We walked miles in our boots ; let's walk a mile in the refugees' shoes

Having walked miles along the Thames in Henley last week, both of us had to bin our boots which fell apart on the same day after 14 years of good use ; they didn't owe us anything! Literally the soles of one pair and heels of the other pair came away on the final leg of the walk- at the same time ! Spooky.

Undeterred, walking has continued but in shoes not boots. 

On Saturday we explored into West Sussex and visited the River Adur at Upper Beeding where we brambles before setting off to visit the church in the village of Washington. An early 13century North arcade and Tower remain; the rest is nineteenth century.

St Mary's Church, Washington 

Again we found a family tomb from 1600 - only six children this time ( see last week) .

 We then visited the Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve and due to the rain had to devour our for a picnic in the car, before exploring the heathland and finding this Oak and Silver Birch in an embrace .

We were on our way to see the performance of a Jerome K Jerome play near Petersfield , and whilst it was performed and produced by amateurs , it was wholly professional in its quality - acting, singing, direction . And despite being written in 1911, it's topicality - the role and enfranchisement of women- was striking . Here let me put in a plug for the new BBC2 series " the Ascent of Woman" by Dr Amanda Foreman. 

Back to the theme of walking. On Sunday I spotted birds on the beach that I did not recognise.

Their camouflage is exquisite . Having put out a call for assistance on Twitter I was soon rewarded by RSPB advice - these were Turnstones - beautiful , not uncommon , yet easily missed. 

Turnstones in flight 

Not content with a Hove walk, we ventured on Sunday afternoon to Alfriston and discovered it was a festival day , with bunting ,stalls and visitors .....and we enjoyed a very fine traditional tea shop tea. 

Alfriston church and Green

But Monday's walking was Hove again. One of the joys of living by the sea is the ever changing seascapes. And with full moon have come very low tides .Monday evening was extraordinarily low.

Merry and I could not resist. We just had to paddle down to the shore and join the lugworm hunters .

And Tuesday was more of the same, though with a red sky promising so much for the midweek.

Our clear beaches and beautiful skies are such a delight and indeed Wednesday offered a beautiful morning for the second day of September .

And whilst we have been enjoying long deep clear beaches and big colourful skies for happy dog walking , elsewhere in Europe quite a different scene has been played out on our screens and newspaper front pages. We have seen the heartbreaking sight of a lifeless three year old washed up on a Turkish beach. We have heard the horrific testimony of a mother of three, a teacher , with her family , fleeing Homs in Syria, a City quite physically decimated by conflict. This family of five has travelled through many countries , risking everything , seeking safety and a worthwhile life . You can listen to the R4 Today interview here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p031k44r-it's six powerful minutes long. 

Let's walk a mile in their shoes . Lets have empathy . Let's take action to play our part in a humanitarian effort to enable children, mothers and fathers escaping war and fear, to find some comfort and welcome and to contribute. There'll be blue skies over......