— I —
Last summer, waiting to pick the boy up after some event in the local town, I followed the sound of hubbub round the back of the shops, to discover a bridge across the river. It was hot, not as hot as this summer, but hot all the same, and down below in a small gulley there were twenty, thirty or so kids playing on the rocks and in the water. As I watched, a bunch of girls came past, drying their hair, carrying inflatables, and laughing.
I’m aware that we coddle children like never before, at the cost of their freedom to play unsupervised. At the same time, it’s really hard to step away and leave them to their own devices (and in some cases it can get you into real trouble). I don’t know how to solve that problem for my own children, but seeing these children playing in the stream was at least a sign that unsupervised play does still exist somewhere. Perhaps it’s easier in a small village where everyone knows everyone and their kids.
— II —
This summer, an old guy appeared in our drive, a couple of women in the car with him. He was looking for a place from his youth where they used to dam the river and play in the water. I’m not sure how he missed the spot – it was only a few hundred yards down the hill, but it made me wonder whether it was still possible, or if there were other good swimming spots nearby. I really enjoy swimming in open water – a couple of years ago we walked along various stretched of the Thames and I got in in a few likely locations. I’ve also swum on Dartmoor a few times, and this summer the boy and I had a short swim while we were in France. And then there was the occasion when I didn’t go for a dip, narrowly avoiding ruining the Duke of Devonshire’s fly fishing. We’ve got good camping in our field, but the stream never really gets more than ankle deep. That said, there are quite a few streams and small rivers nearby, so I guess it’s a question of looking around and getting to know the area better.
— III —
I’ve been feeding the neighbours’ pigs while they (the neighbours, not the pigs) were away. It struck me, as I was giving a back scratch to a fully grown, several hundred pound sow, that only a few of years ago I had essentially no experience with animals – even household pets. It’s been a rapid and significant transformation.
The real evidence of this came on the final morning of my stint. As I was measuring the food out for the pigs, I found a thought rising unbidden into my mind that something wasn’t quite right with the sheep – they were baaing in an unusual way, and I should probably check them out. So after I fed the pigs I hopped over into the sheep fields and sure enough, part of the fence had come down and some of the sheep had crossed over and got mixed up with another flock. None were injured, so all that was required was a bit of re-sorting and fence repair – best left to the neighbour – but still, I’d picked up on the problem without even being aware of it. I’ll never catch up with the people who were pulling lambs at 5, but perhaps at least I’m starting to learn something.
Fireflies 