Wensum: Fakenham writer Jim Harding looks back on trips to Australia, Argentina and Brazil - where he watched Pele play…
In his weekly Wensum column, Fakenham columnist Jim Harding looks back on trips to Australia, Argentina and Brazil - where he watched Pele play…
The cold mornings and evenings remind me that it’s still winter whenever I go out for a walk.
But wrapped up well in coat, Sunderland scarf, woolly gloves and hat, I try to maintain my daily meander beside the Wensum into town. I’m always looking out for signs of change.
No migrant birds have arrived yet and I can hardly blame them. But the congregation of ducks squawking at each other and charging across the river give me pause for thought.
There are other signs of change to consider. Years ago I planted a row of daffodil bulbs along the side of our house, adjacent to the track which is an access for cars.
They have regularly responded ever since and now are bravely, if slowly, coming into flower. The garden adjacent to our parish church has a few snowdrops which are also coming to life.
Through the forests we pass when driving out to Newmarket, it’s obvious that the trees are thriving, if not in full leaf. All in all, positive indications of better days to come. Though having said that, I might regret it should the ice and snow turn up some time later this month.
I have just finished a terrific book by Simon Reeve entitled ‘Tropic of Capricorn’, given to me as a birthday present by our eldest son, James. Knowing much of my travelling history, James comments: “I bet you have some memories of these corners of the world.” Well, yes, to a degree.
I don’t know much of Africa, across which miles of Capricorn strides. But there are many places which were recalled to my mind. One chapter is called ‘The Dry Continent’, spanning the whole of Australia.
When I lived there in the 1960s and 1970s I explored a fair bit, presuming I might never pass that way again. Capricorn passes almost directly through Alice Springs and on one long holiday I drove north from Adelaide in my little Triumph Herald to this small town in the middle of nowhere.
It first came to my knowledge when I read Nevil Shute’s book ‘A Town Like Alice’ which was less about Australia and rather more about the allied involvement with Japan in the Second World War.
Anyway, my journey up to ‘The Alice’ then was on an unmade road which took me the best part of four days, camping out at night and enjoying hospitality at numerous pubs which always seemed to be open, whatever the time of day.
En-route, my car suffered a damaged exhaust pipe which was fixed after my arrival so that I could continue onwards rather less noisily.
On another continent I again bumped into the Tropic of Capricorn thanks to my time in Argentina and Brazil. I recall this last country very fondly. Capricorn passed through the big city of Sao Paulo which, despite its size, I found to be very welcoming.
English seemed to be widely spoken, especially by young people, and I was invited to stay with a number of families.
On one night out I spent an evening in a pub when people were all singing together and tapping out a rhythm on the bar as if it had been rehearsed. They were just naturally musical and so extrovert.
I felt like I was at a party whenever I went out anywhere in Sao Paulo. After reaching the Atlantic coast I was able to hitch north and see a football match in which the great Pele himself was playing for his club Santos.
I had gone to Wembley when Brazil were playing a friendly against England there some years earlier and Pele was due to play.
But he never appeared, so this was the kind of compensation which was more than I could ever have anticipated. Suffice to say that he received a terrific reception in his own country - and, of course, scored a goal.
So, in essence, the Tropic of Capicorn, though I hardly knew of its existence at the time, did feature significantly in my life and it was a treat to be reminded of its presence by Simon in his most readable and, for me, reminiscent, account.
