Monday, 25 August 2014

Enthusiastic Dave

23rd August

Pete's old colleague and mate arrived on Saturday morning for our next leg out onto the Thames. He is the most upbeat and interesting character and so enthusiastic about the boat, it was great to have him with us. Shame his girlfriend couldn't have been there too. We travelled to Wallingford, stopping for lunch in the sunshine, Dave spotting a good deep, bankside mooring. This was a long day for us, but we needed to be able to drop Dave somewhere where he could get a train back to Reading where he had left his car. He made an arrangement with his friend Martin to pick him up from Wallingford. Coincidentally, this Martin used to work at the prop makers where I worked!! So at the end of the day, he and I were talking shop as were Dave and Pete! Small world.

Dave has a theory which I particularly like. The reason so many of us like this way of life, pootling along on boats, is because us bipeds were designed to see the world and experience life at 3miles an hour (walking speed) and that is just the rate we travel at. At this natural speed you have plenty of time to absorb the peaceful surroundings and enjoy the atmosphere and the Thames on a sunny, slightly autumnal day hits all the senses. His theory adds up.

On one of my teaching assistant training days, I learned that nowadays we are bombarded with as much information in one day as people in the 17th C would have had a whole year to take in. Perhaps that's why so many of us are stressed. We need to sit and stare more.




                                          Dave


                                                 Queue at Goring Lock


All three of our fellow lock companions rush to grab the last moorings at Goring, good job we were going on!

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