Bradgate park | Day 210 of my 2023 Journal

Silke is still down with an inner ear infection. She is on painkillers and antibiotics, and we do our best to smooth the up to ten days she has to go through until it is over. It is hard, though, to just stay in our friend's house day in and day out. Luckily our van is our home, so if we go somewhere, she will still be at home, doing her things and having the option of tea and rest while the rest of the family is doing something else.

When we went to the park, I stayed with Silke in the van for a while, treating her ear, cooking her lunch and tea, and talking for a while before I left her for a nap and some hours of rest and joined the rest of the group. I left because it was no fun for her to walk, and it was no fun for her. The dogs were around as they were all excited about the park, and she was just tired.

I had a good half-hour walk all alone in the park with our two dogs before I found the rest of the group. Watching Britain in a park. The different people, their vibes and styles, and projects. I love to look at people.

There was a stream in the park, and the kids were playing in it. I was amused by observing most of them still had their shoes on in the water. Where I come from, everyone would take them off. I even overheard a mother tell her child he could not play in the stream today because he was wearing the wrong shoes. Cultures are fun.

Bratgate Park is a protected area and, at the same time, has asphalt paths for biking, lots of bins (I love that), and is full of people on Saturday. People have the option of educating themselves about the nature surrounding them by reading the many informative signs. It is nice in many ways. There are a lot of deer and a lot of areas where humans can not go. It also has a little enclosure for reflection and remembering, where oakleaves-shaped memory plates are put on trees, and you can walk or sit to think about the people you have lost. As we have a few, it did make good sense. Under the oak trees, just to stop and think about my mother, my grandmothers, my niece.

We arrived at the cafe 15 minutes before it closed and had our cream, coffee, and cake before we walked back to hang around the cars, play a bit of hardpan, do some organizing, and drive back to yet another evening of cooking, talking, and playing games.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

Thank you for reading
I would love to hear from you. Listen to your thoughts and reflections - or praise :) It is often emotional to share our life like this, and we get very happy when we get feedback from you. So feel free to share a comment below 😋 

See more images on Facebook

Read more about Bradgate Park here