I allocate a few hours some afternoons for a walk through the woods, on my way to the town of Newton Abbot where I might stop for a coffee and a snack from Greggs. It's an old Market Town with a train station, butchers, opticians, pharmacies, card shops, charity shops, and a handful of high-street clothing stores.
The layout of the city is conducive to walking, and I particularly love that the pedestrian path from my base is a 15-minute walk through the woods.
Some days there's no one in sight, but today I saw some familiar faces of dogwalkers with their dogs. There were blue skies that counteracted the blues, and everyone was in an engaging mood, which was uplifting and put a spring back in everyone's step. Here you can get a general idea of the population of Newton Abbot.
Some areas that I went by.
It's a lovely walk as the town is geared towards pedestrians, and a quick stroll across a park takes me out onto the main road leading to the town.
I dodged the shopping street and stayed within the residential areas since there was nothing that I needed to purchase. My main mission anyhow was just to break away from the computer, go outside in nature and get some exercise, bearing in mind that it's uphill going back home.
The UK is of an ageing population, which you will observe in this town and many others across the UK. It's not surprising though because in more developed countries like the Uk, there's pretty good healthcare under the National Health Service, and the elderly are looked after.
So, many of those that I encounter on my walks, are older people who live alone with a dog or cat, as their only companion. They have little human interaction, and crave conversation, just a quick chat. As I was returning home, I met an elderly lady and we said hello and commented on the weather, a usual topic of conversation here in the Uk. Her face brightened up and I noticed that she used sign language to communicate with her 16-year-old dog who is now deaf. The elderly lady said she was happy to stop and chat with me because she lives alone and goes long periods without speaking to anyone.
I choked up hearing that, and made sure that my body language said "I've got time for you."
There is so much to learn from the elderly, and I love the spark they have when reminiscing and sharing stories from their past.
The lady expressed that times have changed and that people no longer say hello or smile at each other. I agreed with her.
I think touchpads have replaced the human touch and people are losing the ability to interact with each other. The same was that the younger generation seems to have forgotten how to write because everyone only types on computers.
The lady said, that her grandchildren don't use commas and punctuation anymore and that maybe she's being a tyrant by trying hard to hold onto the English language. Don't you think some things are worth holding onto? Do you think the elderly are wise and that their "voices" matter?
I enjoy these walks whenever I'm back here, and these encounters are fulfilling and always worth my time.
Thanks for stopping by:)))
All images belong to me