I have a voice .. I have a choice ...

I just LOVE this .... could sit here all day!

"You have a voice, you have a choice. Apply both daily and you will be on the road to personal freedom." – Debra Oakland

Urgh .... our ramble this morning was disrupted by the Grumpy Old Man again!!  He needs to get a life ... he needs to focus on his attitude .... his anger .... his aggression ..... he needs HELP!!

We “ran into him” at the top of the stairs at Ladies Bay this morning .... we were heading up and he was heading down.  As we exited onto the road two people were stepping down ... I didn’t realise who it was and said Good Morning and called the hound out of the way.  With no hesitation he started his tirade about dogs being on the beach and, in an instant of hearing his voice, I recognised him as the unpleasant man who’d accosted me on the beach last year.

An exchange of words took place ... his hostile and angry ... we eventually walked down the road, his threats ringing in our ears.  I’ve phoned the police this morning and reported him .... his behaviour and aggression are totally unacceptable.  The police re-iterated again, as they did last year when he accosted me, that we should immediately phone 111 should we have any further contact with him. 

I’m thinking “extermination” again ..... and I really don’t like thinking like that ... but he’s a nasty old man ... not just grumpy.


I’m not the only one who’s had run-ins with him.  On my way back from leaving Julia and Indy at the bottom of their road, I met up with the couple who walk two retrievers.  They were having a chuckle at my hound’s long rope .... they’re dying for the Dog Warden to come to the beach again and try and tell me she’s not on a lead!  I happened to mention the grumpy old man to them .... they themselves haven’t had a run in with him but they know several people who have.  

I’ve asked them to spread the word and let other “humans with hounds” know they should report any abusive aggressive behaviour from him to the Police. The Police take it very seriously but they need members of the public to come forward and lay complaints in order to take it further.

Despite the presence of the ‘GOM’ we had an awesome ramble this morning .... there’s something so special about walking this early.  The sun’s not quite risen .... there’s still a heaviness and darkness to the sky ..... it’s quite dramatic at times.  The only other early-morning devotees are fellow ramblers, joggers, kayakers and cyclists. 

I don’t know if their enthusiasm for early morning rambles matches ours .... a lot of people exercise for the benefit of the exercise .... but we ramble because of the enjoyment it brings us.  Sure ... it has huge benefits physically ..... it has huge benefits psychologically .... both for Julia and I and for our hounds .... but for me, the enjoyment of walking with a kindred spirit and feeling at one with the world cannot be beaten.

We’re experiencing really low tides on our beaches here on the eastern shores ...... it adds a completely new dimension to the landscape ..... and a completely new perspective to my photos. I LOVE where I live .... I love its diversity .... I love it’s people -  apart from the ‘GOM’. 

I love its rugby too but I can’t possibly be seen to be supporting the Flightless Fowls.  I even love it’s weather, though we do seem to have had an inordinate number of cloudy days and excessive rain this summer. I’m choosing though to go with the flow of everyday life ... no matter what it brings .... no matter where it takes me .... all that lies before me is good ... oh yeah!