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| Samira in "chewy" mode... |
A recent phrase in our vocabulary, bucket lists are things to do before you die, often unusual, difficult and sometimes even virtually impossible tasks, trips or situations in which one wishes to find oneself. I have discerned that the richer one is then the more bizarre, difficult and expensive these listed items become.
Whilst I don't consider that I have ever had a "bucket list" per se, certainly not a physical, written list; I have, like most of us, had a few things in my head that I would "like" to do given the opportunity, the time or the money. They are not necessarily tasks I want to complete before I die either - I try not to think too much about death - no, these are just things I would like to do....but naturally I need to be alive to attempt them...I mean...obviously.
Whilst I don't consider that I have ever had a "bucket list" per se, certainly not a physical, written list; I have, like most of us, had a few things in my head that I would "like" to do given the opportunity, the time or the money. They are not necessarily tasks I want to complete before I die either - I try not to think too much about death - no, these are just things I would like to do....but naturally I need to be alive to attempt them...I mean...obviously.
I have also been fortunate in that my wishes are simple, easily accomplished and cheap; showing, almost by default, that I am poor. Yet they're also not really a list of things I want to do, more a perception that doing them might be kind of cool, fun, exhilarating or even life changing.
A few years ago I mentioned to my wife that one such dream or ambition was to stroke a Tiger - whilst it was tranquilised, obviously - but the immense power of these animals, the shear size and the weight of their presence, not just their physical weight, has always filled me with awe. I have yet to achieve that ambition and would still like to do so, but my wife managed to get us access to a Lion cub at the very wonderful Port Lympne park near Folkestone a few years ago. The Lioness, Samira, had been injured by her mother and was being reared by hand, following her keeper around like a love sick puppy. Frankie, my son Ben and I all managed to play with her and stroke her in the Safari Park shop on a cold, rainy day.
Her fur was soft, downy and not at all stiff and spiky as we expected and she growled at us in a friendly, almost cartoon caricature manner - the very essence of what a young lion cub should sound like as she chewed our shoes, coats and hands - an absolutely wonderful experience that none of us have ever forgotten.
On a recent trip to Madeira this month I managed to achieve another of those "bucket list" items - I was within a few feet of a pod of Common Dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean and yet again it was an event I shall never forget, a timeless 30 minutes or so in which seemed distilled all the intensity of sensations and feelings - a perplexing mix of emotions when one does not know whether to laugh or cry - so I did a little of both, quietly to myself, but I think Frankie was aware of the reactions this encounter engendered. A truly magical experience. I was within 6 or 7 feet of the animals as they swam along with the catamaran, adeptly avoiding collision with one another as they put on a show for us. Having tried to take some photographs, I became aware that in my attempt to get a good shot I was forgetting to actually "watch" them. I put the camera away. I did manage to salvage a fantastic short piece of footage though - a memory captured and certainly one to share.
As to what else is on, or has been on my bucket list - well, now is not the time to divulge that - I'm still smiling as I remember the 6 feet long athletes of the ocean on a warm, sunny day about a mile off the coast of Madeira in January.....I'll not forget it, ever!
A few years ago I mentioned to my wife that one such dream or ambition was to stroke a Tiger - whilst it was tranquilised, obviously - but the immense power of these animals, the shear size and the weight of their presence, not just their physical weight, has always filled me with awe. I have yet to achieve that ambition and would still like to do so, but my wife managed to get us access to a Lion cub at the very wonderful Port Lympne park near Folkestone a few years ago. The Lioness, Samira, had been injured by her mother and was being reared by hand, following her keeper around like a love sick puppy. Frankie, my son Ben and I all managed to play with her and stroke her in the Safari Park shop on a cold, rainy day.
Her fur was soft, downy and not at all stiff and spiky as we expected and she growled at us in a friendly, almost cartoon caricature manner - the very essence of what a young lion cub should sound like as she chewed our shoes, coats and hands - an absolutely wonderful experience that none of us have ever forgotten.
On a recent trip to Madeira this month I managed to achieve another of those "bucket list" items - I was within a few feet of a pod of Common Dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean and yet again it was an event I shall never forget, a timeless 30 minutes or so in which seemed distilled all the intensity of sensations and feelings - a perplexing mix of emotions when one does not know whether to laugh or cry - so I did a little of both, quietly to myself, but I think Frankie was aware of the reactions this encounter engendered. A truly magical experience. I was within 6 or 7 feet of the animals as they swam along with the catamaran, adeptly avoiding collision with one another as they put on a show for us. Having tried to take some photographs, I became aware that in my attempt to get a good shot I was forgetting to actually "watch" them. I put the camera away. I did manage to salvage a fantastic short piece of footage though - a memory captured and certainly one to share.
As to what else is on, or has been on my bucket list - well, now is not the time to divulge that - I'm still smiling as I remember the 6 feet long athletes of the ocean on a warm, sunny day about a mile off the coast of Madeira in January.....I'll not forget it, ever!
