Time just seems to have gone loopy lately… I still haven’t finished writing about our adventures in the heather, yet somehow another two weeks have gone by and we have spent another weekend writing together. Though as weekends go, it was a bit of an odd one.
Collecting my companion late Friday, it was going on ten before we sat down to a scratch supper and an hour’s talking before our respective working days took their toll and sent us to sleep. Saturday morning I left him writing while I went to pack Nick’s bag… just an hour should have done it, but it ended up being a series of minor disasters and panics, getting him organised for Sunday’s cycle ride, and what with the pond pump playing up too, it was nearer six hours later when I finally got back. Thankfully, Ani is a good guest-sitter and doubtless kept my friend occupied between bouts of writing… and both pretty much kept us occupied for the rest of the day.
An early-ish night was on the cards, rather than our usual talking through the wee, small hours, as I had to be up at four Sunday morning to drive to Nick’s and see him and the bike on their way to London for the start of the Cycle Ride. Home by half six… and my companion was already at the keyboard. And somehow, we appear to have got a lot of work done… a surprising amount considering I was falling asleep half the day and of an enjoyable kind. Plotting… But the afternoon set in, moved on and all too soon it was already time to drive back to Milton Keynes and the station, still working as we went. We stopped at the Green Man for liquid refreshments on the way… and I finally heard from my son, triumphant on Brighton seafront.
So far so good… then we hit traffic. Miles and miles of it, all queuing to get into an event at Milton Keynes Bowl. 65,000 people, so I gather… I can sort of understand it since I found out it was the Foo Fighters… I’d have queued too… The trouble is, we did, but only to get through the town… and we were stuck just a few minutes too long. Which meant a missed coach and another couple of hours to wait in the concrete jungle of Milton Keynes… It was a lovely evening, so we went to Willen Lake, about as green as it gets that side of the town.
While the south lake is filled with activities and amusements, the north lake is a little more peaceful and teeming with waterfowl. It is also home to the first Peace Pagoda to be built in the western world by the monks and nuns of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Order, whose monastery and temple stand close by, as a symbol of global fraternity. The first were erected in Japan, in memory of over 150,000 lives, mostly civilian, that were lost there when the atomic bomb were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the grounds of the monastery, a harsh, contorted statue stands as a reminder of why the brotherhood of man should be at the hearts of all.
A few yards away, the Medicine Wheel, a modern double circle of stones with four gateways built along the natural energy lines of the earth in accordance with Native American thought and designed to be a place of prayer… an odd contrast to the rushing traffic mere yards away and the amusement park beyond. The park is, without doubt, a strange mix…
As I finally walked in through the door, the phone rang and I finally got to chat with Nick, tired, but elated at having completed such an arduous ride. I crawled into bed some time before midnight, fairly certain I would sleep…
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
You certainly packed some activity in there Sue.Your sleep cycle is as bad as mine and it’s like adding another day to the weekend.
The Peace Pagoda looks a fascinating place, the idea is certainly good.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx.
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Old habits die hard… I’ve been up way too early for as long as I can remember. xxxx
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Beautiful photos Natalie. Very powerful, but for some reason the swan with it’s delicate beauty is my favorite. :o)
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Thanks, Patricia… I was lucky and caught him swimming beneath the trees…
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Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.
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Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes.
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Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs: and commented:
Oh, I did enjoy this post – how to make light of life’s quirks. And well done again to Nick!
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A very interesting park this one. I love to see something new and not the normal parks are. The contorted figure is a bit haunting, don’t you think?
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Very.. It really shows how fragile we are…x
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🙂
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An interesting post, Sue, and a completely different aspect to Milton Keynes. I had no idea that park was there – now I want to go and visit. 🙂
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There are some really lovely old corners still in the town… unexpexted survivors of the old villages, and one of the most superb set of medieval wall paintings we’ve seen so far… a very odd mix of a place.
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Wow – I had no idea. I had always thought of it as a modern, post war town. Fascinating to hear that some of the old landscape remains.
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Most of it is… and awful… but it was made by filling in the gaps between villages, and many of the village centres still remain. This, for example: https://scvincent.com/2015/02/19/little-gems-st-lawrence-broughton/
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That really is a treasure – what wonderful paintings!
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It was a real surprise to turn that up in Milton Keynes 🙂
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Goodness, I’m exhausted reading about your weekend and ow much you packed into it. The park sounds fascinating.
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The park is a really strange mix of a place, Mary… a green oasis ringed with concrete, yet with gently carved earth at its heart.
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Lovely post and beautiful photos, Sue. You certainly are a busy and productive lady. I would have fallen asleep long before midnight! Blessings and hugs to you and your son!
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Thanks, Janice… I’m not sure I was actually awake as such by midnight either… just vertical 😉
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Such a busy time for you, Sue, you document it so well. ☺
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I love that the blog allows me to share the journey…the next best thing to nattering over a cuppa 🙂
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Sounds like a hectic weekend! About 20 miles away from us it the first Peace Pagoda erected in the US. It is a marvelous place where the public is welcome to witness the Buddhist prayer sessions twice a day. Definitely a peaceful spot. The stupa looks similar to the one in your photo. A few of us went up earlier this summer as the sunset glinted off the golden top. Bliss!
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It is odd… it never feels hectic.. maybe due to the long days and shirt nights 🙂
I well remember my first visit to the Buddhist pagoda in Vincennes, just outside Paris, decades ago. The atmosphere a complete change from City of Light…
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I know what you mean – sacred spaces carry their own energy, right?
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They do… and it doesn’t matter what path they belong to.
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Agreed, ancient or modern!
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…or just the land itself 🙂
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Deep connection there!
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Oh yes 🙂
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I like the way you never waste any chance to look around and enjoy your surroundings!
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It was that or the faceless coffee facility… No contest!
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You crammed a lot of activity into that space of time, Sue. 🙂
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Somehow, we always do!
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