A few years ago, I spent a lot of time producing an entry for a writing competition, which required a piece of descriptive writing linked the Fens and travelling, and encounters with nature and wildlife. I can't remember the exact rubric, but it was about travelling.
I decided to write about a journey that I have made over 2000 times.... from home to work and back again.
It took me weeks to write on and off, and at the end I didn't think it was quite good enough to enter, so never used it - imposter syndrome again perhaps. It's sat on my hard drive for a couple of years and perhaps now is time to just put it out there... I'm quite pleased with some elements of it.
B1145-A1065-A47-A1122-A10 by Alan Parkinson
Some travel to work or school the same way each day - some by train, others by bike or scooter (electric or otherwise), walking, in the car, even by boat in some cases.
It also models the act of "noticing" and "more than human encounters". I talk about buildings, the drainage of the Fens, the animals and birds that I notice, and the changing seasons. There were other things I could include: the names of more of the woods and copses, the rivers over which I pass including chalk streams and major rivers.
Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license
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