Now that we seem to be in for a period of intermittent lockdowns, it seemed like a good idea to come up with a proposal for aleviating any onset of boredom from cycling SOSO walks. In his 1837 masterpiece 'Pickwick Papers', Charles Dickens created a club of assorted adventurous individuals, who ranged the Home Counties of that time singly, in pairs or small groups, taking note of anything strange, quirkial or intriguing that they could later discuss at a club meeting, where they also consumed copious quantities of food and drink. They'd decide what was worth following up on and (self?)appoint members to chase up on these mysteries, to be reported on at some later meeting, where they'd consume even more copious quantities of food and drink. Although just a fictional farce of a story, the idea of Pickwickian Clubs caught on like wild-fire in Victorian Britain, and remained popular until the outbreak of the world wars. A remnant of these clubs still exist today in such exotic places as London, Manchester, Corsham ... and some have even branched out from walking to cycling and playing cricket, etc! 

So much for pre-amble. The idea is that those interested, take some sort of recording medium (a notebook & pen, a smartphone, a camera) with them on these 1/2 person walks allowed during lockdown periods, and take note of anything of interest or that ignites the curiosity. Even if you've (temporarilly, of course) abandoned the boot for the pedal or the flipper, we'd like your participation. Then, at the end of the lockdowns we arrange meetings at some cafe or hotel and discuss what wierd material we've collected, with the option of following thru in a more organised way on the more intriguing stuff. We won't object if you burst into a spontaneous rendition of 'If I ruled the world'; and, even if you have a voice like a mouse or a fog-horn, I doubt if Harry will be along to object. To augment and assist this no-doubt auspicious enterprise, Barbara has kindly agreed to put members photographs and comments (if any) up on our Blog. So, if you want to have a go, just aquire a notepad & biro (at least) and send your name, prefixed by the word 'Pickwickian' in an email to the Ramblers phone (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to be added to the list of participants, and I'll notify you about the time and place of the follow-up post-lockdown lunch/supper. If it's not really you, you can retire nonymously or anonymously at any time. My hardbacked A5 notebook already has 6 items in it, with a 7th pending since Saturday: so, Ramblers, if SOSO is getting you down, just you get walking, get scribbling and get clicking!

Cheers

Jim

 NB It's an idea, and so any constructive feedback to the above email would be appreciated."