Walking in the streets around your house is normal and everyday if you are car-free. You head out of your front door and you walk. OK you might also be wheeling, or cycling, or something along those lines – but in car-free-dom you are often likely going to self-propelling your body around your locale.

Car-free moving around your nearby streets is a taken-for-granted and nothing unexpected way of existing. Although you might get a shock. Last week I had just that when I encountered a nearby neighbour on the street near both our houses.

I was shocked that I was shocked. But I was shocked because I had never before encountered this neighbour, or to be fair many of our nearby neighbours walking on the street, in all the years we’ve lived in our current home.

The encounter seemed so unexpected. If they had been in their garden or crossing the road to get into their car – no shock. It just felt so odd, in a double take kind-of-a-way, that we both met and passed on that bit of pavement.

If you have decent pavements and pedestrian crossings etc. – which are crucial for good living – you can feel fortunate as others do not. So I would get the most use out of them possible and maybe you’ll be shocked or shock others – in a nice car-free-dom way of course!