A Tree Full of Shoes

Rather than sit in the cave all day parked on the sofa with no glimmers of sunlight entering to cheer me up, I decided to take a walk in he park to enjoy some sunshine and take some books with me to study there. Newcastle is lucky to have such a massive park right in the centre of the city. If you walk for long enough you can get lost along the river, far away from any sounds of traffic or people. The only occasional person is someone out walking their dog. At the far side of the river from the path there is a dilapidated red brick house. The roof has fallen in and all that remains is a skeleton-like shell that waits for the weather to punish it even further. I like to imagine that a terrible tragedy occurred there, perhaps a jealous lover burned the house in a fit of rage, and now all that remain is a ghostly spectre that watches the world through empty windows.

But, I didn't go that far today. I decided to take a trip to the shoe tree to see if it would be a nice place to sit. On the way I passed a crowd of workmen with their tops off. They were on their break and basking in the sun, a mixture of over-indulged bellies and fit young men. Their eyes all followed me as I went by and I kept my head down. There is nothing pleasant about walking past a huge mound of testosterone. One of them followed me a little way but I didn't look back. I knew that if I did I would blush and they would laugh and then I'd get embarrassed.

After that incident I continued to the shoe tree. The shoe tree is a wonderful place where shoes grow from the branches of the trees. Here it is:




Not a great picture but I'm trying to get used to my digicam. Legend has it (legend according to glueboot) that a long time ago a crazed old man had only one shoe. He had lost the other one in a freak boating accident in which the right shoe had been whisked out to see. The crazy man was upset by this turn of affairs so he buried his remaining shoe in the park to see if a new one would grow. No shoe grew in his lifetime and he spent his year wandering the earth in search of his right shoe. However, after he met his untimely death upon meeting a hungry walrus, the shoe tree began to grow and now it stand in Heaton Park with shoes for all. Sometimes after a night out we sit underneath the shoe tree and drink whiskey in the morning. It tends to be very quiet and the only people who pass by are joggers or dog walkers. We usually get a mixture of highly scornful looks or cheery hellos, depending on what state we are in at the time.

I didn't sit at the shoe tree today because the grass was cast in the shade. Instead I went back to the main park area, taking a different route so as not to pass by the workmen again. On my way I passed three old gadges sat on a bench drinking Carling. They said hello to me and I said hello back, which seemed to make them happy. They asked why I wasn't at work and I said I didn't work and off I went on my way. I get alot of attention from old gadges, I think that if I had a thing for old men all man problems would cease and I'd be able to go pick up men at the over 50s club.

When I finally found a place that I wanted to sit the sun was scorching but there was a few sporadic bursts of wind that sent the pages of my book into a frenzy. Occasionally the wind would carry the smell of hops from the brewery, its a strange smell that often lingers over Newcastle. I'm not sure if I like it, it smells like dried dog food.

In the main park a there were clusters of students, most of them were having fun and a group of them was playing with a frisbee. When school came out a group of young lads wandered past and shouted abuse at them which made me chuckle. I'm not sure exactly what they were shouting but I know that included the word 'shit'.

There was three girls with blond hair dressed in pastel shades sitting near me. They had a red and blue tent but I'm not sure why. Perhaps they felt the need to always have some sort of shelter. It seems strange that you would need a tent to sit in the park.

I read some of Kieth Ansell-Pearon's 'Viroid Life' and thought about Nietzsche for a while. I also wrote my list of chapters for my dissertation and decided that tomorrow I will start writing my chapter on Nietzsche.

Eventually I got hungry and went home. As soon as I got through the door I realised how dark the cave really is. I wish that it faced a different direction so I could get more sunlight.

I was planning on having Chinese again but my friend offered to cook me dinner. I just ate a lot of bread so I'm not very hungry anymore and might have ruined meal. Later on I'll drink some wine and hopefully 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' will have finished downloading so I can watch that.

|