I've just been for a long walk, mainly in the countryside, although early on I saw what looked like a toolmaking factory. I gave it a wide berth and pressed on, and after about half an hour I was pleased to find £30 on the path in front of me. I carried on walking, but my route got more difficult and I began to tire. Not long before I got home I lost my concentration, stumbled a bit and lost £20 from the £30 that I found earlier. Initially I was disappointed with this, but when I finally arrived home I realised that I was still £10 better off than I was when I set off.
Coincidentally I've just been for a walk too. I had a top of the range phone in my pocket and was wearing a Rolex but sadly I got mugged and they took them both. I've popped into Tesco and bought a £30 phone and Casio calculator watch for £7.99. I won't get the same performance from them as I could from the better two but I can't expect to really when I've replaced good quality with budget versions.
A more accurate analogy would be: I went out for a walk to find some money, because I know that if I don't accumulate £500 over the course of 46 walks I'll be in big trouble. I found £30 on the first half of the walk, but I still had a long way to go. Unfortunately my parents didn't buy me the heavy duty walking boots I wanted for Christmas, just 937 pairs of flash looking but flimsy trainers from the charity shop. At the halfway point in my walk I thought the trainers I had on would probably disintegrate at some point on my way home so I decided that I needed to change my approach. I didn't have that many options so decided to do a handstand walk home, which in retrospect was a bad idea. I nearly made it all the way home with the £30, but due to me having turned things upside down at the halfway point £20 fell out of my pocket just as I got to the end of my road. Yes, I did end up with £10 which edges me closer to my £500 total, but it's frustrating when I should really be making it home with the full £30.
I reckon your watch and phone were nicked while you were in between walks in the middle of a series of long walks, not actually in the process of walking. If, on a walk, you found a Rolex, then lost it and found a Casio, you'd still be better off.
That's quite brilliant and there's no way I can beat it, so I might write something about politics instead...
That is true but if the rules of walking mean that you were handed £10 the second you set off and told that there is another £20 to find during your walk but you ended up going home with the standard tenner that was given to you by default as you left your front door then wouldn't you be a bit disappointed?
You don't get handed £10 at the start of the walk. You get an IOU for £10 which will be paid when you get back if you've walked at an acceptable pace and not got lost in a toolmaking factory on the way. There's a real risk of getting home skint, so getting home with £10 is better than nowt. Anyway I'm off to the Labour party conference now to join in with other mass debaters about the rise and fall of toolmaking in Barnsley.
Funnily enough, my husband went for a walk on Sunday. He thought he'd lost £30 on the way, but could not believe his luck when he found it in his pocket. Happy as a pig in muck he was... until some filthy Deedar snatched it out of his hand. Worst of it was, he blamed the cat.
I have an allotment where I grow Dahlias. I sold them and was able to buy more seed than before so next year I should have more flowers. At some point I need to decide whether to hold on to some of the really good specimens and see if I have a chance at winning a prize at the local show.
I'm on the last day of a late holiday in Spain, and I really have just got back from a walk. The locals were looking at me "gone art" as I kept stopping to look under stones, behind bushes, between pebbles etc. I found a Rolex, a Casio, some Dahlias, a €10 note, and 5 really sharp tools. Result!
Similarly I am on the next to last day of a late holiday in Crete. I too have just been for a walk where I purchased a Daniel Klein watch, I suspect this is Calvins less fashionably successful pretend brother. I was quite pleased with my purchase as despite its no doubt questionable quality, it does look good, however on the completion of the transaction the owner gave me another watch of the same brand for free as a gesture of his goodwill and a thank you for enjoying his countries hospitality. I now feel less enamoured with my purchase as it must be really cheap tat if he can do 2 for 1. I left Barnsley 31 years ago at the age of 18, but it never really leaves u does it.
If you don't go on the walks you're not a proper walker, and you're not allowed to comment on the other walkers.
Sadly, my old friend, I can't bring myself to go walking since our two dogs died these past few months. But one day I'll rediscover the joy of walking. Just not quite yet.
Your analogy would have been closer to the truth if you had said "I had a top of the range phone in my pocket and was wearing a Rolex but sadly the bloke that lent them to me decided he wanted them back. I would loved to have kept them but they didn't belong to me"