The Benefits of Recession?
11 May 2009 by Peter Barrett
On a recent long weekend, I actually had a bit of time on my hands to relax – which meant I got a few more things to do around the house (naturally).
One activity was to take our dog, Reggie, for a walk. He’s a rescue dog and getting quite old now, so he is nowhere near as frisky as he used to be when we first got him. He’s a hunting dog (the technical name is Grande Petit Bassett Griffon Vendeen – it’s French apparently) and he loves nothing better than to run after squirrels, even though he never catches one!
Consequently, taking him on a small block for a walk takes about two or three times as long as it used to. However, we are fortunate enough to live near a forest, some fields and a pretty bluebell meadow and I figured it was a lovely evening so I would take Reggie for a long walk through the woods and nearby barley fields – even though I had a feeling that I might actually arrive back home about three days later…
As I crossed the barley field I remembered that there was a planning application to take over the land and convert it into a couple of cricket pitches – complete with pavilion – and even some tennis courts. There’s only one small lane into this field and it would not be able to support the heavy traffic that would come down it if the application went ahead. Anyway, to cut a long story short I found out that the application was abandoned due to economic pressures.
As I slowly walked Reggie back through the woods, I stopped for a moment to appreciate the sunlight coming through the trees and admire the view over the fields as dusk approached. It was a beautiful moment and I think I must have got lost in reverie as next thing I know there’s a female dog-walker staring at me from afar (probably thinking I’m quite mad to be standing still in a wood looking into the distance). But it struck me – there must be some good things coming out of this recession? I found one. How about you?
Pictured: Peter’s dog Reggie, Christmas ’08.
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About the Blogger
Peter Barrett
A fan of Arcade Fire, U2, T-Bone Burnett, Radiohead, Everton football club (since I was zero), Liverpool (the town where I was born), poems (writing and reading them), Flannery O’Connor and David Mitchell, coastlines and deserted places, changing the world while having fun and films by Martin Scorcese.
11 May 2009
Reverie. Now there’s a great word which could do with making a comeback. How else to respond so such ordinary epiphany.