Mick's Muses's

I took my dog for a long walk this afternoon in the fields that surround my village. The warm autumnal sunshine was quite pleasant too. Two of the fields are divided by the River Yeo with a bridge which has hunters gates at either end linking the two.

Part of the route brings me to a disused footbridge which once was the primary connection to the adjoining village of Limington. A footpath used to run between the footbridge and Yeovilton Weir. Years ago a new road using a slightly different route between the two villages was constructed and the footpath and footbridge fell into disuse. The line of the footpath can still be seen however where it ran through a field as it was lined with horse chestnut trees. I walked along the line of the old footpath today and below the mighty horse chestnut trees thousands of conkers lie strewn on the ground. The trees still carry thousands of conkers waiting to fall and while I was there, continual soft dull thuds could be heard as even more fell to the ground.t

The sight of so many thousands of conkers, all in pristine condition just lying around, untouched and uncollected I find sad. As a schoolboy such a treasure would have carried enormous street credit if you could find them, but now they are like a disused currency not wanted by anyone. In some ways it is like finding the Count of Monte Cristo’s treasure and leaving it where it is as worthless junk.

I did bring a few home as my wife believes that new conkers placed on the window sill act as a spider deterrent.

I suppose in some ways it is a sign of how things change with time and could not but help be left wondering, that if there was such a thing as a Iphone tree, whether future generations would not be bothered to pick those ‘old things’ up.

Filed under: Conkers - Are they now a thing of the past, Somerset Journal | Tagged: Conkers, Count of Monte Cristo's treasure, school games, school playground |