Friday, February 01, 2008

stalking trolley, pockets, first throw

In the twitten, near our house, someone has left a supermarket trolley. It rests on some uneven ground so that one of its wheels is raised, while the other three are level with the path. The posture is that of a cat, which freezes when stalking a bird or mouse, while at the same time, readying itself to pounce.

I like jackets with plenty of pockets. If they have zips so much the better. I want somewhere to keep a note book, pencil, money and other valuables, a camera, spectacles, whatever I happen to be reading, and anything else which may come in useful. Those fishing jackets which are more pocket than jacket are ideal for me, though I am not a fisherman. Barbour waterproof jackets have big, inside pockets known as "gamekeepers pockets". I like those too, even if I do not use them everyday to stow the carcasses of pheasants. I have, for a long time, had the fantasy of having a garment made with pockets in which I could pack the few clothes I would need to walk round the world, making rucksacks and the like, unneccessary and leaving my hands free to scale mountains and other obstacles.

A small but potent pleasure is throwing something at a wastpaper basket and getting it in first time.

3 comments:

tristan said...

and you could coil fifty metres of climbing rope around your torso for unexpected cliffs and coconut trees

Fire Bird said...

what is a 'twitten'? Is it another regional word for alley, like 'ginnel' up here?
I love those bin moments too...

Unknown said...

You're right, Tall Girl. A twitten is a local word, (Kent, Sussex), for an alley between the backs of houses in parallel streets. Thanks for ginnel, another good word which sounds like what it is. There are, apparently, other words in other parts of the country for the same thing.

Tristan, you could build coils of rope into the shoulders as well as round the waist of the jacket providing extra insulation when not in use.