Under the Downs

Off for a long country ramble today with Anton. Regular readers know that I live within a minute from the station. Anton, straining at the leash, appeared the traditional 25 minutes early, and we had plenty of time to score coffees in the station. One stop, just the other side of the Downs to Hassocks and then a long walk of five hours with the long line of the Downs on our left. As I've mentioned in this blog, down derives from the Anglo-Saxon for hill, as the downs are most definitely up.

A strong wind today. Threading through green fields, and through farmland, among the tracks of disused railways, and through rippling fields of green corn with the first touch of gold about them was beautiful. It's amazing how much more balanced and cheery you feel after a five hour walk, as if all kinds of things have been processed and filed away without you being conscious of them. This is despite Anton interminably lecturing on SME arms for record players produced in Steyning, at the end of our walk.

We ended up catching a bus outside Bramber Castle after a very brief beer. Anton accidentally brushing the dusty mud off his walking pole into the top of my pint of Harveys which was galling, but not enough to prevent me thirstily gulping it down. Then a taxi home from Shoreham.

Sat outside in Anton's back garden, drinking another cold beer, and chatting to Anna who is really excited about her new business. It's infectious.

After a short doze, had a quick GBK burger with Lorraine, and then we went off to the Komedia to watch The Straight Story, which was billed as "David Lynch's entrancing and quirky Straight Story on a big screen, with a new live soundtrack by Big Chill favourites Animat." More about that on The Daywork.

Below I used the movie function on my camera as an experiment just outside Hassocks. The surly figure at the end is Anton.