05/12/19: Election fever

Emerging from Totteridge and Whetstone tube station on Thursday night I was surprised to see a small political demonstration taking place. About 20 people were crowded on the other side of the road from the tube chanting "Corbyn is a racist, Corbyn is a racist, tra-la-la-la, tra-la-la-la". Some police were there as well but no trouble by the looks of it.

19/11/19: A year of steps

After exactly one year of recording my daily steps, my app reveals the following:



Total steps: 4,555,679
Total miles: 2,127
Most steps in one day: 27,327 on 05/05/19 – the Big Fun Walk

23/06/19: Angry farmer

A nice walk around Totteridge. Following the public footpath between the two stables we encountered this sign:



....and the gate had been tied shut. I asked a man working at the stables and he said that one of the farmers had done it. This is illegal: a public right of way cannot be closed off at the whim of an individual. The stable man went off for a few seconds and came back with a sharp, jagged knife with which he started hacking at the thick string. He got through it and we were able to pass through the gate.

We then still managed to go the wrong way through the field until eventually making it to the other stables (where horses’ heads hovered above their low-cut doors) and – after climbing over another fence because there were pallets in the way – to the bridlepath beyond.

It was a warm, muggy walk home.

24/04/19: New trees

Whetstone. I trudge up and down this pavement twice a day, and so it was very uplifting to see six new trees planted on the pavement between Boots and Waitrose. More of this, please!

24/01/19: Slippery Totteridge

Totteridge looked beautiful in the snow with the sun rising. The river path was covered in black ice. I trod carefully, but still managed to slip, smashing down on my back. A couple of dog walkers offered annoying comments and were no help at all as I laid in shock and agony in the mud. Then a kind man came and helped me up. I staggered home.

06/01/19: Sinister Totteridge

At first I thought they were snowmen. But there was no snow. No, they were four or five white-robed figures performing some kind of ritual on the far side of the field. There was bowing. They wore white hats. I found it very creepy.

05/01/19: Totteridge to Brent Cross

Walked 5.6 miles along the Dollis valley Green Walk from Totteridge almost as far as Brent Cross.

There were egrets, herons, robins, blackbirds, blue tits, moorhens and a thrush, among other birds.

It was lovely, apart from all the overflowing bins.



Why are these not being emptied?

Other things of note:

• A small tot aimed a stick “gun” at us.

• Saw two “lost cat” posters.

• Found two carrots resting on a tree.

• Passed a large white dog wearing a bow tie.

• Saw a child riding a mini-motorbike (a real one).

• Got a bit lost where the river forked in Hendon but a kind man pointed out the correct route.

• Got the bus home.