VERB - tjalk
To move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn either by walking or jogging, sometimes having both feet off the ground at once, whilst talking
- "I tjalked along the tow path with friends”
Tjalking – what the heck is that you might ask? It is very simple … walking, jogging and talking. A pastime that many people take up, often in small groups without even knowing that they are part of a secret community of Tjalkers!
I am lucky enough to have a group of friends who like to catch up by jogging. We get to see each other and get some exercise at the same time. I am also lucky enough to live in Blackheath in South East London which means I not only have wide open spaces such as Greenwich Park available to me, but the Thames tow path too.
Sometimes we meet up to go jogging with no agenda whatsoever. No distance in mind, no pace in mind, we just run as a way of being sociable and it is a chance to catch up and hear what we have all been up to whilst taking in the views of the Thames or the paths of the park. Sometimes we stop to take in a view, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we talk all the time, and sometimes we have talked so much that we are out of breath and need to walk for a while… and it was on one of these said ‘runs’ that the term ‘tjalking’ was coined by my pal Nic Penny.
‘Shall we tjalk again soon?’
‘T – what?’
‘Tjalk’ ‘You know what we do when we meet up; talk, jog and walk, it’s just easier to say tjalk!’
So Tjalking has become a serious pastime. And as I have found out recently due to an injury, I have seriously missed my Tjalking sessions, having to succumb to text, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger in order to keep up with people’s busy lives, and it isn’t quite the same.
This doesn’t cause me to get out of breath. I can’t comment on the copious numbers of children on scooters or dogs being walke
d, nor discuss the weather and if we should dash to a coffee shop at the sight of a raging black cloud or get frustrated when my Garmin battery is low and doesn’t record my Tjalk!
Tjalking is good for you. It gets you outside, it raises your heartbeat, it lifts your mood, and the fact that there is never ever an agenda means that you can’t be disappointed with your efforts.
I am all for tjalking being an Olympic sport – so join me, and start your tjalking training today – you just need trainers, a pal for company and a meet up point – the rest is just tjalking!
HEATHER LAWSON