Train to London from Norwich; I had to record the last two programmes for my radio series (it starts on Monday) Everything You Think About Sport Is Wrong. Got a seat on the Eastern side as always; left side of the train in this direction. Read the paper. Ate sandwiches. Read the scripts, mouthing the words and stressing the stresses with mad wags of the head – the high seat-backs give you enough privacy to do this without embarrassment.
Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich. Slow down as we approach Manningtree and… up with the head and down with the script. A more or less automatic process. The Stour Estuary was spread out before me and there were distant dark shapes that might be brent geese. A chunky ill-seen wader was probably a curlew. Black-headed gulls. Mallards. And yes! – an egret. And another. And yet another.
That yes, did I say it aloud? I think I did, though probably not very noisily. I took a lighting glance around the carriage — no one seemed too agitated — before turning back to the estuary. Little flotilla of mute swans and yes again – one last egret. And yet I was appalled.
As I replayed that lighting glance back to myself, I realised that no one else was looking out of the window. All eyes were on newspapers or phones or even books, or the passengers sat with closed eyelids or staring at nothing. I wanted to harangue the lot of them: all you have to do to bring a moment of beauty into your hard-working morning is to turn your head by 30 degrees.
And I bet they all watched Planet Earth II. David Attenborough didn’t need to slap them to make them watch the snow leopards. Yet here was real beauty, available, living and breathing just a few yards away and it had viewing figures of one. Have we forgotten that nature is real? That the wild world is available to us all for the price of a tiny shift of vision?
I know, I know. Please use this in your ST column and maybe shame some into putting their gift of sight to good use.
Yes, Simon the Stour estuary is a wonderful sight, as are most wide open spaces of course, and it is a great pity that many people do not seem to recognise the fact, hopefully those that did not look with you may look eventually.
Saw our first lesser egret on Petersfield lake/pond a couple of days ago. Been seeing them around Chichester harbour for a long time.
We went by train from Madrid to Toledo and were delayed, stopping by a large puddle/small lake which had been colonised by various birds including an egret. As it was Spain, we got a complete refund of the fare as we sat there for about 6 minutes and were therefore late. For us it was the best part of the journey – a bit of a result really.
Two comments: Everything You Think About Sport Is Wrong was on this week! I’ve caught a couple of episodes and enjoyed. Will listen as a flock on I Player.
Yes – What depresses me the most is when kids are trying to engage with the passing scene and the parents are locked into their phones. Perhaps you should point and shout more?!
Don’t worry Simon, it’s their loss, although saddening too. I tell myself that it’s all for me which is selfish I know because we should try to open peoples’ eyes but it’s the feeling of knowing and seeing something they haven’t that gives a certain thrill.
p.s.
We’ve walked from Wrabness to Manningtree, it’s a great walk.
maybe they are reading one of your books!!!
Hi Simon
I remember you saying in a blog some time back, that when we’re outside all we need to do is stop, look and listen and the wild world will come to us. Never a truer word was said. Outside can be urban or rural but thousands of people ignore it courtesy of their mobile phones and closed minds. Good luck with your programmes.
Absolutely agree. I’ve travelled London-Norwich quite a bit over the years (though nowhere nearly as much as you!) and I always make a point of looking at the Stour estuary — there’s usually something interesting to be seen. But then I spend most of most train journeys looking out of the window for the very occasional special sight. I also used to love the line from Norwich to Ely, just as travelling by car (more usual these days) I love to keep an eye out (from the passenger seat) when crossing Thetford and environs.
Hi Simon.
Just read your blog in Nairobi, having for the last three days done what you advocate- looking at the Wild. Naibosho Conservancy- on the edge of the Mara, doing all the good things the Mara has forgotten. Humans and animals working well together- true conservancy.
Same sort of story as yours. No need to seek out the big cats. Here in Karen, we look out on our friends’ garden and see black headed weavers, Sun birds and assorted l b j’s. Nature all around us, even at home in Bristol, where blasted badgers came into the garden and took all my grapes. Sometimes nature bites back!
Bob Reeves
But one time several of us shoppers did stop to watch a billion starlings doing their formation dancing above Aldi car park in Northwich, so all is not lost . Only me to watch the geese oinking over Sport Direct though ! To me that’s a really wild, haunting sound , so high up in the air above all human traffic. They must be so chuffed to be ready to land as well.
How true. On one trip to New York (to see the family there), we were on the fringe of Central Park and had just seen a raptor we couldn’t identify. Then we spotted a man with binoculars slung around his neck and asked him: he identified it as a Red-Tailed Hawk, then added that he lived in an apartment on Broadway, not 200 yards away and went for a walk every day. He didn’t allow himself to go home until he had spotted 10 species of birds every day.
Seemed like a good idea: whenever I go on a walk of any length, I try to tot up as many species as I can (tho’ I don’t distinguish between types of pigeon). It was a good day last Sunday when we walked from Lancaster Gate Tube to the Serpentine Gallery and back, crossing the Serpentine twice, counting well over a dozen species.
Not difficult when you try. Though I do notice the lack of sparrows in London.
Spot on. And the real stuff is 100 times more wild and uplifting than the TV screen!