The Dark Park

You remember how we used to be very nervous about going into the park in the dark? Well, not so these days. Mind, I'm not totally daft – we don't go after about eight o'clock. But up until then, it's quite busy with people running or walking for their bit of exercise, and there are some dogs as well. Not so many that we can't keep our mandated distance, but busy enough that it's not at all unsettling to be there after dark. Also, to be fair, the park's a lot better lit than it was when we were all quite a bit younger. Once, when I was about twenty-one, I staggered across the park at about two in the morning with my boys' dad, both of us slobbering drunk. My bracelet fell off in the grass somewhere, and it was very precious because we'd bought it in Egypt on our first holiday together. So we stumbled around in the pitch dark looking for the bracelet for about an hour. What a bloody stupid thing to do! We did find it though.

It's still not as well lit now as this photo suggests, of course – bloody weird iPhone camera.

This one below is more accurate. I'll apologise now for the state of the photos on today's post. I don't really know what happened because they looked fine as I took them, but there must have been something wrong with my eyesight this evening because, when I got home, they were all blurred and had that kind of cool streaky thing you get when you think you've taken the photo and lower the camera, but it hadn't quite finished taking. You'll see in a minute. I can't even blame Freya because she sits very nicely when I stop for a photo.

Anyway, wrapped up all snuggly in my winter coat, my hat down over my ears, with my gloves and scarf, and also my wellies because they have the added bonus of keeping my calves warm, I right enjoyed tramping around the perimeter of Ryelands Park. It's just great to be outside, isn't it? I wish I had the time, energy and stamina to stay out for hours and hours every day because I just love looking at everything. The trees, the grass, the sky, whatever it looks like on any given day, other people, other dogs, the hills in the distance, different-coloured lights – that's the Ashton Memorial, by the way, which I've just found out (thanks, Google) is lit in different colours for different causes. It's currently blue as a thank you to the NHS. Lovely.

As we walk up to the top of the park, stopping intermittently to allow Freya to sniff other dogs (she's becoming very well socialised by now, and all without me having to step within two metres of another human!), a bit of Lancaster comes into view and we can see most of the park, and this is where I'd be quite happy to stay for a while. You know me and a view; I'll stay until my legs go dead or my stomach tells me it's time to go home.

You'll notice Freya's on the long lead. I'm not ready to let her off in the park yet, being surrounded on three sides by busy roads and on the fourth by the railway. I think she'd come back if I called, but I'm not prepared to risk it for quite some time. Nope, the long lead is perfect for now – very glad I invested in it as it's made our walks an absolute joy. 

Ah, here we are, the streaky shots I was talking about. Almost all of the remaining photos were like this. Why put them in the blog, you ask? Well, that's a fair question. I don't have an answer, other than just because. I wanted to write about the park, most of the photos turned out like this, so I stuck them in anyway. I see this blog as kind of like a scrapbook that I glue any old tat into. If I could stick receipts and bus tickets in it, I would, because that's the kind of scrapbooker I am. But also, I just think blurry photos tell a story, and you can see movement in them, and you can wonder why the blur occurred – was the person taking the picture laughing? Was it a windy day and they just couldn't hold the camera still? Did someone bump into them? Endless possibilities to imagine.

We've been here lots of evenings in the past two or three weeks. If it gets to the end of the day and we haven't had our big walk, I'm likely to choose the park now because it's too dark to go to Freya's Field, and I'm not braving the canal after dark. We might venture all the way out to the prom, but that's usually busy and we find it much more difficult to keep our distance there. Also, there are loads of runners and cyclists, and Freya always tries to chase them and nearly wrenches my arm off. 

We could go to the quay – it's been a while since we've walked down there. There it is, all lighty and pretty, with a lightsaber display going on. Many Jedi, practising in formation. It's amazing the things you see on a nighttime wander around Lancaster.  

It's just over a mile round the park, so it doesn't take very long. But it's great for a brisk bit of exercise. If you see us there, give us a wave! Keep your distance, of course – we don't want anyone getting in trouble with the fuzz.

Until tomorrow, young padawans,

Linda & Freya