Bad news: It rained most of the morning.
Good news: It held off long enough for me to reach the school where I'll be working so that my new hair do remained virtually intact.
Bad news: The school I'll be working in over the summer is very very isolated.
Good news: The kids can't escape but I can because I'll have my bike!
Bad news: I'm absolutely pooped, can barely stand and have an irresistable urge to sleep for a very long time.
Good news: I've cycled 36 miles today, which feels very far! Plenty of it was hilly.
Bad news: I'm heading to Cornwall tmw for the weekend (by train), I'll miss my bike.
Good news: I'm heading to Cornwall tmw for the weekend (by train), I won't need to use my bike!
Bad news: Every muscle aches today.
Good news: That must mean I'm getting fit!
As I was going to visit the school this morning I decided not to wear my padded gear, wanted to retain some semblance of normality when I arrived and guess what...! I don't need it. I was as comfy today without it as I normally am with. I have developed such a tolerance that I can laugh in the face of padding. Ha! ... Bwa! ... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....
SIX HOURS LATER... ........OH MY GOODNESS!
I wrote the above when I first arrived in Bristol. HOW FOOLISH WAS I? Arrived at the house of choc-bun's sister, where I'm staying for the night. 'Laugh in the face of padding'? Who am I kidding? She has wooden chairs in her kitchen...I couldn't get comfortable and kept having to stand up. I forgot - whilst I was laughing in the face of padding - that I'd taken a couple of painkillers for my knee. Obviously, they did their job very well masking all types of pain. Ow ow owwww.
Heading down to Cornwall for a couple of days so no cycling and maybe no blogging, though it has become a vaguely compulsive habit.
Thursday 19 May 2011
Tuesday 17 May 2011
In praise of Bradford-on-Avon
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| It wasn't the cough that carried him off, t'was the coffin they carried him off in. |
I've had a lovely day and met lovely people.
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| Daily thatch |
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| Needs a thatch |
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| Newly hatched |
Ooh, while I type this evening there's a prog on, 'Britain By Bike' with Clare Balding. She's into loads of history, but seems to be frankly 'lacklustre' when it comes to Hobbit accessories and photo museums. Perhaps I should tip her the wink?
First things first, however, comments. Are you having difficulty in posting them? Well you are not alone (we rarely are when there's a problem, we just think we are!) I asked Daddy-O, who's in the know, and he replied with this:
You asked about Comments - Here goes:
1. Click on the green Comments link at the bottom of your blog page.
2. This opens the 'Post a Comment' text box I am typing in at the moment.
3. Type the comment!!
4. Click the 'Select profile' down arrow and select the organisation you have a personal profile with. I have a Google Account so that is my choice. The profile is needed so that Blogger knows who is actually making the comment. I think possibly people will have to register with one of the listed organisations to go any further.
5. Click the 'Preview' button, enter your personal password etc., and check what you are about to send. Type the letters exactly as shown in the 'Word verification' box, and finally:
6. Click the 'Post Comment' button. Quite a procedure, but it does not take long.
The commments have to be moderated before they appear below the post they are relating to.
Hope this helps.
Tuesday's blog:
Set off early-ish this morning and headed West through Trowbridge. A wholely unattractive place - sorry to say - though the people were friendly. It was a pleasant surprise to find a travelling man and his jodhpur clad daughter playing music in the square. As they reeled their folky tunes, the long arm of the law lurked nearby, ready to move them on. In fairness to PC Plod, he seemed bashfully aware of the high level of 'jobsworthy' behaviour he was displaying. As sense of duty battled morality he pushed himself forward to grapple with hard facts, did they have a licence?
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| Spot the bobby |
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| Mary hoped that 'Wild' would entice more customers than 'Scary' had... |
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| Derek was never quite sure how Roger could stand the pace.. |
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| Bicycle bird recognised the need to fix her barnet before interview day. |
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| Mid 14th C Tithe Barn |
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| Gigantic woman dwarves little tithe barn. |
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| Gigantic tithe barn dwarves little woman. |
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| Got a yoke, collar, brace and purlin handy? |
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| ...Then make a roof like this... |
Nothing badly wrong with bike, by the way, but the gears were being tricky with the movement from big wheel to middle wheel not happening. I kept having to go: big-small-middle and that's just not slick! How lucky am I, though? A hairdresser who's hobby is bike riding and bike maintenance! Additionally top-tastic-Mr and Mrs-Top-Cat had brought their two gorgeous girlies into the salon. Gorgeous girlie number one got to work combing my hair before super-chop Amanda had a go.
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| 'Dirty old town, dirty old town' ...it isn't, it's beautiful. |
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| View from a bridge |
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| The locals were green with envy when they saw her new hair-do. |
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| Gorgeous girlie couldn't conceal her reaction as she started to comb out the knots... I stayed in: The Georgian Lodge - beautiful building, central, friendly, great food - 01225 862268 I had my hair cut at: Luke David - 01225 863357 |
Monday 16 May 2011
A marriage made in heaven.
'Looooveeee is a many splendid thiiiiing....'
Today. Devizes.
De name of Devizes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devizes
De houses in Devizes: http://search.thinkproperty.com/strakers/property/22131258
De freebies in Devizes: http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/site/things-to-do/free-things-to-do-in-wiltshire
Devices in Devizes: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/towns/devizesheadlines/8830274.Device_to_monitor_Devizes__air_quality/
De fact of Devizes: over 45% of the population is over 45.
Prior to setting off I called nephew no 1 to wish him a happy 9th birthday. Super-Sis had suggested (and bought on my behalf) a whole set of books by way of birthday gift. Cool-Boy was chuffed to bits. He said, 'Thanks for the books, they're great. I've got book number 1, book no 2, no 3, no 4, no 5, no 6, no 7, no 8, no 9, no 10, no 11, no 12, no 13, no 14, no 15, no 16, no 17, no 18, no 19, no 20, no 21, no 22, no 23, no 24, no 25, no 26, no 27, no 28, all the way to 30'. . . . Classic.
So, suitably similar numerical gift sought for nephew 2, Sporty-Boy's 7th birthday in July. Ideas on a p.c. please.
Ok, eight days and a few miles later. Here's a map of 'so far':
View Larger Map
A trip which, Mr Google says I could walk in one day and ten hours (solid) or drive in two hours two minutes. Whatever.
If, however, I'd have followed Mr Google's advice I'd have never met the love of my life. We've been through the rough and the smooth together, but it's been the rough patches where I've appreciated Kev the most; full name Kevlar, don't be fooled he isn't a character from Gavin and Stacey. What's occurin' is he's gorgeous, wonderful and very supportive, the ideal partner in fact. Here's a photo:
Yes, my new love has indeed been synthesized in solution from the monomers 1,4-phenylene-diamene and terephthaloyl chloride in a condensation reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a byproduct. The result has liquid-crystalline behavior, and mechanical drawing orients the polymer chains in the fiber's direction.
Kevlar's the stuff of dreams, the stuff great tyres are made of. With Kevlar you can cycle a rocky road - I don't mean an American style goodie - and come out unscathed, if it wasn't for Kev I'd have been stopping every five minutes to whip out my pump and puncture repair kit.
So, let's hear it for the boy, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kevlar.
Today. Devizes.
De name of Devizes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devizes
De houses in Devizes: http://search.thinkproperty.com/strakers/property/22131258
De freebies in Devizes: http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/site/things-to-do/free-things-to-do-in-wiltshire
Devices in Devizes: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/towns/devizesheadlines/8830274.Device_to_monitor_Devizes__air_quality/
De fact of Devizes: over 45% of the population is over 45.
Prior to setting off I called nephew no 1 to wish him a happy 9th birthday. Super-Sis had suggested (and bought on my behalf) a whole set of books by way of birthday gift. Cool-Boy was chuffed to bits. He said, 'Thanks for the books, they're great. I've got book number 1, book no 2, no 3, no 4, no 5, no 6, no 7, no 8, no 9, no 10, no 11, no 12, no 13, no 14, no 15, no 16, no 17, no 18, no 19, no 20, no 21, no 22, no 23, no 24, no 25, no 26, no 27, no 28, all the way to 30'. . . . Classic.
So, suitably similar numerical gift sought for nephew 2, Sporty-Boy's 7th birthday in July. Ideas on a p.c. please.
Ok, eight days and a few miles later. Here's a map of 'so far':
View Larger Map
A trip which, Mr Google says I could walk in one day and ten hours (solid) or drive in two hours two minutes. Whatever.
If, however, I'd have followed Mr Google's advice I'd have never met the love of my life. We've been through the rough and the smooth together, but it's been the rough patches where I've appreciated Kev the most; full name Kevlar, don't be fooled he isn't a character from Gavin and Stacey. What's occurin' is he's gorgeous, wonderful and very supportive, the ideal partner in fact. Here's a photo:
Yes, my new love has indeed been synthesized in solution from the monomers 1,4-phenylene-diamene and terephthaloyl chloride in a condensation reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a byproduct. The result has liquid-crystalline behavior, and mechanical drawing orients the polymer chains in the fiber's direction.
Kevlar's the stuff of dreams, the stuff great tyres are made of. With Kevlar you can cycle a rocky road - I don't mean an American style goodie - and come out unscathed, if it wasn't for Kev I'd have been stopping every five minutes to whip out my pump and puncture repair kit.
So, let's hear it for the boy, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kevlar.
Sunday 15 May 2011
'Easy like Sunday morning' / 'Lost and found'
Miles cycled: 9.58.
Miles walked 9 ish
Dedications: 2
Number of things lost/found: 3
Questions answered: 6
Days without make up: 7
Started off this am full of food! Stayed at a B & B in Easton Royal where they thought of everything. EVERYTHING! It was a bit like living with pixies, you half expected someone to pop up post-shower, look at your hair and say 'quick blow-dry madam?' Breakfast was: muesli, prunes, muffin, scrambled egg, salmon, parsley, lemon, tomato, toast, butter, blackcurrant jam, coffee, orange juice. I could barely walk. Luckily my dream machine could still roll. And she did.
Gambled a bit today and decided to go off-route (Don't stray from the paaaath), left the National Cycle Route no 4 and stayed alonside the canal. Daring! Actually, was a bit nervous in places as the track became very narrow, rocky and bumpy but me old mate Kev saw me through (more about that in another post), I arrived incident free.
In fact, there is a real easy-going atmosphere canalside, dogs, cups of tea and wood-burning stoves all feature heavily and you can't really argue with that. Anyone want to go halves on a barge? The only hysteria charged moment was when I encountered a couple of rotund elderly gentlemen outside a pub near Pewsey. As I stuggled to pass one said to the other:
'Careful Bert, young lady trying to paaaasss'
'So she is, don't worry my deeeeeer, think of me as a speed bump.'
Pause while I start giggling... well, he was funny. Bert continued:
'Look at that Arthur, I think she's on her Cycling Proficiency. Keep it up girl, badge tomorrow.'
I wobbled away, trying not to fall in.
Stopped at half eleven as I wanted to walk up to the Pewsey Horse - who wouldn't? For full horse history see link (just scroll down). Salty Sea-Dog came to join. On my way to meet him I stopped at Saxon St Mary (Church) and found myself lured into the grandly named Alton Barnes Photo Museum. FAB! A testament to what you do when you've got a load of pics of your family lying round. You free up a room, arrange the pics and invite all and sundry to visit. It was randomly brilliant. We don't have enough fun free stuff in this country. Why don't you do something other people can enjoy for free - GO ON! Bake a cake and give it away, chalk a random picture on your outside wall, put a painting in your window turned facing OUT, sing a song in public without your cap out, leave spare plants at the end of your drive, make a picture with stones on the beach, draw a hopskotch on the path and see how many people use it.
So, the horse on the hill....it was...white...and chalky and steep. Me in my steel plated cycling shoes and Sea-Dog regaining his land legs in flip flops. We were like Neil 'first landing' Armstrong and Johnny 'Pirate' Depp out for a stroll. We found Nicholas Massy's mobile phone, he's in class C1, we carried it with us in case we met him so we could give it back.
After seeing 'Dobby' the itinary was pub/eat/walk. We followed the canal: grassy, slow, meandering. We looked at the canal boats: painted, slow, meandering. All was good. Salty-Sea-Dog made a discovery! A hobbit had left his walking stick by the canal. Horrah! We carried it with us in case we met him so we could give it back.
On the way we hypothesised on what it would be like to own a canal boat. Sea-Dog, being realistic, expressed concerns over the 'black waste' (sewage), I wondered if there'd be enough space for my shoes.
We had lots of other unanswerable questions in our heads, prompted by the scenery. As we dawdled we saw a big boat. A not-so-narrow-boat, aka 'wide beam' we got chatting to Dog-Posse Mum and Dad. They very kindly showed us around their newly acquired boat, made us a cuppa tea, let us meet their beautiful dogs and answered nearly all our questions.
Questions answered:
1. Narrow and wide beam boats have flushable toilets.
2. Waste tanks can be emptied at special stations by use of a pump.
3. There is plenty of below bed storage space.
4. During WWII the Kennet and Avon Canal was set up as a natural line across the country which would be heavily defended in case of invasion to the south.
5. There are four main differences between a canoe and kayak (which I am happy to supply upon request!).
6. Dogs in the Dog Posse are: Ripple, Crumpet, Nala and Alfie.
One question unanswered: Why do some of the hills have ridges in them? Are they caused by:
a. Animals (sheep)
b. Humans
c. Geographical processes
Dog Posse Mum and Dad couldn't answer this one for us so I am now relying on Award-winning-Geography-teaching-Brother-in-law - 'Geog-Bruv'. He'll be able to tell us the cause.
And finally, Sea-Dog gave me a lift to the B & B before heading off home. After he left, I discovered I had left my camera in his car. DOH! Imagine - loss of pics, no new pics, postless pics. I texted Sea-Dog to ask him to post it on to me so I could receive in a couple of days. The little STAR turned round and brought it all the way back, so any future pictures are thanks to him!
Miles walked 9 ish
Dedications: 2
Number of things lost/found: 3
Questions answered: 6
Days without make up: 7
Started off this am full of food! Stayed at a B & B in Easton Royal where they thought of everything. EVERYTHING! It was a bit like living with pixies, you half expected someone to pop up post-shower, look at your hair and say 'quick blow-dry madam?' Breakfast was: muesli, prunes, muffin, scrambled egg, salmon, parsley, lemon, tomato, toast, butter, blackcurrant jam, coffee, orange juice. I could barely walk. Luckily my dream machine could still roll. And she did.
Gambled a bit today and decided to go off-route (Don't stray from the paaaath), left the National Cycle Route no 4 and stayed alonside the canal. Daring! Actually, was a bit nervous in places as the track became very narrow, rocky and bumpy but me old mate Kev saw me through (more about that in another post), I arrived incident free.
In fact, there is a real easy-going atmosphere canalside, dogs, cups of tea and wood-burning stoves all feature heavily and you can't really argue with that. Anyone want to go halves on a barge? The only hysteria charged moment was when I encountered a couple of rotund elderly gentlemen outside a pub near Pewsey. As I stuggled to pass one said to the other:
'Careful Bert, young lady trying to paaaasss'
'So she is, don't worry my deeeeeer, think of me as a speed bump.'
Pause while I start giggling... well, he was funny. Bert continued:
'Look at that Arthur, I think she's on her Cycling Proficiency. Keep it up girl, badge tomorrow.'
I wobbled away, trying not to fall in.
Stopped at half eleven as I wanted to walk up to the Pewsey Horse - who wouldn't? For full horse history see link (just scroll down). Salty Sea-Dog came to join. On my way to meet him I stopped at Saxon St Mary (Church) and found myself lured into the grandly named Alton Barnes Photo Museum. FAB! A testament to what you do when you've got a load of pics of your family lying round. You free up a room, arrange the pics and invite all and sundry to visit. It was randomly brilliant. We don't have enough fun free stuff in this country. Why don't you do something other people can enjoy for free - GO ON! Bake a cake and give it away, chalk a random picture on your outside wall, put a painting in your window turned facing OUT, sing a song in public without your cap out, leave spare plants at the end of your drive, make a picture with stones on the beach, draw a hopskotch on the path and see how many people use it.
So, the horse on the hill....it was...white...and chalky and steep. Me in my steel plated cycling shoes and Sea-Dog regaining his land legs in flip flops. We were like Neil 'first landing' Armstrong and Johnny 'Pirate' Depp out for a stroll. We found Nicholas Massy's mobile phone, he's in class C1, we carried it with us in case we met him so we could give it back.
After seeing 'Dobby' the itinary was pub/eat/walk. We followed the canal: grassy, slow, meandering. We looked at the canal boats: painted, slow, meandering. All was good. Salty-Sea-Dog made a discovery! A hobbit had left his walking stick by the canal. Horrah! We carried it with us in case we met him so we could give it back.
On the way we hypothesised on what it would be like to own a canal boat. Sea-Dog, being realistic, expressed concerns over the 'black waste' (sewage), I wondered if there'd be enough space for my shoes.
We had lots of other unanswerable questions in our heads, prompted by the scenery. As we dawdled we saw a big boat. A not-so-narrow-boat, aka 'wide beam' we got chatting to Dog-Posse Mum and Dad. They very kindly showed us around their newly acquired boat, made us a cuppa tea, let us meet their beautiful dogs and answered nearly all our questions.
Questions answered:
1. Narrow and wide beam boats have flushable toilets.
2. Waste tanks can be emptied at special stations by use of a pump.
3. There is plenty of below bed storage space.
4. During WWII the Kennet and Avon Canal was set up as a natural line across the country which would be heavily defended in case of invasion to the south.
5. There are four main differences between a canoe and kayak (which I am happy to supply upon request!).
6. Dogs in the Dog Posse are: Ripple, Crumpet, Nala and Alfie.
One question unanswered: Why do some of the hills have ridges in them? Are they caused by:
a. Animals (sheep)
b. Humans
c. Geographical processes
Dog Posse Mum and Dad couldn't answer this one for us so I am now relying on Award-winning-Geography-teaching-Brother-in-law - 'Geog-Bruv'. He'll be able to tell us the cause.
And finally, Sea-Dog gave me a lift to the B & B before heading off home. After he left, I discovered I had left my camera in his car. DOH! Imagine - loss of pics, no new pics, postless pics. I texted Sea-Dog to ask him to post it on to me so I could receive in a couple of days. The little STAR turned round and brought it all the way back, so any future pictures are thanks to him!
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| More thatch |
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| Woodenough War Memorial 'Holey' stone. |
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| Don't stray from the paaaaath... |
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| Home of the Most Comfortable Bed In The World. |
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| You'd be a fool to miss it... |
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| Who's the biggest plonker, David Cameron or Boris Johnson? |
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| British Museum, EAT YOUR HEART OUT |
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| Usually I'd say Cameron but just seen Boris playing table tennis. Doh. |
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| Neigh lad, neigh.... |
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| Oom-pa-lum-pa de de de deeee - Hobbit stick discovery! |
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| Cameron's most ridiculous quote: 'It's because I love the NHS that I want to change it'. |
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| Today's homework: Ridge-y hill. Take a good look! Closer. CLOSER. I want an explanation. Please. Thank you. |
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