I snatched a walk in between working at my desk yesterday mid-morning. The weekends are domestic days and I clean early, meaning that my early walks aren’t possible. I noticed how less spooked I was by the rain in the daylight as I can be in the dark. It is more manageable and seemingly less aggressive, less personal (though I am aware how ridiculous that sounds, weather is never personal). I walked briskly, there is always so much to do. I chase my tail these days. Coming back over Edge Hill Road which ends with a curving path that leads down onto Llanbadarn Road, I met a woman who was climbing up it. An elderly grey-haired woman, who was probably not much older that I was. She looked fit and intelligent and walked tall. We greeted each other as our paths crossed. She had a badge on her jacket in the shape of a flag. Was it the Palestinian colours? I smelt patchouli as we passed each other. I love the smell. It made me smile.
Sometimes we ask his sister to read out the Home’s ‘itinerary’. Yesterday she could have gone to the lounge for a screening of a Norman Wisdom film. Did you go? he asked. No, she said.
