Finished

The last stretch of my walk and the shortest, took me around the centre of the town. Easter Eve, hot, bright and glorious. The pain of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and the exhaustion of my own physical, mental and emotional journey through those two days now allowing me space. Space to walk, to NOT think, to NOT act or work but to BE.

As the bank holiday crowds queued to enter Stourport, I felt liberated to be on foot. Free to move at my own pace and to be able to get quickly free of the heavy traffic by taking side roads and alleyways.
Even on the busy one way system, nature ruled the landscape, refusing to be suppressed by the busy-ness and polution. And such a glorious day couldn't be spoilt even by the sight of the sign promising the coming of Tescos to our town, about which I and many others have very strong feelings!

Artwork from an anonymous talent along the walls of an alleyway provoking thought and inspiring for free

The masonic hall was decked for an occasion and folk were enjoying a drink in the sunlight outside the British Legion Club. Summer seems to have come so very early this year!

So many folk enjoying the riverside, the marina, the fun fair and the shops - wonderful to see our town thriving after such a tough time. And as I walked, I remembered events and people which have made this town special to me. The difficulties over the closing of the indoor market, the mystery shopper programme, pirates' day down the waterfront, the improvement of the flowerbed outside the community housing building with the help of High School students and the Good Friday processions up the High Street; especially the year when the High School students had made crosses and businesses had displayed them in their shop windows. This is a good town! It's not flashy or pretentious; it's real and honest.

Just like the people, then! We're all just living our lives and endeavouring to make sense of our world and our place in it. As I made my way up the High Street, there was a wedding party waiting outside the Methodist Church where the day before we'd been remembering the most awful story in the New Testament.

Tears to Happiness.

And stopping off at the Co-op for a few groceries, the Easter Bunny was waiting to bring good cheer and raise funds for the Day Centre. Bunnies and Eggs, Chicks and Flowers, Chocolate and Feasting.

This is Easter - this is new life, new beginnings - this is what faith and life are all about.

May the love and hope of Easter transform our lives and our world.

Finished? Maybe just begun....

Round the houses

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when I set out to cover what I thought of as 'The Lickhill Stretch' of my walk. I felt tired and emotional on that particular morning; somehow the introspection of Lent - facing my internal life in the cold light of day - and the approach of Holy Week with it's sad and frightening story had found their way into my blood and thought streams; my story and Jesus' story finding parallels. BUT I really wanted to do my walk. Although I started with Tan Lane, Vernon Road, Gibbons Crescent and Badger's Walk, it did become about walking up Lickhill Road and back down, with many detours down streets on the way.

People were out in their gardens, tending plants, washing cars or simply sitting and soaking up the sunshine. I confess, I do like to look at people's gardens as I walk and this ramble has given me plenty of opportunity to do just that!

I hadn't seen a monkey puzzle tree in ages! What a specimen!

Raised beds and

a lovely flower display!

Exquisite aubretia!

The walk alongside the caravan park, past Lickhill Manor and up the hill was so beautiful! The scenery and the sound and sight of people enjoying themselves.

Back on Lickhill Road, I made my way past a little girl blowing bubbles and on into the park, where young people played ball games and a family cycled together. And on the other side of the park, the new and impressive building for Stourport Primary School is taking shape! 

Then up Park Avenue to head off home once more, reinvigorated, inspired and with a sense of achievement and satisfaction as my aching legs carried me and I acknowledged that the aching heart with which I had set out, had now found some peace.

There and back again

I've been very tardy writing up the last three entries for my blog! It's such a busy time in the Church with all sorts of exciting things going on, so I've stored the photos and waited for a moment to share the experience of these three walks.

There and back again refers to going up and down the Worcester Road and ever so slightly repeating bits in order to cover all the ground. This was the only time I did the walk from a starting point that was marked by parking the car; I had come back from Bell's Farm Shop and thought it would make sense. It did make logical sense but it didn't satisfy in quite the same way as the other walks for all of which I set out from home. Still, it's a lovely stretch of walk and I did enjoy it.

On my way around the housing estates, I did wonder why on earth landlocked Stourport had so many roads named after famous ships!

The contrast in this area was the very residential feel of the streets leading off Worcester Road, the functionality of the industrial estate, the holiday campsites and the wildness of Hartlebury Common.

A sort of microcosm for the life of our town exists in this area; tying together work, home and recreation.

I met two lovely ponies on this walk and was so glad to discover that I still had some polos in my pocket from a riding lesson! A sweet little grey and a charming gypsy cob.

And they were not only a delight in themselves but a wonderful symbol of the rich traveller and gypsy culture that is a part of Stourport's heritage. In this area of town, where we have a long standing traveller site, I am reminded of how vital it is to ensure that this traditional lifestyle continues - not just for those who choose to live it but for all of us. If it weren't for our traveller community, there would be no-one who lives 'differently' from the rest of us; no-one to challenge our preconceptions and values. No-one to remind us that we can never truly 'own' the land - it is our heritage and our responsibility from those ancient times when we all lived nomadic lifestyles.

There..................and back again...............

Tough work!

It's taken me over a week to write up this blog entry - it's a busy time of year in my profession! This stretch of my walk was the hardest yet, partly because it was a bit hot (yes in April!) to be taking a brisk and long walk and partly because of the fact that it was entirely pavement walking and I only got glimpses of the open spaces and open countryside for most of the walk.

This was the 'Bewdley Road' stretch - and there is a lot of road tied up in all those cul-de-sacs, drives, avenues and roads! Why do they call streets 'Avenues' when they're not?? I expect to be able to walk out the other end of an avenue but I have found some that turned out to be 'Closes'! By the time I was half way down Steatite Way, I will confess I was praying that there would be a pedestrian lane leading out the bottom and I was so grateful when I found there is!

People were cleaning cars, gardening, playing sports in the park, sitting outside the pub chatting, walking the dog and joy of joys, I actually came across a group of children playing in their Crescent just the way we did when we were kids!

Such a mixture of housing - small, large, in between; 30s, 40s, 50s...up to the present decade and a few much older. I was fascinated by the steep drives of some houses at the bottom of Steatite Way and wondered how their handbrakes fare - but the view behind them gave me the reason why the people choose to live there.

The sight of Magnolia and Cherry Blossom and the scent of Clematis greeted me at various junctures and an immaculately prepared vegetable garden had me thinking about my own veg plot and the work I had planned for it. Spring is a favourite time of year for me and in spite of the number of years I've been sowing seeds, I still get excited when I see them germinate and grow into plants.

New growth, longer days, the greenness of our gardens and countryside are enjoyable but without the rain, cold  and winter dormancy, our country would be nowhere near as beautiful and our veg plots far less productive. I suppose Lent reminds me of something similar in my spiritual life; that in order to find new spiritual depths, I must endure the darker days, the colder seasons, the times of tears. Without the trials and challenges, I would not appreciate the achievements and the joys. Just as, without Good Friday, Easter Day would be utterly meaningless.