Wandering Through The Land Of Nod.

Do you enjoy an early morning walk? A story about an accident, sweets and kindness.

Brrr!  I shivered in the cold misty air, stretched my aching limbs and hauled myself away from the damp grass onto my feet.  As well as cold and achy, I felt hungry and tapped my pockets, hoping for food.  Fortunately, I heard the plasticky crackle of a sweet packet and pulled out my favourite, a bag of Liquorice Allsorts.  Hmm, they weren’t too sticky and thankfully they were dry so with a sigh of relief I popped a square of deliciousness into my mouth.  As the sugar dissolved into my system, I felt a sudden surge of energy and alertness which focused my mind and isolated my aches and pains.  The throbbing pain in my head told me it needed more attention than my sore back and legs and I reached up to feel a swollen lump on my forehead. I bet that’ll look pretty for a few days I thought but then remembered there were more important things to consider.  What had happened to me?

 I was more shivery now and I took a few dizzy steps around where I’d been lying.  My foot stumbled against something hard, and I looked down.  There, still and damp amidst the long grass, lay a golf ball.  I rubbed my head again and wondered if there was some connection between my sore forehead and the hard round object at my feet.  What was obvious was that I had to get moving, I was feeling colder and stiffer, so I popped a solid lump of liquorice in my mouth, picked up the golf ball, dropped it into my pocket and walked forward.  The sugar and the movement boosted my memory a little and I remembered that I’d decided to take a brisk walk across the golf course, which fortunately isn’t far from my home.  Fresh air and exercise are great starts to the day, I’ve always thought, although now I wasn’t so sure. 

I wasn’t even sure that I was walking in the right direction when a rush of air overhead made me look up to see two ducks flying purposefully ahead of me.  I was glad when I heard the splash of them hitting water which was still out of sight, because I remembered the small pond which isn’t far from the clubhouse.  Rounding a bend, I saw the pond, edged with willow, yellow flag irises and marsh marigolds.  My groggy brain noted how well cared for it was and how proud golf club members are of their grounds.  Mr and Mrs Mallard were happily swimming along, and I stopped to watch them as they upturned themselves to feed.    It was lovely weather for ducks and these two were revelling in the cold and damp.  The same couldn’t be said for me though and I shivered again.  I had begun to sneeze, and my arms and legs were stiffening, so I bit into a coconut flavoured sweet and pushed on, more certain now that I was heading towards rest and refreshment. 

The clubhouse came into view and thankfully the lights were on!  I registered the non-members welcomesign, wiped my nose on my sleeve, rubbed my hand across my hair and pushed open the door.  How good it was to be greeted by the warm smell of coffee and frying bacon.  This was welcome to tired golfers and dazed walkers alike and my relief flooded out in tears.

Goodness me, what’s happened to you?  The friendly faced woman behind the counter said.  I’m not sure, I replied, I was taking a walk and I think I fell.  Let me get you something, shall I phone an ambulance?  You look terrible!  she said.  I smirked grimly to think again that my appearance was what mattered, but assured her I didn’t need an ambulance, just a sit down and a drink, but I didn’t have any money with me.

That’s when I started sneezing and shivering again.  The kindly woman handed me a packet of tissues, told me to sit down while she got me some food and drink.  Don’t worry about not having money this morning, she said, we’re human beings here, the robots haven’t taken over completely yet!

As I sat down, she brought me steaming, milky, sweet coffee and a bacon sandwich.  That tasted even better than the liquorice allsorts and while my body absorbed the warm nourishment, I managed to focus on what I needed to do next.  Checking my pockets, I was relieved to find my door key and amused to find my notebook and pen.  I’d brought it out in case I came across anything worth noting down.  Well, I’d certainly got something to write about now.

Well-fed and more relaxed, I looked about me.  The clubroom held a comforting mix of fixture lists, impressive boards of past captains with names and dates, details of social events and jolly photographs.  On the wall was a map of the world highlighting the major international golf courses.  I was gazing at those continents and islands and ruefully thinking that maybe I shouldn’t attempt an around the world tour any time soon, when the door opened. 

Brrr!  The two men shivered as they came in, cold, damp and achy from the misty air, desperate for a hot breakfast.  Good morning Linda, we’re really glad to see you, they greeted my saviour with the coffee pot, it was hard going this morning, it’s really cold and visibility’s not good.  We could have done with head torches at one point.  Nobody else is on the course and we thought about giving up.  Still, we only lost one ball.

With a sigh, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the golf ball.  Getting up and handing it to them I smiled and said I think I’ve found that ball of yours.