Wrexham County Borough 50 - planning a break away/picking up season tickets/life is bumbling along

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It felt Autumnal this morning . A slight nip to the air with a hint of rain . We had been lucky over the last few days to be blessed with an Indian summer . That late last hurrah or should it be huzzah of sunshine before the colder weather , the darker mornings, the shorter days and the long nights set in. Life felt like it was bumbling on in this part of Wales . I chose my paths carefully over the last few days . A trip along the river . Benign and very beautiful on this early Autumn morning . I pulled out the odd Himalayan Balsam plant that was quickly colonising the river bank . The thug of the river bank was pretty to be sure but neverless a thug it was . I must have looked odd pulling and tugging at the plants and discarding them along the river walk . I wondered why Natural Resources Wales did not clear the river bank of them . Surely they were overtaking the natural order of plants and ruining the sandbanks beloved by the kingfishers .

A second walk took me over the closed racecourse road . It was quiet at 7 in the morning , The two runners I often see where joined by runner number 3. They waved at me . They greeted me like the old friend you see now and again . The crows crowed and the road was blocked by a massive crane . The driver smiled , Wished me a good morning as I gingerly picked my way past the behemoth that was lifting metal cages of rocks over the hedges and placing them on the riverbank to curb the rivers flow . It was a pleasure to walk without cars driving past me . There were some good points to be considered when a road closes to traffic. I just had my own thoughts . The bracken was turning brown. The odd Birch tree was tinged with yellow. The acorns had started to fall . I thought that life was bumbling on and we had been living here 9 months now . No holiday abroad again . That still rankled . My thoughts were broken not by birdsong . The birds are missing these last few mornings . Nor was there the sound of the bees . The butterflies were not around . My thoughts were broken by the cluck cluck of the chickens who tried to follow me and the shouting in the distance of a man calling his dogs . Hugo he shouted . Bella where are you? I had seen no sign of a dog this morning . The aged hippy with his hair tied back did not greet me but just asked if I had seen his dogs . Not on the road I replied but they could be in the field . I left him looking over the hedges and gates into the sheep fields still shouting for the missing Hugo and Bella .

By the time I reached the main road I had met up with my Italian walking friend . She was heading back in the direction I had come from . She smiled . She always smiles . She always stops to talk the weather or the life in the village in general . I arrived home to coffee and toast .

The third day took me the reverse route . I met an elderly man walking . I see him most days. I know him as he always wears shorts . Yesterday I had noticed the blackberries out and planned to walk a slow walk stopping on the way to fill my bag with my prized possessions which would make up a crumble . It was bin day . I could hear the wagon coming down the road , The clanking of glass as it was thrown into the back of the wagon. I climbed into the hedgerow for them to pass me . "Crumble tonight then " they shouted . They passed me several times and waved to me or beeped the wagons horns , I was thinking about season tickets for the football which had not arrived . Would they appear today ? That was in between thinking about holidays in Scotland . More planning . more night stops to find . The red berries of the honeysuckle looked like rubies in brooches . The woody nightshade berries equally red strung across the hedgerows as if they were a necklace .

I soon arrived home - No tickets . Another trip the fourth one to the football ground . We finally picked up the season tickets . A result on a lovely Autumn day which quickly turned to torrential rain . A black menacing sky . Thunder but no lightening , It felt more like Autumn and the end of the Indian summer by mid afternoon . The world did just rumble , mumble and bumble along .

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