Arnot Hill

It’s a very pleasant day today. The sun is shining, birds are feeding and the house is quiet. At a time like this I should be able to write tremendous things.

However, there’s always a worm in the apple and, as usual, I am failing to capitalise on my good fortune. I’m worrying about all sorts of things. They are all minor and they will all be resolved in time, but they seem to take the edge off things. On top of that, I don’t really have a plan, just a huge disorganised pile of things in my head with an imaginary notice that says “To Do”. It’s not much help.

Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham

Then, of course, there is the feeling that I should just sit down and sort myself out. I’m in the same position as the hypothetical coach who offers his team the advice “score more goals” from the sidelines. It’s right, I do need (metaphorically speaking) score more goals, but I actually need help with the nuts and bolts rather than the grand picture.

You can’t just shout “score more tries” from the sidelines (note I’m reverting to rugby as it is a more comfortable place for me than football. It’s about the 101 ways a team does all the small things better – I once read an interesting piece about the effects of simply trying to gain a yard in every tackle, not just stopping the opposition but gaining a little ground each time.

Tufted Duck – Arnot Hill Park

There are around 700 tackles in the average Rugby League match. Assuming even distribution that means one team, if it can make an extra yard per tackle , can gain 350 yards per match. That’s 3.5 lengths of the pitch, giving you more chances to score, and keeping the opposition further out.

Same goes for Rugby Union. They make around 170 tackles per team per match, which is still nearly two pitch lengths, and it’s still an advantage worth having.  They do, of course, have other areas of the game missing from Rugby League, where they can employ similar small improvements.

The Heron is back again. Arnot Hill Park

So, my new list, which I am going to start working on as soon as I post this, will be about the nuts and bolts of writing. Picking the high value targets and cutting out distractions (like computer games and losing my notes).

However, by the time I have posted this, Julia will be home from her stint in the tearoom, and I will be distracted by making her lunch. Some things just can’t be avoided. Happy wife, happy life.

Greylag Goose Arnot Hill Park Arnold

By a great feat of organisation (I sometimes get it right) I have found the picture I need to match the title. The rest of the pictures are others from Arnot Hill Park which don’t show worms in apples.

Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham

Note that the worm/apple, being an older sculpture, is treated with preservative. The newer ones are left to decay naturally. This old man/tree spirit sculpture shown below no longer exists, nature having taken its course.

Arnot Hill Park, Arnold, Nottingham