A Walk Into Eltham

This has very loose connections to food - the destination is a supermarket to buy the Saturday newspaper for David - but I thought it would (a) make the walk slightly more interesting because the aim was to take some photos along the way and (b) it might put all the food thing in context. Well I’ll try to anyway.

SUBURBIA ON A SATURDAY MORNING

I had hoped to see some kangaroos along the way - I did last time but this was not to be. But that’s an aside really.

When I set off it was blue sky but chilly - indeed for the first time I did not shed my top garment along the way. David now tells me it was only 8 degrees. Good for walking though. And my main picture that starts this article shows our false spring. In winter the wattles bloom and they have just begun to do this - these particular cootamundra wattles (a weed I believe in the eyes of those who are into keeping Eltham pure and indigenous) were combined with a beautiful gum tree. There are daffodils and jonquils out and also some flowering cherries - so you think it’s spring - not so - it’s over a month away and it is still very definitely winter.

I was pretty pleased with the speed of my walking this time and also that I was not completely defeated by the last climb up Sweeney’s Lane - which might be a leftover from more walking whilst on holiday, might be to do with having lost some weight and might also be to do with just generally walking more. And I really should do it more anyway. I should try and do it at least twice a week. It’s not enough to just lose weight.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” Nietzsche

Now wouldn’t it be nice to think that this was true - can’t say I produced any great thoughts on this or any other walk. You do think more though.

But back to the actual walk. Above are pictures I took of a couple of my favourite spots. The quiet little court tucked away into the back of Eltham, the vista you get of the distant hills just as you are coming into central Eltham and the amazingly decrepit house that is full of junk in the front yard - though you can’t quite see into it without being rude and going right up to it. Today there were bikes outside as well and the basketball net is still on the telegraph pole. A bit of ‘old’ Eltham I am guessing.

Just a little bit further on and it started to rain and I got a tiny bit wet. But I was quite proud of being able to put a little spurt on to get out of the rain. David pulled up just as I got to the destination which was going to be Aldi but became Woolworths because that’s where he was and it was closer.

So here’s the food connection - the supermarket as destination! And the context - eating the right kind of food and the right quantity enables you to walk into Eltham It was a relief to get out of the rain and the cold. Yes I was cold.