The Shape I’m In

LETJOG E2W – Day 22: Sunday 5 May – NEWCASTLE EMLYN to NEWPORT (17.9 miles)

I am now just over three weeks into my LETJOG E2W walk, having covered (assuming my maths is correct) around 380 miles. Many of you kind folk have been enquiring into my wellbeing, and I have to say that, at the moment, it is a case of ‘so far, so good’! Physically I am in good shape, having walked myself fit really, but I am starting to get some muscle fatigue in the afternoons – oddly enough it is mostly in my shoulders and neck, from all the poling I think, and from wearing a backpack of eight to ten kilos (depending on how much water I happen to be carrying).

My challenge however is psychological, emotional, and logistical as much as it is physical, and I spend a lot of walking time assessing route options, accommodation issues, dietary needs, and administration matters; all things that keep me amply busy in the late afternoons and evenings, once my various clothes washing and ablutions are completed. It is a full-time job this long-distance walking. The truth is that I miss Rachel and my family and friends, and home, of course, but I am kept too busy to fret for long, and with all the outdoor air and the practicalities of the challenge to contend with, I am fully occupied and in a good place. The relative solitude does not bother me particularly, as I have lots of ongoing contact with my family and home life, and many passing conversations on the trail and at my evening stops. So my spirit remains high, boosted by milestones such as today’s – crossing into Pembrokeshire, and (a massive one this) getting my first glimpse of the Irish Sea! This is the story of my day,

My overnight stop is actually a mile or so east of Newport, and so I have yet to see the town. That pleasure will await me tomorrow, when I plan to have breakfast in the centre, before making my way towards Fishguard for some proper views of the Irish Sea and the culmination of the Great Britain part of my LETJOG E2W challenge. An exciting day awaits!

There is more than one song titled ‘The Shape I’m In’, from which I have taken my Blog heading today. The Band recorded a Robbie Robertson composition under that title in 1970 but, being in Wales, it is a different song by the same name that I am including on my playlist – namely a cover of an Otis Blackwell number released by Welsh composer, guitarist and vocalist Dave Edmunds, from his 1983 album ‘Information’. I recall seeing Edmunds, alongside Nick Lowe with their group Rockpile, at Exeter University in 1980: it seemed, even then, that Edmunds had been around around for a fair while, having broken through in 1970 with his Number 1 hit ‘I Hear You Knocking’. He reportedly only retired from music in 2017.