Dirty Dog

Which is how I felt around 45 minutes after finding these left in a bush at Cossington Meadows. They look to be quite nice sunglasses so I'm wondering what possessed the owner to to leave them there.

Basil and I followed the footpath round and came on to the drive that leads from Platts Lane. We'd not been to this part of the meadows before. I was delighted to see a pond, with an egret pottering about among the fringing sedge and reeds.

It was almost sunset. I aimed to follow the drive until it intersected the other main path which I assumed would lead us back to where I had parked the car. There were three large puddles on the drive. The surrounding sedges and ground was muddy. Basil likes to walk in neither mud nor water so I diverted into the muddy tract to find a route round the puddles.

My wellington boot stuck in the mud and then I found myself falling. I had the sense to relax and turn sufficiently so that I landed on my left buttock and back, thus avoiding damaging the knees. Sedge and mud are surprisingly soft.

I couldn't get up. I tried to place the feet of my wellies against clumps of sedge but they kept slipping in the mud. At one point I managed to get on to hands and knees but didn't have the strength in my legs to rise. I knew Cossington Village was only 300-400 m away and yelled Help, repeatedly. Nobody heard.

By good fortune, I'd remembered to bring my phone on this occasion and decided to dial 999 for the Fire Service. The operator was very helpful. Basil was solicitous and then just sat down by the side of the path. I only had one biscuit for him. I manoeuvred myself on to some sedge to try and avoid lying in wet mud. I'd wrapped up in layers before going out and had neoprene line wellies which kept my legs and feet warm.

It must have taken half an hour for the firemen to arrived by which time it was dark. We'd exchanged three calls so that they could establish exactly where I was. Thank goodness for smartphones and Google Maps. An app to transmit my GPS location would have been even better.

Two runners came up the path at the same time as the lead firemen. If nothing else, they might have come across me in the dark. The fireman pulled and the runners held me up under my arms. Amazing that it needed three grown men to lift me.

I was so, so pleased to see them. I was escorted back to my car along the road. The essential thing was that the firemen were equipped with lights, high viz wear and strong boots. They also knew how to lift people.

I admit I did feel slightly shaken but got home safely. Stripped off the thoroughly muddy coat, trousers and boots and sat down with a cuppa supplied by Len.

Then I got the dinner ready. Basil was fine. Len took him into the shower as he was pretty muddy too.