Yesterday, the promised broken sunshine never happened. A thick layer of cloud blanketed our part of the planet on what was the shortest day of the year in this hemisphere. Now, day by day, the light will return.
I drove to the foot of Mam Tor - the shivering mountain - at the far end of The Hope Valley. Clint was also shivering as I donned my walking boots and set off. "Don't be too long!" he called after me as I grinned peevishly to myself, knowing I wouldn't be back for at least two and a half hours.
Climbing up the valley side to Hollins Cross I needed to urinate so I removed my woollen, fingerless gloves and watered a lonesome sycamore tree. It may have been there that I managed to lose my left glove. No doubt I hadn't pushed it deeply enough into my coat pocket. I just hate losing things and it rarely happens.
I walked along The Great Ridge and up to the summit of Mam Tor. Often when I am out rambling in the countryside I don't see another soul but yesterday there were plenty of people about in what is one of the most popular areas in the entire Peak District.
Factored into my circuitous route, I planned to do something I had never done before - walk down Winnats Pass. It is a remarkable little valley. 340 million years ago it was in fact a gap in a primordial coral reef but now it is a solidified feature of the limestone landscape. I have driven up and down it dozens of times but never walked its entire length.
Halfway down the valley, I spotted a woollen hat that some unfortunate rambler had dropped. My moral compass said, "Pick it up and take it home!" so that is what did. Confucius say: In life one may sometimes lose a glove before finding a hat. The hat smells new and is possibly Chinese. We have many Chinese university students in Sheffield and the label on the front reads "SONG TING - The Poiener of Fhsaihno Rendts" I understand it is meant to read "The Pioneer of Fashion Trends" but hey, who cares about accuracy?
Last night, we received the glum news from London that Ian's girlfriend Sarah has tested positive for COVID so for the second year running he will not be with us for Christmas. Once again, he was so looking forward to being back in his home city and he had bought an array of gifts. In turn, I had bought the two of them football match tickets and theatre tickets too. It is now unlikely that these will be used. What a damned rotter Senor COVID has proven to be!
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/3strdjm