The crossroads was empty except for a mange riddled fox that stood a little off the centre point. I wondered if it was waiting for the lights to change but knew it was sizing me up, trying to separate the jumble of rod case, net, chair and the man carrying it all. It waited a long time and then a cyclist pasted me and the fox moved, slinking through a gap in a fence. It was a little after four thirty and the sun was already high enough for the day to be considered fully formed all that was missing was the traffic.
At the
twenty four hour garage opposite the park entrance a guy stood on the edge of
the forecourt as if waiting for a taxi. He asked me for cigarette as I neared,
I told him I didn’t smoke and he asked for money; I told that I only had enough
for a bottle pop as the sliding doors to shop opened. I passed him again on the way out and
walked into the park.
At the lake a mist was puffing its way in from the fields cloaking the small nib of my float that poked at the surface. I missed some
bites, and then missed some more, eventually I found some pace and began
hooking roach and the odd bream. A noise made its way through the
park cloaked by the dense foliage on the far side of the lake. When the owners of the voices finally made it in to
view I found myself watching two men striped to the waist half dance their way
down the path alongside the lake. They spoke what I took to be an African language,
but Africa is a big place. They told me
they wanted to catch a fish and that they were drunk as if it was carefully guarded
secret , I looked at them blankly while managing to keep an eye on the float
and then they asked for a cigarette.
