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The healthy option - away from the private car

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2010-07-07 08:43:19 - Graham Ellis

"I used to take the train from school." No - that's a simplification. I walked to the station (Sydenham Hill until the age of 11, Sevenoaks until 17), took my train, then walked a mile home in Petts Wood. Every half hour, the 161A bus connected there with the train (ah those days of proper co-ordination!) but personally I walked.

These days, pupils are more likely to be driven, door to door, to school. "Safer" they say. Hmm - but far less healthy. We're becoming an obese generation ourselves, and we're bringing up a new more-obese generation too. Incredibly, I understand that the average brit now consumes 20% less calories than they did 40 years ago [year figure may be wrong], but we burn so much less as we live so much less of an active life style. Sedetory jobs, a bit of a waddle to sit in the car, and a waddle to the sofa in front of the TV.


So I'm encouraged when I see rail ridership figures rising dramatically, bus figures drifting gently up, and hear of people saying how hard it is becoming to find space in cycle racks and on trains for their cycles. And I rejoice when I see the foot flow out of somewhere like Temple Meads in the morning.

A new school opens at Melksham Oak - just up the road from us - soon. The full term there starts in September. And the road past our front gate is the only walking route from the main town to the school. It's the cycle way too. We've already got to be careful as we "nose" a car out on those mornings that we do drive somewhere, and I actually look forward to having to be even more careful - to seeing the next generation getting their 30 minutes of exercise per day and helping to prevent the next generation becoming the obese generation.




The top picture is a public domain one ... and I haven't a clue who is pictured. The second picture is one of mine - see our copyright and shows a random selection of people unknown to me.



Comment from Anon ...

I am not sure that our new government is that bothered about the population remaining fit and well. I noted in the Blue Pool, Melksham this morning there is a notice stating that the concession brought in by the last government in April 2009 for the under 16s and the over 60s to go swimming without charge will be withdrawn from the 31st July 2010 and from the 1st August will be required to pay.