Third morning in a row I did my exercises but have to say my back is aching tonight so I hope I haven’t pulled anything! Planning to keep going as I do feel better, or is it just I feel more virtuous! How much do we exercise because it’s good for us and we are encouraged to do it and how much because we really enjoy it? Walking I enjoy, tennis I enjoy, but anything else? I exercise because I think it’s good for me. I was never very keen on sport at school, especially team sports outside in inclement weather.I remember many a time hiding in the locker room, reading a book in preference to being on a hockey pitch! I don’t remember my mother actively exercising apart from in her day to day working life of rushing around as a country vicar’s wife (although she played alot of tennis until her mid 40s). She did swim and Scottish danced into her old age but not much else – she never complained of aches and pains, or became particularly arthritic. Infact she looked like Mrs Tiggywinkle and if she fell over, she bounced and never hurt herself!
Talking of exercise, we decided to walk out of LB into the countryside as it was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky and quite sunny. Setting off just before midday we didn’t have time to walk to Woburn (we hope to on a fine day) so found a shorter circular walk in a similar direction little realising how far it would still be. We must have walked solidly for over four hours, along roads just with grass verges. Every time a car came towards us, which was frequently, we jumped onto the verge so as not to be mown down. We had to contend with spiky hedges and uneven full waterlogged ditches. We were fortunate to come across a farmshop after a couple of hours as we hadn’t brought any food or drink with us. I just made do with a coffee but R had a delicious looking cornish pasty. I was ravenous by the time we got back to the boat and happily tucked into the fruitcake we had also spied at the farmshop – fruitcakes take too long to cook in our oven – I can’t really justify using so much gas, so it’s a real treat to have one on board!
St John the Baptist 
Litter picker! 
A sea of solarpanels 
This evening as part of a bible study, I was reading the book of Revelation chapter 22 v2. It talks of a river with the tree of life on either side. The reason I mention it is because on our walk today we were walking on a country lane (infact we had taken a wrong turn!) and I suddenly spotted two trees on opposite sides of the road that almost seemed to form an arch. So struck was I by this I stood in the middle of the lane and photographed them. It just seemed a strange coincidence that I should read about two trees opposite one another (admittedly it was a river not a road) a few hours later. I am really appreciating the trees – somehow there is a stark beauty to them stripped of all their leaves, with just their branches on display. And the intricate way some branches have become interwoven over years of growth and life. There must be a sermon in there somewhere but you will be relievedto know it is far too late and i am way past my bedtime!
NarrowboatTLC 