I made acquaintance with a lady named Jean the other morning while out walking with Betty and Ziggy. I was in a smallish park nearby my house called Priory Wood and she was curious in what I was doing-throwing the ball for Ziggy to retrieve. It was raining and the grass underfoot was quite wet but this didn’t prevent her coming towards me to spark up a conversation. She told me how much she loved dogs and in the course of the next few minutes the conversation stuttered along with more details of her life after which I now knew her name, that of her niece who visited regularly, Josie, that she had a cat, a friendship with a man in the park who loved and was very knowledgable about birds. It also became apparent that she had some sort of cognitive difficulties, she had trouble finding the right words for things, cats were sometimes called dogs, ducks swans and some words couldn’t be found at all. I also understood that she was a couple of miles from home and may need help to be directed to the bus stop that would take her to more familiar climbs. Ziggy had discovered something too, if you drop the ball at our visitors feet we can all share in the most fantastic game in the world which is ‘fetch the ball’. Jean was probably mid 70’s but she was bending down and picking up the ball with enthusiasm and throwing the ball with a fair gusto.
Time was marching on in my world, things to do, so when I began making my way home Jean was happy to tag along. Some 10 minutes later I was peeling off into the Hamlet and directing her to the top road where she would hopefully get a bus home. It is a worry, Jean is obviously a very vulnerable lady and needs lots of support in her daily life but it got me thinking about one of my pet topics which is how we need to think more creatively about how we make this world more welcoming to all people in our society. This includes the millions of people who have varying degrees of impairments, of which I include myself. It is encouraging in some ways that Jean is still entrusted with the independence to wonder out into the world and find some fun and enjoyment in public parks. Yet I feel in this risk averse culture that we live in combined with our increasingly fast paced world there are indeed hazards a plenty. That these factors could form a strong argument in curtailing people like Jean, myself at times when I have been mentally un-well and the millions of others with cognitive impairments our liberties. The people that would generally decide on such issues will be doctors, social workers, judges or even politicians. If only they could experience positive exchanges taking place in our green spaces such as happened between myself and Jean this could reframe their decision making. If others in power in our society could better appreciate the crucial role these natural areas give to us, were the pace of life slows down and an appreciation of it’s marvels deepen we would surely be investing more in improving these areas. Sadly I don’t see much evidence of this, what I do see however is more and more dog owners who are investing their own time and energies using these limited spaces. I am hopeful that my own deliberations on this area with Pets and Pals project will contribute to this debate by celebrating the positives more widely. Look out for me and Betty astride the barricades in a park near you.
Time was marching on in my world, things to do, so when I began making my way home Jean was happy to tag along. Some 10 minutes later I was peeling off into the Hamlet and directing her to the top road where she would hopefully get a bus home. It is a worry, Jean is obviously a very vulnerable lady and needs lots of support in her daily life but it got me thinking about one of my pet topics which is how we need to think more creatively about how we make this world more welcoming to all people in our society. This includes the millions of people who have varying degrees of impairments, of which I include myself. It is encouraging in some ways that Jean is still entrusted with the independence to wonder out into the world and find some fun and enjoyment in public parks. Yet I feel in this risk averse culture that we live in combined with our increasingly fast paced world there are indeed hazards a plenty. That these factors could form a strong argument in curtailing people like Jean, myself at times when I have been mentally un-well and the millions of others with cognitive impairments our liberties. The people that would generally decide on such issues will be doctors, social workers, judges or even politicians. If only they could experience positive exchanges taking place in our green spaces such as happened between myself and Jean this could reframe their decision making. If others in power in our society could better appreciate the crucial role these natural areas give to us, were the pace of life slows down and an appreciation of it’s marvels deepen we would surely be investing more in improving these areas. Sadly I don’t see much evidence of this, what I do see however is more and more dog owners who are investing their own time and energies using these limited spaces. I am hopeful that my own deliberations on this area with Pets and Pals project will contribute to this debate by celebrating the positives more widely. Look out for me and Betty astride the barricades in a park near you.