Things have slipped, can’t believe how long it is since my last blog post. However things are trundling along and I’m looking forward to Christmas, just like a little school kid. Even more so is looking forward to the new year. For now, these are a few jottings to cover the last few weeks.
You can deduce from the photograph above that I’ve been for a bike ride, just a 10 mile spin to get a bit of huff and puff. On the right day, even in December, there are some beautiful landscapes to pedal through and there is a certain quality to the still, quiet, resting countryside.
A few years ago I used to cycle a lot more, thousands of miles each year. I used to clock up about half of these commuting to work, in St Albans and then Stevenage. Looking back it was a brilliant thing to do, although not without its problems. One day I forgot to take my trousers and spent the entire day sitting in my Lycra shorts at my desk, or creeping around when nobody was about. That was working fine until the Chief Officer brought the new Chair of the Board into my office and introduced me. It was an awkward moment while she waited for me to stand up and shake his hand…..
Enough of that. I thought I’d post a few photos from winter cycling in years gone by, as a reminder to myself that it remains a good thing to do.
I certainly do need to cycle more, although I miss running and a bike ride seemed a poor substitute. My foot injury isn’t getting any better. The X-ray hasn’t revealed anything but I was told that might be the case. I am looking to chat to my Doctor next week to discuss what else can be done.
Last week we headed to Exeter to see my eldest daughter and her hubby. We stayed there for a couple of nights and they were keen to have us. A few months ago they decided to move back into Exeter from their place out in the countryside and funnily enough they are right in the middle of student flats.
As I sat there in their flat, I could feel a lump in my throat. I felt very wistful as I watched my daughter flit around in the flat, all very carefree and I remember my own early twenties very well. They don’t have much spare money and they’ve enjoyed setting themselves up with second hand furniture. She is obviously so in love with her hubby and a joy to see her happily married. All this gives me that feeling of completeness, with values being passed from one generation to the next and then the next. I can tell she certainly has picked up lots from us, many of our beliefs, values and principles about what’s right and wrong. Indeed, tender, wistful times.
Here in the Quirky Museum
We are seriously getting ready for Christmas. You might remember that we lost Rachel’s mum on Christmas Day, somewhat unexpected although she was elderly and deteriorating. It was just the end was rather sudden for us. So as a positive step, we are inviting some local friends to join us for lunch. This is so much better than moping around for the day and being all forlorn. They can stay for as long as they’d like to. If they would like to watch the Queen on TV and then have a nap, that’s fine.
Just as well I have now finished painting the dining room and tomorrow our friend Jeff is coming to fit a new carpet – 8.5 metres long by 5 metres wide – so will be quite heavy. He took one look at me and decided to bring some mates to help him manoeuvre it into the house via a side window. To keep them energised, I will be investing in some Belgian buns from the village bakery as experience has shown this is a helpful motivational step when combined with some Doug Blend coffee.
Some winter cycling photos from previous years
