Friday 22 May 2020

"Allo, allo, allo! Wot's goin' on 'ere then?"


The allure of a delightfully acrid aroma stopped me in my tracks as we were crossing Potarch Bridge at the start of our Wednesday afternoon walk*. But Gail, who could see over the bridge parapet, tugged at my lead, saying, "hurry along Bertie, we need to look like we're exercising".

And she explained the scene on the river bank below. Two youngsters, enjoying a picnic in the sun, had just been 'spoken to' by a couple of local police and, given that the youngsters were packing up their things, it seems they had been 'advised' to move on. 

So we crossed hastily into Sluie Woods, and only when well clear of the road did Gail stop muttering under her breath about there perhaps being more effective ways to prevent coronavirus from spreading, and start to relax a bit and enjoy the warm sweet smell of pine resin and the splashes of wildflowers on the trackside verges. 

At the end of the walk, and noting that the police car had gone and no-one else was around, Gail allowed me a wee paddle in the river just upstream of the bridge. 

I do believe she was wishing she could go for a swim herself...

*Gail confesses to stretching the definition of 'local area' a bit for this otherwise fully 'lockdown compliant' hike.

Happy Nature Friday friends! And once again, massive thanks to Arty, Jakey and Rosy for hosting the Blog Hop.

13 comments:

  1. we love the wonderful flowers you found!!! we love wild flowers a lot ;O)

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  2. Bertie, we're so glad you had time to admire the pretty flowers, and weren't hurried on by the police!
    That's a lovely walk even if you had to act like fugitives!

    Take care.

    Love,
    Inca xx

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  3. It is so ridiculous! Obviously, no one was even near you, so walking should be just fine. We are sick and tired of all the rules and honestly don't follow them all because there is often no need to when no one is around. Happy Friday, and glad you had a good walk.

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  4. Bertie what a fine title. What a super duper fine walk for you and Gail ...in spite of the police sightings. Flyin' WFT ears you found glorious posies and scenes to share.
    Thank goodness you were able to cool your paws a bit before the return trip.
    We start into Phase II at 5pm today (no clue why each phase starts at 5pm). We might actually be able to get our furs stripped and cut in this phase. Salons can open with 50% capacity.
    Hugs and Happy Weekend
    Cecilia

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  5. You and Gail found such beautiful flowers on your walk, Bertie!

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  6. Hari OM
    Two days back, (you know, that day when the big yellow orb showed up?) things got very busy outside the Hutch. I was a tad concerned that there was lots of hugging and cuddling and no two centimentres, never mind body-length distancing (not even permitted by the laxer English guidelines)... when next thing I heard was the 'whoop-whoop' of the polis car. A few mutterings, polite reminders and - thankfully, no fightback. I think the polis were on full alert on that summer day for just this sort of breakout!

    Dogwalkers and other clearly focused movers would not, I feel, be questioned.

    No issue today. Floor to Ceiling wet stuff and wind, battering the windows full force. Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  7. You two had a very lovely walk. We like those white flowers the best and we're glad the police didn't object to your paddle in the river.

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  8. And we thought it was tough here!!! At least we can walk where we want (or we think we can).

    Mom loves those daisies. Her wedding gown was covered with appliques of little daisies.

    Woos, Lightning and Timber

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  9. Such a lovely walk today Bertie, we really enjoyed the wildflowers! We were so happy our local parks(and parking lots) finally reopened this weekend, we hope things start to relax in your corner of the world soon!'
    xoxo,
    Rosy, Jakey & Arty

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  10. Don't understand the open air, crowd free sit down as an offense. People have been ticketed here. Glad you could enjoy exercising and enjoying your beautiful environment.

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  11. That was a good walk. We are glad you didn't get busted.

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  12. Glad you were able to enjoy your hike without getting a ticket.

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  13. Hiking is all most of us have these days, and you are lucky to have such a lovely display of flowers along your way! And we bet, the wading in the river was the best after that long walk!

    Kiki and Rosie

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