
The track to the cricket field at White Coppice is a mess. Heavy Covid traffic has left it with deep potholes. The little blue car would not have made it without beaching. It’s a good job we came in the little black one. The last time I was here, in November, the car-park at the cricket field was full by eight in the morning, and the whole length of the track was parked nose to tail. Today, it’s nearly lunch-time and the place is all but deserted. We have a choice of spaces, so we park facing the lovely green sward of the cricket field, the shaggy moors rising beyond. Are things are drifting back to normal after all?
We’re forecast a gloomy one today, promise of light rain from midday. It has a steamy, sticky feel to it down here, but it’ll be cooler on the moor. The plan is a short hike to the top of Great Hill and back, eight hundred feet of ascent, and about four miles round. There’s a guy in a camo poncho, peeling off his boots. He’s beaten us to it with an early start. He’s had the worst of the rain, too, which was heavy first thing, and he looks drenched. Sweat or rain, it’s hard to tell. He wears camo pants and a camo jacket underneath – oh, and a camo hat.
It’s interesting, this creeping militarization of the Zeitgeist. Then there’s this word “tactical” infiltrating the marketing of the gear we use, like we’re all on special operations, and war – or the preparations for it – are the most natural and desired state for human beings. We miss so much of the world when all we’re seeing are potential enemies, and states of alarm.
Ignore me. I’m grumpy. It was hard to get going this morning. I fussed about with the big camera, and lenses, then left them all behind in favour of the smaller Lumix. It’s less hassle, and half the weight. It also seems to like these conditions, meaning a flat light, and not much of it. With the Lumix, you can set a fairly small aperture for depth of field, and still achieve a decent shutter speed. We get around the flat light by shooting bracketed exposures and superimposing them, which brings out textures in the gloomiest of skies. I’ve been experimenting with the method all year, and it’s added a lot of interest to my outdoor photography. It doesn’t always work, sometimes looks overblown and silly, but that’s part of the fun, and we should never stop learning, no matter how old we are.
So, we wander first up through the long abandoned quarries, looking for fresh shots. But we’ve shot this place to death, over half a century, and not much appeals today, not even the waterfalls, which can manage barely a dribble after such a long period of dry. We climb onto the moor, intersect with the main route to the hill from White Coppice, and it’s here we encounter an elderly lady, from behind, squatting in the middle of the path, performing her ablutions. I have to blink and work out exactly what it is I’m looking at, then look away and try to unsee it.
I think it’s safe to say most walkers will have answered calls of nature in the outdoors. Also, none of our posteriors are getting any better for keeping, but perhaps I am too shy in seeking at least a modicum of cover for my modesty – a tree say, well off the path, or a wall – and, actually, it matters nothing if we disturb the horses. Still, I prefer to think there are certain standards to be upheld, and the lady certainly put me off my lunch.

Anyway, it’s one of those days when the muscles are slow to warm, and the spring in the heels is lacking. Half an hour to Drinkwaters’ farm, and – yes – lunch. I try to clear the image of the lady’s bottom from my head, but to no avail. Indeed, I think I am damaged by it. Anyway, third sycamore tree from the left, and a view of the moor from Spitlers’ to the Round Loaf, then down to the plain. This is one of my favourite spots on the moor, even today when the weather is brisk and broody.
Another tell-tale of a year of heavy Covid footfall on the hill is how tame the sheep have become – well, not tame exactly – sheep are untamable, but they are intelligent creatures and not above begging scraps from one’s ruck-sack, nor indeed helping themselves, if they think they can get away with it. I’ve had this in the Lakes and the Howgills – the sheep shoving their heads in your sack before you’ve even sat down. Here, the Swaledales, several stout ewes and their lambs, at least have the manners to wait until I am comfortable. Then they approach with stealth, inch by inch, until I am surrounded. I watch them, bemused, unused to seeing them so close up. I have only a thermos of soup which does not interest them, so they settle around almost within petting distance, which is eerie. I suppose they are waiting to see if anything else appears from the sack. It doesn’t. We have a chat, and leave it at that. They were very decent about it, and good company.

On top, there is no one. It’s cooler here, and the sky, though not exactly breaking, is rippling into interesting textures. Though it’s a grey sort of day, visibility is stunning. Westwards we have a view across the Lancashire plain, down to the sea, from the Mersey to the Ribble, out as far as the wind farm and the gas field. Then, over the Fylde coast we have Blackpool, the Lake district mountains beyond that. North, we have Bowland, Pendle, the Dales. East, and closer to home is Darwen Moor. South, beyond the undulating ridge of Spitlers’ and Redmond’s edge, we have the porcupine back of Winter Hill with its array of transmitters. At just1252 feet above the sea, and like all hills, Great Hill makes a difference in lifting one’s perspective, both internally and externally. We retrace our steps to White Coppice, refreshed.
Back at the cricket field there is more camo, this time accompanied by gun-dogs and green wellies – a mixture of “tactical” and “shooting gentry”, I suppose. I leave the West Pennines to them for the day, and make a “tactical” retreat home. There I soak my feet, and peruse my photographs, see what came out and what did not.
Lovely to read and great photos , Michael. My old haunts.
Thanks, Steve. Wonderful to have the time to wander up there any time I want, now.
I wear military surplus boots and clothing because the standards of material and fit are superior to civilian stuff.
Because the contract is guaranteed, the pricing of the excess is normally well below normal retail of other goods.
I did about 3,000 km in one pair of military boots compared to 400 in nike and about 1,200 in Caterpillar boots.
Normal Denims, 50 washes and they start falling apart, camo gives 200+
My current pair of boots will hopefully last me the remainder of my time here, as they are now really comfortable.
Yes , that’s a good point. Genuine army surplus was always robust and good value but I struggle to find it now. We had a genuine surplus outlet in town I would visit for bits and bobs, but that closed twenty years ago. The equivalent durability in “country wear” is very pricey indeed.
“It’s interesting, this creeping militarization of the Zeitgeist. Then there’s this word “tactical” infiltrating the marketing of the gear we use, like we’re all on special operations, and war – or the preparations for it – are the most natural and desired state for human beings. We miss so much of the world when all we’re seeing are potential enemies, and states of alarm.”
I live across the great pond and militarism is everywhere here in the land of the free, home of the brave. Most outfitters in military attire are those that never served. Our government has so much surplus they are giving it away to police departments. The dirtiest word is “peace”. No money in “peace” for the war mongers of the Military industrial complex.
I was glad to see your post turn away and look instead at the landscape and the photos illustrate your words perfectly.
Michael … I finally had enough of the profound ignorance of the Ozark Hillbillies of Missouri and my wife and I packed it up, sold out and moved to New England. We now live in New York state … far out in the country away from the maddening crowd and the growing delta covid pandemic now engulfing Missouri because the ignorant decided not to be vaccinated.
I am glad to have the time to read your articles again.
None of the manufacturers of the vaccine claim (or have any evidence) that the vaccine prevents those vaccinated from being infected by Covid in any of its’ forms or mutations.
What they claim (with no evidence) is that the vaccine reduces the symptoms and the need to hospitalise those infected.
This is easy to see as the doctor when confronted with someone showing symptoms will ask “Have you been vaccinated?” If the answer is “Yes” then he will say “OK go home in a few days you will feel better.”
If the answer is “No.” then he will admit you to hospital where in a few days you will feel better.
The “ignorant” are those who do not read or having read have no comprehension of what they have read.
The number of deaths from vaccine adverse reaction in the last 6 months exceeds by a large number, the number of deaths from vaccine reaction over the last 20 years. This is a direct result of Covid-vaccine as the total number of people vaccinated has not risen (in spite of the huge propaganda push) by a significant number, Most people have had at least a dozen vaccines as children and adult).
I have been vaccinated. No side effects. I still wear a mask and I still socially isolate. What others do is their business. I was an ICU nurse for 38 years and saw a increasing amount of willful ignorance and outright hostility toward healthcare professionals. If you are adverse to medical advice from medical professionals why do you even bother going to a hospital? After 38 years I retired and never wish to resume taking care of “nay sayer”, noncompliant geniuses. You make your bed…enjoy sleeping in it. Excuse me now … time to wash my hands and replace the filter in my mask.
“If you are adverse to medical advice from medical professionals why do you even bother going to a hospital?”
I have been recently diagnosed with A1 Isotrypsin Deficiency which means I lack the enzyme that mends the liver and lungs. My liver has been checked and is healthy, my lungs are running at 80%, but that might be improved withave more regular use of asthma meds. I have been advised not to drink at all. Also our health service wants to change my 1950s failed cancer drug which helps my eczema and improves my life fairly cheaply, for a jazzy new drug, Dupimulab, that costs them, not me, £30,000 a year but might make my eyes sore, (my eyes are already sore). I am seeing an eye specialist on Friday to see if it will be worth it, and what more medical therapy will be necessary to mitigate the side effect.
My dad is 89, and his last 9 years have been a living death so excuse me for questioning and possibly, occasionally disregarding the advice re the drink, and I have no idea if I should, or should not accept the swanky new drug! ?
But of course the greatest respect for you, your blog, and your profession, as well as all who get up in the morning to make other people’s lives better, including the lovely African ladies who come to wipe my dad’s bum, and the people who empty the bins.
Thanks for reading, and great to hear from you again. I had an uncle who served in WW2, 1939-45 – not that he had any choice. He said very little about that time, except he didn’t want to see a uniform again as long as he lived, and he lived a long time.
New England sounds a world away, and as safe and peaceful as a place can be. My own New England would be north west Scotland. My wife and I have both had our second shots now, but are still being cautious, minimising our interactions with people, especially with the delta variant on the rise. We’re hoping the link between hospitalisations and deaths is now significantly broken, though from your work you certainly taught me a hospital ICU is the last place you want to end up.
All the best with your new home!
Nice to see a bit of good spirited argee baargey here; it is good spirited isn’t it? ??
I was going to waffle about my own escape, and frustrations, and obsessions with equipment but why bother, it might be a universal experience.
I can’t help thinking….
People are frightened of x.
Private companies manufacture magic potion to protect us from x.
Government buys a lot of magic potion.
A few people who are not frightened are demonised…..
I admire medical folk when they direct their efforts to improving life. I accept that sometimes it is beneficial to”save life” after an accident, in war, or perhaps in the case of a short lived but dangerous disease, but when you zoom out what do you see? Population 7,874,965,825 people, (yes, that’s a lot), and much of the globe is becoming desert, and there are too many people on Winter Hill, isn’t it an advantage if they’re all in camouflage?
All I’m wondering is how big will the natural catastrophe need to be that finally takes our minds off Covid, and I can’t help thinking, and forgive me for this. ..
Bring it on.
FDA tested 3,000 ‘Vaccinated’ people. Only 10% had Covid-19 (SARS-v2 or whatever they want to call it) anti bodies. (Which I guess would be about the number in the un-vaccinated people.)
The FDA has removed its’ advice to take the Vaccination.
They did not test for spiked-protien or if they did they did not publish the number, which as we know has incredibly bad side effects on all body organs including the brain.
The Vaccination is not related to Covid, nor is there any evidence that it reduces symptoms or the illness itself. Certainly not as effective as HCQ or Ivermectin.
However at around $1.00 per shot, both of these are unlikely to require $2trillion in taxpayer money, to be dispensed to your friends (with Kickbacks to family of course.)
Interestingly The Sputnik V vaccine developed and provided free by you know who, is a true Adenovirus vaccine without any gene-splitting or messing about, (IE a common anti-flu vaccine developed for SARS-2).
Sir,
Your anonymity renders your evidence incredible.
Regards,
S.
I wasn’t expecting my little walk up Great Hill to attract a segue into the vaccine/anti-vaccine debate. Indeed, I feel I may have stepped on a land-mine there, which is not one of the known risks of that particular walk. But thank you all for your comments, anyway.
Whilst I’m aware of the various controversies, I’ve not spent a lot of time trying to bottom them out. I am an old-fashioned, retired, establishment guy with his own set of biases and conditioned assumptions. I have not lost faith in the UK’s albeit somewhat beleaguered health system, and have relied upon it for all my information, throughout this pandemic. I am double-jabbed with Astra Zenica and, whilst I accept this may not prevent me from catching Covid in the future, I trust it will never-the-less significantly reduce my chances of hospitalisation, and death, also my chances of passing it on to someone else. This is my understanding, based upon the information sources I have chosen to reference.
Of course, our information landscape nowadays is very broad, but it’s a landscape which seems deeply fragmented. This, coupled with a decline in trust for state institutions, including corporate media, and academia, has resulted in a factionalization of opinion, which in turn makes it hard to make sense of the world. This “sense-making” or the lack of it, is one of the key issues of our times. It strikes at the heart of our loss of meaning, culturally, but it also makes it harder to see how we can navigate our way through the challenges we face as a species, politically, socially, and of course somehow minimizing the extinctions that will be brought about by an increasingly erratic climate.
For anyone interested in how we might go about making sense of our times, I recommend as an introduction, The War on Sensemaking, by Daniel Schmachtenberger here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LqaotiGWjQ
For an in depth study, John Vervaeke’s lecture series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54l8_ewcOlY
And for ongoing commentary of sense-making everywhere, the Rebel Wisdom channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GGbLez57oM
Wonderfully evocative account (a little too much so in the case of the old woman piddling on the path—thank you so much for sharing).
I love the sheep encounter—you must be a magnet for them, or perhaps Lakeland’s Herdies are just more stand-off-ish.
Thanks, George. I’m still trying to put that image from my mind but it keeps coming back to me. Those Herdies are a tough lot. My local Swaledales are in danger of becoming lazy and domesticated.
My share of that explosion was not to opinionate against the efficacy of any medication but to question the need.
Our health service is suffering mission creep on an exponential scale, and every time I am offered a new drug I question the need, whether it be a covid vaccine for a couple of quid that government’s already paid for, or the dupimulab for £30,000. I question the need and the pros and cons.
In the case of the vaccine, I, like Rick, have had the bug, and medics have advised I have as much unknown protection as offered by the vacine, but that it tails off, it is all guess work, but they are obliged to do their best to sell it as it has already been bought and paid for. I am glad I live in a state where I have some choice in the matter, but there would be little value to that freedom if I were to bow to the VERY significant pier pressure on the issue.
I stand firm in that I will not be panicked into allowing myself to be vaccinated but will consider accepting it at some point, perhaps in the autumn.
I will look at the 1st of your video links, and thank you for your enjoyable post Michael.
S.
Some rather stunning photos of a very familiar landscape! I really must make more effort to learn how to take decent photos and get round to actually learning how to use that fancy DSLR camera I bought a few years ago. Retirement (or at least partial retirement) beckons next year so perhaps that’s my chance. (I must find out what bracketed exposures is!)
I’m glad you didn’t take a snap of the lady – the image from your written description is disturbing enough 😝
Thanks, I bought a DSLR to try to get back into photography a little more, though I must admit if I’m going high, I usually leave it behind because of the weight, which is what I also remember doing with my film cameras, years ago. So I bought a smaller Lumix with a 1″ sensor, which is much lighter, and I swap them about depending on the day’s objective. Bracketing is an obsession at the moment. I probably do it when it’s not necessary, but it adds interest. I can certainly recommend retirement.
Yes, the weight is why I leave my camera at home on my walks. I shoot photos on my iphone (sometimes they come out quite well) and using a Sony compact.
iphone cameras are impressive. My Android? much less so.
checking these out now…good stuff Michael … thank you
For anyone interested in how we might go about making sense of our times, I recommend as an introduction, The War on Sensemaking, by Daniel Schmachtenberger here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LqaotiGWjQ
For an in depth study, John Vervaeke’s lecture series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54l8_ewcOlY
And for ongoing commentary of sense-making everywhere, the Rebel Wisdom channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GGbLez57oM