Joggers, snoggers, doggers ......and bloggers.

I went along to one of my favourite haunts the night before last....Wilstone reservoir. The sky was a menacing grey and the terns and hirundines were feeding in swirling , loose groups low over the surface of the water. It is an atmospheric place at all times and despite the terrible weather it once again had a lovely feel to it. Hearing a cuckoo calling from beyond the reedbed was a reassuring reminder that even though it feels like November, Summer is surely around the corner. I visit Wilstone when I can - early morning is my favourite time - but rarely in the evenings. It is a public site and I have no problem with the runners who impressively complete laps of the place or the assortment of dogs that look longingly at my telescope tripod as a potential location for a territorial pee. But this time the car park at the bottom of the steps that lead down from the reservoir had become the location for some sort of 'meet up'...if that's not an inappropriate expression.....with at least six cars containing couples in various states of entanglement. As I made my way past the cars trying to look anywhere but their direction, I noticed a woman sitting on the bank. As I got nearer I could hear that she was sobbing. Really sobbing. I stood for a while a little distance from her and scanned the reservoir as I always do, but in the end I had to ask her if she was ok...which I did. She just stopped, looked at me and said 'I'm fine'.....which clearly she was not. She tried a half-hearted smile before starting to cry again and within a minute or so she got up and walked back to her (empty) car and drove away. Now whether the frolics in the car park had anything to do with her unhappiness I do not know. Could I have done anything more..I don't know...I just wanted to let her know I was concerned. But it was a sad little cameo on a bizarre night at the reservoir that clearly takes on a different character on Spring and Summer evenings.........