Yesterday, as I often do, I took a walk from my house in Southampton to Eastleigh, about two to three hours. As usual I followed the rout of the "Itchen navigation": the canal along which most of the goods from the sea-boats were carried inland. I was walking along side the ditch, almost all that is left of it admiring the reeds and plants. On the other side is the fencing of the grassland, with some openings, and I wandered there for a while and returned. Pleasantly, after a while a man (young by my standards) came in from the grasslands. A gentle chat, and we carried on. Such places can make wonders.