Early this morning I had the following dream: I was walking through a dark forest, between Chynów and Piekut at night. Through the trees I see a bright light near ground level. I approach it. It's clearly not a beam from a focused source, but a glowing orb -– brilliantly white light. It is about a metre and half in diameter and hovering just above the ground, bobbing slightly... I get closer, though I am mindful of the electromagnetic radiation associated with these objects. I'm about 30 metres away when suddenly it just whooshes off vertically upwards through the trees and into the night sky. I'm left there wondering what it could have been, when I hear two men approaching from the right. Soldiers, American soldiers. In uniform. They speak to me in friendly voices, introducing themselves as being from the Cognitive Resources Unit... The dream fades...
It's not yet 5am, but broad daylight outside. I open the roller blinds, make a coffee, catch up with the news on the BBC World Service. A large tuna sandwich and I'm off – at least to see in daylight the very spot I had just dreamt about. I head for Dąbrowa Duża and Gaj Żelechowski, passing between the two villages, aiming for the unasphalted track between Chynów and Piekut. After about an hour of walking, I get to the place in my dream. And right there, I find a new path, one I'd never taken before, indeed, one I hadn't even noticed before. I decide to take it in the hope that it will continue south reaching Krężel, from where I can catch a train home.
Below: sylvian bliss. It's good to be in the forest shade; around 8am and its already uncomfortably hot in the direct sun, even wearing just one layer. Caution: ticks.
Below: "When you come to a fork in the road – take it!" (Y. Berra). One path will get me to Krężel station in time for the next train. The other one will lead me away from the station and result in a wasted hour waiting for the next train...
Below: a moment of satisfaction – my navigation skills through the forest have not let me down. I will make it in time with about six or seven minutes in hand.
Below: I board the train back to Chynów, my ticket purchased on my Koleje Mazowiekie app for 2.73zl (54p). Having started at Warka, three stops back down the line, the train's still empty. It will be chock-full of commuters by the time it gets to Jeziorki.
I alight from the train one stop along in Chynów, where a fair crowd of commuters is waiting. Twelve minutes later I'm home, in good time for the working day, having racked up 13,000 paces in under two hours. At home, I take off my trousers and check my legs for ticks, as I do after forest walks. And indeed, there's one, marching up my left thigh; caught it before it could drill into my skin and inject bacteria-laden saliva into my bloodstream.
This time last year:
Mutineers march on Moscow
This time five years ago:
Lifelong brand ambassador
[as if to prove the point, I wore these boots on my walk today.]
This time seven years ago:
How much for locally grown strawberries?
This time eight years ago:
Zamość - the beautiful, must-visit town of Poland's east
This time nine years ago:
Voting closes in citizens' participatory budget
This time ten years ago:
Beginning of the end of PO [Civic Platform]
This time 11 years ago:
Where's the beef? Fillet steak in Warsaw
This time 12 years ago:
W-wa Zachodnia spruced up for the football, W-wa Stadion reopened
This time 14 years ago:
Literature and biology
This time 16 years ago:
Old Nysa van spotted in Grabów
This time 17 years ago:
The oats in the neighbouring field rise high
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