Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
We watched Leinster Rugby host Ospreys for a very rare home loss. We can’t go to home games due to the pandemic and so we watched on TV. There was a degree of horror for home supporters as Ospreys scored 21 points in the last twelve minutes to win by 24 point to 19. Leinster had the game in the bag from half time but did nothing to consolidate their 19-3 advantage.
I really don’t know why I like this photo of schoolboys I took this day seven years ago.
It’s a shame that not everyone has the opportunity to visit New Zealand. Sometimes, our planets align and there are multiple reasons to do something. Let’s face it, visiting the other side of this planet requires unusual alignments.
The day started with a walk. The church spire reflected in a puddle seemed painterly. No longer a church, it is somewhat diminished if described as the maritime museum spire reflected in a puddle. A building in which we have attended civil wedding ceremonies that are enriched by the maritime icons that symbolise journeys of hope in this life rather than what many see as the cruel and debasing imagery of the supplanted Christian ethos.
[Read more…] about Sea and LightI started this series of daily journals on March 1st when my preoccupation was the preparation for a walk from Manchester to Rome. I’d already realised that the coming pandemic might postpone it. Nonetheless, since I planned to journal the walk, practice was required.
Twelve days later, I wrote that I’d been discharged from prostate cancer care but the bigger news was the confirmation, on the same day, of a tumour in our eldest daughter, that confirmation coming three days before I started the journal. There’s always an element of denial with the arrival of cancer but by the 27th journal, a strange day, her treatment had started. The treatment continues and will continue for many months to come.
The numbers 7, 34, 46 and 93 probably don’t mean much to you. They represent four of my favourite motorcycle racing champions who carried those numbers for most of their wins. Texan Kevin Schwantz only won the world championship once and though he carried 34 the rest of the time and it’s been retired in his honour, he chose to use #1 for the 1994 season. Who?
