Book Walk

It’s reasonably well known that Charles Dickens suffered a bit with depression and used to walk a lot. Walking has always been considered beneficial exercise, and it’s something that I used to do as part of both orienteering and geocaching. ‘Used to do’, I keep coming up against that phrase, shows all the things I’ve allowed to slide over the years.

Anyway, we’re in the Forest of Dean, so a good walk is a natural progression.  It rained heavily last night so the land did what the land does, it got all muddy. In places it was a slippery slog, but I’m glad I did it. Muddy boots dry eventually.

The walk was nice, at least an hour. Saw lots of cyclist who were, to a man, filthy with the mud, couldn’t tell what colours the bikes started out but they all ended up muddy, clumpy brown. On the way around we noticed a number of signs saying that there was a booksale on today in the Memorial Hall. The only problem with that was, we had no idea where the Memorial Hall was.

It just so happened that by sheer luck, we waked past the Memorial Hall, so naturally we stopped in.  A fair while after, I had three “new” books for £1.50. Bargain.  All I have to do now, is read them.

Getting Out

After seven days pretty much staying in the house, not wanting to go out, but occasionally having to: food shopping, craft shopping, doctors. I got out today. We’ve had this weekend booked for camping in the Forest of Dean for ages. It’s not tent camping, though we’ve done that many times. We’re in the campervan. Yes, okay so we’re a bit middle class (or more likely upper working class) and we have a campervan.

I’m saying “we” not “I” because I’m with my husband.

To be fair, he offered to stay at home if I wasn’t up to it.  And I wasn’t sure I was. But sitting on the couch in the house doing nothing is not helping me. So, we came away.

It is nice to be somewhere else, a different view out the window. Though as I write this it’s 18:46, and it’s pitch black outside, so no view at all.  I’m also totally without internet connection, so it this gets out today, that means we went up to the campsite’s bar to get onto their WiFi.

We went up for lunch, and there were too many people, I felt quite uncomfortable. When I say there were too many people, I should specify that the place was more like 25% full, but when you’re struggling to cope with your own company, that’s a crowd.

My thing for today, that I haven’t done in ages, was read a physical book. I’ve been all audiobooks of late, but I need to get out of my own head and read something.  The book I picked was “we are never meeting in real life” by Samantha Irby. Have read only one chapter, but it’s made me smile and I need more of that.

General feeling today: unsteady, tears just too close at times.