Day 6

19th August 2022 – Friday – 3pm

Start at Bridge No. 4, Meggetland

The weather is gentle

sunny, warmth on the skin

Wind that gently circles and enfolds

South West wind again

The water on the surface of the canal

ripples gently to the East

Touch the telegraph pole that I last touched yesterday

And love the smell of lindeed

Lie on the bank

Dip my hand in the water

Making ripples

Someone smiles and I smile back

It is quiet today

And wilder ever wilder

sights, sounds, smells

and the land breathes calmly

Looking along the tow path

I feel the excitement rise

I am on the way to somewhere

An unknown path

I am eager

If I feel that now

What must that have

meant to the

travellers of 200 years ago

the possiblity

the potential

the adventure

the risk

I know that then you

could buy a ticket

from the Edinburgh end of the

Union Canal with Glasgow,

all the way to CANADA

And

That people travelled

purely for the adventure

of it, because they

could. There was music

and dancing on the

barges and lucky coins

were thrown, sharing

good fortune and

joy. A trip “doon

the watter” and back

home again.

Imaginations fed

Joys shared

Souls nurtured

The path rings with

that energy still

It has a squiggly

wiggly edge

which I follow

Thistle down as soft

as it says it is

It flies into the air

with the wind

The brambles are out

A man, on the other

side, picks them

It is so wild on the

edges, in some

places it is impossible

to see the houses

that back onto

the canal

I have no idea where

I am

Can’t believe I’m in

the city, my city

Feel found, not lost

because there is a

knowing that the path

is on its way

somewhere

It follows the canal

and it will not let me

get lost

Once more time and

space are shifting

Taking time

to be present

Changes time and space

Living in one’s own time

It’s a glorious thing

A woman sits on a

bench

We smile mutually

She pats the seat

beside her

I sit and join her

We talk

She tells me where I am

in the city

I tell her what I’m doing

She said she noticed

that my arms were

doing something

special.

She does Tai Chi and

loves it, but sometimes

she forgets to go.

A problem of being old

she says

And its good to keep

moving she says

I say how friendly I

find this place

That’s good she says

because she gets

lonely and its always

good to have a chat and

see a friendly face.

She wishes me good luck

And I say, I hope

our paths cross again

a chance encounter

gentle

not forced

how do we invite

each other in?

I found myself today

dancing fully and

freely in the spaces

in-between

not wanting to disturb

the rhythm of others

and why they must be there

How to be unseen

yet seen at

the same time

How to invite others in

A gentle invitation

to be accepted and

noticed, or ignored completely

An invitation that

holds that choice

(I know people look back

and watch for a moment

or two)

How do we share

space with each

other?

Invite complexity,

difference, diversity?

How do we do this gently?

Making space

and taking space

at one and the

same time

Someone can cycle

by at the speed

I can step aside

They say ‘thank you’

I say ‘you’re welcome’

I can dance, and

they can jog along

And all feels well

with the world so far

now

The canal boat

passes and we

wave at each other

Sharing the joy

of the journey

NEXT: Saturday 20th August 2022 – 10am – By the fencepost at a 45 degree angle (looks shoogly but holds my weight) opposite CHAS Children’s Hospice, Craiglockhart Ave