The walking group...and dave.
It was september, the kids had gone back to school after the big summer holidays.
The time between losing alan and this period in our journey proved to be very frustrating.
There was a change in my job circumstances too. I had begun paid work.
After several months of charity shop volunteering I'd put in for a job part time at a supermarket in town.
After a successful application and a little training i found myself working on the tills.
It was boring work but I'd already made a few new friends and enjoyed their company. They say it's not the work, but the people you work with that make the job, and that's true.
We were still trying to meet that special guy, but so far had drawn a blank.
The email pal site had yielded 2 duds... time wasters...i won't go into detail.
The porn site, predictably, went the other way, attracting attention of the wrong kind....despite making it clear in our advert what we were looking for.
The things that some of those guys wanted to do to me?.....yuk!.....made me feel sick.
And i thought i was broadminded.
We weren't looking for that kind of thing, just a normal regular guy with a healthy appetite and a desire to share me with my hubby....how hard could that be?
Very, apparently.
Anyway, you know how something you've been looking for, for a long time, trying hard to find......just one day finds you?....when your not even looking?....
Well, that was about to happen to us.
With both john and myself having our weekends free and the boys not usually at home then, we decided to pursue a mutual hobby.
We both love the countryside, and walking, and we both love learning about history, especially local history.
So, we decided to join a walking group. This particular one had a local history theme.
We checked it out online. The guy who organised it lived about 15 miles away and knew a lot about the past in our area.
The group would meet up every saturday morning at 9, then set off for a walk of around 5 miles, nothing too strenuous.
On the way, there would be sites to see and little talks done by the organiser, where questions could be asked about a castle or ancient battlefield etc. Whatever the subject of attraction that morning.
You could take something to eat and drink and a backpack was recommended but not essential as this wasn't exactly hiking.
It was advertised as a good gentle way to exercise, learn about local history, and make new friends.
Ideal for us.
At the time we didn't consider the 'making friends' part of it, it was just a hobby, something we could do together as a couple in our spare time.
So, we joined the group and one bright sunny saturday morning in early september, set off for the meeting place.
Arriving in a small but crowded car park i was immediately surprised by how many had turned up, it did after all, describe itself as a small walking group.
However i was soon to learn that another group had arrived at the same time.
The two organisers knowing each other, this other group were rail enthusiasts.....or is it train enthusiasts? We shared the same meeting place but their walk was separate to ours and would follow a different route.
So, all together, in our group there were around 15 to 20 people. Mostly couples, i did note with interest that myself and john were the youngest couple present.
All the others were at least 20 years older, with some looking like they surely would never make it back from the walk!
Most had those walking poles and were togged out in all the serious walking gear.
I wondered what i was letting myself in for.
Indeed, it was john who bent down and whispered in my ear that not only described the situation but brought an image with it that gave me the giggles
"Fuck me.....it's like a day out for sunny vale"
Sunny vale is an old folks home near our village.
Seeing that my giggles had attracted the attention of a nearby couple john tried to distract me by whispering once more
"Plenty for you to look at though", it's said with a wink as he straightens back up and looks over at the organiser as he begins to speak to our group.
It was true.
As i looked around the huddled group there were a lot of old guys, however all of them appeared to be with their wives either in couples or small groups of two plus two.
It appeared that some of these couples had recommended this activity to their friends.
We were certainly the odd ones out....or so i thought.
As i continued checking out the others while listening to the guide, i noticed him...
He was stood quite close to us off to my right.
Another youngish face that stood out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of wrinkles and grey hair.
A tall heavy set guy of about late forties, short curly dark hair, short beard and moustache.
Very good looking with dark eyes and thick bushy eyebrows.
He'd been watching me and as i made eye contact, smiled.
