This one's a bit of a flashback post to April 2020, those strange days locked down far from home, in Somerset, UK. It was super wierd as the government rules were vague yet there was a ton of paranoia and anxiety around because people were dobbing in their neighbours for going out more than the regulated once per day and so on. Bananas.
At the beginning we spent a lot of time walking locally and doing up a camper. We were so lucky as my sister in law had a cottage in the countryside which had a big yard, and the row of attached houses next to her were unoccupied. So we had space to hang outside without people looking in and judging us.
But then we started going out with the van and the dog, parking out of sight and going for super long walks, sometimes 15 miles at a time. We basically got out the maps and drew circles of the routes we would follow, discovering all kinds of things, from swings to barrows to standing stones. We met others out walking too, having been furloughed, and they were out seeing country side they'd never seen before even though they'd lived there all their lives. Most of the time we didn't see anyone.
We would take snacks of gingernuts, almonds and great British cheeses and water and explore. It kept us sane. Although we couldn't explore Europe and go back to Morocco like we wanted, we were determined to have an adventure.
We foraged alot, finding new plants and looking closely at the woodlands. It was fascinating to discover that some woodlands were more ancient than others and would have particular plants you wouldn't see elsewhere, or butterflies you could only find in one particular field. You could tell the age of a hedgerow by counting the amount of plants there.
One day we came across a family living in a yurt in the forest. The family had bought the land in 1971 and they had been there every since, eventually qualifying to stay there with low impact housing as they'd been doing it so long. The guy had cycled all his life and never owned a car, and like many cyclists at the time, was loving the traffic free roads.
In fact it was amazing to see clear blue skies without planes, and animals were often their were none. It was LIKE being in 1971. Honestly, it was a dreamworld country Britain - slow paced, quiet and beautiful. We couldn't have planned a trip to a better paradise.
In some ways we were glad the pandemic happened, and looking back now, forgetting how anxious I was we were never going to get home or the anger we couldn't go anywhere, it was a really special time. There's lots of stories to tell, and life is kinda about those.
Honestly most of the time I was just falling more and more in love with the countryside I already had an affinity with. My ancestors were from there, I met the love of my life there, and lived there for six years. So it's always home to me as well. I bawled my eyes out when I had to leave, and still miss walking in Somerset so much.
I wrote a lot of poetry at that time. This one captures a lot for me.
I crouched in wild garlic fields on a cool day -
Settled in the dark woods, they greenly nudged my boots
Nodded podded flower heads, a snowy bouquet
Praying to earth, under which white bulbs crowd, rooted
With ash, who twists upward through the muted shade
Releasing a resonant syllable in an entish tongue
Began decades gone, heard but once in this shadowy glade
Where I listened deep, and heard the hum
Of growing things - tail, claw, tooth and wing
The bees, home from the yellow meadow
The sigh of badgers, the robins darting song
And the drumming of the earth, quiet, soft and low.
As the months passed the weather got hotter and I spent a lot of time searching out swimming spots. As there were still restrictions and paranoia I'd find them blissfully quiet and could spend hours there reading and swimming.
This poem is a snapshot of my last moments there before taking the drive past Stonehenge towards Heathrow. It breaks my heart every time I read it as I recall exactly how I felt when I left my England.
'Don't go far' - they said
For we were leaving within the hour
I walk briskly down past the old mill
Across the bridge and along the stream
My hands dissolve in the running water
I have minutes, an hour - no matter
Skin cells slough away and part of me is left
Here, in the land that birthed my ancestors
I think of the boy Arthur turned fish
Learning the ways of the badger, the hawk
Empathy comes easy when you are that
Becoming the land, I am
He, the fisher king , healer of the land
Now it's the other way 'round
We're all out foraging for antivirals - in sunlight, in greenery
Kneeling in the meadows asking for redemption.
I pick posies of feverfew and wood avens
Dog rose 'twines round elder
Purple fog nestles next to thistles, ox eye daisies
Saplings of birch, blackthorn
I stuff plantain in my pockets
The wild garlic wilts yellow along the way
I pluck seeds and put them in my mouth
They, like the white blackthorn giving way to sloes
Bookend this spring of our discontent.
But here, by the water - how could anyone be anything but at peace?
I lift my hands and sunshine trickles down my elbows
Swooping back to the water, they stop mid flight
A deer stands in the field beyond, and behind that the oak
The blackbirds are stirring the leaves
I follow the tadpoles and fishes downstream
Into all the waterways of England
Look - there is my heart caught on the roots of an ash
my lungs swirling around wet stones
my insides kissed by the branches of willow
I cry all the way home.
'Did you go far?'
'Not far', I say, and pick up my bags.
You were lucky, our experience in South Africa was totally dreadful - the govt banned the sale of all tobacco products, all alcohol, all outdoor activities. They actually banned beach visits and no one was allowed to leave their house, unless they were going to the supermarket or doctor (this lasted 3 months). All retail apart from food was banned. However, things truly got ridiculous when they banned hot pies and ready made hot takeaway foods from all supermarkets. 🙃🙃🙃🙃
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STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
I remember your posts from spring 2020 so well. It was a strange time for all of us indeed. But as you write, I also remembered from your posts back then that you really tried to make the most of the situation, even though I also remember your anxiety at times. And that you missed a lot of food from Australia.
Thanks for taking us back to this lovely area.
xx
Ha yes, and my sister in law ate a LOT of potatoes. MAn, I was certainly anxious, but refused to let it get me down! Looking back, we certainly made the bset of a crazy situation!
Nice, condition are safer now than in 2020. Walking through the river,seeing nature ,green trees are very good for health and the mind becomes relaxed. Thank you. Greetings.
Yes I'm glad that time is over! Hard to believe now.
Admiration for the publication!The pleasure was mine,Thank you!
Greetings from Bulgaria.
Have a great week!☀️🌼🌻🌳
!LUV
@riverflows, @petra67(1/1) sent you LUV.
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My poetic soul has been nourished and my eyes have followed you through your memories of a time of universal fear but can you just leave it at the stream in your seventh shot? Or better yet let it get lost under those ancient trees and I will leave it to bask in the glory of the penetrating sunlight.
I am glad home can be anywhere where love and peace tag our heartstrings 🔆
What an awesome post loved your poems
And how the pandemic opened your eyes or should I say enabled you to rekindle your love of the nature there and explore it and enjoy life without the stress brought upon so many by the pandemic
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
Beautiful @riverflows 🥰 the words, poems and photographs.
Yes, looking back at that time… it was needed. More people feel that way. Stopped for a moment to breath. Go back to nature. Some of us did. Explored the hills, forests and even mountains. We never saw a soul on our hikes. Just nature, and we could breath.
It was a uncertain time. We had to move countries right in the middle, but it went all well.
You saw so much, many things others just oversee. Thank you so much for sharing that with us 😁👋🏻🥰
Happy mid week to you!
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I totally agree with you, I am also one of those people who feel peace when they are near the water and in wonderful places like the ones you brought us. I loved the way in which you raised this post; may the river keep flowing.
Thanks so much. It was like going back in time, the poems capture how I felt too. Water is life!
We are almost there with out, thanks to the pictures ^^
I miss the old country! Thanks xx
I remember the angst you felt about the lockdown back then. Time has altered that some now. I'm glad, because now when you go back, it will be enjoyable again.
Oh yes and I can't wait. Funny, my husband is more nervous about getting on a plane than me. I'm always one to jump back on the horse - a kind of feel the fear and do it anyway kinda thing. I think he's worried the Queen will die when we are there ahahah - he's not a royalist and worries we'd be in a nationwide lockdown for mourning! I think we'll go back next year. I did feel such angst but looking back I have more good memories and my brain has erased the anxiety, well, most ofit, you know how it is!
Looks like you had a great time in that forest. I love the way you blend in with nature. And your photos along the way are really cool 😊
Thanks so much. Yes it brought me a lot of comfort and peace!
This is me in a few years.
It was really weird indeed going outside during lockdown. I remember the beach was closed exactly when I was healing my broken leg. I said, "fuck it, they are not going to jail a crippled". And I went to the beach. Nobody jailed me, thank God. The beach was beautiful without cars. There were birds of all sorts and endless sorts of shells.
Somehow I missed you had a broken leg! Sorry! Ouch. Was that from cycling? Haha I went to the beach during the 5 km lockdowns and my excuse was menopause. You just try to stop me, officer - on pain of dealing with me! Nature was so much better in lockdown. Sometimes I wish that would come back.
Nobody wants to stop a woman on menopause \o
I should also use that excuse just to see what happens
Yup. Car hit me at an intersection. In fact, he cut me off matha facka
Oh no I bloody well told you cycling was dangerous!!!!! Is your leg better now? When did that happen?
March, last year. Fully recovered and racing again for an year now xD
it took me only 6 months to be 100%
A fit body recovers fast!
Yeeeeeees! Doc said that was the major reason I recovered so fast. Body is naturally inflammation-free and with plenty of recovery juice.
Beautiful !LUV Just beautiful 🙂 Thanks for sharing this with us. As always, when you share with this much vulnerability😊 I just love you even more than the day before.
Oh you are so nice to me!!! Thanks love, it's so nice to be appreciated!
😘