1st July 2024 . On the way home from Bennington which is a mere 30-minute drive, we turned onto a previously un-explored road and continued turning randomly, this way and that. Heaven knows where we might finally have ended up without a homing…
On the way home from Bennington which is a mere 30-minute drive, we turned onto a previously un-explored road and continued turning randomly, this way and that.
Heaven knows where we might finally have ended up without a homing beacon.
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It reminded me of a time, ever so many years ago, when I was travelling with my friend Tim.
When in the mood, he could walk all day and generally I could keep up, despite the appalling feet I inherited from my mum.
Walking was the best way to properly see a place.
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However...
While it was good to be reminded of my great good fortune in having been born when and where I was, there is a limit to my capacity for absorbing the suffering of others.
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In Calcutta (now Kolkata) once, Tim had persuaded me that we should walk across the Howrah Bridge which crosses the Hooghly River.
It is said to be the world's busiest cantilevered bridge. All I can say is that there were certainly a lot of people about.
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It was getting late and you might say it was rush hour but I suspect it was much the same all day.
Returning to the hotel, and safe behind high walls, we cleaned up and settled down with a drink.
"Why are you crying?" asked Tim.
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It was the inequality of it all.
Here we were, isolated in our nice clean hotel, freshly showered and enjoying a beverage, but out there the awfulness was not changed and never would for most of the unfortunate people we had seen.
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Somewhere else I saw an old man carrying an old woman on his back. His wife, probably.
It was one of those images that etched into my brain, like an early memory of a little beggar girl, crying after my father told her to "go away!"
One way and another, I suppose you could say I didn't have much stamina.
One day after Tim and I had been walking for a long time, in another such place, we passed some sort of monument for the third time.
At that point, I retorted that if I saw that thing again, I was going to put it somewhere he wouldn't like.
A congenial sort of travelling companion, I was.
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This was the memory that came up when Grant and I found ourselves back in Bennington for the second time, in our dive home.
Circumstances vastly different.
It is curious how one thing can trigger a memory of something quite else.
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We found some wonderful viewpoints.
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And passed some very nice-looking homes situated to enjoy them. You wonder if they do. I have always felt that a good view is worth working for.
Do you not take for granted that which you see every day?
Maybe not. I hope not.
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A so-called European smoke tree.
Those elegant homes sat on beautifully up-kept grounds that make my place seem scruffy.
But I would not be me, living in perfection. These days I am no longer the compulsive tidier I was in my single-cat existence.
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When you take on multiple cats, you either adjust your standards or become totally neurotic and the cats would not like that.
Cats are very sensitive to human emotions.
Not just cats, of course.
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"We've been here before!"
...exclaimed the driver.
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It didn't look familiar to me at all.
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Never heard of her.
But I liked the wildflowers around the road sign.
When I see a picture, I yell "STOP!"
Which usually he can't. This day, he even backed-up on command!
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I had been wanting a picture of chicory that grows in clumps, everywhere.
But had to settle for a few humble blooms.
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This morning I remained at home, declining the offer of another "quick trip", in favour of making phone calls.
This is not an occupation I enjoy at the best of times. It is a phobia which I do not understand and cannot explain to friends who say: "you never call!"
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But an electrician must be found...
After several attempts I found a very nice-sounding man who I am sure is just right for the job and he was happy to put me on his lengthening list.
So I considered options offered by Google and I am supposed to believe that a man will come tomorrow at noon to address our problem.
Whether or not anyone shows up remains to be seen.
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