This blog is really a follow on of the Bat saga.
You will recall that I finished up by nursing a twisted knee.
Here we are now almost a month on and I am still suffering.
But, as ever, for every bad thing there is an underlying brightness and I have certainly received mine.
I am now the proud user of a walking stick to aid my ability to walk and get up from a chair.
This is no ordinary walking stick. This is a branch from a really true English plant, The hazelnut.
It is a state of the art rough terrain instrument which will enable me to travel anywhere.
The handle is so nicely naturally shaped that it will hang on anything at a minutes notice where it will dangle in all it's beauty showing off a lovely old original coat of wizened hazelnut brown.
This in itself is a bonus as it does not show any signs of mud, blood
or beer staining and enables it to sustain an air of sophistication in any surrounding whether it be Pub, restaurant or church although I have not yet tried it in Church.
The grip capability of the stout rubber tip is equivalent to a Formula One wet tyre and most probably means a saving of about 0.003 seconds on a full circuit of the Pub.
On a cautious note however, I am a bit concerned as to what servicing is required to maintain it in first class condition.
I wonder whether I should carry a spare rubber tip in case of changing surfaces, temperature or competition. (Reminder- Must write to the Manufacturer to obtain information)
I am also thinking about pimping it up a bit and to this end I am looking on Ebay for some go-fast stripes and stick-on flies.
It is only the vertical part that needs the attachments as the handle looks fine when I am wearing my perforated back leather driving gloves which have laid idle for many years. It just goes to show, never throw anything away.
Another improvement I am thinking about is two brackets to hold my MP3 player and my Raspberry Pi computer.
These could be powered by either a solar cell or a dynamo at the tip which would revolve when I drag it along the ground whilst walking.
This requires a lot more thought because I do not want to completely lose the stick's natural appeal to people.
When you use a stick you make a lot more friends because they want to compare the walking aids.
One particularly interesting man was the one I met who had had his stick customized in his own colour scheme.
Actually it is not true that I actually met him. The truth is that he walked far too close to me and tripped over my stick whilst we were walking in opposite directions. I was alright but he did actually finished up on all fours trying to locate his stick. Someone should have told him that white does not show up very well on portland stone paving slabs.
The other situation is that when you have stick people do not invade your space so much and this was quite handy the other night when some young yobs wanted to use my mobile in the street. I raised the stick to tuck it under my arm and they were away in a flash.They must have remembered that there is a public phone box outside the Police Station.
That did save me having to pay for the phone call which they wanted to make.
Well, I am going to continue exploring life with my new helper and if I really enjoy it I may consider buying one of those ones which have four wheeled electric powered and a really comfortable armchair fitted on it.
I will keep you posted especially if I go on Safari.
P.S.
Does anyone know the correct headgear to wear when driving a walking stick
