My mate Richard and I went walking in ‘Constable Country’ – Manningtree, Flatford, Dedham, that kind of thing – about 7 miles round trip with stops for coffee and a beer.
I didn’t imagine the landscape would look exactly like a Constable painting
and that was just as well
On the walk we discussed
the political situation in Brazil
the Atacama desert
Richard’s experience with a dodgy scout master
smoothies for breakfast
Keith Waterhouse and Billy Liar
Sheffield Wednesday
the consolations of fandom
our shared indifference to the coronation and the local elections
who would be our head of state if chosen by the electorate – my guess was Judy Dench
muscular Christianity
notions of agency in children’s fiction
JK Rowling
‘magic’ in the bible
LS Lowry
the only time I’ve ever been thrown out of a pub when I was 18 for snogging –
Constable said, 'Landscape is my mistress - 'tis to her I look for fame.' It seems an odd thing to me, to look to your mistress for fame.
