Every other weekend, I have to drive my daughter into work. So much for getting a lay-in.
I always take the dog with me and on the way back, we call in at Kidney Wood, just off J10 of the M1
It’s a lovely little wood. It doesn’t take long to walk around, but it’s somewhere different to go.
I have been calling in there for nearly a year now, but I have never met anyone else as we walk round.
No-one.
Not a soul.
Until today.
A chap came walking towards us, as we ambled along the western path. He had two dogs with him, who were friendly enough, but I don’t know what make they were… I’m not very good with dog brands.
Of course, we stopped and chatted briefly – as dog owners do – and I took an instant liking to him… in part because he had a small radio in his pocket that was quietly playing classical music. I mentioned that he was the first person that I had ever met in Kidney Wood. He smiled. “I think I’ve met you here before though.” He pointed to Saber. “This is Simba, isn’t it?”
Well, maybe he has met us… that was a pretty close guess.
“It’s Saber.” I corrected.
“Ahh, that’s right. Well, if it wasn’t you, then it must have been your wife, I met.” What? He knows I’m married?
I explained that was fairly unlikely, as Mrs M didn’t even know where these woods were.
“We live in the Bramingham area”, I said, “Maybe you’ve been over that way?”
“Nah, that’s too far for us. We never venture over that way.”
We bade farewell to each other and walked on. I mentioned it to Mrs M when I got home and described the chap and his dogs, but she didn’t recognise him at all.
I hope I bump into him again, as I’m keen to know whether we have actually met or whether he is just a really good guesser.
Who says you met in the woods? Maybe Simba (and his dog) hang around at the same doggy nightclub doing dirty doggy deals in the dead of night? And you met while waiting for your canine companions to come and take their seats in the cars? Or perhaps you met on a cruise, somewhere in the Adriatic, and as you drained the last of your Singapore Sling (or was it an Old Fashioned) and told him of your love for Simba? Whatever the recollections of yourself and Mrs M, I think we should be told!
And that’s the problem: we have no recollections.
Seemed a nice chap, though.