Mrs O and I had a walk in the country yesterday. We had a family lunch to attend in the afternoon, so we thought we'd get some rudimentary exercise in before breaking our fast on two courses of high-octane scran and lashings of wine.
The weather was just delightful as we made our way through Epping Forest to my sister's house. The sun was high, wide and handsome all day. It was pleasantly warm as a result, but with just a hint of menace in the shade - just enough to remind you that winter is racing over the horizon. It's a pleasure to be alive at this time of year when the sun is out. The light is so sharp and the colours so very vivid. I suppose it's the contrast between the squint-inducing, over lit hysteria of high-summer and the chewing-gun grey that we have in south east England for most of the winter that grabs one's sensory attention.
My eyes couldn't believe their luck. The autumn colours in the forest were stunning, which is just as well because the going was tough. We did two full hours at a reasonable lick, in the end. A few years ago, we would have thought such a short and undemanding walk beneath our rambling dignity. We used to walk most weekends then. And clearly both of us still thought we'd gallop up to my sister's in about fifty minutes. Back to the drawing board then.
These Gore-Tex boots are made for walking...
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