Monday, 30 January 2012

Leeds Visit - The World In A Weekend

My sons live in Leeds.  They went to University there and like many others do, they stayed on. It only takes a couple of hours to commute to and with friends who have children as far away as Cambodia and Australia, I can hardly complain. And well, it is a fab city! You can read more about them at:
Foodandbiscuits.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/davepilla
as I can tend to go on a bit!


So, it was that I found myself there for the weekend, staying with Joe and his lovely fiance, Jo, knowing that I would be well fed and looked after!  On the Saturday afternoon whilst Jo was preparing our Burn's Night feast and Joe and David were celebrating a great win - to do with football and somewhere called Manchester.............I decided to take a walk around the lake in Roundhay Park, which is right by where they live and is one of the largest parks in Europe - see www.roundhaypark.org.uk  


It was the late afternoon of a day that had been very sunny and this often provides good light for taking photos - which as regular readers know, I do - often! Hardly surprisingly, it was very busy and after a while I went off the path up to what is apparently a folly but I thought was the remains of a fortress, and had a good nose about before going through some enchanting woods, then reaching another lake, this time with a fountain. Whilst this was more of a stroll for me, I  very much enjoy walking.  This is because it is a good way, for me at least, to clear my head, chew over worries or generally think about love, life, ideas, dreams and schemes. 




On that day my thoughts turned to what was going on around me and I came to see that this busy park, if only at this moment in time, was representative of an ideal world.  Oh, and how did she reach that one then?!! Well, I reached it by seeing that it was full of:
  • Different generations, from tiny tots on tops of shoulders, giggling groups of teenagers, to much older folk, some in wheelchairs and being pushed by friends or family 
  • I heard different languages including Polish and French and a few unknowns, in addition to English, with a few different dialects too
  • Leeds is a multi-cultural city and this diversity was very evident 
  • Different types of families, some clearly 'well heeled' and some seemingly less so
  • There were certainly many different breeds of dogs!
  • There were walkers, bikers, rowers, joggers, skaters and some prepared for the muddy conditions and some not
It felt safe, ordered, genteel almost and I could sense the presence of people from years ago promenading along (you had to be there perhaps!). Everyone was out to enjoy the same things but maybe they weren't all pondering about them: 
  • The beautiful cold, crisp day
  • The park itself which even in winter displayed many colour variations through the trees, hills and general foliage
  • Being connected to something bigger than ourselves
  • The promise of things to come, due to the few early snowdrops and other shoots of crocuses
  • Watching a child see different things for the first time, or trying to stay upright on their Christmas bike
  • Quality time with family and friends having some fun together
Also during the two days away, we heard the exciting news of three healthy births which was so lovely.  Sadly though, we also had news of the death of a dear friend's mum.  She had reached what many would deem 'a good age'.  She had though, just had a successful knee operation so the manner and speed of her death has left the family devastated.

In just the couple of days I was away, I saw how great it can be when everyone comes together to enjoy the same things rather than become fractured and fight due to the differences. I felt and shared the deep joy or great pain which are also part of the cycle of life. Bizarrely, these lines from a song came into my head too.  They are from 'Nature Boy' written by Eden Ahbez in 1947, made famous by Nat King Cole and featured in the film 'The Boy With Green Hair' (which I have!).  They go like this:

        "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return"
That is certainly how I felt when I went away for a weekend ..........and saw the world.



2 comments:

  1. You take beautiful pictures and write so eloquently its always a pleasure to read your blogs. I'm glad you had a lovely visit and safe journey, this city of mine has a lot of wonderful places to visit, its just a shame that life gets in the way of appreciating them as much as we should do. Thank you for opening my eyes to Roundhay Park again, we used to go as children for the full day with our parents and a picnic, I have also been several times with my own children, fishing for tadpoles and for bonfire night. Your pictures brought back some nice memories.

    Berni@scouseboysbabe

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    1. I am glad you will try and visit the park again, it is stunning. I have also been to Golden Park (think that's right)which is fab too. I try and do similar things here on the Wirral, encouraging people to visit places they may never even have been to, or to show them in a fresh light.Bring back picnics too, I say!! x

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