Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in Northamptonshire and East London.

Week 385, Saturday 30^th October until Friday 5^th November 2021.

I love walking.  Apart sleeping and eating, walking is something I have done for many years.  It’s a skill I don’t mind blowing my own trumpet about and say I am quite good at.  If there were qualification for walking I think I could have a wall full of colourful certificates.

Seriously I really enjoy a nice walk.  Last week in Southwold I would disappear on my own for over 4 of 5 hours.  Mostly I knew where I was, thought there were times I had absolutely no clue and needed to stop look at my phone turning on the spot working out exactly where I was on the screen.  Of course I knew that I couldn’t really get lost, it was all an adventure being out and about on my own.  I have visited the area a lot over the last 10 years and thought I knew it well, during these walks I discovered a number of hidden secrets.  There can’t be many people who get excited at finding a working sewage works in the middle of nowhere, if anyone had been hiding in the bushes they would have thought I had uncovered an ancient city or lost temple from my reaction.  I stood wide eyed looking through the fence watching machinery just doing its job.

On the first walk I came across a lone bench surrounded by fields.  This became a base camp, each day I would sit for maybe an hour just watching fields of tall grass and reeds move in the breeze or birds flying around and landing on small patches of water.  The occasional dog Walker or cyclist would pass and not notice me, which was nice.

In late 2019 I had planned a walk through France which was to begin in April 2020 along one of the “Pilgrimage” routes.  The idea was to make my way to Spain eventually arriving in Ibiza in July to meet members of the family who would be there for a week’s holiday.  Sadly a global Pandemic put the brakes on that idea.  As I write this I can see the map and the books I bought to plan that route.

A friend who goes on walking holidays most years in the Lake District gave me information on shops to visit to buy proper shoes/boots and socks.  I really could have used those last week; because I had not planned the walks I just wore flat shoes that were already falling apart.  By the end of the trip they really were just held together by a few threads.

Last weekend I stayed with my mum and sister.  On recent visits I had gone on a number of walks down country lanes that don’t have any pavements meaning I would have to stop regularly to step up/on to the grassy verge allowing traffic to speed past.  Last weekend I enjoyed another long walk, stopping for food and a couple of pints in a pub/restaurant beside the Grand Union Canal.  There really was nothing to hurry about; when I arrived back to mums it was starting to get dark because the clocks had gone back in the early hours of that morning.  Walking country lanes in the dark with just the glow of my phone’s torch really wouldn’t have been clever.  I really should plan these walks a little more carefully.

Walking I know is one of the best forms of exercise a person can get.  One of the issues in the area I live in is its very flat and busy with people and cars.  Even in the parks and green spaces locally I can never really be alone.  I think it’s time I went to the shops that my friend recommended and buy decent walking footwear and socks and plan some walking trips as the UK has so many beautiful locations that I could visit and be on my own.  If all goes to plan In 2022 I will be travelling abroad, this will allow me to just go out and walk on my own, have adventures and enjoying the environment.  Being on my own is something you may have picked up is important, these last couple of years I have realised that I don’t really want or need to be around other people (this really has nothing to do with Covid.  I become less and less sociable years before we were all told to stay at home).

(I am fully prepared to be very wrong about this next statement) Walking is cheap and easy, there is no real need for a lot of equipment compared to other popular activities.  Earlier this year I fractured a foot which hurts now and then (Mum says it’s my age.  I hope the aches are because the weathers turned colder).  I am definitely finding walking enjoyable, it’s good for my sole and mental health and maybe my foot.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have watched:

“Alias”, (S1, ep 4 & ep 5).  “Blake’s 7”, (SC, ep 2 & ep 3).  “Click”, (TX: 30/10/21).  “Deep Rising”, (1998).  “Dug Days”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 5).  “Dune (Pt 1)”, (2021).  “Fort Salaam”, (S2, ep 5).  “Grimm”, (Pilot & ep 1).  “Have I Got News For You”, (S62, ep 5, TX: 05/11/21).  “How Its Made”, (S24, ep 2, TX: 02/10/14)(ep 4, TX: 16/10/14).  “NOVA: Looking For Life On Mars”, (S48, ep 5, TX: 24/02/21).  “Pema Chodron: What To Do When You Lose It Completely”, (YouTube)(TX: 10/02/16).  “Psychoville (Series 1) – Steve Pemberton And Reece Shearsmith – Rope”, (YouTube)(TX: 22/05/19).  “Ready Or Not”, (2019).  “Spitting Image”, (S2, ep 8, “Halloween Special”, TX: 30/10/21)(ep 7, TX: 23/10/21)(ep 6, 16/10/21).  “Stath Let’s Flats”, (S2, ep 4 & ep 5).  “Star Trek (Original Series)”, (S3, ep 20).  “Stargate Atlantis”, (S3, ep 8 & ep 9).  “Taskmaster”, (S12 (S3 on C4), ep 4, TX: 14/10/21)(ep 5, TX: 21/10/21)(ep 6, TX: 28/10/21)(ep 7, TX: 04/11/21).  “The Bureau Of Magical Things”, (S1, ep 16).  “The Enfield Haunting”, (SKY TV: 2015)(S1, ep 1 to ep 3).  “The Golden Girls”, (S5, ep 24 to ep 26)(S6, ep 1 to ep 5).  “The Last Leg”, (S23, ep 6, “The Last Leg Of The Planet”, TX: 05/11/21).  “The Orville”, (S2  ep 2).  “The Ranganation”, (S4, ep 5, TX: 31/10/21).  “Universe”, (S1, ep 2, TX: 27/10/21).  “Van Helsing”, (S5, ep 10).  “Wendy Carlos Demonstrates Her Moog Synthesizer In 1970”, (YouTube)(TX: 09/02/21).  “Wendy Carlos Interview 1989 BBC Two”, (YouTube)(TX: 04/09/19).  “What We Do In The Shadows”, (S4, ep 1 to ep 4).  

“Doctor Who watched this week”……

“Flux: The Halloween Apocalypse”, (S13 (S39 since 1963), ep 1, TX: 31/10/21).

“Rob & Romesh Vs, Watched This Week……

(S1), “Usain Bolt”, (ep 1, TX: 25/01/19),  “The NFL”, (ep 2, TX: 01/02/19),  “Fashion”, (ep 3, TX: 08/02/19),  “Superstar DJs”, (ep 4, TX: 15/02/19),  “Country Music”, (ep 5, TX: 22/02/19),  “Anthony Joshua….. Revisited”, (ep 6, TX: 01/03/19).  

(S2), “Ballet”, (ep 1, TX: 05/05/20),  “NBA Basketball”, (ep 2, TX: 12/05/20),  “Cricket: South Africa”, (ep 3, TX: 19/05/20),  “Cricket: The Test”, (TX: 26/05/20).

(S3), “Art”, (ep 1, TX: 04/02/21).

This week I have listening to:

“30 Animals That Made Us Smarter”, (BBC World Service)(S2, ep 19, 01/11/21).  ”Anti Social Show”, (ep 97, 30/10/21). “Brian & Roger”, (S5, ep 6, 03/11/21).  “Clinton Baptiste Paranormal Podcast”, (S4, ep 5, 02/11/21).  “Coronavirus Global Update”, (BBC World Service) (30/10/21) (31/10/21) (01/11/21) (02/11/21) (03/11/21) (04/11/21) (05/11/21).  “Doctor Who”, (The Incomparable/TeeVee)(S12, ep 9, 23/02/20)(ep 10, 02/03/20).  “Don’t You Want Me?”, (ep 7, 04/11/21).  “Griefcast”, (S8, ep 5,(ep 153), 03/11/21).  “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha”, (ep 43, 05/11/21).  “Maximum Power: A Blake’s 7 Podcast”, (SA, ep 7, 31/10/21).  “Mystery Hour”, (04/11/21).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 220, 05/11/21).  “Nick Abbot Whole Show”, (30/10/21) (31/10/21).  “Radio Astronomy (The Sky At Night Magazine)”, (20/05/21) (31/10/21).  “Rob Beckett And Josh Widdecombe Parenting Hell”, (S3, ep 32, 29/10/21) (ep 33, 02/11/21)(ep 34, 05/11/21).  “Smersh Pod  – Moonraker”, (Pt 1, 29/06/20)(Pt 2, 30/06/21).  “Smersh Pod – Spectre”, (Pt 1, 13/07/20)(Pt 2, 14/07/20).  “Space And Things”, (STP62, 04/11/21).  “Space Boffins Podcast”, (01/11/21).  “Space Soldiers Podcast – Flash Gordon’s Conquers The Universe”, (Chapter Six, “Flaming Death”, 30/310/21).  “Star Trek Universe Podcast”, (01/11/21).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 167, 02/11/21).  “The Audio Guide To Babylon 5”, (ep 52, 01/05/16).  “The Friendship Onion”, (S1, ep 25, 02/11/21).  “The Froth With Rhod Gilbert And Sian Harries”, (S4, ep 6 (ep 42) 02/11/21).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (01/11/21).  “The Skewer”, (BBC Radio4/Sounds)(S5, ep 1, 04/11/21).  “The Super-Massive Podcast”, (ep 22, 29/10/21).  “Toby Hadoke’s Happy Times And Places”, (25.2, “Genesis Of The Daleks, Pt 2″, 29/10/21)(25.3, “Pt 3, 01/11/21)(25.4, ”Pt 4, 05/11/21).  “WTB”, (S3, ep 11(ep 54) 29/10/21)(ep 55, 05/11/21).  “What’s Your Problem With Nick Abbot And Carol Mcgiffin”, (01/11/21).  “Wolf And Owl”, (ep 48, 03/11/21).  

Songs I enjoyed this week, were by:

“Morrissey”,  “Ash”,  “Bare Naked Ladies”,  “Basement Jaxx”,  “Cast”,  “Crash Test Dummies”,  “Cypress Hill”, “Delays”,  “Edie Brickell And The New Bohemians”,  “Edwyn Collins”,  “Frankie Goes To Hollywood”,  “James”,  “Moby”,  “Norma Tanega”,  “Stereophonics”,  “Suede”,  “The Blow Monkeys”,  “The Teardrop Explodes”,  “Yazz And The Plastic Population”.