Dear LPG

There is a fair portion of our English winter to go yet, which leaves us in the days when there is little light in the mornings and evenings.   There is the cold, frost with its potential for causing accidents, the dark which makes for difficulty seeing tripping hazards, also crime and all the safety issues that that can provoke.  I, for one, try to be indoors as soon as the darkness comes down each day because there is more than one thing that is really unsafe about the streets of London, or any street, when it is dark.

But now is the time that I look forward to getting out again and the good weather that will be with us in the near future.  We are now well past the darkest day of the UK year and on our way to spring and summer, but I had a friend tell me that even when the days are longer and milder there is no real point in going out.

I just want to remind readers that even if you don’t need to go shopping or to the doctors there is always somewhere that you can go to. 

Can I suggest your local park?  There is something really special about being able to get away from it all and we nearly all have one less than half a mile down the road from where we live.  I find the fact that, depending on its size and the acuteness of your hearing, the sound of traffic, which is one of those sounds that we now have no choice but to take for granted in our life’s background, disappears if you choose to find a seat near the middle of a park, and if you  are lucky enough to live near one where there is a children’s swing park, once the sun makes an appearance with the milder weather, there are many memories to be had while watching the children play. 

I also have to say that getting back to nature can be a diversion as I watch the birds, squirrels, plants and trees work their way through their annual cycles. They say that a dog is the way to go because of the extra exercise walking them forces owners to have but, even though I don’t think a dog is the way forward for me, I am now acquainted with quite a few of the local dogs and their walkers.

When I was younger, busier and had more chores and places to go, I often used my local park as a short cut to the main road from where I live, and I found it to be a five-minute peaceful diversion before getting back to the reality of my routine. I have to say that now I am older I could read the paper at home alone, but in the warmer weather there is something very therapeutic about putting a newspaper or book, and a flask of tea or bottle of water in a bag and spending an hour or so watching the world go by while I sit in a more peaceful setting and I would truly like to recommend this to all.

PL, Lewisham

LPG found some information for our readers…

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