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A walk along the river
It wasn’t as sunny as I’d hoped on this 8 mile walk to and through Nonsuch Park and along the Hogsmill River in Ewell.
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Navigating with a phone
A walk (8.5 miles) through 3 commons was not quite a disaster but wasn’t without problems.
I’ve come to rely on my mobile phone and the OS Maps app for navigation. On long walks I always take a battery pack to recharge the phone if necessary, but today I forget the charging cable. Half way through the walk the battery had dropped to 10% and I risked getting lost in the multitude of paths. So I decided to abort the rest of my planned route and make a hurried return to the start point.
I also dropped the phone and cracked the case – so not the happiest of walks.
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A stroll around Dorking
A stroll around Dorking brought us across this unlikely town scene. I don’t think the sheep are permanent residents though I have seen them there on previous visits.
At the Oxfam Bookshop I was refused entry as I would have exceeded the ‘maximum of 2 customers’ restriction. They are also only accepting donations on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I have more than 30 books waiting to be donated which have accumulated over the lock-down.
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A walk on Epsom Common
It’s some time since I last walked on Epsom Common so on a fairly sunny day this is where I walked today. On a pleasant enough 5.6 mile walk, mainly through woods, there are a couple of attractive ponds. There’s also a small pond next to The Cricketers Inn (first image).
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More books
A selection of books from a couple of charity shops, all for the grand sum of £6.50.
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Out the window
The builders + a covid-testing station spoil the view 
The view
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John D MacDonald
In my twenties (or was it thirties?) I read many of the American crime/ thriller novels of Ross Macdonald and John D MacDonald. Both authors are highly regarded and I remember much enjoying the books.
Decades later, on one of my occasional clear-outs, I disposed of their books and those of other authors. I remember thinking twice about getting rid of the John D MacDonald books because they had such fabulous covers. Interestingly I’ve started following a blog devoted to his book covers, and it was this that’s motivated me to re-read some of the two authors’ books. I’m sure the image on the right is from the range I had once owned but I can’t find images of the other books in that range.
I’ve only managed to find two ebooks by RM or JDM at my local on-line library. RM’s The Dark Tunnel was one of his early novels – and it shows! Absolutely terrible, though it won’t stop me looking out for his later works. However, JDM’s Nightmare in Pink is a superb read.
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Getting books during covid
In these difficult times I’ve been getting my reading material from different sources:
- Re-reading books from my shelves
- ebooks downloaded from my local library
- Blackwell’s online bookshop
Today I ventured into our local Waterstones and came away with three books. I can’t say that wearing a mask for the length of time it takes me to browse is a pleasant experience, but it was fine. And it’s good to be back in a bookshop again!
As an aside I wasn’t sure whether I should use ‘ebook’ or ‘e-book’ in the text, but after looking up “E-book, ebook, eBook” on Grammarist, I decided to go with ‘ebook’.
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A woodland walk
This morning started out cloudy and cool, but quickly turned into a scorcher. Walking around the back of the prison walls I sometimes hear the prisoners out exercising, but not today. What they would give to be in my walking boots! This must be the third time I’ve done this 11-mile, circular walk, and on a hot day like today the mainly woodland walk provided welcome shelter from the sun.
I’m never happy with pictures taken in the trees, but these three are ok.
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Blog re-design
I’ve redesigned this blog to display posts in a list format instead of a magazine format. In addition there is a menu item under the HOME menu to display snippets of the blog posts in a magazine format.
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