I am not writing about the Serengeti – though that area is, I understand, full of creatures of all shapes and sizes.

No, I am writing about Horsell Common – and a particular part of that beautiful and unique area.

There have been numerous photographs of the Rive Ponds on Horsell Common, dug to alleviate flooding and looking beautiful at the same time. They have become very popular with walkers, dog walkers, pram pushers joggers and so forth.

They are fed by the ancient Rive Ditch, which is even older than the Basingstoke Canal. Local wildlife found the ponds quickly and currently it is full of tadpoles and other small examples of local wildlife.

Now the area stinks. Thames Water has confirmed that sewage spilled into the Rive Ditch on 12 March, saying a sewage pipe had become damaged by tree roots and tarmac, causing waste water to leak into the ditch.

The water company stated it had kept the Environment Agency and Catchment Partnerships “informed of events.”

Cllr Melisa Kuipers said that the sewage had still not been cleared away and remarked that Thames Water had failed to properly notify the public about the spill.

In the absence of any warning notices Horsell Common Preservation Society took action and put up warnings of the danger – especially to children and dogs. "There was no signage put up by Thames Water so the Horsell Common Preservation Society took action," said Ms Kuipers.

Alan Taylor, chairman of the local residents' association, said the polluted waterway was "appalling".

"Residents have been very concerned, especially those with young children," said Mr Taylor. "It's most important that residents don't let their dogs or children anywhere near the water."

The ditch has been blocked with sandbags to prevent more of the waterway from becoming polluted.

Mr Taylor pointed out that "The big concern was that the polluted waste then gets into these flood ponds and then into the River Wey, but I'm pleased to say it's been contained in just the Rive Ditch."

Thames Water confirmed the pipe was fixed on 16 March and that the pollutants were being allowed to "disperse naturally".

Although many water companies in this country have large debts Thames Water's are the worst. Water companies were privatised in1989, with the idea that private investment would improve the system. At that time Thames Water had no debts but after heavy borrowing it now has debts of about £19bn.

I have now heard that the frog spawn from those waterways is looking sad.

Is it being got at by other dwellers of the murky depths? Will the common frog only be saved by the number of children who filled jam jars with the stuff and took it home for their private ponds – being large or merely upturned dustbin lids?

This is, indeed, a case of “watch this space”.

My youngest daughter – she who lives in the Netherlands – recently suffered, and I do mean suffered, from a nasty foot infection. I've seen the pictures.

Did you know that carrots were originally not the orange we see in the supermarket but purple? That was the colour of her toes. Had she been on an Arctic walkabout with Ranulph Fiennes – he who cut off his own frost-bitten digits?

I worried she would lose her toes, if not her foot as well. And her leg looked as though it was wrapped in poor quality film.

I looked up Edward Lear's story of the toeless Pobble but thought it unhelpful to suggest drinking lavender water tinged with pink just because the Pobble's aunt had told him/it (?) that “The World in general knows there's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!”

She is OK now and still has the right number of toes and legs.

She has, of course, more than the average number of those things, as was pointed out to me as a child, bearing in mind the number of people who are minus a leg or a footfull of toes.

What had caused the infection was a bit of a mystery. She does a lot of swimming in the Wolvega Leisure Centre – was it something she had picked up there?

This led to an interesting discussion in the family. We were all taught to swim, but were we taught to dry ourselves properly?

At the time of school swimming lessons the tendency was to herd the kids into a communal changing room and told to dry off. But at that age many were shy of their bodies and tried to dress under an unsubstantial tent made of their too small towel.

Towels were dropped onto the wet floor and hastily grabbed back. There were not enough benches to perch on whilst drying feet. And feet just did not get dried properly.

Someone would be calling for the children to get a move on “we're all waiting for you!” and socks were hastily pulled on. Well, not hastily because socks cannot be pulled on quickly over damp feet. So the dampness stayed on the feet – and between the toes – and this warm and damp area was exactly right for the breeding of all sorts of nasties.

In those days talcum powder was much in demand – handily it was what distant relations gave you for Christmas because they couldn't think of anything else. Talc did not mix well with swimming pool water but made the damp between the toes even more welcoming to the nasties.

Talcum powder is now illegal sell and had been replaced by corn starch. Doubtless some will swear off it reckoning it might cause corns!

Who remembers the old open air pool in the park? Surrounded by grass so it would be out of the pool and lie on the grass and let the sun dry those toes. Of course grass stuck to the feet and was washed off on return visits to the water and probably did the filtration system no good at all.

I wonder if that open-air drying led to fewer cases of Athlete's Foot or whatever?

My grandmother had a Morris 8 – she did not drive but mother was expected to drive us down to West Wittering or some other likely seaside spot, if the weather looked good.

Granny liked her privacy when getting ready for a dip and to this end had arranged curtains on the inside of her car so when drawn it gave total privacy.

Just a few years on from the Victorians taking their wooden changing rooms on wheels into the sea itself. But still, in this country at least, there is embarrassment at getting naked and dry!

The other place being Crosby Beach, near Liverpool, where 100 cast-iron figures look out to sea. Modelled on artist Antony Gormley's own body they proved controversial.

His even better known – and somewhat larger statue – known as Angel of the North is seen by an estimated 33 million people every year, it being sited by the A1 and A167 and East Coast Main Line railway. What other works of art are seen by so many people who don't even have to buy a ticket to some gallery?

Gormley's career spans nearly 40 years during which time he has made sculpture that explores the relationship of the human body to space, often using his own body as his starting point and his work has been shown throughout the world.

There will be a lecture on Antony Gormley: a Body of Work, by Rosalind Whyte on Thursday 10 April 2025 at 10.30 am at Welcome Church, 1-5 Church Street West, Woking, GU21 6DJ. Rosalind White is an experience guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy, and Greenwich, and on cruises, and leads art appreciation holidays.

Free for members of TASM; £10 for visitors. For more information see https://theartssocietymayford.org.uk/Lectures/FutureLectures.aspx

On the eve of Mothering Sunday I managed to get myself into Horsell churchyard – with considerable assistance from my daughter and a walking stick.

I wished to put some plants on the three graves I tend and in doing so met Churchwarden Brian Sheriff, who told me of coffee and cake in the St Andrew's Room where a group of ladies were making up posies for children to hand to their mothers during the Sunday service.

It looked a calm and friendly gathering – ladies settled at a table with an assortment of flowers and foliage, damp tissue to wrap the posies, and silver paper to finish the job. But there should, apparently, be a health and safety warning attached to this peaceful occupation.

The ladies all had secateurs and scissors – but all were old enough to use them properly. No running with scissors please.

We were handed plates of delicious homemade cake along with our coffee. Next to the cake was a pastry fork and a warning: ladies, you have been handling daffodils – all parts of which are toxic so please use the fork provided. So sniff the fragrance but do not taste the bulb.

And look after mother.

Last week I commented on the common sense shown by Pirbright Parish Council, which decided not to pay a contractor to remove the silt dredged from the duck pond but to spread it across the green.

They have now gone even further with their environmentally and economically friendly ideas: following discussions with the horticultural society, a proposal has emerged to take advantage of the increased fertility of the green for cultivation.

The soil ridges are evidently perfect for growing potatoes, ready for harvest in the autumn. Funds raised from the sale of the crop will help to pay for other community resources, with the advertising slogan “Pirtatoes - Super Surrey Spuds”.

Given global warming and the increasingly wet winters, the Little Green has been earmarked for growing rice. Planting begins on 1 April. Or so they tell me.

At least the Pirbright residents take the trouble to tell me things – more than many of the other villages within the borough. I wish them successful chitting!