Dormansland - The Plough

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head - And Everywhere Else Too!

Tuesday 15th February
Walkers: Farty, T.B., Windy, Lil and Clat. Everyone else is otherwise engaged. T.B. had a 'bloody' bump on his head, which he blamed on abusive treatment from Farty. Actually, he had caught it on a cupboard, but it looked pretty impressive.

Find of the Walk: - We found we got rather wet!

Distance: 6 miles - this took 2 1/2 hrs due to the very heavy going in the mud.

Yes folks, it turned into a wetter day than forecast, and so the going was rough, and cumbersome. But first, a cautionary tale:

Last week Registrara was complaining of a headache, and was not feeling that wonderful. She has been having problems with her boiler, so had to leave to meet the plumber. To cut a long story short, she ended up in Casualty the next day with carbon monoxide poisoning, and was on oxygen for 4hrs. The signs and symptoms can creep up on you, and because you start to feel so out of things, you don't realise what is happening. So, a carbon monoxide detector is the right way to go ( and a 'Gas Safe plumber') (in fact, on tonight's Eastenders Heather is about to succumb to this gas too). The detector needs to be sited quite high up in the room, as this gas is lighter than air, so well -worth buying one. Right then, back to the walk.

After we had met up, the weather started to deteriorate, but we thought it best to carry on and see how things go. Up the lane and past Greathed Manor( a residential old people's home), some lovely Aberdeen Anguses in a field, and then along by the side of Tobias and the Angel - see previous blog. It was very muddy and squelchy and we slipped and slided our way towards a junction, and another path even muddier, and very narrow. Conversation is kept at a minimum during these times, as we concentrate on our footage, and wonder who will be the first to fall.

We eventually came to a road, crossed over, and trekked across a sticky field - 'just like the Somme' remarked our Lil. Once unstuck we found a lane, and made our way towards Starborough Castle, which still has its narrowboat in the moat. More fields, more rain and mud, and we came to a big duck pond.

Next, we walked through Memorial Wood, over another road (sign post welcoming us to Kent close by), and then into a spooky wood - very dark and dense with so many trees. We found a boomerang/ambush tree - bent right over in catapult style, and it was here that Wind mentioned a programme she had watched the night before , about a woman who has 100 orgasms a day. The song 'She was born with a smile on her face' comes to mind, and we couldn't decide if we felt happy or sorry for this female sex machine.

The rain got heavier and wetter - we decided to re-route and get back to the pub! A good idea, as most of the walking was now on tracks and lanes. We found a lovely derelict little cottage, and had a good poke about. Such a shame, for it to be left to crumble, 'cos it could have been superb, with wonderful views, too.

So, we and Wind, wended our way homewards and got to the pub, where the kindly landlord had set a table aside for us, right by a roaring log fire - perfect for drying out and getting warm once again.

Two menus run side-by-side here - English and Thai, with their own staff to go with them. We all chose to be English, and had some excellent fare. The prices were good, and so was the service. Clat decided that the loos were rather cold, even though they were decked out with black sparkly toilet seats and a bit of a shoe fetish going on, judging by the amount of pictures and ornaments. In the men's however, the walls were bedecked with political literature - which explains why T.B. spent such a long time in there. 19/20 a very good mark.

Next walk - Tuesday 22 February -venue will be notified.