Amidst our adventures we found tranquillity, peace & beauty … and you thought we were following a canoe race!
Shob & Sarah had been asleep since Dreadnought Reach, so they had missed the “Tour of Berkshire & Surry.” They didn’t wake up when we reached Penton Hook. They didn’t even wake up as Beth and I opened the back to put on thick warm coats to walk down to the lock.
Having missed out a bunch of locks & despite our wanderings around Windsor, Eton & Staines, we had plenty of time at Penton Hook. After the confusion of the previous couple of hours, sitting beside the lock in the cold, dark hour before dawn was a moment to savour.
Every time I see Penton Hook on a map, hear the name, or think about the portages on DW, I think of the giant twisty old trees, towering over the lock. Sitting there quietly, below them, smelling the cold damp early morning mist, hearing the birds shout over the gentle roar of the weir & watching glow sticks appear out of the dark and glide silently past, is one of those things that neither camera, nor words could capture. If you get the chance next time you support a crew on DW, sample it fresh for yourself, you can’t bottle it! The poet got it right when he wrote, “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand & stare?”
Some of the crews came to the lock, the cold clearly showing on the faces peering from under their anorak hoods. Cat & Gilly arrived & jogged through cheerfully despite it & our trance was broken. Sarah & Shob woke up as we got back into the car, unaware of the precious moment they had just missed. Well they might not have enjoyed it! Perhaps you won’t, but you won’t know unless you try it!
Shob & Sarah had been asleep since Dreadnought Reach, so they had missed the “Tour of Berkshire & Surry.” They didn’t wake up when we reached Penton Hook. They didn’t even wake up as Beth and I opened the back to put on thick warm coats to walk down to the lock.
Having missed out a bunch of locks & despite our wanderings around Windsor, Eton & Staines, we had plenty of time at Penton Hook. After the confusion of the previous couple of hours, sitting beside the lock in the cold, dark hour before dawn was a moment to savour.
Every time I see Penton Hook on a map, hear the name, or think about the portages on DW, I think of the giant twisty old trees, towering over the lock. Sitting there quietly, below them, smelling the cold damp early morning mist, hearing the birds shout over the gentle roar of the weir & watching glow sticks appear out of the dark and glide silently past, is one of those things that neither camera, nor words could capture. If you get the chance next time you support a crew on DW, sample it fresh for yourself, you can’t bottle it! The poet got it right when he wrote, “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand & stare?”
Some of the crews came to the lock, the cold clearly showing on the faces peering from under their anorak hoods. Cat & Gilly arrived & jogged through cheerfully despite it & our trance was broken. Sarah & Shob woke up as we got back into the car, unaware of the precious moment they had just missed. Well they might not have enjoyed it! Perhaps you won’t, but you won’t know unless you try it!
Dunno Brian, it must be bitter sittin' there in this cold!
No comments:
Post a Comment