I've been out. I'm not really sure if I shouldn't have been out or if I definitely should, but it doesn't matter because I've done it. I still can't walk properly because my busted spine is giving me serious jip, but I felt like I was seizing up even more from sitting in the house for five days in a row. I decided to give it a try, at least just to the end of the road.
I did get to the end of the road without too much difficulty. It took me ten minutes, while it normally takes no more than two when I'm fit. None of us want to read a post about a moany old baggins who gives us every dull detail about her painful bits, but it features on this walk and is likely to for another week or so – sorry in advance!
So I got to the end of the street.
I heard Aunty Trish in my head, telling me that was plenty and I should just cross that road again and go right back home to a hot water bottle and a comfy chair (there are no comfy chairs in my house – perhaps that's my whole problem!). But I really just wanted to see a little bit of green. I wouldn't go far, but just a few trees ... and maybe a bit of water.
So I shuffled across the cycle track and found the path to the river. I stood here for a minute, catching my breath and smiling greenly at the green (I don't know – it just felt like a green smile, alright?! I was overawed by the greenness of the green things!)
At the end of this path, there's a very small scramble down to the river – I decided not to bother with that because putting my left foot down sends jolts of pain up my spine and down my leg when walking on the flat, so picking my way down a slippy path with loose rocks on it would have been really silly. Instead, I noticed another path through the trees off to my left and this looked like it would come out right on the river bank without any need to risk my neck.
It did. It came out right here, on this muddy path. I'd forgotten that it's been raining for days. Right, well, trecking through a swamp to the ugly blue train bridge wasn't really going to work either, so I turned round (slowly) and decided to do a little bit of our usual river walk. I wouldn't do all of it because that would be about two miles; I'd just do a little bit.
After a bit of slithering and a slightly scary slip next to a tiny pool hidden in the grass, I got to the river properly and, Mother of Jeebus, it was high! I'm sure it looks like this many times a year, but of course, as we've not been walking daily for very long, we've never seen it like this. As you know, there's usually a good expanse of mud visible before you get to the water. Gone! You can see why we had to have the flood defenses built.
Anyway, I picked my way very gingerly along this muddy path, super conscious that if I slipped and fell I was very likely to do myself some ghastly damage. Hmmm. I tried to admire the river and my beloved Scandinavian houses, but, honestly, I couldn't really take my eyes off the path.
When I looked ahead and saw that it was even muddier further on, I decided to give up. I'd done more than I intended to do and I was heading back in no more pain than when I set off, so I call that a victory. But how to get off the river bank, hmm ... this is where Matthew and I sometimes climb up to get back to the cycle track, but this was definitely not going to be the route for me today. Given that I can't bend at all, this just wouldn't work. I'd have to go back the way I came.
So I did. But then I didn't really fancy the muddy path with the hidden pool again, so I scrambled very slightly up the path the we usually come down. It wasn't a proper scramble – it was more like just climbing some stairs.
I was slowing down now and starting to lean over to one side in a very peculiar and slightly alarming way, so it took me fifteen minutes to get home from here (usually takes about four), but I didn't fall at any point and I saw some greenery. Very good. I don't know if I'll go out tomorrow – depends if today's small adventure has made things worse! We'll see.
Until possibly tomorrow, but maybe the day after.
WQ
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