The Autumn Schedule

I was gently but firmly reminded by my friend, Peter, that I had become silent on my planned walking, especially the Great France Walk from Caen on the Channel coast to Cassis on the Mediterranean coast.

Peter won't be able to do any walking in France this autumn as his own schedule is rather full. I agreed that the Best Beloved and Herself would certainly concur on that point, although I am pleased to say that the Best Beloved is also involved in many of our theatrical activities:

"The Party Guest", a touring production buy the Bench Theatre, goes into performance next week and the first full week in October, carefully side stepping the Havant Literary Festival.

In the Festival Best Beloved and I are doing the Bench Theatre Ghost Walks of Old Havant and I am also playing William Cobbett on the Sunday doing readings from his Rural Rides.

We are also starting our series of stories for young children under the title of "The Tale Tellers" at the Arts Centre, which takes us up to December 19th and the "Night Before Christmas".

I start rehearsals next week for a new Cloak and Dagger murder mystery, "Spirit is Willing", in which, for once, I survive to the end and am not killed off sooner. This is a mixed blessing as it means there are more lines to learn. In November I have "Life's Lottery" on a Friday and "Spirit is Willing" on a Saturday so the old grey memory cells are going to be well and truly stretched.

Especially as by about that time it will be books down for "What the Butler Saw", the Bench production fro 17th to 28th November so I will have a third set of lines running around in my head. I have to work hard putting the lines into my head but seem to have a part of my brain trained to that effect. However it is making the words come out in the right order and in the right play that takes the real effort these days.

After that I am resting and preparing for my baby girl's 30th birthday!

Anyway I had to agree that the Walking France project was on the back burner this Autumn.

My short term aim is the Wayfarers Walk in sections.
The Walk stretches from Emsworth just along the coast from us up north to
the Inkpen beacon in Berkshire. I intend walking the first section from
Emsworth to our house before the end of September as that should be very
easy. I have got the maps for every section of the walk going north except
the last bit in Berkshire. I am using the walk to follow maps and use the
compass. It is also good practice in working out the logistics of getting
to the start of each section and getting back at the end. Hopefully I will
walk it in one direction but that depends on logistics and I may need to
be flexible. I am also hoping that in the later stages I will also be able
to cope with a lightweight load of rucksack, tent and sleeping bag so I
can be more self sufficient and independent when over in France.
As you can see the Walking in France endeavour hasn't disappeared but simply been postponed and I am still hoping to make my first attempt at the first stretch in 2010.

Peter did wonder whether my concern over Pompey's struggles have contributed to the Walking in France project being put on the back burner and I have attempted to answer that concern on my Pompey Corrigan47 blog.