I'm a fan of The Archers, so I know a group of beaters when I come across them on a footpath, and this happened yesterday. Following a route around one of Northamptonshire's many Big Houses that took us into some lovely hidden villages, Mr T and I came upon a group of people who greeted us with a hearty 'Happy New Year' and reassurance that we would be quite safe on our walk because the guns would be pointing the other way. Always good to know.I love walking in the countryside, but I wouldn't like to live there. I need to be able to pop out for a pint of milk (or beer, come to that) without having to get out the Landy. I also enjoy having street lights, proper drains and reliable broadband. Then there's the animals. I'm not frightened of them, but I'm not over keen. I was holding forth on this when we rounded a corner and were confronted with the scene in the above photo. Not for me, thank you.
We had a bit of a Chuckle Brothers moment with some sheep, too. We walked through a really wide field where there was a small flock of sheep at either end. As we set off, both groups walked towards the middle and it looked for all the world as though they were changing ends at half-time in some woolly team game. However, they all turned to follow us towards the gate, clearly expecting something that we were not equipped to provide. We laughed nervously. Like I said, not frightened, but certainly glad to reach the boundary and put a sturdy barrier between them and us.
I'm such a townie.
I'm okay without streetlights or reliable broadband. Heck, if the Internet goes out, I can always read for awhile. But I sure do like my pizza delivery!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! Where would we be without our emergy takeaways?
DeleteI'm basically a city girl, too; both my husband and I are city folks. We love to be able to walk everywhere to stores, bookshops, galleries, cafes, etc. But the country charms, too. I love flocks of sheep, and all the greenery, though probably really only as a visitor. What I like, when I say country, is little villages surrounded by country.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a small market town and many of my schoolfriends were farmers, so I'm not averse to a bit of mud on my wellies - just not all the time.
DeleteJulia, unfortunately we live in a pheasant breeding/shooting area (we didn't know that when we bought the house!!), so the sight that greeted you as you came around the corner is something that I see quite often. Yuck. I like living out here, in the middle of nowhere but I could definitely do without the pheasants!
ReplyDeleteThey just looked so sad, Helen.
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