Tuesday, 19 February: Walks and talks

I have never been very athletic.

At school I played the obligatory netball and tennis but preferred the novelty team races at our annual Inter-house sports day. As a young mom I tried 'pain for gain' with Jane Fonda on a video tape in a dusty school hall with other thirty-somethings. I have done my share of aerobics dressed in a stunning red leotard in fancy gyms to the sound of thumping pop music. In my forties I joined a running club and managed 12 km until I overdid it and incurred a hamstring injury. Pilates exercises lasted until my lower back protested. I have swum lengths of backstroke in swimming pools just to rehabilitate my back.

Now I have settled for the best exercise of all - walking and talking. In the mornings, as you will know, I exercise my two dogs at 4:45 am. I chat to Galahad who always gives me a smile in return. Tristram who is the focused and silent type keeps his eyes fixed on the road. I greet everyone I see at that unearthly hour to assure them and to be assured that we mean no harm. Thrice a week in the late afternoon I walk and talk with my two friends in the beautiful grounds of a nearby boys' high school. We enjoy walking down the leafy path shown in the photo and share our daily ups and downs, consult each other about 'parenting' our adult children and discuss movies and books.