Friday

As its half-term I decided to take my Friday off, off. One of the things I thought I'd do today, on my day off was to start clocking up some kilometres for our YAP fundraising and at the same time get out and get some fresh air, some exercise and a bit of de-stressing.

I went armed with Tom's MP3 player (cos I couldn't find mine...its been that long since I have walked or run anywhere!) and my camera to keep my mind off work...as I knew that thats what I would think about if I didn't have other distractions. I also headed for Three Mills...somewhere I thought I would avoid people to do with work.

I was doing well, only bumped into one young person from Senior Club (who I told about our up and coming Drugs Awareness Workshops starting on Tueday from 6-8) between home and the river so I thought I had gotten away with it.

I trotted along listening to a whole bunch of songs that I wouldn't usually listen to but was enjoying (I reccomend ipods/mp3 player swopping) and came across this sight which saddened me and immediately got me wondering what had happened, if it was a young person, whether there was work to be done in relation to the incident around waterway safety or to do with substance abuse...all kinds of assumptions came to mind which I tried to dismiss and failed dismally.

I continued to find a bench with this red diary on it and again thought of work and about sorting out the programme and my diary and again had to try to switch off those thoughts by concentrating on taking some photos.

Then along the path comes a couple of young people from Intermediate & Junior Club with a member of their family and we had a friendly chat and went on our ways, saying we would see each other at club.

I got to 3 Mills and took some photos and looking at the Graffiti thought again about club regarding up and coming Trees for Cities art work, the mosaic project and the tiles that need to go in the car park as well as the interest in Banksy which I want to explore.

At this point I decided that a bit of shopping might do the trick to take my mind off work, when on the way in I pass some guys who I know of and to see, and overheard them discussing stealing a bike. I looked at the bike and looked at them and thought to myself: Self...don't you wish you hadn't heard their plan to steal the bike...and the answer was, yes. So I hung around for a few minutes continuing to take pictures, including one of the bike. It was going to be be for a blog about bicycle theft complete with 'before' and 'after' pictures...I was hoping they would leave the lock just for effect. But as it would happen, they didn't steal the bike...they may have noticed my interest in it or they decided to do some shopping instead.

So there I am about to shop when I get a phone call from a Youth Organization asking me about a young person who should have got in contact with them...then I call the young person to tell them about the call and decide to turn my phone off after this to avoid more work and buy some letter cookie cutters for club.

So next I am on my way back again, not exactly feeling the relaxation I was expecting from this walk and come across some other young people, one of whom legs it when he sees me saying to one of the others that he was avoiding me 'cos he owes me money'. Apart from the fact I knew this couldn't be true because I never loan young people money, if I had as he said I did, it would have been only 30p (the cost of club subs) and he was unlikely to want to evade me for this. In fact it was more likely, by the appearance of the young person who told me about this, that he didn't want to draw attention to his 'mashed' appearance. Before the guys went back to their 'Friday Night' as they called their 'party' I told them about our Drugs Awareness session on Tuesday, which I thought they might be interested in and which may even benefit them.

So I am nearly home and I see another young person, who has been a volunteer in the recent past and I chat with him and tell him about the Drugs Session that his friend, the previous week, had said he'd probably want to come to...

I finally arrive home, hot and sweaty and totally not refreshed and revitalised by my walk and vow to go out instead in the early morning or to cycle or run so I can speed past people or to just give up and just accept that this is all part and parcel of living in the community I work with...

Well, at least I got my first 5 km done (with a bit of 'outreach' thrown in).