Hi Tech Walking [A comment following the recent celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the West End Christian Walking Club]
In simpler times, in days of yore,
when West End walkers closed their door,
and headed out into the bright
they generally travelled light
They took their bag, and woolly hat,
waterproof and this and that;
perhaps a scarf to warm their neck
but nothing of today’s high tech
The limits of their fancy gear,
comprised a hood to warm their ear;
no need for extra special kit,
except a trusty walking stick
But with the steady march of time,
to assist them in their trek or climb;
ensuring health in every foot,
more cash was spent to buy our boot.
Of course they didn’t simply buy one only,
they bought a pair, no foot went lonely;
no mountain was too hard to scale
as off they strode through hill and dale
As numbers grew to quite a size,
their Leader felt it would be wise,
when spread far out and looking gawkie,
they keep in touch by walkie-talkie
As years went by, a smarter phone,
arrived to help them as they roam;
near to home or even global,
help was at hand thanks to the mobile
So much for sound communication,
defining their exact location;
In this field the top “must have”
Is Glenda’s personal sat-nav
But walkers know my greatest mission,
to capture them in colour vision;
from Kodak film, to video tape,
No single walker could escape
Early photos weren’t so bad,
some when received made people glad,
but digital seems all pervasive,
no place to hide or be elusive
No matter their prevailing mood,
the camera has to intrude,
their “fancy had to have a tickle”,
when assaulted by the mega-pixel
When back at home, and at their screen,
to check e-mail on their machine,
ping goes the bell, “you have got mail”,
not from Ken Fisher, I hear them wail!
But there they are, each image clear
wanted or not, they have to bear,
recorded in sufficient clarity,
to be retained for all posterity
But in the end it is my plea,
that one and all will clearly see,
walks which have gone electronic,
might nonetheless be quite a tonic
And if they yearn for days of yore,
when things high-tech they could ignore,
they’d surely miss the image graphic,
which comes to them through data traffic.
Ken Fisher
thebardofkelvindale 