Saturday, 5 November 2011

After Dark in Rural Derbyshire.

After dark and after dinner I decided to go for a moonlit walk. I did so for four reasons:

1) I was bored. There’s nothing on the TV and nothing I want to read at the moment. I’ve had no e-mails for five days and no comments on any of the last twenty posts, so there’s nothing to respond to. And I’m still bereft of any ideas for a new story.

2) I’d been hearing the cracks and bangs of fireworks for some time (it being Bonfire Night in Britain) and I thought I might catch the odd display somewhere.

3) I was curious to see whether Sarah’s bunch were having a bonfire with all the tree branches they’ve been lopping off lately.

4) I wanted to see whether the village pub was still open. There’s a planning notice gone up to convert it to holiday lets. The traditional British pub is rapidly becoming a thing of the past for a number of reasons, which is an awful shame but a sign of the times.

Despite the cold, it was a pleasant experience. There are no streetlights here, and the sight of the lane being illuminated by the gibbous moon where there are gaps in the hedgerow trees was atmospheric and almost surreal. And I realised why I’ve always liked torches (flashlights to Americans.) There’s something both functional and reassuring about a small bit of kit that brings light into darkness.

No comments: