Time for a good, long walk with my camera over my shoulder in unfamiliar territory.
I drove north up the M1 motorway to Junction 41 - but from there I wasn't heading east into Wakefield. My destination was just to the west - the village of East Ardsley. Beforehand I had checked out Google Streetview and planned to park close to St Michael's Church.
With boots double tied to prevent the laces from unravelling, I checked out the churchyard before embarking on the circular route I had planned with the aid of this Ordnance Survey map:-
The walk took me under the motorway then west along Blind Lane past Haigh Hall Spring Wood before circumnavigating Ardsley Reservoir which you can see left of centre. Then along Westerton Road and back round to the church - the symbol for which you might be able to spot just to the east of the word "Ardsley".
I had some sustenance on my way. In the reservoir car park I bought a small vanilla cone from the ice cream van and from the "Tesco Express" on Westerton Road I bought a pint of milk which I guzzled while sitting on the wall outside.
I felt happily weary as I drove back down the motorway, listening to radio news of a horrible assault upon two Jewish men down in London. Apparently, it involved a knife and an attacker with a history of mental illness and that second fact made me wonder why what happened was judged to be a terrorist attack - but hey, I'm just a simple guy. What do I know?
The first picture and the images below should give you some sense of both today's walk and the weather that drew me out there.
It looks like you had quite a nice walk. The photos are lovely. What is the arrow on the stone pointing to?
ReplyDeleteThe carved arrow is just to help walkers - in case they are not sure which way to go.
DeleteIt was a good choice to visit such an attractive area.
ReplyDeleteMost people would think of it as depressed, post-industrial area but there are always good sights to see in good weather.
DeleteA beautiful day and walk.
ReplyDeleteAnd blogger!
DeleteLovely photos. My sister's married name is Wakefield and when my brother and I were kids we thought the name was so strange.
ReplyDeleteThe small city of Wakefield was once the main administrative centre for The West Riding of Yorkshire.
DeleteMy kind of walk! Such blissful days always make me wonder why people can't simply enjoy themselves in a quiet, peaceful way; instead they attack others with knives or even just say unpleasant things to each other.
ReplyDeleteIf they just went out for an invigorating walk every week or two I am sure that their nasty aggression would diminish.
DeleteLovely photos and an interesting question.
ReplyDeleteIn summary, terrorism is defined as the use or threat of action designed to:
* Influence the government or intimidate the public (or a section of the public), and
* Be done for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause
The “action” itself must also involve at least one of the following:
* Serious violence against a person
* Serious damage to property
* Endangering a person’s life (other than the attacker’s)
* Creating a serious risk to public health or safety
* Serious interference with or disruption of an electronic system (for example, cyberattacks)
Based on what I have read about the appalling incident it certainly ticks the first boxes on each of those lists.
I don't know anything about the assailant but can a genuinely disturbed person with known mental health issues really be a terrorist? I am not so sure. To me it was bad enough that he attempted to murder two decent, law-abiding citizens.
DeleteI love the photo with the path and the tree limbs growing over the trail. My kind of walk!
ReplyDeleteI only met one other walker all day and he had just left that spot moments before with his little dog. If you enlarge the picture you can see him just disappearing ahead.
DeletePerfect walking weather.
ReplyDeleteShame you couldn't join me Ellen. You could have also sat outside the Tesco Express with a pint of milk or a coke.
DeleteThe trees' shadows are especially nice, I think.
ReplyDeleteA simple picture but the light makes it special.
DeleteJihad on the streets of London.
ReplyDeleteJewish men, women and children living in terror.
The Far Left with their fantasies about defeating fascism while never questioning
the Islamic agenda ...
The knife attacks on two Jewish men can be seen in the context of terrorism
and Far Left antisemitism.
I interviewed Abram Games, Len Deighton's art tutor, in Golders Green in the
early 1980s. Why is this beautiful suburb now a place of danger for Jews ?
ISLAMIST NETWORKS IN EUROPE : FRERISME, HALAL ECONOMY &
IDEOLOGICAL INFILTRATION. YouTube. Arguably.
AYAAN HIRSI ALI : RADICAL MUSLIMS ARE ABOUT TO FLOOD EUROPE.
YouTube. GB News.
We have no idea what is coming.
Ayaan is one of the lone voices with the courage to speak out.
Perhaps you and I should convert to Islam before it's too late - though of course we would just be pretending. They would never detect our ruse. Mind you I would find reciting from the Quran exceedingly boring.
DeleteA schoolgirl of 16 said to her friend in my local library :
Delete' Be a good Muslim. '
She spoke those words wisely. If only all Islam could be as gentle.
GOLDERS GREEN ATTACK : TERROR THREAT LEVEL THREAT RAISED TO
SEVERE AFTER SUSPECT IDENTIFIED.
YouTube. The Daily Record.
The Arabic of the Quran is said to be beautiful. I wish I could speak it.
Peter Levi tried to teach himself Arabic before going to Afghanistan.
*The Light Garden of the Angel King.* A wonderful read.
I heard Levi read from his poems along with PJ Kavanagh at the
Cheltenham Literary Festival.
Looks like a nice walk! I think the stabbings were judged to be terrorism because, mental illness or not, they were ideologically motivated. (Unlike the Southport stabbings or those in Nottingham, which were just lunacy.) Admittedly, it's a fine line what's terrorism and what's not.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's a conundrum. When is a terrorist not a terrorist?
DeleteBeautiful pictures, as usual, my friend.
ReplyDeleteSo kind Donna. Thank you. And I hope you are fine.
DeleteIt's fun to explore a new place and even more fun to explore it a second time.
ReplyDeleteOn a second visit things can often seem different and maybe you see things you did not see before.
DeleteDo you have a special 'exploration' hat for your expeditions? If not you should.
ReplyDelete