There's Not Enough Poetry. But there's Plenty of Walks and Cucumbers

Absolute collapse! That's what I call it anyway. It's the point at which tiredness brings you to tears. In my case its just after lunch. Tricia reckons I should eat and then, fairly quickly, go to bed. I reckon I should stay awake and catch up on Top Gear. Well for the record I'm wrong. 4 weeks ago exactly we managed to go out on the water in the kayaks, this time I didn't have the energy to take off my jeans. It's a shock how quickly chemo impacts normal functions. So don't ask how the kitchen installation is going 'cause it's not going very fast. I speed up as the days wear on so I'm still planning my walks. Let's hope they don't get too short too soon. However I have managed to fit a new ceiling light fitting in the kitchen, a trip to the dump, a trip to the Howdens to exchange a couple of incorrect panels, then up to my brothers for some laminate to level the oven, home to fit an extractor fan in the kitchen (the hole was already there) and complete my update.

Last night on FB there appeared a thing that said Tricia and I have visited 400 places together. Haven't a clue where they all are but I’ll do my best to add to that number.

However it did get me thinking about some of the places I’ve been and some of the things I’ve done. Then as if by magic in our downstairs facility, where we keep all sorts of paper including a few books, I found this piece of poetry.

Ode Against the Ordinary

The ordinary is common

The usual is typical

Everyday is too often

Down with commodities

Three cheers for the offbeat!

Bravo to the oddities!

Embrace the remarkable

Be scintillating

Let your iconoclast sparkle

Embrace the strange

Cuddle the ironic

Consider a cucumber

In your Gin and Tonic.

I think, at different times throughout my life this has occasionally been how I’ve been. Striving not to be too ordinary. I certainly don’t want to be too ordinary especially now. So perhaps, when I look at some of those 400 places, and many of them are pretty ordinary, I think, what a load of tosh! Who cares about where I’ve been. I know I don't. What I care about is the people I’m with.

FB also informs me I have 264 “friends" more utter tosh. I know it’s nice to have a load of friends but really? 264. How am I supposed to manage and nurture these friendships. I think the heading friends should read “happen to know you" although that isn’t strictly true. Here’s one for you (that only those closest to me might know) I am/was trained as a bone fide art teacher with a specialism in pottery. Yep! Bet you didn’t know that. Anyway not wishing to disrespect any real friends, I love and respect you all.

So FB friends and proper job friends and people I happen to know and those of you that are all 3 or none yet, join us on our next, second, walk.

It’s on the 29th October. We’re aiming to leave Lerryn at 10am. To walk a circular 5m route to St Winnow. For those of you that may be aware parking is OK. It’s low tide.

Here’s the route details https://www.iwalkcornwall.co.uk/walk/lerryn_to_st_winnow#.X4xphpf6d9E.link

Needless to say I’ll not be asking for some spondulix for Bowel Cancer UK but there’s always my proper job friend's Emma’s Just Giving page. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/CornwallWalksTogether

Me and my cucumber

We don’t know yet but it may wet

And Yet

We'll stroll on again

Even in the rain

Bring a friend and a flask

and again I’ll ask

To bring some lolly

And maybe a brolly

When the walk's at its end

You’ll spy round the bend

A pub, the Ship Inn

For a Tonic And Gin

So in it we'll lumber

Me, with my cucumber!