk in a garden and I remember his song ‘Way Down in The Hole’ with the lines that run,</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;">‘</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;">When you walk through the garden<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;">You gotta watch your back’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDVykrjlYAiaOnkdV7T1DhNGQNvL9PdXuOf3cwXRphwZX4wMj5mf4Hc6zyfLpcsXLs0JSBCqwQF9XPqyTanCAFFJch2OylKdlZcjAc-TT3uYRyLPDNFQet8ESpHTqsYoFkdUhtV3XRaZ5WyWgUC5zAUnc4BJKWDHsz_bxVi_E5HjOkVYpfWUwo4OCrJrc" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDVykrjlYAiaOnkdV7T1DhNGQNvL9PdXuOf3cwXRphwZX4wMj5mf4Hc6zyfLpcsXLs0JSBCqwQF9XPqyTanCAFFJch2OylKdlZcjAc-TT3uYRyLPDNFQet8ESpHTqsYoFkdUhtV3XRaZ5WyWgUC5zAUnc4BJKWDHsz_bxVi_E5HjOkVYpfWUwo4OCrJrc=w517-h640" width="517" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As close as I can get to a picture of Tom Waits in a garden.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I assume this refers to the Garden of Gethsemane but I think perhaps it applies to walking in many, perhaps most, gardens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> Of course I knew that the Garden of Gethsemane was </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">where Jesus prayed the night he was betrayed by Judas and where he experienced his ‘agony.’</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> But lately I discovered there are at least four potential locations for the Garden of Gethsemane. All of them are near the </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Mount of Olives, but the </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Catholics reckon it’s the garden at the Church of All Nations built over the ‘Rock of the Agony,’ or maybe it’s by the Tomb of the Virgin Mary to the north. The Orthodox Greeks reckon it’s to the east. The Orthodox Russians place it in the orchard adjacent to the Church of Mary Magdalene. I think I’ve got that right but I stand to be corrected by true believers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbyqBFgBqM3AVcRxsThYiKH2sHfrAW_Q2nvOyincQs0tdnwupzRhAL6zUeFIwWL0L5oP2hySuzvcAvVtsvjCE4iAkR7X1AK6deB16Ra04zrImoWgYQBpJCfN4F99lhPeS5weITD2nEcgp7RcSpwbhP3hSq6uMOcAngQfAS5Ed_yatLL7Lx2uXCuVpjgX4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1064" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbyqBFgBqM3AVcRxsThYiKH2sHfrAW_Q2nvOyincQs0tdnwupzRhAL6zUeFIwWL0L5oP2hySuzvcAvVtsvjCE4iAkR7X1AK6deB16Ra04zrImoWgYQBpJCfN4F99lhPeS5weITD2nEcgp7RcSpwbhP3hSq6uMOcAngQfAS5Ed_yatLL7Lx2uXCuVpjgX4=w640-h489" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, I don’t imagine I shall ever walk in the Garden of Gethsemane (though I gather there are plenty of bus tours), and for that matter I don’t think I’ll be following Waits’ advice that ‘If you walk with Jesus, he’s gonna save your soul.’ However, I have been walking among sculptural representations of the Lord, in the Desert Christ Park, on Sunnyslope Drive in Yucca Valley, and I have least peered into an artistic representation of the Garden of Gethsemane. I shall explain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUOgJToiuEiNOgxp1MiL_gsDSB0mQhI1WgtiN7AAxJDVyzR3qCoOtQyCROXxExYWDRhdgk4UuMETOV8Rqa3dXH6SXxfySJNDQS2BSMD4MJJ5fGhWCcgMNSsf3H1TygeBDQgUV9hprapYAGzn-NGLqGB5DPZS-tJM83IVhimgs3FprFEYXgt2zHB-_7tkc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1441" data-original-width="1920" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUOgJToiuEiNOgxp1MiL_gsDSB0mQhI1WgtiN7AAxJDVyzR3qCoOtQyCROXxExYWDRhdgk4UuMETOV8Rqa3dXH6SXxfySJNDQS2BSMD4MJJ5fGhWCcgMNSsf3H1TygeBDQgUV9hprapYAGzn-NGLqGB5DPZS-tJM83IVhimgs3FprFEYXgt2zHB-_7tkc=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Now, one of the things I sometimes think about while walking in gardens, is what’s the difference between a park and a garden: and OK I agree its not one of humanity’s most pressing questions. However the Desert Christ Park had me thinking again. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVc5LQAmyzwA7hxsbrdowMrhmTqMh0u74CT3OihxOdm07tWXwwwbgQu5h9se_y-Pu32RsFTQrNT_VFh2rJmkcuJGlon_vBukQt4K8qVJtNi8uSTN3xW3IlYWiNAz16zxphjO4zv8Cj-57E-jtsVWLaII71FHFktZeh0_eUzo59GLLkEvrFrPAEznfQRcY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVc5LQAmyzwA7hxsbrdowMrhmTqMh0u74CT3OihxOdm07tWXwwwbgQu5h9se_y-Pu32RsFTQrNT_VFh2rJmkcuJGlon_vBukQt4K8qVJtNi8uSTN3xW3IlYWiNAz16zxphjO4zv8Cj-57E-jtsVWLaII71FHFktZeh0_eUzo59GLLkEvrFrPAEznfQRcY=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br />The name would seem to define it as a park, but their mission statement reads, ‘To provide a desert sculpture garden of hope, prayer and beauty; by sharing the Peace of Christ through art.’ So does that mean the place is simultaneously a park and a garden. Maybe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPoTEYDxUD2PrbWp8pK7XGjF0_7zv68NKBXkOAKGpj36LfRTNNC2FQ6Ig4SU7UajaTCoEb-1zPY4zdkpIbqSiwNX1Y5IPBJzLlfTT00rDi68jfzoD9AfXMG8YPyS24cAohB-Aozv2KvtQzg3gayzlFkpbpOwTdRSfGNl6j_abYg6z8c84jW-ekfttFeoQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPoTEYDxUD2PrbWp8pK7XGjF0_7zv68NKBXkOAKGpj36LfRTNNC2FQ6Ig4SU7UajaTCoEb-1zPY4zdkpIbqSiwNX1Y5IPBJzLlfTT00rDi68jfzoD9AfXMG8YPyS24cAohB-Aozv2KvtQzg3gayzlFkpbpOwTdRSfGNl6j_abYg6z8c84jW-ekfttFeoQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Desert Christ Park was established 1951 when a single concrete statue of Jesus was placed there. The statue was by Antone Martin, sometimes described as a sculptor-poet, who looked like this, which is pretty much the way you'd want him to look:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7ALAlTaTb--14uus27q-tLsmCIdexHogPxM35XaXul0AhCXRNTdWfjQoTFhX4NeVRb5gvgh2HEpU5iA6aoW85zbW4mBgXkjsz_plezxga2AXoYLLx1mRxsbJ7F-tIqxIPVmQyJgQ2dTRis-U6T-zk0qO4NySgG1ZeWGUJqodh8vzZyNUcRnwGEq-YHYw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="402" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7ALAlTaTb--14uus27q-tLsmCIdexHogPxM35XaXul0AhCXRNTdWfjQoTFhX4NeVRb5gvgh2HEpU5iA6aoW85zbW4mBgXkjsz_plezxga2AXoYLLx1mRxsbJ7F-tIqxIPVmQyJgQ2dTRis-U6T-zk0qO4NySgG1ZeWGUJqodh8vzZyNUcRnwGEq-YHYw=w640-h586" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> He’d wanted to have the statue installed at the Grand Canyon but the authorities wouldn’t go for it. However, the Reverend Eddie Garver who was pastor at the </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Yucca Valley Community Church, and had acquired five acres from the government to form what he hoped would be a Christian theme park (or I suppose garden), was happy to have </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">the statue on his patch. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf6uLTxI8eLQhrbGdIYiqDO44cfsyykBdoA1PRlBTL7lWub5BWl2v8rfrsAYyDgRZKUfhdlNYz1xf6xmAe5u_Zu0QZlOJT-izu63vD5wYWVD-TZmxZndAWuBBHikRuXDyK797VFIMwS_ekKQNlxscUdFGoArQsS8R4SksZgLzUBf73MlPQwnZi-8iL7S4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhf6uLTxI8eLQhrbGdIYiqDO44cfsyykBdoA1PRlBTL7lWub5BWl2v8rfrsAYyDgRZKUfhdlNYz1xf6xmAe5u_Zu0QZlOJT-izu63vD5wYWVD-TZmxZndAWuBBHikRuXDyK797VFIMwS_ekKQNlxscUdFGoArQsS8R4SksZgLzUBf73MlPQwnZi-8iL7S4" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Over the next decade Anton Martin made many more statues, most of them created in situ. Jesus is consistently portrayed </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">as a good looking feller, long hair swept back, a beard, mostly with very serious though a smile seems to occasionally to play about his lips. He does, of course, look very white.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguOMha2YMbzPTcGbZo_SQhyy1qh5Xd0PI6XGZ3e49uRlA6aZvp7TS4XjzCmBFmkpn9AeLRDFNaChOgBAVL6zWWQK3jkFH5wQ11FO5ramXT18EOPG4XAPHDY6GhTA7ojDHHAq0UBK443xJLL9EDhaiHDuu2qpksZbUy358_LF2TiqeYi-pEMbSVF6u4lqw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguOMha2YMbzPTcGbZo_SQhyy1qh5Xd0PI6XGZ3e49uRlA6aZvp7TS4XjzCmBFmkpn9AeLRDFNaChOgBAVL6zWWQK3jkFH5wQ11FO5ramXT18EOPG4XAPHDY6GhTA7ojDHHAq0UBK443xJLL9EDhaiHDuu2qpksZbUy358_LF2TiqeYi-pEMbSVF6u4lqw" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Many of the statues are part of tableaux; Blessing the Children, The Last Supper, Sermon on the Mount, and of course the Garden of Gethsemane - Jesus on his knees praying, while the disciples Peter, James and John are asleep. </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">This kind of thing:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbK4d-5E8eKl_tQzIzYo6033VpQdOkLGM6nbZVXr5F4_nWTgE1nJCCnJzdZx7zbQgJ3hV9fFLX0lqlLp5HPnJ_6r8kolOXU4gipvlSgOli4AMOG48ye4jcO8Dt2F7bCs6aM1t3hYADNsEg02cpBLo8EdTCiC8YbNgVypdtSZVbS2EFIHPZkmH9wgFp66U" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbK4d-5E8eKl_tQzIzYo6033VpQdOkLGM6nbZVXr5F4_nWTgE1nJCCnJzdZx7zbQgJ3hV9fFLX0lqlLp5HPnJ_6r8kolOXU4gipvlSgOli4AMOG48ye4jcO8Dt2F7bCs6aM1t3hYADNsEg02cpBLo8EdTCiC8YbNgVypdtSZVbS2EFIHPZkmH9wgFp66U=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix5KgK5ZDq6f3P9OYFg_hSYTc2zfGrmXVOfMaJLPEzgkK5FGFbgASqiwrB0RwBaa9lXQbk413NW2lau8qTve6SeHWx8KBjqQaHo5zckQlseYgmeMJ5mq0NLe1PemJ_F6twAgTbWM6-2y_Yz7prUJ0S8nTf2S2mpn6cF_ADTwP0i7uahlw2iJn0klremjs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix5KgK5ZDq6f3P9OYFg_hSYTc2zfGrmXVOfMaJLPEzgkK5FGFbgASqiwrB0RwBaa9lXQbk413NW2lau8qTve6SeHWx8KBjqQaHo5zckQlseYgmeMJ5mq0NLe1PemJ_F6twAgTbWM6-2y_Yz7prUJ0S8nTf2S2mpn6cF_ADTwP0i7uahlw2iJn0klremjs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Though in fact you can’t get very close because of this stern bit of signage.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxuLIbad7or5A-GoeOu4kx0M21x-7UrXVRB1aEdVfwRQbUYdJrtcvqo77KA0_KHKoeJX2Ji4V2HdyWDqWksRfvQdqF88jOckqK43LQb06gkuUEMFrFOOyt9-uyn4SGCPKs5loStke5gCvuVlXjqyIKXxwxWhGnwYCXA74KObCqWBsqLZ6kSCUMxu4q0cE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxuLIbad7or5A-GoeOu4kx0M21x-7UrXVRB1aEdVfwRQbUYdJrtcvqo77KA0_KHKoeJX2Ji4V2HdyWDqWksRfvQdqF88jOckqK43LQb06gkuUEMFrFOOyt9-uyn4SGCPKs5loStke5gCvuVlXjqyIKXxwxWhGnwYCXA74KObCqWBsqLZ6kSCUMxu4q0cE" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve been going to the Desert Christ Park once in a while for over two decades now, and there was definitely a period when the place went into decline. The concrete is formed around armatures of rebar. Some of the ‘flesh’ on the fingers had fallen off in places off over the leaving Jesus with metal spikes for hands. To be fair this did have a certain grim appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-oOTvdFC4T7s2mcms1tg_WxF1MVLuh6IDJK3ImPFeONW5YnLVAkkgqfc6C2vm9rsxUEf7EeCfsxOJW1DTS0aBRjHwKUj09x2oIHlGJR5zSxsa82X3PW_hVaqQIrkQBKRfnKGCAMLABPmurCVH8GMvXnNRYuCp-eAYo_aqafgL_BRfv2_imI_zKTWbKg0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-oOTvdFC4T7s2mcms1tg_WxF1MVLuh6IDJK3ImPFeONW5YnLVAkkgqfc6C2vm9rsxUEf7EeCfsxOJW1DTS0aBRjHwKUj09x2oIHlGJR5zSxsa82X3PW_hVaqQIrkQBKRfnKGCAMLABPmurCVH8GMvXnNRYuCp-eAYo_aqafgL_BRfv2_imI_zKTWbKg0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOMsOlaHCp7w3sA-IKHqBuIl2cXd_c_kH0xFffZOyXMd3OTiDQSeoy4n2MGtG9WaPK3PGQol6DaX2YPXlTMiLPXRyNis8fYCjbTNDCJTOeMPvWMNiFeukHoygkx_nc7BHs4Yc4yYv6b_3VEGGwpW3NnCb-0DyPWwF4G_qtrNjQ0CL62fMWP28Nh397Ifc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOMsOlaHCp7w3sA-IKHqBuIl2cXd_c_kH0xFffZOyXMd3OTiDQSeoy4n2MGtG9WaPK3PGQol6DaX2YPXlTMiLPXRyNis8fYCjbTNDCJTOeMPvWMNiFeukHoygkx_nc7BHs4Yc4yYv6b_3VEGGwpW3NnCb-0DyPWwF4G_qtrNjQ0CL62fMWP28Nh397Ifc=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">But when I was there a couple of months ago, a lot of repair work had been done, though there was still the occasional chipped or missing nose, which seems forgivable</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; font-size: x-large;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7LujUafRaV8o7NOi0Ya9f-xq7zBRjPdUSUha5Mo3at2zATqW9nck1PKTaQx88VUWytREi5_HsHNzw-8y3z0VyL_hU7NZJmTKAv91VdbJ5anBfwMwlDFxWEEfMj0gSEOzZN12WGR4De8Z_mK0JYgOcdH7eBs9s1a1Uju9qT2cVmrqbq50mMHNXJvUBI7I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh7LujUafRaV8o7NOi0Ya9f-xq7zBRjPdUSUha5Mo3at2zATqW9nck1PKTaQx88VUWytREi5_HsHNzw-8y3z0VyL_hU7NZJmTKAv91VdbJ5anBfwMwlDFxWEEfMj0gSEOzZN12WGR4De8Z_mK0JYgOcdH7eBs9s1a1Uju9qT2cVmrqbq50mMHNXJvUBI7I=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimnB1wUb9UeiZz8WBtzbEfQUklizbw6Jp_aW6OAVd1t7NbMeIE5myVn8qK_c1aQ9DOjY7UhRZC8xuDKxaS-nlCJ5S7EJuJm40d2abhbGjxECX7R-Cm1NEAr7ghgVA3_VH_H6d_vfSNi-T5ingsXtvZbTiDUb1t2tPvVnibNTI9QQ9i6x7AsHJjHzv47DY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimnB1wUb9UeiZz8WBtzbEfQUklizbw6Jp_aW6OAVd1t7NbMeIE5myVn8qK_c1aQ9DOjY7UhRZC8xuDKxaS-nlCJ5S7EJuJm40d2abhbGjxECX7R-Cm1NEAr7ghgVA3_VH_H6d_vfSNi-T5ingsXtvZbTiDUb1t2tPvVnibNTI9QQ9i6x7AsHJjHzv47DY" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span> </span>Contemporary and historic photographs show the Garden of Gethsemane to be dense with gnarled olive trees – some of them reckoned to be 900 years old. And the Desert Christ Park has some glorious olives trees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcLh_oUI2GY8hGGoyKicPqcPEx9KZlXW_iM062fmQSL1O9IQwYrFnAz0JPqaan7hxPf_ZVeeTmf8UM-7b1KoWIDHLTK99ZlZ1vLeyoaUaEe62zjgubsdmybh2BElkz6-JN9_7-HbtPs6EsnRFrYl_KMETi5jVwn-YD5Z0FWhuplarLlmbkQoIL-t-ECJU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcLh_oUI2GY8hGGoyKicPqcPEx9KZlXW_iM062fmQSL1O9IQwYrFnAz0JPqaan7hxPf_ZVeeTmf8UM-7b1KoWIDHLTK99ZlZ1vLeyoaUaEe62zjgubsdmybh2BElkz6-JN9_7-HbtPs6EsnRFrYl_KMETi5jVwn-YD5Z0FWhuplarLlmbkQoIL-t-ECJU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of them are also bedecked with wonderful, architectural birdhouses, an idea I may steal for my own unreligious garden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUiC5yEeXxii82VCnO1W0cTqJRJ-6p2xyAkg70uMu-AW2Fv9WmZSyp3NmZKhV8YvYHg3mDK0vFoCrzbW17e-B_K6SRirbpo78o13DNzaWuEK1V77ftlDZDdUzGeoHGIvMBYSERJkqU9tPX7QrguB19q6KHG4-8EMmg-JduWw2eU3rLZsX2uf1OLx35k6k" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUiC5yEeXxii82VCnO1W0cTqJRJ-6p2xyAkg70uMu-AW2Fv9WmZSyp3NmZKhV8YvYHg3mDK0vFoCrzbW17e-B_K6SRirbpo78o13DNzaWuEK1V77ftlDZDdUzGeoHGIvMBYSERJkqU9tPX7QrguB19q6KHG4-8EMmg-JduWw2eU3rLZsX2uf1OLx35k6k" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now in some ways it’s hard to take the Desert Christ Park entirely seriously. There is something faintly absurd about the enterprise. And Antone Martin is no Michelangelo. But then who is?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjCtKhZJFDkif-BUk16P9J7ppoSSk4tFx_Y4J9MunMBhUJpPsar1aZPedKx8rP4_fM94cGQR8uaDwU-XTnf1rfA4QOilQKlycERDHaNDYAJKJSmE3GUPCnRGAQNIeM0Igz-gLrfMDF47Nf6ZgA9jJBAd10gtkKgyjj6IPEMo0OVxJ-GwBR3l49f0jkPOI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjCtKhZJFDkif-BUk16P9J7ppoSSk4tFx_Y4J9MunMBhUJpPsar1aZPedKx8rP4_fM94cGQR8uaDwU-XTnf1rfA4QOilQKlycERDHaNDYAJKJSmE3GUPCnRGAQNIeM0Igz-gLrfMDF47Nf6ZgA9jJBAd10gtkKgyjj6IPEMo0OVxJ-GwBR3l49f0jkPOI=w624-h640" width="624" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, having walked around and among Anton Martin’s statues, I find it impossible to find the concept entirely ludicrous. The place is rich with belief, sincerity, spiritual commitment. You emerge, or certainly you can emerge feeling good, feeling charmed and uplifted. I didn’t even feel that I had to watch my back.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrABQQwW9MsEz_FLZIjeTzifViybZEquL5t4kfWv-R7raSGXnVsfHsv3r8k6PrxHGhiyBUjP9CjyCmrIIAzokSmkkFittbQw_mS0Mr1YTwNiu75h2MUnvcPptYMZHTqQ-Qd5Q_JavKqbvq8x1ZAk8mjmnbvGFunaS5Y7q4QeuD8XBxNTD55MM0mzv7WdI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrABQQwW9MsEz_FLZIjeTzifViybZEquL5t4kfWv-R7raSGXnVsfHsv3r8k6PrxHGhiyBUjP9CjyCmrIIAzokSmkkFittbQw_mS0Mr1YTwNiu75h2MUnvcPptYMZHTqQ-Qd5Q_JavKqbvq8x1ZAk8mjmnbvGFunaS5Y7q4QeuD8XBxNTD55MM0mzv7WdI" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><sup><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><sup><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><sup><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"> </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-37035990293715496542023-11-28T03:22:00.000-08:002023-11-28T03:30:21.052-08:00DESERT BEACHES<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsEdoGENsFE7F5A8j_Iv3qgeM8MEzbOlKWKElrFETGwrjF4fSWtIvoZRAxwBb8PrwXdcuyQBkMyhOrcaWau-LBGvcleZBKExgqa_auLAiWOiWCG5nj6c3Y80CVVm6bzqgTqRTG1mYwLput5hJw-vdb9BqmIntqZFd40BC-0EjxKBiDiFvu1CdlRfTxvPU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsEdoGENsFE7F5A8j_Iv3qgeM8MEzbOlKWKElrFETGwrjF4fSWtIvoZRAxwBb8PrwXdcuyQBkMyhOrcaWau-LBGvcleZBKExgqa_auLAiWOiWCG5nj6c3Y80CVVm6bzqgTqRTG1mYwLput5hJw-vdb9BqmIntqZFd40BC-0EjxKBiDiFvu1CdlRfTxvPU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">I’m not surely exactly when I ‘discovered’ the Salton Sea, but I know it was some time in the 1990s and I’d driven out there from Palm Springs, not knowing what I’d find.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Of course the Salton Sea didn’t (and doesn’t) need any actual discovering, though it does seem to be one of those places that’s constantly being reinvented and reimagined.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKprC03RqRp8vaWFCiSyZegsHqK5Km2GrXH12jsxh1zQAG-Pewrz3CdV_WNfP883am7pdSmYfAJnJnobQiNePZJrfrg24SuGN2OHnJwPsfprysq_sQZx5FReC7lhlx3tgXulYPxXnNeGW9pnV0dF4aIHdBLYfVAiGVjSNc-q9QxR21sr6W8okjkMhHZ84" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="774" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKprC03RqRp8vaWFCiSyZegsHqK5Km2GrXH12jsxh1zQAG-Pewrz3CdV_WNfP883am7pdSmYfAJnJnobQiNePZJrfrg24SuGN2OHnJwPsfprysq_sQZx5FReC7lhlx3tgXulYPxXnNeGW9pnV0dF4aIHdBLYfVAiGVjSNc-q9QxR21sr6W8okjkMhHZ84=w627-h640" width="627" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">On that day twenty some years ago, I arrived in North Beach at the top end of the sea. I was part desert rat, part dumb tourist and I found myself in a Ballardian landscape; empty motel, abandoned swimming pool, pelicans on the water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3T-JIXd1uJw3YfFOC9vZcY2_2EZJ--lqyiDN8SVRduQoopST1Wpj9BzxpQw36GSLRdP_qZpYTHdAfKyAsBjjUldhqOhoZhWKHdbwMEFusN2hM0G65sLmWnRQcfhivjgS9_zyqmxWbQ3F9E8ghyVcXIH8kEahgmwL1ZxyLmfTgbeJZxmoMQXEB7Qylkqs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3T-JIXd1uJw3YfFOC9vZcY2_2EZJ--lqyiDN8SVRduQoopST1Wpj9BzxpQw36GSLRdP_qZpYTHdAfKyAsBjjUldhqOhoZhWKHdbwMEFusN2hM0G65sLmWnRQcfhivjgS9_zyqmxWbQ3F9E8ghyVcXIH8kEahgmwL1ZxyLmfTgbeJZxmoMQXEB7Qylkqs=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmr8Myzgk-6RZuXbUQuYPtgdycYJ_12BHS0n20qk2RLZVU22b0YcMHCIIsuyZur-8_1wtrXwqIAoND46CsXvsfrIBrj6oJwNnR1JXiMOI7_0hXoIv_MnVGAgQ_rs6b9LuKbmjl9m_CjEQPaXOgP-idpdiUC2yISVc-MprS5gyjEutgwj_vH0o1wgZsd70" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmr8Myzgk-6RZuXbUQuYPtgdycYJ_12BHS0n20qk2RLZVU22b0YcMHCIIsuyZur-8_1wtrXwqIAoND46CsXvsfrIBrj6oJwNnR1JXiMOI7_0hXoIv_MnVGAgQ_rs6b9LuKbmjl9m_CjEQPaXOgP-idpdiUC2yISVc-MprS5gyjEutgwj_vH0o1wgZsd70=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGFCbKsi_xPbNRNJocNj1thQSwPPZDDtyhsqF3WtBt7kCatcDK6xzHc5RXJUTCZGjpXkEkxojgzjtwlvb2H3U-D6JxTKj4NGJp-kOeN8TTlVH37lpg5qIGY0hupEa2SzeP1Weg2m0hfk0vCup3iYr9N5pC6Wz6IlHsm1YPP6zHuveEdsuGPSZunxUDVW4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3456" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGFCbKsi_xPbNRNJocNj1thQSwPPZDDtyhsqF3WtBt7kCatcDK6xzHc5RXJUTCZGjpXkEkxojgzjtwlvb2H3U-D6JxTKj4NGJp-kOeN8TTlVH37lpg5qIGY0hupEa2SzeP1Weg2m0hfk0vCup3iYr9N5pC6Wz6IlHsm1YPP6zHuveEdsuGPSZunxUDVW4=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">And I especially enjoyed the shuttered </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">North Beach Yacht Club, designed by Albert Frey, which I understand has since been restored at considerable. Back then it looked like something from the future of the past. </span></div></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCe1DleDLtPVVWkHZ8kjLSu4Arbky7Y_3AReTO2-vYdSNGB1OGqq_InIStJN05ofrAacW2aOiiG258Yhk9XWI9hCxKAt1Kd5D1365a3oq_bVKRzMzhjemMMQ714x4nIrqf-bXFmGVJKE_nANuou2jm6lKOmMcyvTlYWktsryL6o57ynyO2qKXS17PYIH4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCe1DleDLtPVVWkHZ8kjLSu4Arbky7Y_3AReTO2-vYdSNGB1OGqq_InIStJN05ofrAacW2aOiiG258Yhk9XWI9hCxKAt1Kd5D1365a3oq_bVKRzMzhjemMMQ714x4nIrqf-bXFmGVJKE_nANuou2jm6lKOmMcyvTlYWktsryL6o57ynyO2qKXS17PYIH4" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I thought I’d set foot in one of the most wonderful places on earth.</span><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The Salton Sea is a Johnny-come-lately of the California landscape. It </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">came into existence in the very early part of the twentieth century </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">when canals were built, diverting water from the Colorado River into the dry lakebed of the Salton Sink, and for a while </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">the land became fertile <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">and agriculture thrived.</span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">But then </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">the Colorado River burst its irrigation channels and vast amount of its water went into the Salton Basin; a disaster for farms and the farmers who lived there. It took a while to sort that out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Much, much later, in the 1950s, there was </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Salton City, intended to be a swanky desert resort, but with water. That worked for a while but then flooding, pollution, and high salinity made the Salton Sea a much less appealing holiday destination.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course none of this deterred a certain kind of desert lover and desert dweller. Not so far away from this ‘planned community’ was and is a community of a different kind: Bombay Beach which is a sort of ghost town and a sort of hippy exclave: though now according to sources it’s an ‘art hub.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizo2L7W-A1z7R7hhhlbFhnKTxS5fQ9DUqMsiFgo5sSTtIJtPE3PEb-2wjtpDhbB6A_6-yN1cUsJLxqf8xdVFQBjcsAb5FwI2hhoOxkUNa9cfFy95lLymEN15kmPtjVKD5k_wWoIE2PUhJfOghNTLrjKHus8N5qCfDCch2DR3AhpABC5yuGWagAIPpEdK0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizo2L7W-A1z7R7hhhlbFhnKTxS5fQ9DUqMsiFgo5sSTtIJtPE3PEb-2wjtpDhbB6A_6-yN1cUsJLxqf8xdVFQBjcsAb5FwI2hhoOxkUNa9cfFy95lLymEN15kmPtjVKD5k_wWoIE2PUhJfOghNTLrjKHus8N5qCfDCch2DR3AhpABC5yuGWagAIPpEdK0=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD8ZRJqwRONoLGwLKXtUNRiAicKufDubq5RSzEdv4WLp3FJbZFP-_Aadby-oIdlMaEQtkIxZL-X0thoZdu00J5A3FMiFIO7aebg26yEhkJG6VFw3Bit2VmLtLQ_5zqjqRvRalsUAewx7gWEzh0IQvZbktAtQaDTIZUweyv8EVdL6yfgo0gRYAvMYM56Ro" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgD8ZRJqwRONoLGwLKXtUNRiAicKufDubq5RSzEdv4WLp3FJbZFP-_Aadby-oIdlMaEQtkIxZL-X0thoZdu00J5A3FMiFIO7aebg26yEhkJG6VFw3Bit2VmLtLQ_5zqjqRvRalsUAewx7gWEzh0IQvZbktAtQaDTIZUweyv8EVdL6yfgo0gRYAvMYM56Ro=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHLfLD9HZ8KF5E3mPJPzuN5MePNTPjxkDTCUDPSE49xDfs2hWDkExuQ4YYEOZ9br-9VAdWOzrthq_HQ34PqxwYR7hcT-S-jyL26cf48WZ5p2mF8SyZ8olGYBXp3en91rCpTnsY1shWREvDzQqh_-z0AxFVXD6RPPeu3hpHPwpSz_o4pja9-xiZ64rlo5Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHLfLD9HZ8KF5E3mPJPzuN5MePNTPjxkDTCUDPSE49xDfs2hWDkExuQ4YYEOZ9br-9VAdWOzrthq_HQ34PqxwYR7hcT-S-jyL26cf48WZ5p2mF8SyZ8olGYBXp3en91rCpTnsY1shWREvDzQqh_-z0AxFVXD6RPPeu3hpHPwpSz_o4pja9-xiZ64rlo5Q" width="360" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">So that’s where we went. We walked on the beach, we looked at the art, we talked to a few other walkers, we observed some dangerous looking black smoke on the horizon. Without being too intrusive we looked at the various curious ways people live there. It was great.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGqzuYeMMja4UKftX9eB-6MkT3vVNT4b0V4CjVUBsBThVQSLyq9GJXoncZaFt4QQXX50dMZkoSMdB4FBRIIdRPYsE57NsPuQdrljaaN02XCFYVWIjtFqRQ4WVUlb1VbmvnAGS8ciTT8AAnMiON7lWG4NOx8Ym9hI0NVkmP0JSsBzUaMft9sdwq5LFd_HM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGqzuYeMMja4UKftX9eB-6MkT3vVNT4b0V4CjVUBsBThVQSLyq9GJXoncZaFt4QQXX50dMZkoSMdB4FBRIIdRPYsE57NsPuQdrljaaN02XCFYVWIjtFqRQ4WVUlb1VbmvnAGS8ciTT8AAnMiON7lWG4NOx8Ym9hI0NVkmP0JSsBzUaMft9sdwq5LFd_HM=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKlfbD5yGB7Ef581HOJFH-IgXNrE0ebrf-2x81vcfyKin3vXlmCsttMSFZcnjew5__1FI17xMIV8bWdihb7ZLIpDhkNXwtVlh0JD2X4et86QQK11vaTSU2oaBBnl6Xl2RFSDqZsa86oR7sYuIWLVPnoaF3vrYhHw-VcC13Wm6QdK_HpEkw_ofS5dyuFMs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKlfbD5yGB7Ef581HOJFH-IgXNrE0ebrf-2x81vcfyKin3vXlmCsttMSFZcnjew5__1FI17xMIV8bWdihb7ZLIpDhkNXwtVlh0JD2X4et86QQK11vaTSU2oaBBnl6Xl2RFSDqZsa86oR7sYuIWLVPnoaF3vrYhHw-VcC13Wm6QdK_HpEkw_ofS5dyuFMs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYEQXRC8LnMF0Eq1qKYSl5GbkCZmpuk72RatCONpXfA1kBrN6EzZ62L7A3WPLTV9Cl_7Kjw8ZcfAYjebpYHM2U-PggsKujgkpodMbIPqt7wG5YKJsB2R3Q6PxqDyuzJEYB_Qjp-zZx8YOvUsecKT4nKcrwEsK96z6NpboBCcnCdR3NLeminKul0IYHP5Y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYEQXRC8LnMF0Eq1qKYSl5GbkCZmpuk72RatCONpXfA1kBrN6EzZ62L7A3WPLTV9Cl_7Kjw8ZcfAYjebpYHM2U-PggsKujgkpodMbIPqt7wG5YKJsB2R3Q6PxqDyuzJEYB_Qjp-zZx8YOvUsecKT4nKcrwEsK96z6NpboBCcnCdR3NLeminKul0IYHP5Y=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_3pq7zHO2fijvM5HTYVOTRCzlaNGDmvmd2YlV-O4PbTUFt1HTbSUQaXDtjNVwIxIwg4Br2nI1qoPPXeTYN7o157ys1I1gMAz4qDevEt5eqz6Q1g-qIGquDJozoMalf4_I5rLNQ8pWVch0OkwwvV6N21C7Cgmb44qUiEgxGs_lkw5smeuPHqX81CTZgsk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_3pq7zHO2fijvM5HTYVOTRCzlaNGDmvmd2YlV-O4PbTUFt1HTbSUQaXDtjNVwIxIwg4Br2nI1qoPPXeTYN7o157ys1I1gMAz4qDevEt5eqz6Q1g-qIGquDJozoMalf4_I5rLNQ8pWVch0OkwwvV6N21C7Cgmb44qUiEgxGs_lkw5smeuPHqX81CTZgsk=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>And later, not wanting to do the same old same old, we went to Salt Creek where I hadn’t been before. It looks like an unspoiled stretch of desert shore, and naturally you want to walk across the sand and shingle and fragmented fish bones to the water.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4JlcjTyJr-uuKjR0FMl3jDR9IdTn1wg3mR7ZPKoBu6axhYxZ1HKtIhcBbda0mYcGntL8d9xcdeDQQcgr7Qhp3QNYPEipx5qf2SMgD82nZsq2R95zICMG7BMxUVW3ipgK22ZEaMiPOepGtyqNkH9P69CHXwUxUeFvolP0QkF0ZLaQJfLKixCkLEGRiJX0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4JlcjTyJr-uuKjR0FMl3jDR9IdTn1wg3mR7ZPKoBu6axhYxZ1HKtIhcBbda0mYcGntL8d9xcdeDQQcgr7Qhp3QNYPEipx5qf2SMgD82nZsq2R95zICMG7BMxUVW3ipgK22ZEaMiPOepGtyqNkH9P69CHXwUxUeFvolP0QkF0ZLaQJfLKixCkLEGRiJX0" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />I tried but I didn’t quite make it. The land seemed perfectly solid underfoot but before long my feet went through the top crust into the mud beneath. That was fair enough and much as expected, and I could deal with that. I’d done it often enough before. But then a little further on my feet through the mud into some hideous black tar. Once your foot went in you needed colossal strength to pull it out against. It was impossible to walk there. We turned back, returned to the sand and gravel, feeling like failures.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEime0Cv5qbOEIbHAvx5twKNO9a3OuUQ3BMSM3KkkjEsSZ08IWoYAeoIquZ2MHVFWtqRmogPLGAkM6Kau73zjIy0wDKAL0gCtIFGonDyD7tUNRrBVlcClmG811y9YKJUhOpxCXBq01HciDyQkRRyXCBEcFPLelG2e11UPTKWHLZ_baCrVRiYUEoXt9sX9i4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEime0Cv5qbOEIbHAvx5twKNO9a3OuUQ3BMSM3KkkjEsSZ08IWoYAeoIquZ2MHVFWtqRmogPLGAkM6Kau73zjIy0wDKAL0gCtIFGonDyD7tUNRrBVlcClmG811y9YKJUhOpxCXBq01HciDyQkRRyXCBEcFPLelG2e11UPTKWHLZ_baCrVRiYUEoXt9sX9i4=w427-h640" width="427" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic by Caroline Gannon, as are all the ones below.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And then I looked at my shoes. They were not a pretty sight. In fact I didn’t think I could ever wear them again, certainly not to go out to the martini bar I had in mind for the evening. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDQisxZWWptUv_e-b0AzXJxQZAXI9hz-3NR8yMDKJN8xtnwmnqEzmdrXSvlz91EK8r3XZ_yPQIQhA-TntLJdnBaKehHgE8CX0BlMGOB_glzGkJm78nWB8mXuc1ijuQBXwN-9k5ZDymxzCKn9IyICgBhLzzuDDnPTAxnz0o_F7X3tb57EOo38hxcudbGNM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDQisxZWWptUv_e-b0AzXJxQZAXI9hz-3NR8yMDKJN8xtnwmnqEzmdrXSvlz91EK8r3XZ_yPQIQhA-TntLJdnBaKehHgE8CX0BlMGOB_glzGkJm78nWB8mXuc1ijuQBXwN-9k5ZDymxzCKn9IyICgBhLzzuDDnPTAxnz0o_F7X3tb57EOo38hxcudbGNM=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></div>So I schlepped to the thrift store in Palm Springs and bought some decent looking shoes that cost all of 3 dollars and looked like this:</span><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd5UF7d9HZKGl9ADPdWDm9pElI4Td5ttIXg-H9MaB4Lk9z9KXWyqIpozz1nwwmgMgZB6S1fLX8nF63_nmvNQIt92tzi32ByoXGajEBgYz6V3Vy_SFPynptF_q9ZNpiD1B95uqlz1yWb7G3NM6CdkQIvODftpHYjuNx8XtwXUGY7ns-qNNq8TBvLfOKn18" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd5UF7d9HZKGl9ADPdWDm9pElI4Td5ttIXg-H9MaB4Lk9z9KXWyqIpozz1nwwmgMgZB6S1fLX8nF63_nmvNQIt92tzi32ByoXGajEBgYz6V3Vy_SFPynptF_q9ZNpiD1B95uqlz1yWb7G3NM6CdkQIvODftpHYjuNx8XtwXUGY7ns-qNNq8TBvLfOKn18=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And they lasted all of three days before one of the heels came off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjANzU6szvPB5AbB0lbs3uFqxnQgYqtqxQJW9gi3kJ9dMwu_AHAGhCSRPTytXpJrCXehv1-xygP1HcAoPinJ7Q0KcTQAwTCuA9aW0p0zqES6HF3UXHrSldqtoj_DAi_R1FReqGyQbj4z8OMg87mqld15vTRekRMOekzq2qLhQLRE_tN3olcwm16kqjEm2o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjANzU6szvPB5AbB0lbs3uFqxnQgYqtqxQJW9gi3kJ9dMwu_AHAGhCSRPTytXpJrCXehv1-xygP1HcAoPinJ7Q0KcTQAwTCuA9aW0p0zqES6HF3UXHrSldqtoj_DAi_R1FReqGyQbj4z8OMg87mqld15vTRekRMOekzq2qLhQLRE_tN3olcwm16kqjEm2o=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">The desert, she’s a tough mistress, and very hard on the shoes.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-25753216222331137192023-10-27T02:01:00.003-07:002023-10-29T11:54:05.916-07:00COMMANDO WALKING<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">I discovered </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Anaïs </span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;"></span><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">Nin the way many people do, via Henry Miller. I haven’t read either of them for a very long time and haven’t felt any need to, but as I recall the attraction of Nin was that really liked and really wanted sex, at a time when few women of my acquaintance felt that way. Yes, I was young and green in judgment, but at least I never put a birdcage on my head.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuoKLq31qbvnGAv1CiQ51MYljVEc0fKCvxX-DjH-JJZthgcb4zejZf1UCrw_ExjwwazNWFQZFPA6Cgx2Y6SdCa1DpYjD2DSiI0RfPYVTku9BdYx1veRdaRlQTKA0bSHPoIVLEW9yl3FDYsb2wPtFJrtHO0X3Ar4mLyQF57DnODkTDTqadxbqFwbKBcD4s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="1890" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuoKLq31qbvnGAv1CiQ51MYljVEc0fKCvxX-DjH-JJZthgcb4zejZf1UCrw_ExjwwazNWFQZFPA6Cgx2Y6SdCa1DpYjD2DSiI0RfPYVTku9BdYx1veRdaRlQTKA0bSHPoIVLEW9yl3FDYsb2wPtFJrtHO0X3Ar4mLyQF57DnODkTDTqadxbqFwbKBcD4s=w640-h478" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><br />The one thing I missed at the time as I read Nin’s diary and her ‘erotica’ was that she was a walker, but I know this now thanks to Kerri Andrews’ <i>Wanderers: A History of Women Walking.</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggKzohC-CPDUHCtWZJYIYWC5KZCLI_8UikefdTS2tZ--RmznR5cdcq3Hj8Y8fDN7oi3f1Gd5tNBzj2kzapmkz-Lzw83Nc-rXhcYOW87RTknyzUt5LXPpPbaTmf7l2EZMPYiDtszIhORhLq-jh5KeY1PX2-YfHu7pBkiprR_XtYOZeEU2bT0B1meK0VWS4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggKzohC-CPDUHCtWZJYIYWC5KZCLI_8UikefdTS2tZ--RmznR5cdcq3Hj8Y8fDN7oi3f1Gd5tNBzj2kzapmkz-Lzw83Nc-rXhcYOW87RTknyzUt5LXPpPbaTmf7l2EZMPYiDtszIhORhLq-jh5KeY1PX2-YfHu7pBkiprR_XtYOZeEU2bT0B1meK0VWS4=w464-h640" width="464" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><br />Andrews writes, ‘For Nin there was an important link between sexual experience, sexual confidence and the development of her literary voice, all of which were bound up with the ways in which she walked through the city.’</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">That all sounds fair enough, but there’s more. Andrews also writes ‘Walking the streets of Paris in this hyper-aroused state seems to create within Nin an almost-orgasmic connection with everything she encounters ...’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Please note that’s ALMOST orgasmic, or in other words, not actually orgasmic at all, and the paragraph continues, and here’s the beauty part ‘These sensations are enhanced by way of the state of partial dress, with little by way of underwear, that Nin describes as “walking poor”’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">I missed that at the time and as far as I know I’ve never previously heard that expression.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">I haven’t been able to find an image of Nin walking poor, or walking any way at all, but here she is as a Spanish dancer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi45_mQkR4WBdpTPKOYLtyHJNjm3WSsrSZANFXeS03UKGsGm3erS4B1GUUdcnjrNu3ioS3VJCbbIrAXe-gwgJ7npO9b8iLI86EiC9n_IjJ9X-xVxlDjqpSQMYSnxrphUdOc4RpKbMvfqxg_VpxMYmld047DZiuqBP8qDL-mJKc32Iss-IgKhUfmEovr6r0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi45_mQkR4WBdpTPKOYLtyHJNjm3WSsrSZANFXeS03UKGsGm3erS4B1GUUdcnjrNu3ioS3VJCbbIrAXe-gwgJ7npO9b8iLI86EiC9n_IjJ9X-xVxlDjqpSQMYSnxrphUdOc4RpKbMvfqxg_VpxMYmld047DZiuqBP8qDL-mJKc32Iss-IgKhUfmEovr6r0=w432-h640" width="432" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><br /><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">And here she is on one of those quotation sites.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlpdf9Ga-bHyRcj0M0Y48fx1mVJlZP58C0eL3cFz4O0HrC7ut_kH6R-lkOuSmOfRYSyEWtWlA2F4KsmLcwwZ1VoHcxbkx6W_go7v1O6vORz9-S06VlvPKA3CB1Q4NUKD7TOSR5YDENCswMZzAa2VMUhO1FC3MiU-UstoiK58Cta0pi2ceGNz_VHpzfAVQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="525" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlpdf9Ga-bHyRcj0M0Y48fx1mVJlZP58C0eL3cFz4O0HrC7ut_kH6R-lkOuSmOfRYSyEWtWlA2F4KsmLcwwZ1VoHcxbkx6W_go7v1O6vORz9-S06VlvPKA3CB1Q4NUKD7TOSR5YDENCswMZzAa2VMUhO1FC3MiU-UstoiK58Cta0pi2ceGNz_VHpzfAVQ=w640-h398" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-41095985493049539682023-10-24T10:28:00.007-07:002023-10-25T08:31:42.688-07:00WALKING WITH WELLIES<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHuxwFoU9TQTV3gKlT2zzhze69HvcUOzQa1FvQmK3B12I4oIboiTpEz5IuVgWbAY4z1lB0Si78iBD1LkXCaKxuv7A15dwaBzpRKyuIGCnRInBVAxw2-I-aaVR4sQK6iPGGNjtxSvDDlqhnb6pHmFedom3c1-XB7W1aO5RKKI3-RJtMrSXjFVF8D9GIdsU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHuxwFoU9TQTV3gKlT2zzhze69HvcUOzQa1FvQmK3B12I4oIboiTpEz5IuVgWbAY4z1lB0Si78iBD1LkXCaKxuv7A15dwaBzpRKyuIGCnRInBVAxw2-I-aaVR4sQK6iPGGNjtxSvDDlqhnb6pHmFedom3c1-XB7W1aO5RKKI3-RJtMrSXjFVF8D9GIdsU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Caroline Gannon<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">So we walked, the four of us, Jen, Jonathan, Caroline and me (Caroline took the picture above which is why she's not in it but she's in the one below), on the foreshore of the Thames, between Bermondsey and Rotherhide.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">The tide was low but gradually coming in.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It was a short and only occasionally tricky route but it had a lot going for it.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">I’d never previously set foot on the foreshore, had only vaguely thought about it, but Jen, the instigator of the expedition, was quite the aficionado.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">It was a great walk.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">And I was glad I had my wellies.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_PMQKld2969cmCWZNJj9tkcQZmHLlCXA9VJVwJw3DJlITmynBEW9SzgxNlaL0ETRHfvMSaHlOa0bTruOqJ-SN7rVTLBQeYT72RWq6ew38gMb8bU3qf0vjvlwm9W7giUWn_FAFZTSBKJ_oRel3ZGLJdaZFGb49G7Mp1XRQa3nQah_NgBvrJ15T0WgmG-c" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_PMQKld2969cmCWZNJj9tkcQZmHLlCXA9VJVwJw3DJlITmynBEW9SzgxNlaL0ETRHfvMSaHlOa0bTruOqJ-SN7rVTLBQeYT72RWq6ew38gMb8bU3qf0vjvlwm9W7giUWn_FAFZTSBKJ_oRel3ZGLJdaZFGb49G7Mp1XRQa3nQah_NgBvrJ15T0WgmG-c=w640-h480" width="640" /></a><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhp0ZXI2-GgDwNItZt3QaY494VRHmBv177Byi0QFb3QidskwDDZV0oHPQVGOfxoMXfgC6FW3aCRXZ044CJUt78cQDWErpWpd2SbPs4-J0oCtkf-tbXTBeTa1n5qR_bA1a-g0b2yeS_WiliI7_0bPAJo1zLjMx-lnyXDa6pJRC6yojVTEVRWBN6_8V4MXoA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhp0ZXI2-GgDwNItZt3QaY494VRHmBv177Byi0QFb3QidskwDDZV0oHPQVGOfxoMXfgC6FW3aCRXZ044CJUt78cQDWErpWpd2SbPs4-J0oCtkf-tbXTBeTa1n5qR_bA1a-g0b2yeS_WiliI7_0bPAJo1zLjMx-lnyXDa6pJRC6yojVTEVRWBN6_8V4MXoA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span><span>The foreshore was full of curiosities, both natural and man made: rocks, oyster shells, eroded bricks, tires, driftwood, and rather less plastic detritus that I’d expected.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMeR_41HVuECdzIcWh7MHGimpp3ofCJf1-9W3HpayDXPomjcegg7TOCzuggmeClBgalEdCpgBhZdmeGOrpwYdsEYDZzRS6JS285jZGVCdOru2fpACiQ7W_5-PbyD2C5ILgRxFM8Kx57z1irACAgPswOlp50NbMbnbznu3fI3hnp4KVNUl3pK_0cxK7lw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgMeR_41HVuECdzIcWh7MHGimpp3ofCJf1-9W3HpayDXPomjcegg7TOCzuggmeClBgalEdCpgBhZdmeGOrpwYdsEYDZzRS6JS285jZGVCdOru2fpACiQ7W_5-PbyD2C5ILgRxFM8Kx57z1irACAgPswOlp50NbMbnbznu3fI3hnp4KVNUl3pK_0cxK7lw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmYjWiNbVos0iZ0cKlf_PNgJCv6BAGftUUXNk6Svdg1YOA01Aag6Z_H-Ga0YIgfSKffuERV33rnlCS2d1c_xuhBpIWYxPfJ_d8ufQWLXrunitDLuO2PL7541zt2qawHBG4MldxcEA4VujZAuHr2i5B4aFEbhyJGM7MTGVT3ciNuJn_0c5C0k1GHke0UM0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmYjWiNbVos0iZ0cKlf_PNgJCv6BAGftUUXNk6Svdg1YOA01Aag6Z_H-Ga0YIgfSKffuERV33rnlCS2d1c_xuhBpIWYxPfJ_d8ufQWLXrunitDLuO2PL7541zt2qawHBG4MldxcEA4VujZAuHr2i5B4aFEbhyJGM7MTGVT3ciNuJn_0c5C0k1GHke0UM0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYepBDhOZw9a-bo4kb8OU86uwl469XTo7DVkDL-yX3ZMNLRz5CGt90m7rL4gQAOPXMUGWE8GdFJD_0bPXp-k2BI56G9RgMX8hmaN5WZYNZg8PgM4-l93w0Kof9xdookVLC8Hy8YwAvA8MXgnqeUbNOrrAUrZzsX9_Vx8yJdLxzxvmwA2JO2J9mF1klhuI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYepBDhOZw9a-bo4kb8OU86uwl469XTo7DVkDL-yX3ZMNLRz5CGt90m7rL4gQAOPXMUGWE8GdFJD_0bPXp-k2BI56G9RgMX8hmaN5WZYNZg8PgM4-l93w0Kof9xdookVLC8Hy8YwAvA8MXgnqeUbNOrrAUrZzsX9_Vx8yJdLxzxvmwA2JO2J9mF1klhuI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span><span>Somebody had built a sandcastle,</span></span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRaMbqQBpzDkWoyVLMkxNzVBkY3Jb2UXHQmCZIVq7LHikSYA3N1Dp1g5IQuKnmrDCo6R5npKwhUImbdLUCfCnXNXyZFpavaiuX2k0964aVgaf-NBXRqJ7PVeEeZ0SZq6jU0XpiL5EPLA1RIj8vr91xv2ddLk2tqYueFLUCfte9em5Vcdvt_HVoQppbgqw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRaMbqQBpzDkWoyVLMkxNzVBkY3Jb2UXHQmCZIVq7LHikSYA3N1Dp1g5IQuKnmrDCo6R5npKwhUImbdLUCfCnXNXyZFpavaiuX2k0964aVgaf-NBXRqJ7PVeEeZ0SZq6jU0XpiL5EPLA1RIj8vr91xv2ddLk2tqYueFLUCfte9em5Vcdvt_HVoQppbgqw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Somebody had left or lost a boot<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0jCMDYYF6Ca7DXhX3s_ZPZKiWn4WxQAQmvGWJoDDtWnF3OkpiXqNe5kbqFj1MqbmepN4KtY7p8Z4G7c9SaIw8szAFJ0wPHyRFoCmQSiIdwqbTYTVRqktwDXhMjA8MdZJLpocikri0DBxRDsEf2V2ZhaPbxWMbp_QsS_b_ZbqZRO0hl3Voi9LGO-4fzzM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0jCMDYYF6Ca7DXhX3s_ZPZKiWn4WxQAQmvGWJoDDtWnF3OkpiXqNe5kbqFj1MqbmepN4KtY7p8Z4G7c9SaIw8szAFJ0wPHyRFoCmQSiIdwqbTYTVRqktwDXhMjA8MdZJLpocikri0DBxRDsEf2V2ZhaPbxWMbp_QsS_b_ZbqZRO0hl3Voi9LGO-4fzzM" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Of course when you’re on the south side of the Thames you stare across the water at the architecture on the north side <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0sGUaZ8gkizm47k-ajf8o4I7iAsYnkEkR4VVU5DzmQp9VTl8vja0KJ1tjZsWJoD7UFGV_AdqFtZ8JrQpD4JilZjRqQnO6Ft_UFzvF-p-yMC4NQpXBkjli6070Tt07P9WegYnFNTMmemOuZ71fEGai7x2qCXxWNlp8t0xMDjQnAtcva-5tdkAu5w22jls" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0sGUaZ8gkizm47k-ajf8o4I7iAsYnkEkR4VVU5DzmQp9VTl8vja0KJ1tjZsWJoD7UFGV_AdqFtZ8JrQpD4JilZjRqQnO6Ft_UFzvF-p-yMC4NQpXBkjli6070Tt07P9WegYnFNTMmemOuZ71fEGai7x2qCXxWNlp8t0xMDjQnAtcva-5tdkAu5w22jls" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span><span>but there were one or two architectural wonders on our side too, such as this nice bit of streamlined modernity:</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBNXnVczlXnyhBEb4zGmKKhkFd2imdHsoH5ywOu3J4eQmcicazEMvkcr3maXMnrE5I6hg2R-klBUR7Hd-BTx3n8j2vquVJ2W_VEFq_exOTEogN8nX8AF4qhiFx33XqFVzqcNgxXGNwUKYyHWDVeeNzk805ZW58jXXUajjFxoV6xQS8urTu2eOA19Q50zc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBNXnVczlXnyhBEb4zGmKKhkFd2imdHsoH5ywOu3J4eQmcicazEMvkcr3maXMnrE5I6hg2R-klBUR7Hd-BTx3n8j2vquVJ2W_VEFq_exOTEogN8nX8AF4qhiFx33XqFVzqcNgxXGNwUKYyHWDVeeNzk805ZW58jXXUajjFxoV6xQS8urTu2eOA19Q50zc=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Now as you know, I’m a great picker up of trifles, or souvenirs, or rubbish, on my walks. But the fact is, you’re not allowed to remove things from the foreshore without a permit, and we didn’t have a permit so we took only photographs, left only footsteps, as the saying goes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifN2fhj72M72DE2hozD8CrFRT7p_GqDrT1MZDMYN1vrg2HgrRNR1sNEI2ITGmW32zIuaqqfrWl4G6ErafffoWg3D_Rj_Q3geWC_Hhy9-0cqntf2QPK9kGJzywBA31cBnLowRs2JqFrFs1HT72um22PwsoZ4pOrhqFK_VvsbRSrC-IdRrqHtNPOtu6ic9o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifN2fhj72M72DE2hozD8CrFRT7p_GqDrT1MZDMYN1vrg2HgrRNR1sNEI2ITGmW32zIuaqqfrWl4G6ErafffoWg3D_Rj_Q3geWC_Hhy9-0cqntf2QPK9kGJzywBA31cBnLowRs2JqFrFs1HT72um22PwsoZ4pOrhqFK_VvsbRSrC-IdRrqHtNPOtu6ic9o=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">The woman above did have a permit, she said (we didn’t ask to see it) but she also said she hadn’t found anything very interesting.</span></div></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">There was even a sign in one spot, possibly not official, that said, ‘don’t move the stones’ but since the simple act of walking made stones move this was hard to obey. And you know there weren’t any cops patrolling the foreshore, unless they had some secret and inscrutable method of surveillance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">However I did find this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDQTy_aTAty9PRPR7fw2jG37bbkbg0dqKRF4yZJUCk0sXQRLfkiaFduJadyWIqYtQk4iwj8B_hDsJhqSKv1ieHxCTE6QoZ-Yq_qWC5QeVkKyrt6KDCzIQOXzZgW6hLGoAmf2FEDX2vlQYLzcdR3IRIYcFqjLKI2jF9a-kMepxTqSoD5_IvLvGmPkuQGqY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDQTy_aTAty9PRPR7fw2jG37bbkbg0dqKRF4yZJUCk0sXQRLfkiaFduJadyWIqYtQk4iwj8B_hDsJhqSKv1ieHxCTE6QoZ-Yq_qWC5QeVkKyrt6KDCzIQOXzZgW6hLGoAmf2FEDX2vlQYLzcdR3IRIYcFqjLKI2jF9a-kMepxTqSoD5_IvLvGmPkuQGqY=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Caroline Gannon shot</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span><span>It was a small glass jar with what appeared to be a wet and tattered five pound note around it, held in place by rubber bands.</span><span> </span><span> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi61xdvRqUggVuvVk7QCDsmA_WvhPFK62ShERNnNhIWNglkyfuEQLZ9ToldsfX9XW7ZJWUgvBS5swixegzn_aNyKsB2ZuIZmbwkH9vy6CT1W3Q8ScS0d7kdnvLMkxOYImcoarhcgrorMEIXNKeoHBMKkMI24o4DLZYHQuXZNJyt9iT9jouCX2QWJiiC9Pc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi61xdvRqUggVuvVk7QCDsmA_WvhPFK62ShERNnNhIWNglkyfuEQLZ9ToldsfX9XW7ZJWUgvBS5swixegzn_aNyKsB2ZuIZmbwkH9vy6CT1W3Q8ScS0d7kdnvLMkxOYImcoarhcgrorMEIXNKeoHBMKkMI24o4DLZYHQuXZNJyt9iT9jouCX2QWJiiC9Pc" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span>I picked it up and the five pound note looked real enough though probably too tattered to be legal tender.</span><span> </span><span>But I removed the fiver and found what appeared to be two genuine and perfectly intact Chinese bank notes under it, also wrapped around the jar.</span><span> </span><span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC0IJubwLUzr4O6UY29P5UvSzLhoBIXwKw9bcvMlA67DBJTCIXpU0wGit2nDdUc4r6bl8LSsZue6f_GZSPmhd48ERcdsp41yUgBLTFVzpWA_JijhYERum6d-gNe2K20hYOm4KC14ZIvYBLsJ9CCtkwRQHHzkrN7CgTPgy01YCVHtZLNE7no8G4IlfOEg0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgC0IJubwLUzr4O6UY29P5UvSzLhoBIXwKw9bcvMlA67DBJTCIXpU0wGit2nDdUc4r6bl8LSsZue6f_GZSPmhd48ERcdsp41yUgBLTFVzpWA_JijhYERum6d-gNe2K20hYOm4KC14ZIvYBLsJ9CCtkwRQHHzkrN7CgTPgy01YCVHtZLNE7no8G4IlfOEg0=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK7hSVb7toHL_dqUTRPlynzbNyydTY_CGOY7puT21ZT_nhnK2o8lyh-ARY8QgPcFI1rvKyTKxBLbOVwFcv_C_JXM7voQxXKxmU3ixnTSchSkvJ-I4FY42kG-1HWVjG02xQ5K2RrZfqmFI0PPue3Gl4LPGy7PuH466DnE9qNilPK1C61b5qXWod-f8sOng" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiK7hSVb7toHL_dqUTRPlynzbNyydTY_CGOY7puT21ZT_nhnK2o8lyh-ARY8QgPcFI1rvKyTKxBLbOVwFcv_C_JXM7voQxXKxmU3ixnTSchSkvJ-I4FY42kG-1HWVjG02xQ5K2RrZfqmFI0PPue3Gl4LPGy7PuH466DnE9qNilPK1C61b5qXWod-f8sOng=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><span>Suspecting contraband or, say, a trafficked human pituitary gland, inside the jar (though I suppose a human pituitary gland is a </span><i>kind </i><span>of contraband), I opened it up, and as far as I could tell it contained only river water. What it had contained previously is anybody’s guess. And obeying the law of the foreshore, I wrapped the notes around the jar again, replaced the rubber bands and put it back among the rocks more or less where I'd found it. It was the right thing to do. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nevertheless it’s the kind of thing I’m going to be thinking about for years. I mean, who wraps English and Chinese bank notes around a glass jar and throws it in the Thames? If we’d been living in a novel this would have been the start of a great and rip-roaring adventure. As it was, we went to the pub.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Then we went back to Bermondsey tube station for some fairly hard core Brutalism. London, she’s exhaustible, innit?</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuyiJ-0OVJ_OEWnybawDph71hmKOdskT3X4LQmwWD_YgzUccplSptXwT5E8c0tw12AMUAsHo9R0MKkT7lnaZO5ONpBLUo7WetRWHa727j0xIUqpwCalSUgXbd2EkJPasNKgIbmUk4WisWDy9NvsVVpJKHnSk5DMXcaQzVQrFGE-d6JL0WHWDZ23WNOVsM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuyiJ-0OVJ_OEWnybawDph71hmKOdskT3X4LQmwWD_YgzUccplSptXwT5E8c0tw12AMUAsHo9R0MKkT7lnaZO5ONpBLUo7WetRWHa727j0xIUqpwCalSUgXbd2EkJPasNKgIbmUk4WisWDy9NvsVVpJKHnSk5DMXcaQzVQrFGE-d6JL0WHWDZ23WNOVsM" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-52867470870667754312023-10-22T08:01:00.001-07:002023-10-22T08:01:44.579-07:00MEANDERING IN EDEN<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAKNCu4ynv8K9gDc8Gl_tZWTax3M9BZurR1gMNO75FTx26XH9xhKmGreETi-bUzE2l0Z6GR-1feq4I4UDA07WuW9B_-KziXGVR9j5ty63_QW9eKiyiQDu3TBKS-qorNtUN8gTg7r9MzyUdw3rRDRsXzABaiUVBACpEeOs-eMCeK-3KuRvNKbDto0HgM9E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAKNCu4ynv8K9gDc8Gl_tZWTax3M9BZurR1gMNO75FTx26XH9xhKmGreETi-bUzE2l0Z6GR-1feq4I4UDA07WuW9B_-KziXGVR9j5ty63_QW9eKiyiQDu3TBKS-qorNtUN8gTg7r9MzyUdw3rRDRsXzABaiUVBACpEeOs-eMCeK-3KuRvNKbDto0HgM9E" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">I was thinking about the viability of my ‘walking in gardens’ project, and how to make it interesting, when I had an idea.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Since walking in gardens is a low key, low intensity activity, I reckoned that what was needed was some added</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><i style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">rigour</i><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I wondered how it would be if, instead of just wandering around a garden, going wherever your feet and your eyes take you, you went to a somewhat well-known location, say the RHS garden at Hyde Hall, in Essex, set over 360 acres of more or less rolling hills, and made your walking <i>schematic</i>. Now obviously there are different kinds of scheme and rigour that could be applied but I thought I’d begin simply enough, by walking systematically down every single path in the garden. Fortunately there was a map.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH_v-h38_j13NS7EUPPNZeb4-Id9IydIGrI_zCrzxIrDlf3TuX7uvgjkpmSJSldD8IuUg1VBoHnL_7TO61UcpRD3cUcQiZbZ7XC1ylz41nfmJfc_H-pCsFRkucsL8KvbzJTyEI-IsjsWDZSvD1siL1KbCVXoVDdjREbv4fN5wmcrZintmAJQeddG_TTeM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1464" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjH_v-h38_j13NS7EUPPNZeb4-Id9IydIGrI_zCrzxIrDlf3TuX7uvgjkpmSJSldD8IuUg1VBoHnL_7TO61UcpRD3cUcQiZbZ7XC1ylz41nfmJfc_H-pCsFRkucsL8KvbzJTyEI-IsjsWDZSvD1siL1KbCVXoVDdjREbv4fN5wmcrZintmAJQeddG_TTeM" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’d been to Hyde Hall before and found one or two favourite spots; the Dry Garden and the Winter Garden especially, but this was no time to back favourites. As far as the walk was concerned one place was as good as any other, the Rose Garden, the Global Growth Vegetable Garden, Sky Meadow, the Queen Mother’s Garden, the Floral Fantasia, the Sky Meadow, and so on, all had to be treated as equals as I walked the paths.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My trusty amanuensis and I started in a section known as the Birch Grove and there was a rather poetic introductory sign that included the words, ‘Meandering paths immerse you in an airy woodland, dappled and cool in the summer sun.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjXazKF7Iq-Yryew6zUvB8vDOgS8nQvyA6_L7tfAm93LFMFA8NxQ2lBQ9Z4KsuhGg08l1yya44gJTR5p1VxMLONmF0MGcEgRFnQmfFqWktQ6nOOTwrTkvvVtdm-u7AUJSAt4NyQEDnb2mtIO3LnB1vnYqmtCqGw6qGOGNKsFrYPHKSOkZ9CegDYPr9SNs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjXazKF7Iq-Yryew6zUvB8vDOgS8nQvyA6_L7tfAm93LFMFA8NxQ2lBQ9Z4KsuhGg08l1yya44gJTR5p1VxMLONmF0MGcEgRFnQmfFqWktQ6nOOTwrTkvvVtdm-u7AUJSAt4NyQEDnb2mtIO3LnB1vnYqmtCqGw6qGOGNKsFrYPHKSOkZ9CegDYPr9SNs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1DydfTxzA00sPdGNNLD-CuF-NbcNVfop7ewV3YWFO4uyQOUXTMpCUzQ6bh9IPD6JdtHCMMs84KCm1khy5jNiPcOFAq2jn4GOSrw8qEGYJXu5O_TsRVZHAxynPDG9nhFr5E9G75yQJYQAfPnCNd9EX7kQsd7xL02n3JkYUyh_adVCKC3i4NbCorMLf50" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="508" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjI1DydfTxzA00sPdGNNLD-CuF-NbcNVfop7ewV3YWFO4uyQOUXTMpCUzQ6bh9IPD6JdtHCMMs84KCm1khy5jNiPcOFAq2jn4GOSrw8qEGYJXu5O_TsRVZHAxynPDG9nhFr5E9G75yQJYQAfPnCNd9EX7kQsd7xL02n3JkYUyh_adVCKC3i4NbCorMLf50=w541-h640" width="541" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In fact it was autumn, but even so that sign set me thinking: here it's the path that meanders, not the walker. And I wondered if you walked rapidly along a meandering path could you still be said to meander? I admit it isn’t one of life’s greatest questions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And so we walked. And inevitably we walked in places we might otherwise not have. I’m sure, for example, I’d have avoided the Children’s Play Area and yet there was the Grand Bug and Pest Hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-KUSbKnoINaa0pAsXdyNjyYyos_iZBJgLwps4g-jV1vNKNvGgPws1ttxV7DqM1yAt5Yhqpa61YTWNSvzabRgjXZOD5hCk4YcfqamazyOUXyiD7-FQAgmKB_cm3b_8JvqLWFsk9m1FcSptayNlPl7iZKoNOnq_SXffKjILgX5PLk6epeOSnjLS7Vt4nzs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-KUSbKnoINaa0pAsXdyNjyYyos_iZBJgLwps4g-jV1vNKNvGgPws1ttxV7DqM1yAt5Yhqpa61YTWNSvzabRgjXZOD5hCk4YcfqamazyOUXyiD7-FQAgmKB_cm3b_8JvqLWFsk9m1FcSptayNlPl7iZKoNOnq_SXffKjILgX5PLk6epeOSnjLS7Vt4nzs=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYvQgHj6W_etbOAR6pGdl5krr4QyUiKKPHj14JiWy9nXfC-P2ZKskJDe7m_dbA6XRfOYWdZJYK5AjKCkMwsKsNMuQ2df8cA1cFPqkfO3DS0iQxV5oZl3uT7eksKZ5jA8O1FKzdeoazzJQikp4wK0HD36l7N2InJ7KB2VCl2NWSvXtUmmkBKEjmZQaGz6Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYvQgHj6W_etbOAR6pGdl5krr4QyUiKKPHj14JiWy9nXfC-P2ZKskJDe7m_dbA6XRfOYWdZJYK5AjKCkMwsKsNMuQ2df8cA1cFPqkfO3DS0iQxV5oZl3uT7eksKZ5jA8O1FKzdeoazzJQikp4wK0HD36l7N2InJ7KB2VCl2NWSvXtUmmkBKEjmZQaGz6Q=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who’d have thought there were fans of Wes Anderson at the RHS?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4wQOA_CzBbvKg_oWNIAG0NgdD4jhMcmdaQDoAFU0KnWm_UtSfPrmG9ggj_Uj5RUq1EtDEgxjLevws7x98_j2Jcq0uxfxhKWY1dKh9JL0MSAAPFQvGw6JTcnRPmOQ6xdUmae7ruQYSD7OId5xvAXahD7DhiglLYjQDZAlY0pLDl2z4P0M3JLSjdYhyqOI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4wQOA_CzBbvKg_oWNIAG0NgdD4jhMcmdaQDoAFU0KnWm_UtSfPrmG9ggj_Uj5RUq1EtDEgxjLevws7x98_j2Jcq0uxfxhKWY1dKh9JL0MSAAPFQvGw6JTcnRPmOQ6xdUmae7ruQYSD7OId5xvAXahD7DhiglLYjQDZAlY0pLDl2z4P0M3JLSjdYhyqOI=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We covered the ground and the paths. NB - that isn't us in the picture above. There were no Keep Off The Grass signs and occasionally we did stray off the path. There were also one or two desire lines and you might well ask whether a desire line can be construed as a path, and I’d say it probably can, though I wouldn’t fight about it, and in any case we avoided them: the desire lines not taken.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8-ZU_zddDCi5-qLEjEoxxkdjwrBrgTrMFZhUqNF08p2WhmzVe5_rAUwzwZkVw4pEKjGb8np4RxFqsNTTCwdrMKn9nCYDLnL8g6iW6LEdYZyoNWXcOZx78QSKEr49riRJoNEY01Li3Wv_eYBK5v90kjYHwzppPDNV1jX2gmu6Ikv1_LZoXxktfgKQyin8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8-ZU_zddDCi5-qLEjEoxxkdjwrBrgTrMFZhUqNF08p2WhmzVe5_rAUwzwZkVw4pEKjGb8np4RxFqsNTTCwdrMKn9nCYDLnL8g6iW6LEdYZyoNWXcOZx78QSKEr49riRJoNEY01Li3Wv_eYBK5v90kjYHwzppPDNV1jX2gmu6Ikv1_LZoXxktfgKQyin8" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">To be honest I think by the end, as our resolve faltered, we may have missed a few short stretches of path but for a first expedition it wasn’t too bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There were others walking too. As a cross section of British society it was hardly representative but as a snapshot of the kind of people who like to walk in gardens it was probably typical – mostly older, mostly couples, mostly though not exclusively white, a few parents and children, some of the kids looking bored, others looking dangerously excited. Nobody else seemed to be walking rigorously.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeirhVVBvWpcMhtIyPmVKLpr7dyjjEtnrih-CzU7jwr97weSelK-vUiTaN4vPwEiErqexyKcLo8LCV2GTD0OTePIXvNaoDZHRnAb-Pyr7_H8qQsKsi1raHcQYsBv6HdxVdRaECNfN_Ju0cfFlNQNv7Ca0-AGdPOSKbEK6Ffq0sXPfruXnw5itTjA8HdjE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeirhVVBvWpcMhtIyPmVKLpr7dyjjEtnrih-CzU7jwr97weSelK-vUiTaN4vPwEiErqexyKcLo8LCV2GTD0OTePIXvNaoDZHRnAb-Pyr7_H8qQsKsi1raHcQYsBv6HdxVdRaECNfN_Ju0cfFlNQNv7Ca0-AGdPOSKbEK6Ffq0sXPfruXnw5itTjA8HdjE=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">And somewhere in the course of the walk I started to wonder whether this could be considered a form of psychogeography. And you know, after deep reflection, I do believe it could. Debord says psychogeography is ‘th</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">e study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.’ And heck, a garden of any size is full of varying geographic elements and full of specific (and sometimes vague or downright ambiguous) effects, as you move from one part to another. At Hyde Hall the ‘feel’ of the Birch Grove was very different from that of the Dry Garden, the Floral Fantasia was very different from the Global Growth Vegetable Garden. S</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">o hell yes, walking in gardens may be considered a form of psychogeography. Whether this makes my walking in gardens project any more viable, remains to be seen.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-11825535824024674752023-10-16T07:10:00.001-07:002023-10-16T07:10:20.372-07:00PRO BONO PUBLICO<p> </p><p><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu1m1rVi5LmdJ2wAeWmvIHs70nWXnJYcb58xYV3EAUpxft9futNWx4Teph6hg5SYiNowEWLt6hH8rP1LkceSbjGe36z3ciOoCafN3FOIG3sZ8IYUShlF0dQ0NQFVqajwqorv5SDMmflQ6lOM8-yWeShsQmR5g1PD123894n0KkhCW7koYGW4Y8HDhVkkg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu1m1rVi5LmdJ2wAeWmvIHs70nWXnJYcb58xYV3EAUpxft9futNWx4Teph6hg5SYiNowEWLt6hH8rP1LkceSbjGe36z3ciOoCafN3FOIG3sZ8IYUShlF0dQ0NQFVqajwqorv5SDMmflQ6lOM8-yWeShsQmR5g1PD123894n0KkhCW7koYGW4Y8HDhVkkg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div></div><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve been talking to Stefan van Norden about being on his podcast titled </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">‘Nature Revisited.’ Stefan is also a gardener and a filmmaker, perhaps best known for the documentary </span><i style="font-family: Cambria; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Negotiating with Nature </span></i><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px; text-align: justify;">about the natural world, gardening, connection and disconnection. Walking inevitably comes into it. <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">This is the man himself:</span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwasJmIQ1_jx0AKRBRY24MMtFciaCVARS9bp5iHp17kSqYx3lc2N7GRewgOc0oyS-eZI7Bz2yB8gCE-A_a0M6LJeB-btKWXfr54UfUMfvIpfH5YYEYtotxqktYpvbWp8NPnTE1K3YZ780JP6F1XaDfhm-PJR-7oNlPPbDbFBO1EzJgS4UBRNyzzREmYjQ" style="font-family: Geneva; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="1129" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwasJmIQ1_jx0AKRBRY24MMtFciaCVARS9bp5iHp17kSqYx3lc2N7GRewgOc0oyS-eZI7Bz2yB8gCE-A_a0M6LJeB-btKWXfr54UfUMfvIpfH5YYEYtotxqktYpvbWp8NPnTE1K3YZ780JP6F1XaDfhm-PJR-7oNlPPbDbFBO1EzJgS4UBRNyzzREmYjQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">He wants to do a podcast to be called something like ‘</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;">Walking In The UK.’ He’s based in the States in New Hampshire, and his line is that British walking culture is very different from any other in the world. I’ve been pondering whether and how this is true, and naturally I dug out a few volumes from the Nicholson Pedestrian Library to see what others had had to say on the subject. The one that seemed most on the money was <i>The Magic of Walking </i>by Aaron Sussman and Ruth Goode, in which there’s a section titled ‘Walking, British Style.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Part of it runs, ‘Wherever we may set foot (in Britain), some eighteenth-century essayist or nineteenth-century poet walked there before us. When Thomas Gray whose ‘Elegy written in a country churchyard’ we all read in school, walked the Lake District in 1769, after a long day’s walking he found the inn’s best bedroom dark and damp, and went sturdily on for another 14 miles to Kendal and another inn that pleased him more, before he stopped for the night.’ <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not sure that this is especially British, and it does seem a bit like showing off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Stefan is particularly fascinated by our system of Public Footpaths. He’s thrilled by the idea that you see a sign that says Public Footpath and you know you can walk freely there, across or through other people’s land, and who knows where you’ll end up. That part I absolutely agree with. I have quite a collection of photographs I’ve taken of Public Footpath signs; this kind of thing:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1JEUBPE-Zlk2Qctmwvd8j1DuASmfhkRyn8Hfh8UBE4Pgl8FvxD_5Gw-lDXU9tWSfDjACYXNgh7zsTCVUBTADhc7g3WQDzCc8uF3mQ4qScrGU-PYShjiUreTp4GuQGntn_0PgGCp7a45Cb_oSrrae0HvGV7WJLOdfcmoUTFwM_6z1sZV9homjg714WOeQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1JEUBPE-Zlk2Qctmwvd8j1DuASmfhkRyn8Hfh8UBE4Pgl8FvxD_5Gw-lDXU9tWSfDjACYXNgh7zsTCVUBTADhc7g3WQDzCc8uF3mQ4qScrGU-PYShjiUreTp4GuQGntn_0PgGCp7a45Cb_oSrrae0HvGV7WJLOdfcmoUTFwM_6z1sZV9homjg714WOeQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO3Y1ff4KvA_VD8yQr3oRODiohW8GH2ll0ft-J5SfpUYG1E13CEi8Fgkhgz9iNgeVw9cyLxrC1hsMc6vOYXdLWYNSp_ww4XBWaxdyn1rHtfkglJwHiib0BejDxqDioEkVHYafn2Q1XdmaaSVyfJ3rVWjI37cRC8jNzEU0ALGW8vJAuFGleAF0TqmKoPUU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiO3Y1ff4KvA_VD8yQr3oRODiohW8GH2ll0ft-J5SfpUYG1E13CEi8Fgkhgz9iNgeVw9cyLxrC1hsMc6vOYXdLWYNSp_ww4XBWaxdyn1rHtfkglJwHiib0BejDxqDioEkVHYafn2Q1XdmaaSVyfJ3rVWjI37cRC8jNzEU0ALGW8vJAuFGleAF0TqmKoPUU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="text-align: justify;">And when I see one pointing to a footpath like this, I often feel compelled to go down it.</span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje3Z9kWCoUV9JrUZPfdZHpAECkw7K0hxgAh7ehsO4DtQIf2lV7Xzuw-kwPjxViBCKXmETcK9-zt9YYEt2yijAb8wGfxYWvWEFdsZIDISvRAg__UTM-9DqF_6jgB_ECU4XpMVVXpH3-IrVCVGivTkVEviO_ig_TwIZJRpKvTSv3WUWyS7LzrU7VDy6FP2M" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje3Z9kWCoUV9JrUZPfdZHpAECkw7K0hxgAh7ehsO4DtQIf2lV7Xzuw-kwPjxViBCKXmETcK9-zt9YYEt2yijAb8wGfxYWvWEFdsZIDISvRAg__UTM-9DqF_6jgB_ECU4XpMVVXpH3-IrVCVGivTkVEviO_ig_TwIZJRpKvTSv3WUWyS7LzrU7VDy6FP2M=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was able, to a limited extent, to explore this further last week when a mixed group of fellow trudgers came to Manningtree; 3 from London, one from lower Essex, one from Brazil, to do the somewhat familiar walk to Dedham, in Constable Country. Here we are looking like a little-known but still surviving prog-rock band.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOYlAVlM5djtStk6_IABw7CJKH8wXJWPOqU4_PJobAyzyuav3nltq2igbn3A_GXmpBUr01kR8njooMfNLGCyHbYxUl0Ll5jXrxyx6Mfr0qiAH4HvllEp9M_5vWV6VzmaxvuZgN5ZJ03W8bxHswdWZFk4hjFk7Ib4igUCbkMGTuFj32Dj53PtSjrATTJ78" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="493" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiOYlAVlM5djtStk6_IABw7CJKH8wXJWPOqU4_PJobAyzyuav3nltq2igbn3A_GXmpBUr01kR8njooMfNLGCyHbYxUl0Ll5jXrxyx6Mfr0qiAH4HvllEp9M_5vWV6VzmaxvuZgN5ZJ03W8bxHswdWZFk4hjFk7Ib4igUCbkMGTuFj32Dj53PtSjrATTJ78=w605-h640" width="605" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />There was one woman in the group, who took the above picture. She looked like this, while admiring a mound of sheep’s wool.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0t1bXGvEWhAd6d1Dd0x090Em_6KhQtaOUgo38mWbw719yF4iWQWdUYli5ovi-VGTmzmPck6EwKfsCrtqhwrfXRxQFHdD-A41KFZcniCVlqmRWf6ep1bsSc3VNujv9nmwttpnkP3mK-8nmLNO5vS5Oo7TZdHf2LCaQBdkpgLGeRJ3jgr3IQie3DHF6BiA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0t1bXGvEWhAd6d1Dd0x090Em_6KhQtaOUgo38mWbw719yF4iWQWdUYli5ovi-VGTmzmPck6EwKfsCrtqhwrfXRxQFHdD-A41KFZcniCVlqmRWf6ep1bsSc3VNujv9nmwttpnkP3mK-8nmLNO5vS5Oo7TZdHf2LCaQBdkpgLGeRJ3jgr3IQie3DHF6BiA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />We didn’t have any great sense of urgency or purpose in our walk, and even with detours and meanders we probably only covered about 7 miles: Thomas Gray would have laughed at us, but we passed a considerable number of Public Footpath signs in their various forms:</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfBWAcRgStrUCwG8WeKznrXbQPkAipFZYAsijK4Q8WSNEJTr3CDDNfvhEEKwlnDX6cBQ7wJqKqru1Qjk19VEAQk9NbRpVDfiI9mBHXMBp2d0W43twXiOW8O67I7SHkwY-8DKawn-BdwKnXXaPcDVHbekoALNw3IqCpx2xuEGIdsByOFrEo4ZvYz1fevio" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfBWAcRgStrUCwG8WeKznrXbQPkAipFZYAsijK4Q8WSNEJTr3CDDNfvhEEKwlnDX6cBQ7wJqKqru1Qjk19VEAQk9NbRpVDfiI9mBHXMBp2d0W43twXiOW8O67I7SHkwY-8DKawn-BdwKnXXaPcDVHbekoALNw3IqCpx2xuEGIdsByOFrEo4ZvYz1fevio=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1lnTaB7tv3gUp-WTzVCTnRwmX6HbShtMKuLe4RHQyJ-stBzvElLbZ3yVK899yApfYhitsET790Kj0eWUm00pWcmeOylgnU7C7R0E_Ajx3k2rh0rq_e54lsoMv9u2ejRQl0VtIkmIFybfUk_D62pQDnXKzvW5syIQJDG6faniUU7VvIuiduJYllxBfTGk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1lnTaB7tv3gUp-WTzVCTnRwmX6HbShtMKuLe4RHQyJ-stBzvElLbZ3yVK899yApfYhitsET790Kj0eWUm00pWcmeOylgnU7C7R0E_Ajx3k2rh0rq_e54lsoMv9u2ejRQl0VtIkmIFybfUk_D62pQDnXKzvW5syIQJDG6faniUU7VvIuiduJYllxBfTGk=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv92PjXqUazFZvJQ61cVhzlMq-lk5_hd9rZO3ZWQKRoyWfWE0_kBECg6ToZJrJztXqXltdxAGYypwyWsR-V4YC9mx-NikhE3ZS-SZMYjXOlmGu0TXEb8jPeKkm7BuXKvjfvcfiweCQlcxg1dLUZTVR2nNxNyn3UCC6-S-BxDU9lMV566YGqyO8NOECr5I" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv92PjXqUazFZvJQ61cVhzlMq-lk5_hd9rZO3ZWQKRoyWfWE0_kBECg6ToZJrJztXqXltdxAGYypwyWsR-V4YC9mx-NikhE3ZS-SZMYjXOlmGu0TXEb8jPeKkm7BuXKvjfvcfiweCQlcxg1dLUZTVR2nNxNyn3UCC6-S-BxDU9lMV566YGqyO8NOECr5I=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And at my instigation we did discuss British notions of walking versus hiking versus trekking, and how these might be different elsewhere in the world. We found the ‘rambling’ especially interesting. The British Ramblers Association has been around since been around since 1935. Looks like it was a great way to meet babes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7Hfi40CVKpwsZsBn8VmTBFaXbQ_iwG3zpJxsgdCHwCDUQS0zX3EeOmH4Ae_ekZUgcrqANW_rGp5YwMdu5J9zcH2SiPrBsR17meSSgRYMUXCjT_lSQz8FJXFzl1vTBU7x3IZBlTf_F6uUZ1svje0gAjY16aLAA_QUUhSwb0yzJpp9D-AcZiMuGQ8ILhbU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="600" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7Hfi40CVKpwsZsBn8VmTBFaXbQ_iwG3zpJxsgdCHwCDUQS0zX3EeOmH4Ae_ekZUgcrqANW_rGp5YwMdu5J9zcH2SiPrBsR17meSSgRYMUXCjT_lSQz8FJXFzl1vTBU7x3IZBlTf_F6uUZ1svje0gAjY16aLAA_QUUhSwb0yzJpp9D-AcZiMuGQ8ILhbU=w640-h406" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we certainly discussed how different English rambling is from American rambling. I’m still singing the Allman Brothers’ ‘Ramblin’ Man,’ not least because of its lines<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;">My father was a gambler down in Georgia<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">As Stefan and I had discussed, if you stray from a footpath in Britain you might possibly get yelled at by an angry farmer, but in general you’re unlikely to get shot. In America it can be a little different.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I suspect the Allman Brothers weren't great walkers.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT7GKic5Lx1lsCFYZESOvGv-XDnRcT1Y1OACQgL3PngWhrsJzdq-r5qGFQz8N_Lay85x_qbkYR5A2RHqU-w36mT6mPiK_rqxLSLe8Ni_gSGR5EGxRYN4CZ2OxtrYJDTxmhpzeFQEkDiq_1SrBm60mp5kJeRagV5riGFcC2sGp9aP6Oa5C89QNT8q0FMBI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1581" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhT7GKic5Lx1lsCFYZESOvGv-XDnRcT1Y1OACQgL3PngWhrsJzdq-r5qGFQz8N_Lay85x_qbkYR5A2RHqU-w36mT6mPiK_rqxLSLe8Ni_gSGR5EGxRYN4CZ2OxtrYJDTxmhpzeFQEkDiq_1SrBm60mp5kJeRagV5riGFcC2sGp9aP6Oa5C89QNT8q0FMBI=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3903755664996904731.post-18095964749110492392023-10-09T05:54:00.002-07:002023-10-10T01:55:53.275-07:00OF WALKING AND SITTING<p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgigV_4oziXa1A-5NN64wvFndRdb5pRw2s-DMsMxYqna16F4uTGcbdqzgUzgEcPxdJl-FxvZzCrUwnc-ry00QRrsxM_p9DOL_lmUhrqEKjWDoa0UXdd7DdvVo0Ljw2N7Uc86-Qx3v5lujbEJe9BKfFLkXkrpB3ZENG-y1xEqUE0aW2g2yIos_1Ni4LApGY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgigV_4oziXa1A-5NN64wvFndRdb5pRw2s-DMsMxYqna16F4uTGcbdqzgUzgEcPxdJl-FxvZzCrUwnc-ry00QRrsxM_p9DOL_lmUhrqEKjWDoa0UXdd7DdvVo0Ljw2N7Uc86-Qx3v5lujbEJe9BKfFLkXkrpB3ZENG-y1xEqUE0aW2g2yIos_1Ni4LApGY=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Caroline Gannon</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Look, you know me; I like walking.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">But however much you like walking, however intrepid you are, however much stamina you’ve got, a moment always comes when you need to sit down.</span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: Geneva; text-align: justify;">Of course if you’re truly intrepid you’ll happily sit on a rock or an ants’ nest but some of us are glad to find a bench on our travels.</span></div></span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBZ10CenSAR7DpyNXCQyoU9zx7QNkxRp19hitfrIGkrgrkIZWQ3j0APYFysFozJp94uV7-RkxfCL8uFbI_kszfMw3b4t9VsLwa2i0hJorGCDlT8OGhIm5Icn8yQIeR_H1A_eyCvK16AlFJXMccOBUbqWKGU2Sip24nPVWGmSk36v6f-zKcFsqkgKQS2gs" style="font-family: Geneva; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2116" data-original-width="3057" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBZ10CenSAR7DpyNXCQyoU9zx7QNkxRp19hitfrIGkrgrkIZWQ3j0APYFysFozJp94uV7-RkxfCL8uFbI_kszfMw3b4t9VsLwa2i0hJorGCDlT8OGhIm5Icn8yQIeR_H1A_eyCvK16AlFJXMccOBUbqWKGU2Sip24nPVWGmSk36v6f-zKcFsqkgKQS2gs" width="640" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">All benches are good and some are downright exotic but the memorial bench is a particular favourite of mine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">As far as I’m aware, nobody I’ve known personally, has ever been memorialized on a bench but I think it’s a great way of remembering someone. And so I walk through the world sometimes sitting on benches, sometimes just looking at them and particularly noting the plaques and inscriptions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, in most cases, these memorialize people I never knew and have never even heard of. I got rather enthused by his one, in the Painswick Rococo Garden in Gloucestershire which memorializes John Berryman, but it’s not John Berryman the poet, it’s some quite other John Berryman.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2HAYez2uoI8FK3SqI4ivDcNWS0xwKocS4v1ArQdMRrUgswdd74a8XdEIyUwMfFw7_5Ib_tuFKCbqLZarel3P01jKFLetF6oaTKi6MA8xJMJ4sSP0K6v-8vDSd12P94j11QggBa9NqiVLnO-6YPyyo070ecsdBIco1srx1ko9mkbdYH-gw9lm9exGQey4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2HAYez2uoI8FK3SqI4ivDcNWS0xwKocS4v1ArQdMRrUgswdd74a8XdEIyUwMfFw7_5Ib_tuFKCbqLZarel3P01jKFLetF6oaTKi6MA8xJMJ4sSP0K6v-8vDSd12P94j11QggBa9NqiVLnO-6YPyyo070ecsdBIco1srx1ko9mkbdYH-gw9lm9exGQey4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguf2wkTunyAoW6F74KSdaWDWZqn_F9DJuRvyhLmyOqqixifH292wzA8No7FncpRwap-S6UTJY32LMQsoCkvWW7rRISg9iLa5y-fiVpvgtq6wwr0j5EtVzkpO0KDhtucDjI86upzrxxefZdTUiJKpT2wieGuVycBIKYF0iDew9ylP8aFaAdEz8HQdqzFh0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguf2wkTunyAoW6F74KSdaWDWZqn_F9DJuRvyhLmyOqqixifH292wzA8No7FncpRwap-S6UTJY32LMQsoCkvWW7rRISg9iLa5y-fiVpvgtq6wwr0j5EtVzkpO0KDhtucDjI86upzrxxefZdTUiJKpT2wieGuVycBIKYF0iDew9ylP8aFaAdEz8HQdqzFh0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjoykv3KrR88okj3nF1P3p_R6R_mMK9y5Jsk5IHJDldCsy0XUU-vlmwAzBfYm0HtWU3iarFRr28_83EumTjo6L5aGjyDuU-c4SjuiPTWdFFTSH32MJtpURFlqC1PjsZUjg6-TUiwriYA08Hlq7knlg0uohSvPgGvBzIyGKfwDy16Op0l-2yqDRHVy7vfI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjoykv3KrR88okj3nF1P3p_R6R_mMK9y5Jsk5IHJDldCsy0XUU-vlmwAzBfYm0HtWU3iarFRr28_83EumTjo6L5aGjyDuU-c4SjuiPTWdFFTSH32MJtpURFlqC1PjsZUjg6-TUiwriYA08Hlq7knlg0uohSvPgGvBzIyGKfwDy16Op0l-2yqDRHVy7vfI=w467-h640" width="467" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">This next one in Holland Park commemorates Arnold Toynbee who I’d sort of heard of, and Daisaku Ikeda – who I absolutely hadn’t, but he sounds like a good guy – look him up. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimVXhjZLWcu012m8vaBpzqx0FfGPwihy0rsjAh-zx6wNO8vkUfOdT77KtxwNYdyXhwquFK_Q8KOR9Xai7483foSUiYxPIJjjDD7QIuUW-jIqpPY-W-WpEAsqJT9V81u7w-KUgeh9G4Y9Xt0K11hHm4SLN4uV9m9jRsIERZAgSo78uY5mcYbw9avJ-23wc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimVXhjZLWcu012m8vaBpzqx0FfGPwihy0rsjAh-zx6wNO8vkUfOdT77KtxwNYdyXhwquFK_Q8KOR9Xai7483foSUiYxPIJjjDD7QIuUW-jIqpPY-W-WpEAsqJT9V81u7w-KUgeh9G4Y9Xt0K11hHm4SLN4uV9m9jRsIERZAgSo78uY5mcYbw9avJ-23wc" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;">This is the two of them having a dialogue:</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVQW7SueDa2U4IG8PdDmlGb9u9oPSl7a_ajVAJAYrKgZpe2IwAuy-j4Tgzz-5GHlIsFqwpV23oarVb9tMoyObye4iTP84PjUX53UomYHNnVprRcSru3GilKdbIxyl50GnNCakbhiU2WLh9phAPgoUWysEkjFxNAOcQBpRjWvd8F2bAyJVEt1YNcU_v18g" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1213" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVQW7SueDa2U4IG8PdDmlGb9u9oPSl7a_ajVAJAYrKgZpe2IwAuy-j4Tgzz-5GHlIsFqwpV23oarVb9tMoyObye4iTP84PjUX53UomYHNnVprRcSru3GilKdbIxyl50GnNCakbhiU2WLh9phAPgoUWysEkjFxNAOcQBpRjWvd8F2bAyJVEt1YNcU_v18g=w640-h468" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;">But fame isn’t necessary. Below is a wonderful bench in a churchyard in Chelsea which I like a lot. Aren’t all spouses debating partners in the end? Until they stop talking. Though of course you want to know the back story.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggmJVPawhIlZXpURJtvTd4t6_MjnMs7TJ23TQF1q4OkQdh2TXwVHvEygz4KoTBmCKcMso34sGnf4RTd2qNL41HUkU6ypW_jgW3z13olUYnKB-36UAl0fLb-OW_TYZ2BuvtsHsOhji7n63WM006NeMIbgW_ATuR4UWxam2jnF6VhOJjxq7EnYBKZ7cUqBY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggmJVPawhIlZXpURJtvTd4t6_MjnMs7TJ23TQF1q4OkQdh2TXwVHvEygz4KoTBmCKcMso34sGnf4RTd2qNL41HUkU6ypW_jgW3z13olUYnKB-36UAl0fLb-OW_TYZ2BuvtsHsOhji7n63WM006NeMIbgW_ATuR4UWxam2jnF6VhOJjxq7EnYBKZ7cUqBY=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikMmYigmDUTyu-fd0Pcm90NjPwTg4XcXsTtmvebNJBnqmUTrXodPNk4iNA3IyH_eRHb5au_6qQ51wUWzR_9ZI10MKTiDhquu6cZmquvVo1_hs1EwZoK1dw3tOIGhbV02mNsSb9Q9XAxt4lYBSjMkBhxR_0Li5dPA5PpDk9XPogWf-r4eEtMj3QvYwRVJU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikMmYigmDUTyu-fd0Pcm90NjPwTg4XcXsTtmvebNJBnqmUTrXodPNk4iNA3IyH_eRHb5au_6qQ51wUWzR_9ZI10MKTiDhquu6cZmquvVo1_hs1EwZoK1dw3tOIGhbV02mNsSb9Q9XAxt4lYBSjMkBhxR_0Li5dPA5PpDk9XPogWf-r4eEtMj3QvYwRVJU=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></span></span></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">Similarly with this one. What exactly do you have to do to become known as The Duck Lady. Is it just a matter of feeding them or is it more that that?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoNecWHoxhBEgwT02BEbt_4wSd9qdBEwaij-2mgH_yGzqpVLtgsD-fA5X5NRyYui75T_XTVXZH10nPdnjpfXZK-v1Ha2eotHMuB5dD3djAK87n4g9LphRQYpV1Fsi5XnuwVZ-7XFcUrftosTgSbfnpYrhJfoMpfsqdXlbKNdnJEU2-zAsCnZkvMcNlFFc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoNecWHoxhBEgwT02BEbt_4wSd9qdBEwaij-2mgH_yGzqpVLtgsD-fA5X5NRyYui75T_XTVXZH10nPdnjpfXZK-v1Ha2eotHMuB5dD3djAK87n4g9LphRQYpV1Fsi5XnuwVZ-7XFcUrftosTgSbfnpYrhJfoMpfsqdXlbKNdnJEU2-zAsCnZkvMcNlFFc=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">Sometimes the back story seems a more complicated and inscrutable and possibly tragic one, as with this one in Wivenhoe (I think). 'Lost in India' raises a lot of questions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgdRrLcVnA3uspuhsFJkGyb4UFurAgIUUlOar3VkKAQyESK0gTUWuY0s_daIOunorAbD9wevIDpbe7F9q8HkaFqv6Ux10fFa56pti3ocfgkd6q4L6hZ_4YCRZQ_Gn8OnwdApgIPDzoOVCHnBWqluMnKu8EEuV5tosMfFCKQhYSO6pdPMSSgTmhp4X8LM4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgdRrLcVnA3uspuhsFJkGyb4UFurAgIUUlOar3VkKAQyESK0gTUWuY0s_daIOunorAbD9wevIDpbe7F9q8HkaFqv6Ux10fFa56pti3ocfgkd6q4L6hZ_4YCRZQ_Gn8OnwdApgIPDzoOVCHnBWqluMnKu8EEuV5tosMfFCKQhYSO6pdPMSSgTmhp4X8LM4=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEips-CfZasZVKclAEeOXoy_VRX6e1Kc4NpUG2ONPxDOYGzIgu56XRZf1BprTIUZFEGSYJgVIA7_3DTVsgtykOdOKy-KtHbHFFDPWd__1wqPa6eR0Sd6NqxzRAVNSThw7oVz5Sw83cKjRBvLhZVtwRxbCKG49iiwkwCQyTcFAjrmuvi5-8NPV4T0-TGSvGE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEips-CfZasZVKclAEeOXoy_VRX6e1Kc4NpUG2ONPxDOYGzIgu56XRZf1BprTIUZFEGSYJgVIA7_3DTVsgtykOdOKy-KtHbHFFDPWd__1wqPa6eR0Sd6NqxzRAVNSThw7oVz5Sw83cKjRBvLhZVtwRxbCKG49iiwkwCQyTcFAjrmuvi5-8NPV4T0-TGSvGE=w640-h480" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;">And I'm intrigued by this one in Richmond. And no, I haven’t been able to find out who John 'Jack’ July is. He could have been a dancer, but perhaps the dancing was only figurative. And was he really still dancing in his 90s?</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVwZlbGz-12iMOky0IfSePdtKoUYgRxaoqZ6QPf2LQlc4PN-u9pnnjAoYq2A5fVGy0dApGhMl9Scy5THjVrtdjg0lCRMTCjsli68gOncP1l9MtFBk8ZFFXQmPsv-BDz8qcP13DwiKuDNFgn6izyWFLzq-tJLeo08xcC8C6m9s4iSWkOeGhSmuGrkZXIO8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVwZlbGz-12iMOky0IfSePdtKoUYgRxaoqZ6QPf2LQlc4PN-u9pnnjAoYq2A5fVGy0dApGhMl9Scy5THjVrtdjg0lCRMTCjsli68gOncP1l9MtFBk8ZFFXQmPsv-BDz8qcP13DwiKuDNFgn6izyWFLzq-tJLeo08xcC8C6m9s4iSWkOeGhSmuGrkZXIO8" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Geneva;">Of course picking the right spot for your bench is all-important: you can’t put it just anywhere. They say that if everybody who wanted to put a bench on Hampstead Heath was allowed to, the place would look like a giant arena.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Which brings me to Nicky Hopkins’ memorial bench in the wide open spaces of Perivale. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hopkins played keyboards with huge numbers of bands and artists, including the Stones, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Joe Walsh and L. Ron Hubbard (yes really). He died aged 50 in Nashville Tennessee. I wonder if there’s a memorial bench for him there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifANmtu_TczNlpHfrhBzytLARmVxL-i9xyv11vkwzbADrZuf3wRQk-HNhI5dTc_0UToic-1leVI8xHmUz2PvUnzKN0qRT4jjG_LEaTmyc-L-5yqd5AfDMklhO-Avb1cj4fz7Yy-y0D905SKbVhTWQ1q0_BdObgiOk9Zn4yEUvAkwwHlbTSbqMetuot7d8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifANmtu_TczNlpHfrhBzytLARmVxL-i9xyv11vkwzbADrZuf3wRQk-HNhI5dTc_0UToic-1leVI8xHmUz2PvUnzKN0qRT4jjG_LEaTmyc-L-5yqd5AfDMklhO-Avb1cj4fz7Yy-y0D905SKbVhTWQ1q0_BdObgiOk9Zn4yEUvAkwwHlbTSbqMetuot7d8" width="640" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; line-height: 32px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Geneva; line-height: 29.333335876464844px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0