MOODY WATERS

Walking along the canal at Send recently on a sunny weekend we happened on this colourful barge. You know the sort of thing , barges owned by grey beards with a liking for thick grey jerseys, and the 'Missus' covering her boredom in the kitchen - er, the galley - by serving up a constant supply of tea and nibbles.

It was part of a Rally, which is an event where the grey beards have a jolly good time meeting to discuss lock gates, mooring rights, boats they have owned etc. and other riveting subjects.


A weekend or so later the weather's mood darkened when we walked down the Thames Path at Walton. This brooding sky turned out to be an empty threat and a greater risk was of being bowled over by an agressive cyclist. These are the ones with a compulsory helmet who ride cross country bikes with no mudguards. They also have no idea that walkers cannot hear them approaching from behind and never think to say "excuse me" as they hurtle past.

One of these chaps squeezed silently past me on river side at about 20 mph and narrowly missed me. Had he been an inch closer he would have ended up in the river and I probably would have been testing the less used part of my vocabulary. On he sped without a sign that he had a near miss. If only ....