Unboxing Day
DORKING TO GOMSHALL VIA BOX HILL, BURFORD BRIDGE, WESTHUMBLE AND THE NORTH DOWNS WAY About this time of year and ever earlier, I get nagging anxiety about Christmas. I don't have a huge amount to buy, I don't feel required to put on a particularly big show and I'm quite comfortable with the socials of the day itself. Nevertheless, still the weight of collective expectation loads itself upon me and frankly, ruins things. I actually quite like the festivities but prefer it kept special and contained within a rough week and a half of the holidays. Come the new year, I want it gone. The need for consumption, eats into the contentment of daily life and the selfish enjoyment of a winter's walk, for example. I've resisted the chaos and taken myself out to rise above it, letting Mr B gleefully buy stocking fillers in Brighton. Here is a straightforward walk, jigging up and down the lofty North Downs before maintaining an easy level, keeping one's head and enjoying the v...
