~{nilheadimage~=143409~}
It's always nice to go to ~{purplepost~=1352~;text~=Ripley~;target~=ripley~}, and it's something we're doing regularly at the moment, since we have family there.

On offer this week were the usual excellent fish, chips, tea, and chat. And we did another of the interesting little walks in which Ripley abounds:

~{nilimage~=143405~;dir~=H~;alt~=carrwoodbench~;caption~=Carr Wood. According to the information board, this was originally part of Duffield Frith (a medieval forest that included deer parks and ancient industries). Coal mining eventually decimated the site, but as that activity retreated, trees grew back, and Carr Wood is now a pretty little nature reserve~}
~{nilimage~=143403~;dir~=V~;alt~=lane~;caption~=The lane to Carr Wood~}
~{nilimage~=143404~;dir~=H~;alt~=moss1~;caption~=Moss and trees~}
~{nilimage~=143406~;dir~=H~;alt~=moss2~}
~{nilimage~=143407~;dir~=H~;alt~=church~;caption~=Another fine example of Ripley red brick~}
~{nilimage~=143408~;dir~=V~;alt~=greenway~;caption~=Another bit of the ~{link~= https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/countryside/access/walking/walks-and-trails/ripley-greenway.aspx ~;text~=Ripley Greenway~;target~=greenway~}, which follows the route of the former railway~}
Pleasant though all this was, the piece de resistance of our visit was the opportunity to hand-feed little treat-bikkies to an adorable pair of pussy cats (there is a third feline in the household, but she was just that little bit too shy to exploit the opportunity -- I so sympathize with that want-to-but-don't-dare-to scenario).

It's a long time since we've been owned by cats, and it was nostalgic indeed to feel those soft little lips and raspy little tongues on my palm.

~{nilimage~=111656~;dir~=H~;alt~=nigel&sarah~;caption~=Memories of our cats in England~}
~{nilimage~=111659~;dir~=H~;alt~=linda&lexis~}
~{nilimage~=111666~;dir~=H~;alt~=kitty~}
~{nilimage~=111774~;dir~=H~;alt~=skn&l~;caption~=Unfortunately, we were down to two cats by the time we moved to New Zealand~}
~{nilimage~=111828~;dir~=V~;alt~=kittyonlanding~;caption~=Later, when we had furniture. Kitty is the only cat left now...~}
~{nilimage~=111814~;dir~=H~;alt~=kitty&nigel~}
~{nilimage~=111874~;dir~=V~;alt~=kitty~;caption~=Kitty moves into our second house in NZ~}
I don't know when we'll next be some cat's very own humans. Our current lifestyle wouldn't be acceptable to any self-respecting feline, that's for sure.

Perhaps we need time-share cats. Come to that, perhaps we need time-share everything, given that a big chunk of our life is here, and a big chunk is in Malaysia, and -- in normal times, if such things ever return -- another big chunk would be spent on the road.

Hmmm... A big snag about being human is that you can only ever do one thing at once. Life is all about choices that eliminate other possible courses of action (to say nothing of necessities that reduce the number of options available in the first place).

I have no idea how the choices and necessities will fall in the future.

But in the meantime, I got to feed pussy-cats...