The Woollen Typist

Synthetic Fibres Vs. Natural Fibres: Cost

2012-01-24T22:55:00.003Z

I've always assumed clothing made from purely synthetic fibres were meant to be cheaper than clothing made from natural fibres. A basic Google search also seems to back this.
So why is it that when you go into most shops (or shop online), you are faced with this following scenario time and time again?

This is the scenario:

Dress A Dress B

Both dresses are from Kookai. I'm not picking on this shop/brand in particular. It just so happens that's where I was browsing when this whole situation hit me again.

Let me explain...both dresses are from the same shop and I find both equally as lovely/desirable/whatever you want to call it and both dresses cost exactly the same (£99). However, dress A is made of fabric that is 100% Acrylic and dress B is 100% Silk.

How can this be?

The website does not state where either of these garments were made or in what sort of conditions. So I'm confused. Has the price of synthetic firbres gone up or has the price of natural fibres come down?

Was one made in a sweat shop by children and the other in a Western country by fairly paid adults?

Who decided on the price of these garments and how?

Another thing I find baffling is the pricing of various kinds of garments and their sizes. Sometimes a t-shirt or small skirt will cost exponentially more than a garment of significantly larger size.

In short...I AM CONFUSED!

Gobbledegoo...

2012-01-23T00:26:00.000Z

Some thoughts...a trail of thoughts...

January's deadline has not been met.

But there's still [just] over a week left until January is over-over.

Just enough time to turn this around and do something?

Confidence.

Well a lack of it actually.

Sever lack of this property stands between myself and the achievement of the January goal.

Logic.

Think logically.

A lot of other confidence issues have been overcome over the years.

A lot.

A hell of a lot.

There's no logical reason why the January goal cannot be met.

Excuses.

Must stop making excuses for not making that pone call...or sending that email...or doing the relevant reading.

If time can be made to chat with others, go to the toilet and make a cup of coffee then time can be made/found to send that email or make that phone call.

***

Yes...ok. Enough of the thoughts.

Some distractive 'meditation'...scenarios...stories...

I think it was Saturday. In fact it was Saturday and we were walking from one place to another place. I can't remember which place to which place we were walking (we did quite a bit of walking from one place to another that day...two of those were toilet visits...and yes I do know almost every decent toilet to go to in Central London *Cough* Debenhams *Cough*).

Anyway.

So we were walking along and other people were walking too (like people do) when I saw a tall person. A very tall person. The kind of tall you don't often see. While I can fully appreciate the hindrance of being so tall (although not tall myself...but I can imagine it and it's impracticalities), I often find myself thinking how amazing it would be to tower over everyone else like that.

You'll never get lost in a crowd or lose anyone.

All you'll simply have to do is just peer over everyone and...magic!

Then when everyone's pushing everyone else out of the way to see something...you needn't bother.

You just perform your magic and peer over everyone else.

Yes so back to this tall person from Saturday. We were walking behind him and out of nowhere I had this sudden urge to jump at his back (as if for a piggy back ride). I didn't, though to the horror of the person I was walking with, I decided to pretend to jump at his back (I think/hope this person is fully used to my silly behaviour by now).

What would have happened had I actually jumped at his back?

Well...I could have been thrown off...the tall person could have been a crazy person and slapped me...he could have just reacted badly and argued...

...Or...We could have had a whale of a time and I could have experienced peering over everyone else.

I don't think the latter would have been the case. Normal people don't tend to share my way of thinking. It just wouldn't be normal.

Hot Water Bottles

2012-01-21T01:02:00.002Z

They're made of rubber or similar materials.
In days gone by...they were composed of other materials...earthenware, various metals and even wood (that last one's according to Wikipedia). Not quite sure how a wooden hot water bottle would work. Wood and water don't exactly go together.
There was an animated one in a cartoon...Toy Story...?? I don't know...but there was.
They keep you warm.
They comfort you when you feel like shit.

On Wednesday I got up, went to work then came back home almost straight away.
Ill.
Got into bed and my hot water bottle was still warm enough.
Result.
Slept like a baby till after 4pm!

My hot water bottle was still warm enough because I'd done a silly thing...I'd filled it with boiling water from the kettle. But yeah...it works.

It's not really been cold enough this winter to need a hot water bottle for the sole purpose of staying warm. I haven't even turned on the radiator in my room (I actually haven't turned it on in over two years). However, a nice hot water bottle has helped many a time in sending me off to the land of nod (not the biblical kind).

Ok...I've lost the will to write about hot water bottles now.
The man who patented the design used to make most hot water bottles...well he died of pneumonia. A hot water bottle may have helped or maybe not. I don't know.
He had an impressive looking mustache though and resembles Poirot.

On another note...my hot water bottle says it needs to be replaced ever so many years (can't be bothered to check precisely how many years)...oh wait...I checked...it says to replace it every two years.
Mine has been in use for fifteen years and still going strong.

Strange things people do with hot water bottles. So the air didn't rush back into her lungs and kill her...but I wonder if she gave herself a hernia trying to blow up this hot water bottle:

A rare find...

2012-01-02T01:20:00.003Z

A Yugo

New Year's Eve and we reluctantly ended up agreeing to go to this party. Upon arrival at our destination (we ventured south of the river here!), the above Yugo was spotted by the other half. However...it was too dark to take a picture with my phone camera. Phone cameras should come with stronger flashes...should you ever stumble upon a thing of beauty in the dark of night.

Anyway...this being his favourite car...all I could manage was this photo.

Now I'm not a motor vehicle sort of person...but there are certain cars I do like...and most happen to feature in Top Gear's Crap Cars book. I don't know what that says in 'normal' realms of society...but to me (and for most parts the other half)...my (our) taste kicks ass!

Yep...I'd much rather be seen clunking around in a Lada Niva than a 'proper fancy' car. I even learned to drive in a Peyka (a Hillman Hunter in the Western World).

Ooh...I'll do something I never do...stick up pictures of cars I approve of (aesthetically).

The original Fiat 500

Lada...also the one found here

Trabant...yes they're awesome. Someone on my road used to have a mustard one. :)

The Lada Niva...Lada's answer to 4x4...

The Peykan...which is in fact a...

...Hillman Hunter

Yugo...the OH's favourite car...

...and just for fun...a Yugo being moped-ed along.

Ok now we're getting a little bit fancy...but I do love the Citroen DS

The Gremlin...(not this exact one) but featured in Freaks and Geeks...should anyone care to remember.

So there we have it...a pictorial list of approved cars.

Now my personal disclaimer...I do spend a lot of time moaning about drivers and cars...bladiblabla...though I do not completely dismiss the car as a mode of transport. Yes...it's useful...but in our built up little towns and cities, for the most part, we can do without. Give me my legs and bicycle any day. Ah...and as much as it pains me to admit to...our public transport system (in London) isn't too bad. It serves London well...reaching out to (almost?) all parts.

***

Transport aside...I need some goals for this month:

Go to yoga twice a week (something I usually do...but sort of didn't over the Christmas period)
Take advantage of my gym membership. Using it only for yoga does not merit making the most of what I'm paying for
Jog/run more regularly (twice a week would be sensible)
Finish reading book on history of coffee
Volunteer at my local Oxfam store (something I used to do before...a long time ago)
Sort out the work experience/shadowing/voluntary work I need
Sew something...an apron perhaps...
TIDY MY ROOM (it's a tip)!
Read blogs
Attempt to find more coherent matters to write about (this may never happen...well...not any time soon).

I wouldn't consider these New Year's Resolutions...it's just a new month after some time off and other work being completed...so new goals must be set and others continued.

Last thoughts...for this year anyway...

2011-12-31T17:12:00.003Z

Mandatory last post of the year. I haven't been writing here much, reading other blogs...or even journalling on paper.
Going to make more of an effort in the new year now that things are slightly different.

The burden of the piles of dusty paper..that burden has kind of been lifted now. After three and a half long years, I finally sent something in and did away with it. It was basic. Minimal. There's only so much you can remember after such a long time and what made it more difficult...it was from a time where the depression was at its worst. So that didn't help either.
It's as though my memory from that time has been wiped clean...ok not clean-clean...but it's very foggy.
Point is that that's all gone now. Chapter closed. Not haunting me. Not always on my mind. I've yet to hear back and still haven't cleared up the pile of paper or books...but I'll do that. This room is a mess!

New things await in January...literally. There's a lot of experience gaining that must be done.

Think I've kind of managed to get out of the nye party this evening. I don't want to go...the partner doesn't want to go...so hey...we're not going. Instead we shall lounge about in pyjamas and watch dvds. Far more relaxed than dressing up, going to a party, getting drunk and waiting for it to turn midnight...all whilst being bored out of your mind in the company of people you don't really feel comfortable with.
Nope. Relaxing evening at home drinking tea is more up my street.
Yes...I have run out of coffee! Knew I should have stocked up a few days ago.

***

The bike...Mr Yates...a dream to ride. Though...today the first gear started slipping into second gear. This is the second time this has happened. Last time I had to take it to the workshop to be sorted. Is this a hub gear specific problem? I know what to do with dérailleurs...mess with the limit screws...but on hub gears...I have no idea.

Other than that...since I had the ratios adjusted...three gears have been sufficient. A little hard work on more severe uphills...but doable.

***

Happy new year to anyone and everyone...except for the little twats who yelled slag at me today. I hope you haven't already procreated and never do!

Knitting, Baking and Bikes

2011-12-09T16:30:00.001Z

Sorry little child...I now have your little Playmobil man and will not be giving it back to you (n.b. I don't actually know who it belongs to and I'm not that cruel)...

Knitting:

My first pair of fingerless mittens. The scarf has grown too since this picture...

Baking:

Two cakes in two days...

The left one (pink) was made with a five year old who came to my house prepared with gloves...proclaiming she wanted to make cake. It was ten in the evening on a Saturday. So we made cake.

Second cake kind of overcooked a little...by five ten minutes...ish. I sort of forgot it was in the oven for a while...but it tasted good

Bike:

Mr Yates...now a functioning bike...

...and just as I was about to set off home from the bike shop...it started raining and the wind picked up. Kind of made me realise that I need to go back and have the lowest gear adjusted...so it's lower.

Other than that, I'm really happy with it.

Yup...scrubs up well for a 70 year old frame.

What would make Mr Yates even more lovely...a nice front rack/carrier...like this one...

***

One more week at work to go...then off till after the New Year. After that...it's time to start counting down to the next half term week. The days will also start getting longer again...slowly.

***

Here we go...some PJ Harvey. :)

A Rusty Clump of Metal...?

2011-12-04T00:56:00.001Z

That rusty old BSA bike frame I got from eBay...well I finally took it to the bike shop to have it sorted out...to have it transformed from a rusty clump of metal to a functioning clump of rusty metal.
But I'm having doubts. For the price of all the parts, I could have just bought myself a new bike (I'd seen a nice steel bike...with lugs...on sale in another bike shop).
Another part of me thinks that I should have held on to the frame, done some learning about bikes and attempted to fix it myself...then again...parts were going to cost again and I would have made a mess of it and would have to have resorted to a bike workshop.

I don't know...come to think of it...the labour isn't actually costing that much...it's just the parts. Bits and pieces. It all adds up and I feel kind of guilty.
What I'm trying to say is this frame is about 70 years old. It has rust. Is it really worth spending so much to make use of something that old?
But then again...it's lasted this long. It may last even longer. Also...similar frames are easy to come by. If this one dies, I could always get another frame to transfer all the parts to. After all...I did that with the other bike when the down-tube snapped. I literally had an identical frame the day after.#

I'll be collecting it on Monday or Tuesday. Suppose I'll have a better idea once I've cycled home on it. This is the frame in question:

A slightly better view of the kind of rust that covers bits of the frame.

It is what it is I suppose. Like I said...if the frame gives in, I'll just replace it. With some careful eBaying, it won't cost the earth...actually it's the cheapest part of the whole process.

So yeah...

It's late...I'm not making much sense...must go to sleep...

Words and thoughts...oh...and Polaroid rant!

2011-11-21T18:27:00.001Z

Somewhat struggling for words at the moment...be it for this useless, directionless blog or for the stuff I'm actually meant to be writing (may I add, three and a half years late).
One entire week spent staring at papers, words, lines and symbols...and yet nothing.
It's time limited now. One more week to go. Something must be written...but the combination of various afflictions, medication and too much time has played havoc with the memory.
Also a touch of cabin fever...enclosed in these eight wall bits, four ceiling parts and one pillar.

I need to stop inflicting my personal thoughts on here and find more useful things or something coherently useless to write/put up instead.
Less 'me' and 'I' and more something else.

In other news...I was once again let down and disappointed by the new Polaroid instant film. It's from the Impossible Project. They purchased the Polaroid factory in 2008...oh...go read the 'About Us' on the link...it explains it all there.
Anyway...so they set about destroying the instant film chemistry and have done a good job at it too (destroying that is).
Call it 'experimental' or 'artistic' or whatever...I beg to differ.
I've tried both the PX 70 Colour and Silver shade cartridges and not once have I been able to take a photo like I used to be able to take with the original Polaroid film.
It just keeps coming out all wrong. Every single cartridge of this new film wasted.
Before you go jumping to conclusions, I've even attempted following their instructions to the word.
Not only that...but the Impossible Project have also reduced the number of exposures in each cartridge from ten to eight. They're also selling little 'gadgets' to aid the quality of your photos/processing of the film. Check out the flap of black plastic that acts as a shade.
A money making ploy based on exploiting the sentimentality of instant film lovers!

A comparison of new (left) and old (right) film...both colour. Note: a ghostly image only appeared on the new film after I'd subjected it to direct heat from a hairdryer!

Why oh why did they have to go and mess with the chemistry? They were able to afford the factory and the name and the equipment...so why could they not have purchased the rights to use the chemistry too? I'm sure there are ways around it...to tweak things slightly.

*Insert big sigh here*

Looks like my beloved SX-70 shall go into hibernation until better film appears. I'll be sticking with the Instax instead...takes nice pictures...but still not the same as Polaroid pictures used to be.

Annoyed!

Thinking...

2011-10-14T18:18:00.002+01:00

What part of us feels pleasure? Is it our hand, our arm, our flesh or our blood? It must obviously be something immaterial.

(Blaise Pascal on Human Happiness)

Some time ago...coming onto three weeks now...I decided to go along to a meditation class/session thing. It hurt my brain and tested my patience.

I left somewhat irritated yet not completely put off by the idea of the sessions. It's just that I had nothing to contribute to the discussions and the continuous counter arguments seemed really defeatist.

Ok...so I'll accept that the continuous counterarguments were put forward to generate discussions and provoke thought on the subject matter....I'll leave it at that for now.

Last night I picked up a book which had been sitting on my floor gathering dust. It was a book on Human Happiness by Pascal.

Today I came across the above quote. It reminded me of that very same meditation session that hurt my head. Trying to gauge what this 'something immaterial' is. That's where the frustrating counter arguments came in.

One day...after much reading and much thinking...I may return to a meditation session/discussion thing.

***

The bike frame (Mr Yates) is still in a box at one end of my room. How do I work out what size wheels it takes? Some Googling has suggested 26 inch wheels.

I'd like to make the bike look something like this (minus the under-inflated tyres):

via bbc

And some more ideas/inspirations for the damn bike...

via http://www.birminghamstories.co.uk

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/28422232@N03/

***

Dance to this...

I am...

The end of #30daysofbiking

2011-10-01T01:11:00.000+01:00

Yes...we've reached the end and September is over.
One whole month.
Thirty days.
Managed to cycle ever single day.

So here's a run down of days 19 to 30...

DAY 19:

No pictures. Just usual cycle to and from work. It was on day 19 that I decided I needed a 1940/50s bike.
I got straight on to eBay and found a frame.
Decided I wanted a little 'project' and to learn from the 'project'.

DAY 20:

Commute to work and also to go and view an apartment. It was in the roof. Small but great location.

Then...after parting...I found myself at an exhibition in Ealing.

Which reminds me...I need to go back for a closer look at all the pretty little (and big) things at the exhibition.

Pretty little things made of felt...

DAY 21:

An unremarkable day. Just the cycle to and from work. Some rain on the way in and wind on the way back.

The highlight of the day was having a bus driver give way to me.

DAY 22:

Slight variation on my cycle to work route. Up and down the Uxbridge road far too many times for one day.

Also cycled to yoga and back in the evening.

DAY 23:

Ace Cafe...en route to Ikea...

Cycled to Ikea. Made it there in under 20 minutes. Passed by Ace Cafe. I really need to try this place out one day...even if I am on a push bike and not a motorbike.

Got what I needed.

On my cycle home, spotted a skate park with ramps.

Decided to go and roll along on the slopes.

I had visions of effortlessly gliding up and down the ramps.

The reality was very different.

Yeah...blah...I came off my bike in what could have been a very painful way.

Had visions of that one time where I tried to cycle with no hands and fell straight onto the bar of my old bike! (That's why I don't attempt no hands...and will never be tempted to either...very painful memory...akin to aversion therapy or something like that).

DAY 24:

Finds at the local farmers market...celeriac, kohlrabi, patty squash and marrow...

Kept it local with the cycling.

Another apartment viewed.

Visit to the local farmers market.

A nice Saturday.

DAY 25:

Clashing with my bike...

Cycled to meet friends and catch up. Then a little excursion to Westfield shopping centre...where I literally locked my bike up, walked in then came back out less than ten minutes later and cycled home again.

But at least no fossil fuels were wasted in the process...

DAY 26:

There was rain.

I managed to miss the rain.

Usual cycle to work and back.

Later that evening...I cycled to Shepherds Bush. Met friend and we watched Slow Club perform. She complained of back ache and I complained of food ache.

We're ageing a bit and aren't even thirty yet.

Standing up is hard work you know.

Find a ledge to plonk your back side on and your dangling feet swell up after an hour or so.

Oh dear...we managed to see some of the support bands too.

Missed the first ones...saw the second and third. The third support act...hmmm...the showed up on stage in suits.

Let's just say that if Will from the Inbetweeners formed a band...that last support act would have been it.

Anyway...here's a recording of Slow Club from that same evening (not by me...but found on You Tube):

DAY 27:

A piece of work (not my sister's) from the adjoining exhibition...

Usual work commute then cycled into Central London...where I bought replacement shoes for the ones I threw away (due to a dog incident)...then stocked up on coffee and finally made it to exhibition where sister's work was also featured.

There was also a much more interesting adjoining exhibition...of more eclectic/creative work.

Though sister's work was very good too!

DAY 28:

No photo. Just usual cycle to and from work and also a little foray into Sheperds Bush. Was the slow kind of day where I was overtaken by three other cyclists in one go!

DAY 29:

Lovely weather for cycle to work.

Evening cycle to yoga and back too.

All zened out.

A 1940s bike frame also arrived for me. A lot of work needs to be done on it...and I don't know where to start.

I'll learn.

I'll get there.

Mr Yates will be a fully functioning bike in some amount of time...

Day 30:

Glow sticks...

Supermarket cycle.

Then was planning on going to Critical Mass.

Had my glow sticks ready. I set off. I made it as far as Shepherds Bush...then turned back and cycled to Ealing via the 'scenic' route. Cycled around the park a few times as the dark set in. Ogled at the glow sticks.

Waved my arms around like a lunatic...enjoyed the neon colours of the glow sticks some more and then made my way home.

I'm not too sure why I didn't go to Critical Mass...

Well...partly...I didn't feel like being on my own in a large crowd of people...so I opted for being alone by myself instead.

It kind of sucks when those around you don't cycle too.

Ah...one day...

So there we have it.

All the thirty days of September.

***

Next time I'll delve into my irritation with any road containing the word 'Avenue' or 'Crescent'.

It's a matter that must be dealt with separately.

A Recap...

2011-09-18T23:17:00.001+01:00

Lunch bag...

I made a lunch bag...because I've given up on ever finding my dream lunch box.

I think the best lunch box I ever had was way back when...in the late 80's. It was a light blue lunchbox with 'Alf' on the front.

I had a matching flask too.

Nothing has ever come close to matching the greatness of my Alf lunchbox and matching flask.

***

Anyway...I removed the previous post I just made.

Too ranty and personal.

If I have personal grievances...I should just shut the hell up and keep them to myself...not take them out on what is essentially a public blog where I may have given up my anonymity some time ago.

***

Quick round-up of 30 Days of Biking days 7 to 18...

DAY 7:

Day 7

Felt more like winter. Usual (very short) commute to work and back...followed by cycle to local cycling campaign meeting. Winter attire was totally justified that evening.

DAY 8:

Day 8

Usual commute to work and back. Going over a speed ramp, my lunch flew out my basket and was quickly squashed by the car behind. Then...on my little ten minute cycle into work...I almost cycled over an already dead pigeon and once at work...was greeted by the sight of a used condom where I usually park my bike!

DAY 9:

Day 9

Once again...short work commute. Better weather though. Came home to these massive bunches in the garden. My mother spent all summer worrying that they'd never flower...now that winter is kind of here they are in full bloom...and very huge.

DAY 10:

Day 10

To the supermarket and back. Spotted a load of ladybirds on the railings at a crossing.

Day 11:

Day 11

A beautiful day (minus the rain that happened much later on). Quick trip to the supermarket to get some ingredients to bake a cake with the neighbours child.

It was a chocolate cake.

I like chocolate cake.

DAY 12:

Day 12

Back to work. The start of a miserable week and it was also very windy. Not even a load of hair pins could keep the hair in place.

DAY 13:

Day 13...The London Eye peeking over Horse Guard's Parade (London)...

Cycled all the way to South East London after work and back again. Got lost along the way but the weather was nice so all was good.

DAY 14:

Day 14...

Another boring commute to work and back.

DAY 15:

No photo...

Once again...to work and back.

But we did get to go to Ikea and I got into a car! I was outnumbered. I'd have cycled otherwise.

Saw a child with a mullet in Ikea...whose only words were 'yeah...innit...' every couple of seconds.

DAY 16:

No photo...

To work and back.

While at work though, I did receive some information that a parent was caught using the kiddy toilets...not once...but TWICE!

These are toilets for nursery children. They are tiny...only a couple of inches off the ground. The partitions are also about waist high!

Oh well.

Day 17:

Day 17...

Some day time cycling and some night time cycling.

DAY 18:

Photo somewhere...can't find now...

Cycled to go get my hair trimmed...only to realise that they were shut on a Sunday. Then onwards to Chiswick...because I felt like a change of scenery.

More cycling later on...on the Chunky Clunker...where I made it from Ealing to Westfield White City in under 15 minutes...a super personal best on the Chunky Clunker I believe!

Got caught out in the rain on my way back though.

Had the wrong coat on for rain and the fabric absorbed the rain water like a sponge...leaving me even more drenched.

***

So there we are...over half way through 30 Days of Biking.

Nothing exciting...but definitely more entertaining than driving everywhere.

***

Apple eaten according to Cubism...

And just out of interest, this is how the OH eats an apple. Makes for interesting photos. An apple sculpture.

To balance things out...some music...

30 Days of Biking...an Introduction...

2011-09-07T02:35:00.001+01:00

So I'm doing the 30 Days of Biking thing this September. You ride your bike every day for the 30 days of September.
Simple.
You can follow it or contribute to it on Twitter using #30daysofbiking.

So far we're up to day six...and here's a breakdown of my days...
Oh...this will really test my awful memory...good job I took pictures...still...days one and two confuse me somewhat.

DAY ONE OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

Lemon and poppy seed cake

Cycled to the supermarket and back because I felt like getting my bake on. I was going to make a coffee and cardamom cake...but settled with lemon and poppy seed cake instead.

Then through the magic of Twitter, I passed the recipe on to Ian of Lazy Bicycle Blog...who made his rendition with his kids. :)

So yep...That was a Thursday.

Ah...I cycled on the Chunky Clunker...my other bike.

DAY TWO OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

Oh sunshine...you will forever be a fond memory...

Friday saw me cycling to Westfield in Shepherds Bush. Again on the Chunky Clunker.

It was a gloriously sunny day and I was enjoying taking things slow on the Chunky Clunker.

I got myself some lavender hand-cream.

DAY THREE OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

Taking it at a leisurely pace on the Chunky Clunker...again...

Another nice weather day. Helped out on an information stall at the local Farmer's Market and got myself some purple cauliflower and another awesome looking kind of cauliflower.

Cycled there of course...

Then cycled to view an apartment with the OH...where some estate agent rivalry antics went on.

On a side not...estate agents are a strange bunch. You can tell them a mile off.

Maybe it's just best to leave it there on that matter...before I offend anyone.

I've done too much offending lately.

DAY FOUR OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

I found this up a tree in Hyde Park...it was sheltering from the rain...

Sunday...the day of the London Sky Ride.

Our local cycling campaign ran some feeder rides to the main ride and back from our borough. Was helping out with marshalling.

Back on Alison (part deux).

Oh the rain!

The weather forecast didn't help numbers. Last year we had around 300 people. This year...it was around about a third of that.

Anyway...we managed to get there just as the rain was about to start. Half an hour later and it was pouring down with rain.

We hid in the marshalling tent and ate our free lunch, while waiting for the rain to bug off.

Then it was just drizzly the rest of the afternoon.

DAY FIVE OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

Yes...the loopy garden on the Uxbridge Road...

Possibly the worst day of September so far.

A Monday.

My first day back at work after about six weeks of glorious bliss off work.

Cycled to work (on the Chunky Clunker)...only to find that there were crazy renovations going on. Offices had been swapped around...walls put up...holes knocked through.

My papers and belongings moved around.

Dust and general crap everywhere.

Then having to put up with certain work people...I won't even bother calling some of them colleagues!

Needless to say...it was not a good start and the day continued with the same 'blugh'...

I was miserable and dismissive towards people.

Then after work I made the mistake of cycling to Covent Garden and back. Had a go at another cyclist...because she had a go at me.

Apparently I overtook her on the inside.

I wasn't even aware I overtook her...I only came up beside her.

Anyway...I got told to 'move your butt' and didn't take kindly to this...so whoever the squeaky American lady was...got some awful (and bad mood driven) behaviour off me as a result.

And it drizzled all the way home.

Bad day.

Bad.

So many other things made it bad...it was just bad.

I can't say bad enough times...but it would probably be very annoying if I typed out bad too many times.

Bad!

DAY SIX OF 30 DAYS OF BIKING:

Hand picked flowers at work...

Had a very wet cycle into work on the Chunky Clunker. Full on waterproofs used today. Walked into the office to a builder sanding stuff away and depositing dust all over my desk and chair...and into my mug!

Got on with work.

Home time finally arrived...as did very heavy rain. The kind of rain that's so heavy it actually pelts down and hurts you.

So on went the waterproofs...just no overshoes or wellies.

I made a poor choice and had canvas shoes on.

My feet an shoes were saturated with rain water before I'd even set off on my bike.

Cycled through what seemed to be a burst water pipe down my road.

Home...very drenched.

Surprisingly though...my waterproofs did their job rather well.

Ah...it was also really windy today.

***

So that concludes six days of 30 Days of Biking. I will make it to day thirty.

I shall leave you with this...which leaves me wanting to take out all my rage on something large and solid...physically smashing it to pieces. Oh the joy and satisfaction that would bring...

A little bit of everything...

2011-08-27T01:52:00.001+01:00

Film: The Skin I Live In

Yes. I've decided what I shall use my cinema tickets on. We shall go and watch the above film. Oh wait...but I also want to watch the Inbetweeners Movie.

I'll get around to watching both this Bank Holiday weekend

Can't be bothered to go to the Notting Hill Carnival...no doubt I'll end up cycling through it...or if we take the train...see loads of people heading that way and have to go through the chaos anyway.

Kind of unavoidable given our location.

Once again Critical Mass was ruined by rain...so I didn't go. I do not enjoy cycling in the rain and only cycle in the rain if I have to, i.e. commuting to work/appointments/etc.

Was looking forward to CM too...had my glowsticks at the ready.

Ah well...next month.

Just hoping next Sunday isn't going to be such a washout as it's the London Sky Ride. Given that I'm marshalling a ride from my borough to the main event...I kind of have no way out of that one...so rain or no rain...I'll have to go.

Oh look...five links in one post. How link-e-link of me.

Finished another piece of knitting.

It's a top.

It has buttons.

They are little square mother of pearl buttons.

It's blue...a nice blue.

The top consists of two straight knitted strips...kind of like two long scarves.

Buttons up at the front and back with a hole for then neck.

Sides sewn together with space for arms to stick out of.

Picture to follow at some point in the future.

It's this exact top...but like I said...different buttons and a nicer blue coloured yarn.

Next on my to-knit-list...a hat and scarf for me. And...I also need to finish the half knitted socks.

I'm going to try my hand at some cooking.

A vegan chilli.

The last time I ate anything remotely resembling a chilli (with meat) was before I hit the double digits...shortly after I refused all meat and became a vegetarian...well I gave up all red meat first.

Meat:

-Strop

--Sausages be gone

---Minced meat be gone

----All red meat be gone

-----Chicken be gone

------Fish be gone

-------Bacon and ham. An irresistible lure

--------Bribed...broke...

---------Pork come back

----------Chicken and fish come back

-----------All meat be gone

------------Ham slices and occasional chicken and fish come back

-------------All meat be gone...for good this time.

A lifetime of meat ping-pong. But in all honesty...I don't enjoy meat and don't eat it enough to justify not being a vegetarian.

The only meat I remotely liked the taste of was pork...in the form of parma ham slices.

But sometimes we must make sacrifices for the greater good.

On the matter of gelatine...it's something I've always hated the idea of...the thought of...it makes me feel sick...so I avoid anything containing it.

Even if it doesn't contain gelatine but has that horrid...slimy...jelly texture...blugh!

Not a solid...not a liquid.

Meat substitutes...i.e. thing made to resemble the look and taste of meat...but not actually meat...

I've done a long ranty post on that before...so go look at before.

I don't know when it was...

It was at some point this year.

(Please when reading this last paragraph...read as if Bernard (Dylan Moran) from 'Black Books' was saying it...that's how I imagine the words to come out...in a semi-drunk, dismissive and disorganised manner).

...oh and just because...(keep an ear out for 'piss midget'...haha)...

An odd request...or not...

2011-08-26T00:16:00.002+01:00

Does anyone know how I can contact Elk from 'We Like Nests'?

I've kind of been crap at keeping up with blogs and whatnot and lost contact/fallen off the edge of the earth. Blogger doesn't let you contact people like social networking sites do...so the above is my request.

***

Ok requests aside...I had to come back and write what I'm about to write...for it's been a long time since I last had a lucid dreaming episode!

Let me set the scene first.

I woke up looking something like Quasimodo this morning, left eye more swollen the the right...the only thing I was missing was the humpback.

So I reached for the antihistamines and the only ones that ever seem to work for me are the drowsy-inducing ones.

I thought...right...one will not do...so I took more...then before the suggested time...I took even more. Soon the drowsiness set in and dozed off into a three hour nap.

I felt heavy.

I was sinking into my mattress.

My head felt like it weighed a tonne.

Weights hanging off my eyelids.

Three hours later...woke up...life fine and dandy...rain all gone...sun was actually shining. Took some more antihistamine (because the itching and burning and swelling was still there).

Went out on the bike and...despite my swollen face...even got a wink from a clearly visually challenged motorcyclist.

Home.

Baking.

Photos.

Eating.

Ladidada...life...more antihistamine...dinner...then another bout of drowsiness set in around half nine in the evening.

I had BBC4 streaming live on my computer. Some Danish programme was on. It was sound...sound that made me doze off because my eyes could no longer focus on the subtitles.

I dozed off.

Danish programme finished and drifted into another programme...I simultaneously started dreaming.

The other programme was about childhood in the medieval ages.

Here's how it all turned lucid...

I happened upon somewhere. It was evening...because it was dark. I don't know how I got there but I did have my bike basket with me...so maybe cycling? I don't know...that bit didn't feature in the dream.

As usual...I needed to go to the toilet...or maybe I needed to stay some place.

The place I'd happened upon was far away from home...somewhere I'd have to stay overnight.

I'm in the basement of a restaurant...in what I assume to be the toilets.

But there's a tv down there.

The tv is on some sort of ledge thing...like a bar...with a mirror in front of it and stools to sit on. Tall stools with a metal stand and round cushioned red velvet seat...no backs though.

I place my basket and bag on the bar/counter, pull out a stool and sit by the telly.

I lean forward and rest on the bar watching.

It's a programme about childhood. The words are of descriptions of medieval times...but the images are different.

The images don't match...

The images are grainy black and white photos of Victorian era children.

Working...slaving away...but it matched the descriptions of medieval children working.

Then I realise I'm dreaming. I'm still in my dream. It's late...I've been down there for what seems like hours.

What if the restaurant has closed and I'm stuck down here?

No.

Surly they check the building before closing up for the night.

What if I'm stuck in here with no other customers except for the people who work here...and they could be psychos...???

I get up and go into a toilet cubicle...because...well that's what I went down there for and got sidetracked by the telly.

Come out, collect my belongings and head out the door back up to the restaurant.

There are three men sitting at a table and a baby in a pram.

Ok...that's when I actually woke up. But I firmly believe that realising I was dreaming was the actual lucid bit and I took control of the dream by getting up and trying to make my way out...

But I think that once you realise you are dreaming...it's difficult to remain in a state of sleep to continue manipulating the dream.

It was odd...I hadn't had a dream in a very long time...let alone a lucid dream. Probably because I haven't actually slept properly in a very long time either.

Insomnia's a bitch!

It's a bit like this...http://youtu.be/9yJE1iiO0qI...It won't let me embed the link...but check it out.

Or maybe it's more...

That was a good film...in an odd way...and that last clip I put up there...it's kind of like the words are coming from something else and taking over the dream...like in my dream...the word came from the streaming programmed...but embedded themselves into my dream in a slightly different yet relevant way.

Make sense?

No?

Think about it...

***

Ok...while I'm at it...here's what I baked:

And what I finished knitting, weaving in the loose ends and blocking out...who'd have thought so much work goes into making something that's just straight up and down...

Operation big time fail...

2011-08-24T19:41:00.000+01:00

Fell asleep reeding a book and admiring my painted nails. Woke up with the familiar tingling and itching of eyes/lips/chin areas.
Still allergic to nail varnish then.
I tried to deny it...but I know that tingling/itching feeling all too well.

Nail varnish always makes ugly fingers look slightly better...but oh well...it wasn't meant to be...

Apparently an allergy to the offending ingredient (toluenesulfonamide-formaldehyde resin) is quite common. That's what patch testing showed I was allergic to. However, I've train nail varnish without the offending resin and I still had a reaction...if anything...the reaction was faster.

Fail.

Fail!

***

Finished scarf...blocking out. Please excuse the toilet brush in the photo...I assure you it has not been used. I'm not that disgusting!

I finished knitting the above scarf...and because most of it was done in a state of insomnia...I managed to loose 40 rows in the process.

Now, all I have to do is wait for it to dry.

This one shall be for my mother.

I think I'll used the same pattern to knit a plain grey one for myself...with a hat.

I also have the second sock of a pair to finish knitting.

Oh...and a top which I finished knitting...that needs to be blocked out and sewn together.

I hate blocking out or weaving in loose ends. I also hate sewing things together. I do like knitting though...it's kind of hypnotic.

***

Anticipation, perception and the actual...

2011-08-24T00:40:00.002+01:00

It didn't take long for 'Doomsday Tuesday' to arrive.
The weather was quite fitting.
Rain.
Lots of constant drizzle.

I'd managed to work myself up into a complete state of anxiety and panic over the course of a week.
Once there, I sat down constantly thinking I could just walk away. Run for it. Out the door.
I didn't...because to leave a small cavity would only lead to the need for a filling to turn into a need for a root canal.
That would mean even more panic and possibly actual pain.

Thankfully, I have a lovely dentist and was put at ease...she used the numbing gel first before shoving the needle in.
I felt nothing...other than even more anxiety and panic as the numbness kicked in.
Convinced myself that this just wasn't right...or that once she started drilling, she'd hit a nerve and I'd be in pain...too much pain...an incomprehensible amount of pain that would result in me leaping into the air and slamming into the ceiling.

No...not one bit of pain.
Soon the panic subsided into a little anxiety and apprehension...what if the anaesthetic wears off before she's finished?
Then as the drilling and scraping out was finished and the filler stuff went in, the anxiety subsided too.

Oh what I'd give to be the most laid back and relaxed person on earth.
No care in the world and no fear.
But I'd probably be so chilled that I'd get nowhere...oh but the wonderfullness of it...just imagine...

Anyway...anaesthetic was so efficient that it lasted for almost three and a half hours...if not a bit more! I could have been repeatedly punched on the left side of my face and would have felt nothing...

Moral of the story...loose the sweet tooth...
(I don't suppose it helps that I came home and had an entire large bar of chocolate)...
No...no...I don't think that's the actual moral...
It should be something along the lines of realising that the perceived fear is not the same as the actual outcome/experience or something like that.
Yes...clearly, CBT methods are lost on me.

And with that...I bid you farewell. I'm off to admire my painted nails...first time in years and no sign of an adverse reaction yet.

***

Moozik...

A Western...

2011-08-21T23:54:00.002+01:00

More owl eyes...

We went to the other Tapped & Packed on Tottenham Court Road yesterday. We also got free pastries because it was closing time. Woo. Good coffee as always and the spoon theme continues from the other store.

A bit pooped it didn't rain yesterday...I could have cycled instead...especially given as the OH went to see a film and I didn't.

What can I say...there are some films I will flat out refuse to watch! Can't always like the same things I suppose...and that's what makes us individuals.

So the sweaty tube it was and music to boot.

Today was rather more interesting. I beat my own record of oversleeping. Woke up at 1.30pm! Counteracted lazy by cycling way out west to Ruislip and back. Along the way, I peeled off into a park in Greenford.

Had zoomed past this place many times and seen it from the window of a car. Today was the first time I actually went there though and was stunned at the man-made beauty on the other side of the man-made mounds.

Some photos for your delectation I suppose...

Man-made serenity off the side of a busy dual carriageway...

Chasing my own shadow...

Tree carving...

Dragonfly tree carving...I like finding these...

I climbed one of the mounds carrying my bike...then realised I'd have to carry it all the way down too...without slipping...

Took the foot/cycle path straight along the A40 this time. Didn't faff around with going through this park and turning through that side road (although I did for the last bit on the way back). But yeah...just wish I'd taken my iPoo and headphones with me. The side of a busy road can be somewhat boring and music would have been perfect for drowning out the constant whoosh...whoosh....whoosh.

Normally, I don't stick headphones in when cycling...but given that this was on a totally isolated track...it would have been ok.

Next time.

Also underestimated how warm it would be. Had on a long sleeve top, jeans and thick (but oh so pretty) socks. Needless to say...I was drenched in sweat by the time I got to my destination.

Well...I don't think a rucksack helped either.

Twenty one miles later and I'll gladly do it all over again...ten times over.

Beats sitting in a car feeling car sick along the A40.

So many black berry bushes a long the way too. Had to stop off for Mother Nature's natural snacks.

As I do more and longer journeys on my bike, I'm really starting to feel the strain and limitations of only having five gears...and to think that once upon a time...I actually considered converting it to a single speed. What was I thinking?!

Uphill stretches can get a little tiresome and you sometimes have to get off the saddle and really push.

The other bike has plenty of gears...only...it's not called the Chunky Clunker for no reason.

I'll never win.

Doomsday Tuesday is drawing ever closer...but distractions...here's a song that cheers me up...let it cheer you up too...

The usual round up of coffee, cycling and grumpy...

2011-08-20T01:52:00.000+01:00

More Owl Eyes...

Hmm. The weather's been so up and down lately. I've had my fair share of drenchings recently and I'm not happy. Oh well...it seems as though summer is well and truly over...despite it still being August.

Global warming...yada yada yada...lalalal.

Yeah.

Which only serves as a crude reminder that September is almost upon us and the new school term will be starting and...urgh...returning to work!

I just don't have the energy to deal with work and work people. Some of them really drain the life and soul out of me.

They are soul destroying and I don't care if they know it.

Actually...they should be made aware of this fact...

The gossiping, bitching, attitude...you'd think you'd jumped back into secondary school. But then again, I suppose that's the main danger of working in an environment dominated mostly by women.

Needless to say...my face will not light up with joy when I clap eyes on these people after six weeks!

Anyway...last weekend I came across the Tamil Chariot Festival. Here's what I saw...

This kind of stuff is why I love living in London. There's so much to see and so much variety right on your doorstep.

Take today for instance...en route to Ikea, I stopped off at the Hindu temple in Neaseden. It's breathtakingly amazing. Shame you can only take photos from the outside and not the inside. But yeah...photos taken with film camera so nothing to show just yet.

Also bumped into a cyclist who'd cycled all the way across London to check the temple out.

Then on my way home, I cycled past Ace Cafe in Stonebridge...a place for all the leather-clad Harley riders.

More coffee...

I also saw this today...West London's answer to shoe tossing?

Anyway...I forgot what I was going to write about...so here are some more pictures while I try to remember...

We came across a patch of pavement with lots of dead ladybirds. All of them were pretty much intact...just their wings sort of protruding. Odd...no?

Cycing on Alison Part Deux and the Chunky Clunker...I did 26miles on the Chunky Clunker the other day...took twice as long though...but was relaxing.

Some photos I took the last time we went to Amsterdam...which reminds me...I have a hell of a lot of photos to scan in...but lack the will to do so...

I think I might have shared these photos before...but what the hell...they make me smile...

Also baked some gingerbread people/things...yeah...should have rolled the pastry out a bit thinner on some of them...

***

Umm...still can't remember what I was going to write. Maybe there was nothing I was going to write...

Err...

I have to go back to the dentist on Tuesday...for a filling which requires anaesthetic...which means needles!

Oh heck...Tuesday is now officially doomsday and it's drawing ever closer.

No amount of brushing or flossing is going to undo the cavity.

I can't reduce the amount of chocolate I chomp on either.

I'd like to keep all my own teeth for the rest of my life thank you very much.

The thought of Tuesday is really stressing me out and the jaw clamping has started again...

It's just a bloody filling and I need to get over it. I just feel sorry for my dentist having to deal with me. The last time I had a filling with anaesthetic I chomped down on the dentist's finger.

***

It would have been easier by bike!

2011-08-07T01:05:00.001+01:00

Owl eyes...obligatory coffee photo...

We were on a Saturday mission today...to get ourselves to Camden and try out nitrogen ice cream. As the OH does not cycle (still!) we took the tube and a massive detour...because we accidentally went to the wrong station whilst talking and larking about.

Our detour included lots of walking...a coffee stop and and abandoned building...which turns out was a hospital of some kinds...at some point...

Abandoned building/hospital on the left...and a pretty and sad looking building it was...

Finally made it to Camden...after a considerable walk...the algae looked pretty...shame about the floating rubbish all over the place...

We waited...for a very long time for our nitrogen ice cream. I'd say twenty minutes or more is long enough...wouldn't you?

Yes.

Decked out like a lab...kind of...

...and finally...our much anticipated nitrogen ice creams...his & hers style...

He went for the vanilla with chocolate sauce and caramelised pretzels...whereas I went for the safer option of...chocolate...topped with chocolate sauce.

I almost had a heart attack when the guy making the ice cream said the ice cream mix contained half melted chocolate...then the sauce contained more of the same chocolate melted...

But hey ho...I don't eat like this every day...or do I...?

Anyway...it was very rich and chocolatey...

I've tried it now and don't really need to try it again.

There's one thing that puts me off ice cream...

Eggs!

Yes...eggs. If you let some ice cream melt and dry up, then take a little sniff of it...you'll see what I mean. You can smell that egg smell. Quite unpleasant.

At Chin Chin Labs they used the liquid ice cream mix and then froze it with liquid nitrogen...and you guessed it...I could smell that egg smell all over the place.

But...don't get me wrong...the ice cream itself was lovely...really nice. I just wish I hadn't been reminded of the eggs.

I'll stick to my eggless frozen yoghurt next time. My safe option.

On the trek back, we passed through Bloomsbury and I just had to go past the shop front they filmed 'Black Books' in.

I spent an entire age passing by and attending university in the area...yet somehow failed to stop by the place, take note of it and take a picture!

So today we did just that.

See...it's Black Books...(sorry, had to 'black' myself out...*insert lame laugh here*).

A little later on...spotted a space invader I'd not spotted before...it was big...how could I have missed it before?

And yet further on our trek...now in Soho...I was excited to find this:

An English translation of a book that used to be read to me as a child...in a language I no longer understand...

I guess...had we been on bikes...we might not have stopped off at all these places or noticed half the things we did...or...in my thinking...we would have and we'd have saved ourselves the blisters and train fare!

Damn it. The bike always wins (for me anyway).

Passing of time, sentiment and that kind of stuff...

2011-08-06T01:10:00.002+01:00

In the space of between a week and a week and a half, I managed to get my sibling and partner on a bike. Both were reluctant.
Both managed fine.
However, I failed to convert them.
These things take time and repetition...

***

A trail of thoughts:

I don't know if I'm liking having time on my hands. Little snippets of a life gone by flash past every now and then...

What am I thinking...I'm not even thirty yet.

Life?

Clearly, this is futile.

Slowly and reluctantly, I've come to accept my fate of mediocre and unsuccessful. I've grown a little bubble around myself.

Plans.
They've been made...but I won't hold my breath. I'll suffocate and die if I do.
It's just easier to try...even half heartedly...and whatever happens will happen.
If nothing comes of it...then oh well.

The government's current spate of public service cuts seems to be damaging my 'plans'. Well...

Life will continue...until it ends...one day...

Like I said...futile.

***

There are two whole pieces on the Guardian website regarding colonic irrigation. Yes...two!

Piece One

Piece Two

***

I don't have anything useful or interesting to write.
Last week I did some 'touristing' for a few hours before the Blackfriars go-slow and Critical Mass.

I omitted the horse poo from the picture...there was lots and lots of it...

Look...another one...they must have horrendous varicose veins from all the standing...

By the way...I battled with tourists to get these pictures...they kept standing next to them and in front of me and blablabla...

Ah...a tourists asked me the directions to Buckingham Palace from the above place...I'm assuming Horse Guards parade?

Wow...I couldn't answer...despite having just cycled to the damn place past the Palace!

Yes...I'll happily navigate my own way around and get to wherever it is I need to get to...

Just don't ask me for directions...you'll end up going the other way. Actually...come to think of it now...I'm pretty sure I sent the poor tourist in the opposite direction to where she was meant to be going.

Oh well...maybe she discovered a different place she wasn't expecting...maybe she didn't.

I saw this...near St. Paul's...Domino's deliver by bicycle...old Post Office Pashley's...

Then I crossed the river and went to the Tate Modern...where I walked around for a bit and wished I was some place different...

Then I sat in the bar come food/drink place at the top, gulped coffee and watched London out the large windows...

That day, I also went to Borough Market. It's a meat lover's heaven there. I only found one vegetarian food stall...so that was lunch...some haloumi cheese vegi burger thing...

Oh...and fudge...lots of fudge...

***

Maybe I'll tourist it a bit more next week...It passes the time...so does staring into space and tapping your fingers...

There's a scarf to knit, books to finish reading and yoga to go to...

These also pass the time.

Wait...I forgot one

2011-07-22T20:39:00.001+01:00

Here's the one I forgot...

Today was the 'last' day of work. Much chocolate was chomped, cake eaten, many a mother crying...and many more children screaming.

But no...I have to go in a couple of days next week. There's stuff that still needs to be done and I'm not happy about that.

At this point I don't give two hoots about the pay...I just want my time off! It's been a long and tiresome term.

Aak! This last week has been awful...in terms of gorging on all manner of sweet and baked goods. I feel like I need to eat some vegetables to compensate.

Oh...and there's been no cycling this week.

No.

I've had a week long self-imposed cycling bad to give the poor knees a rest.

I have lived this week as a pedestrian...wearing the above shoes on quite a number of the days.

Pedestrianism...it's been an experience...or rather...I've experienced a lot of jealousy when seeing other cyclist I usually see go by and not being able to overtake them!

Though it has meant that I've been reacquainted with my iPod again. I don't dare stick headphones in when I'm cycling. No...that's not for me. I still have my sense of hearing and I like to use it when on the bike.

Again on the pedestrianism front...I've noticed shops, people and things I don't normally notice when on my bike. Though my heightened sense of observation has led me to want to yell, scream and punch at those who cycle with their seats to low or with deflated tyres...why make life difficult for yourself? I don't get it.

Ahh...I've also developed the skill to eat hot porridge and sip coffee...all whilst holding an umbrella when walking to work.

Yep...skill!

***

Stuff it...just been out for a cycle and it was great!

Hello

2011-07-17T11:50:00.001+01:00

Please wait behind the yellow line...

I've had little time to write. Last few weeks of work before summer have been manic. Oh...and I've made some decisions...so...fingers crossed...I will hopefully only be working at my current work place for one more year. Then it's bye bye from me and good riddance!

But nothing is definite yet.

Things are being processed.

Exciting things.

For me anyway.

Marigolds at my feet...sorry I ever doubted my mother...they are Marigolds.

Toffle did a runner and was replaced by Sniff. I can't find Toffle!

I've been on a bit of a cooking and baking frenzy. Here's some of what I've made. I keep forgetting to picture the savoury stuff too.

A mini layer cake...and it was red!

Coffee and cardamom cake with pistachio cream...link to recipe below...awesome cake!

A small batch of scones I made this morning. The last time I made scones, I was at school...15 years ago...being yelled at by the H.E. teacher.

Yes...so the cake...the coffee and cardamom one with pistachio cream. It was a James Martin recipe from the BBC website. Really easy to make and tasted so good. I highly recommend it.

***

Knees...it's all about the knees and knee pain.

Turns out that too much cycling has killed my knees a bit. Muscle can develop unevenly and floppyfy the patella.

It's all ouch here.

So...I'm easing off a bit. Am going to walk to work for the last week of work and take it easy.

Hope the muscles waste away a bit an my knees don't give in.

I'm not even 30 yet...I don't need geriatric knees just yet.

***

I cannot wait for this next week to be over! Then it's time off from work for the next five weeks or so.

I've planned in a lot of yoga.

Lots!

Spare me the lectures...

2011-06-27T22:27:00.000+01:00

I found a Jelly Baby on the floor of the park...

I had to go back and jump on it. I squashed the Jelly Baby. Then I walked away very fast. You would too!

Another of my brilliant ideas...

I have an allergy to nail varnish. I miss nail varnish. A lot. So at work...I set to work on my nails with a permanent marker...except...it didn't all come off...even after a shower.

So I walked around with the nails on one hand looking like this for two days...like I'd bruised every single nail!

***

Went to the GP for the wrist today.

As I suspected...

The verdict: Go away and take some over the counter painkillers for a week.

I walked away with a prescription for sleeping pills...and the GP thinking I was some kind of prescription pill fiend.

No.

I'm not.

Honest.

I have a long history of insomnia...but try telling your own GP that.

Yep...seven pills.

Damn...I miss the days when the psych would happily sign off 40 tablets a time to me.

But thankfully I'm far too happy these days to need to see the psych.

I just miss being able to sleep...the whole night through...like a normal human being.

I've not had a decent night's sleep in months and months now...but once again...try telling a suspicious, skew-minded GP that.

I was warned of the dangers of addiction!

Hah.

Spare me the lectures.

***

I got a unitard for yoga.

So 80's...but yeah...I'll wear it, embrace and enjoy the comfort and endure the humiliation of wearing such a thing.

Unitard...hmmm...even the name sounds...err...slightly wrong.

But damnit...I'll wear it...and I have plans for multiple unitards...in all different colours!

This is what I'm on about. Not quite sure I'll be rocking them with leg warmers until the winter though.

Oh yes...leg warmers are a staple winter wardrobe must!

Warm shins. You got to have warm shins.

Anyway...back to unitards. I'm planning on graduating to 'eggplant' or 'cranberry' next.

Yup...I've deduced that these particular unitards from American Apparel are not translucent...unlike most leggings...so I can go all out and be crazy with colours. Woo...

***

Summer time?

2011-06-21T01:08:00.000+01:00

Well...June is well and truly in full swing...with a crap load of rain! I've lost count of the number of times I've been drenched...because it's been practically daily and sometimes even multiple times a day.
Such is the unpredictability of our weather.
Oh what I'd give to live in a weather utopia.
This would be a place where the rain would only pour when everyone was asleep (sorry shift workers...but you're in the minority here). It wouldn't been to hot or too cold. There'd be no strong winds. The sun wouldn't bee too strong (thus avoiding being burnt unevenly and looking like a patchwork freak...oh and the bit about skin cancers and stuff).
It would be perfect...you'd be able to go out in a single layer of clothes and not get cold or feel the need to strip off.
An unattainable weather utopia.
It's never going to happen!

It's June. It's summer. Yeah.

Ok.

So far this month...
I've been on a ride along the canal to the Green Fair.

Saw this bonkers looking thing there...and...

Came home with the back of my bike looking like a mini herb garden...

At least he constant drizzle and rain watered the herbs and they didn't dry out.

I went to see a favourite band of mine play...

Accidentally booked tickets all the way on the top balcony...interesting view point though...got to dangle off the edge the whole time...comfy...

And the Smint addiction continues...

But I've learnt (or actually not learnt) that chowing down on a whole packet in one go leaves you feeling rather sick...Yet I keep doing it!

I baked a cake...and didn't get to taste the end results. It was for a summer fete...

---> --->

Yep...the final result did slightly resemble a large looking Jaffa Cake...but apparently it tasted good...and sold well...so that's all that matters.

I saw a bit of the World Naked Bike Ride...though didn't stick around for long...it was a busy day that day...

World Naked Bike Ride...(I have so many more pictures from last year's ride)...

Went along to the Nocturne at Smithfield Market and saw some of this...

Bonkers Penny Farthing racing...Wouldn't like to fall off one of those...But very entertaining to watch...

Fold up bike racing...

Zoom...and they're off...

This one was the best...purely because of the ickle size of it's tyres...

Shapes at Smithfield Market...

A Pearly King & Queen...they were so cute...

And...Cock Lane...because I'm still a childish person at heart...*chuckle...chuckle*

Lots of cycling by night...

And wearing bright home-made skirts to cheer myself up on dismal days like today...when the sky empties it's bladder all over you...

Rain...

Ah...I have a load of fabric sitting in one of my drawers...waiting to be turned into skirts. But the one above took long enough to make. I fail big time at pattern cutting and measuring.
In a few weeks...when I have more time on my hands.

***

Morons of May would have sounded better...but May is long gone...so a round up of the morons I've encountered recently...June...

My little section of pure negativity.

Lots of people just beeping their car horns.
A woman telling me she hates all cyclists...I told her to have a nice day too...
Lecherous scumbags in a backless van thing...I'm glad my green tights and short shorts entertained you so very much!
Two incidents of morons on Bromyard Avenue...again...one being a backless van thing...thank you for heckling at me all the way down the road...such a grown-up thing of you to do. And another generally abusive person...I quickly shimmied off in the opposite direction...good job cars can't do a 180 so fast or hop onto the pavement!
Moron on pikey alley (Vale section of the Uxbridge Road)...I always choose the wrong people to flip off...they turn aggressive very quickly and are always men...the same kind of men who (most probably) take out most of their aggression against women...because they're that pathetic!
Moronic woman on a tight one way road telling me to 'share' the road...Um...yeah...What she really meant was for me to fuck off so she could speed off and save all of half a second!

***

On a happier note...I'm too tired to type any more...

Trail of do and trail of think...

2011-06-04T23:44:00.000+01:00

By day and by night...left then right...

By day...I had time to kill...I sat on a park bench and read. I baked in the sun until I couldn't take it any longer.

I'm quite bad at remembering to put on sun-lotion.

Early evening...headed across town to the Barbican to see Low play live.

We had balcony seats...high, high up. I didn't realise it would be so high up...otherwise I would have booked tickets for the middle balcony.

Anyway...it was amazing. I enjoyed it but the other half did not.

Drastically differing tastes.

Note to self...next time, go alone.

I cycled home around midnight last night. It's not like this is the middle of nowhere and everything dies down after 5pm.
No.
This is London.
Friday nights are manic.
Buzzing.
But...when it's dark...everything seems calmer in a way.
Still.
Less noisy.
But still busy.

Today was different.

Early start.

Seemingly ok.

Then not so much so.

Some days just work out to be worse than others.

At least it's not everyday.

One wrong choice and everything is thrown into the air.

The 'fuck it' mentality sets in.

A most horrid state of mind.

Still...

Tomorrow is a new day.

Start it like you meant to go on.

That should be better...

Right this moment, tiredness has kicked in.

Exhaustion.

But teeth need brushing.

Brushing my teeth always seems to energise me...

Then sleep evades me.

Monday...back to work.

It's always difficult after any extended amount of time off.

A struggle.

An effort.

Good...Bad...Good...Bad...and so on...

2011-06-02T23:32:00.000+01:00

Coffee...coffee...coffee...

Ok coffee aside...This week has involved quite a bit of yoga and trying to grind my own coffee down...the latter being something I'd not done before.

Yoga...good.

Grinding down my own coffee...a bit hit and miss. I'll get it as close to right one day.

Today's also been a bit hit and miss. Every good has been counteracted by a bad. So here we go..

GOOD:

Getting up early
Being motivated to go to morning pilates class
Finally getting a hold of some non-translucent leggings
Treating myself to a frozen yoghurt...and some ice lollies...because the weather was nice
Going to a nice, relaxing session of yoga in the evening
Using my own yoga mat
Lots of cycling
A driver making a nice comment about my bike (more on that in a bit)
Having tomorrow evening to look forward to

BAD:

A fly landing and dying in my porridge
Getting to the gym this morning only to realise pilates class was almost over!
Having to put up with crap bike parking at the gym (see picture below)
A driver being completely moronic...beeping at me and being aggressive...only to take offence when I finally flipped him off. What the hell was he expecting? For me to thank him for ruining my evening? Perhaps he was expecting a nice big hug...err...no...I turned around, cycled off the other way and let him fuck right off! This was right after a really relaxing yoga session too. Mr Arse Hole completely screwed up my zen-like state of mind. Blahh. Well I hope he has a shit evening. Karma.

Crap bike parking facilities at the gym.

On matters of crap bicycle parking at the gym- Yes...bless them. They've tried. Two whole stalls with a roof over each. But you just can't lock your bike up well on these things. See the bike on the far left of this picture? Yes the one with on the left of mine...You could just lift the cable lock up a bit and slide the bike out. I think the tyres were quick release too...if not, no worries...You could always pinch the front tyre of one of the many bikes under the next packed shelter (not shown here).

On matters of my bike having its ego massaged- Alison and I were travelling west along Goldhawk Road. Came to a stop at a set of lights...man in a BMW private hire car pulls his window down. My heart sank...usually when a private hire car...or certain makes of cars pull their window down and turn towards a cyclist, you can be sure you're going to get some degree of abuse...be it verbal or air punching or saliva being hurtled towards you...

Anyway...I was in for a surprise...he was admiring my bike! Asked what make it was and said he hadn't seen one of those in a long while. I was a bit thrown back and could only manage a smile and a thank you. Haha. This is on par with a London bus or Cabbie stopping and giving you way...

I rode off with a cheesy grin on my face.

If only more people could be NICE. See...it doesn't kill to be nice and everyone is happier and more relaxed as a result.

I'm sure the roads would be much safer and pleasant if every once in a while we acknowledged eachother in a nice way...as opposed to the arseholeness of the other driver this evening.

Both drivers of BMWs...but at polar ends of the spectrum!

That was that.

Tomorrow...another Good/Bad day. Unwelcome appointment by day...but very welcome music event by night.

I get to see one of my favourite bands play again.

In one...two...and three...

2011-06-01T01:28:00.000+01:00

Found...dead...in my garden. Uh Oh...

I also found a fallen rose on my road...still intact...

Found...slightly more pleasant to find than a dead animal.

Oh...and on that note...I seem to be spotting many dead animals lately...but mostly while I've been cycling so haven't had the chance to photo them.

One was a dead rat/mouse thing. Wasn't small enough to be a mouse and wasn't large enough to be a rat. Some putrid hybrid?

I'm a hybrid...but not of a mouse and a rat...

My hybridism is a matter for another day.

Dead anmials.

Yes.

This hybrid mouse/rat thing lay there...hole in it's neck...blood congealed around it.

Dead.

Then was the squirrel.

Also dead...but with it's tongue sticking out too. It looked like it had been 'cartoon strangled'. You know...like in the cartoons, when one character is being strangled by another and you get the tongue popping out.

Yeah...like that.

Dead squirrel with tongue hanging out would have been worth the picture.

Next came the hoards of squished flat pigeons. These are everywhere. On the surface of most roads you go down.

I'm guessing this is all road-kill...cat-kill...fox-kill. I'm not sure how the Bluetit one happened though. We might have to get some crime scene investigators out for that one.

Did the poor old mite fly head on into a window and snap it's neck? Is this even a plausible idea?

I didn't come up with it by the way...though I did think about it.

I remember when I was at school one day...way back when...in the dark ages...(yeah the 90's)...a bird flew into the window of a classroom. It then went down. I, however, do not know whether it survived or not.

***

There's been quite a bit of coffee making it's way into me lately...some good...some bad...some awful...some so-so...

Either way though, I like taking pictures of them...

Here are some recent coffee pictures:

Apparently it was an espresso. (FYI...it was more than half gone by the time this picture was taken). So much liquid volume for an espresso.

Waiting for my coffee to brew at home.

A coffee in my room...before heading to the gym. For every good, there must be an equal bad...coffee was part of this...but by no means all of the bad!

L to R (Clockwise): Me, the OH and the friend...Service was so slow at this place that I found myself dancing my arms in the air and pulling faces to get that attention of the staff...

Ah...some proper coffee. Me on the left...OH on the right. I hate milk...he doesn't mind it.

And I got to take my bike in with me...

***

This evening's (Tuesday) was nice, zen-like and gentle...it also managed to help ease the pain from Sunday's more strenuous yoga.

I seem to have lost most of my stretchiness and flexibility over the few months I didn't do regular yoga.

It's all change now. I'm going to try and go as many times as possible during any given week, i.e. every day.

AH...those substandard gym bike locking facilities I wrote vaguely about...

Well...I was trying to lock my bike up and it just wasn't fitting. Most of the other places to lock were full.

Then I saw a woman unlock her fancy carbon-whatever-frame bike and rushed to take her spot.

A I did, my back wheel bumped her back wheel...

Rubber on rubber...ever so gently...

And what I got in return was an immense amount of huffing and puffing and some crap that she muttered under her breath.

Grrr...exercise is meant to make you a more happy, relaxed person...not this woman.

Full on bitch!

Besides...I was more concerned about the paint job on my beloved, beautiful bike...I couldn't give two hoots about her generic, overpriced, common as muck, lightweight piece of tat.

But you didn't see me huffing and puffing away and muttering crap.

But I suppose everyone's bike is beloved to them in their own special way. I view her bike as tat and she clearly viewed mine as tat.

Like the cliché goes...beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That or she was having a complete bitch of a day.

Either way...I don't want to be on the receiving end of some person's foul mood. Bug off and go take it out on someone else.

Yep...one person's two second huffing and puffing put me in a funny mood. It's like she played an evil game of involuntary bad mood relay.

Huff...puff...puffety...huff...

The part where everything turned out ok in the end...

2011-05-30T21:58:00.000+01:00

And so Alison part deux was born...

Lots of confusion...but yeah...it turned out ok. No 'what the fork' or 'royal fuck-ups'. Just smaller thing to go on fork thing and all was ok...and will hopefully stay that way.

Now I'm kind of...a little bit...a lot in love with the colour of my bike. It looks even more lovely in the flesh.

To other people she may seem like an old bike with a new paint job...but to me she's everything.

My freedom.

My fun.

My mode of transport.

And if she were to be damaged/stolen...I would personally and physically harm the perpetrator(s). Little, usually calm and zen-like me...would get violent.

Well...you wouldn't let anyone snatch or harm your child...so...see what I'm trying to get at here?

Hmm...

Ok. Threats aside. Moving on.

I went to my first Critical Mass on Friday.

It was brilliant.

I went by myself (sad I know...but hey) and bumped into two people I vaguely know. So it was all good in the end.

Hundreds of people turned up. Bikes. Tandems. Choppers. BMXs. Long boarders. People towing big and small sound systems.

It was kind of like a party on wheels with a sort of purpose.

The vibe was happy and laid back. No hostility. I didn't see any anyway.

Here are some pictures...they do the describing better than I could...

Portable entertainment...

Crossing the river at Westminster...

Making our way up the Mall..

BMXers

Choppers and tandems and dressing up...

Wheels of all kinds...

Hoards of people...

All happy...

Taking over Trafalgar Square...

I think it's safe to say that I'll be going along to Critical Mass from now on. :)

***

Yoga...yoga...yoga. I went along to the dynamic yoga class yesterday. I'm now in pain. I think I may have over stretched myself.

The class today was more gentle.

I'll go again tomorrow.

Maybe the pain will pass if I pretend it's not there.

The part where I realise nothing ever goes to plan...

2011-05-25T21:59:00.000+01:00

Something always has to go wrong...because Sod's Law says so...

So was hoping to get Alison part deux back...decked out with bits from Alison, when I got a call to tell me there was something wrong.

The people at the powder coating place didn't mask off the threading shown in the photo above. Result? The threading was worn down and that fork is now dead.

What annoys me is that I did ask them whether they would mask all necessary bits off...and the guy assured me they would.

I'm not complaining about the quality of their work...no. I was really pleased with the finish and colour...and time scale within which the work was completed.

I'm just disappointed that they completely killed the forks.

Had I only had the one set of forks...I would have been fuming. But luckily I have the intact forks from Alison to sort of save me.

Now...I'm going to have to go back to the powder coating place...be super shitty nice and make them see the error of their ways.

Spoke to them on the phone earlier and it didn't sound too good. That's going to have to change...because I am unwilling to pay to fix a mistake they made.

Looks like I'll be riding the Chunky Clunker a while longer and Alison part deux won't end up being Alison part deux...but a funny hybrid of Alison and Alison part deux.

***

So many other things went wrong today too. Work for a start...you know...that distinct feeling that you're being taken advantage of? Yes, that! And the constant nagging of others and persistence of some...that sort of stuff.

The kind of stuff that leaves you feeling drained and a miserable failure.

Throw in some other stark realisations and a headache follows.

Then on my way back from the gym, riding along on the Chunky Clunker, a stupid open back truck thing turned left almost squishing me...then the scumbag passenger stuck his head out the window, heckled, cackled and laughed at me almost having been squished.

What can I say?

Would he have behaved that way had I actually been squished to death?

Then there was the unidentified moron in a car who hooted his horn at me...just because.

I ignored and continued on at my own pace...yes...going up hill is not easy...especially not after a long day and then when you're pooped out after the gym...and on the Chunky Clunker.

Yes. I'm now safely tucked away in my room...away from the big bad world.

Oh...one last rant...

Bike parking facilities at the gym are crap! You know what...I'll leave that for another time. I'll have to take a picture and show you to explain it properly. But for now...I'll just leave it at that...utter crapness.

***

Bike Misery and Other Afflictions...

2011-05-25T00:07:00.000+01:00

RIP Alison (Early 80's some year- Saturday 14th May 2011)

So...Saturday 14th May 2011 will forever be stamped in my memory. Great day turned bad! Let me take you back to that fateful day.

I set off on Alison, early enough for a Saturday morning, to go and hunt down a hand coffee grinder I wanted/needed.

The weather was lovely, morons were few and far between...actually I don't remember any morons that day...and I was full of energy.

Ready to go.

Go.

On my way.

I got to Central London and...well...didn't manage to find the shop I was directed to. I hadn't jotted the name down, only remembered the hand gestures and vague directions of a guy in a coffee shop.

Anyway. No love lost. The weather was nice and I was on my bike, so I cycled forth. I even bumped into a fellow blogger/twitterer which was strange but absolutely lovely. I recognised her bike, she recognised my basket.

Random things like this put an even bigger smile on my face and make me love London jut that bit more. For a capital city packed with millions of people...it's a surprisingly small place.

So yes...happy, happy me...cycling along still. Made it to about Waterloo and noticed a slight oddness to my bike.

Something coming undone?

I wasn't sure...so I decided to head back westwards, treat myself to a frozen yoghurt and take poor Alison to the bike repair shop.

Yummy frozen yoghurt gobbled up, I got back on the bike and it was pretty much downhill from there. The oddness turned to a wobble which turned to uncontrollable shaking of the bike.

Just about made it to the repair shop where poor old Alison was diagnosed as...pretty much...DEAD!

Verdict...Cracked frame towards the top of the downtube.

I walked home and cried like a baby...pushing along the carcase that had only a couple of minutes beforehand been my beloved bike.

Gone...just like that.

Don't know how it happened. It just did. I can't skid, pull wheelies, bounce or do trackstands...so that pretty much rules out my magical abilities wrecking the bike.

Maybe the previous owner (the namesake of the bike) had had some accidents with the bike. Who knows...

With my tears finally over and my body replenished with coffee, I hit up the eBay!

Found an identical frame and collected it it the next morning from West Drayton.

Alison part deux at West Drayton Station...

Alison part deux seems to be in nicer condition that the original Alison. Yay. Will hopefully last longer this time.

However, West Drayton is not somewhere I am in any hurry to ever visit again. We'll just leave it at that.

Maybe a charity should be set up to re-settle innocent members of the population of West Drayton. Can't be that many of them...so should be simple enough to do.

Sorry if you live there or ever have the misfortune to even go through the place.

Yes. The less said the better.

Alison part deux was then stripped down by my local repair shop and hauled (by me) on a train to Hackney to be powder coated.

Alison part deux stripped and ready to be hauled to Hackney

That was on Wednesday. She was ready yesterday and I collected her bright and early this morning. Yes...before work and made all the way to East London and back before 8.30am!

Way to go me.

Alison part deux after makeover. I went for RAL 2009- Azure Blue.

Now all that has to happen is have the bits and bobs from the original Alison put on to Alison part deux. Have to haul Alison's carcase over to the repair garage in the morning first.

Kind of makes me sad.

Alison and I have so many memories.

But...I have a shiny new (old) bike to look forward to...with a nice, new paint job. That makes me happy again.

***

So that was the story of my bike misery and woe. In the meantime I've been walking here and there and riding my other bike...the Chunky Clunker.

Even tried to take a photo of me riding him/her...

Riding the Chunky Clunker...it's a dizzy-inducing picture...

I call it the Chunky Clunker in the most affectionate of ways...for it also holds many memories...which is why I cannot bring myself to sell it.

But I'll save the sentimental stuff for a rainy day.

***

Now on to my other afflictions. On in particular actually.

Had to take an early train this morning to collect Alison part deux from Armourtex...which happens to be all the way on the other side of London.

So I cycled to the station and locked the Chunky Clunker at a Shefield stand outside the station (which also happens to be right next to my work place). Left the bike there for the rest of the day as I couldn't be bothered to unlock and move it again.

Then as I was walking past at lunch time, I saw that someone had double locked against my bike...oh and another bike tripled up in front!

I was a little annoyed but hopeful that they'd be gone by the time I finished work.

Err...no such luck.

Come time for me to want to go home and said bikes were still blocking my bike.

I clenched my fists...screwed my face up a bit and muttered crap under my breath.

Unlocked the locks on my bike and stood there trying to hold this other bike up while at the same time trying to pull my own bike out from under.

Still no luck.

Two other people kindly helped me.

Decided to write the selfish owner of the bike a note to tell him/her that there were many other Sheffield stands across the road and along the road when the owner suddenly appeared.

So I told it to her good and straight.

She gave this whole spiel about being late and her train...blablabla...

But you know what?

I don't give two hoots! Maybe I was late for something super important (to me) after work. Maybe I might have needed to get my bike out much earlier...

Point here being...think before selfishly locking your bike up and barricading another bike in!

Besides...(a) she could have damaged my bike and (b) I could have damaged her bike lifting and tossing it about to get at my own bike.

Then to add insult to injury...another guy unlocking his bike there (presumably an acquaintance of this woman) had the nerve to tell me to 'next time leave your bike at home and walk'.

My reply to that was a resounding eff off!

Blahhh...Whatever. I've let it go now. I hold no grudges.

***

Ok...was going to write more...more in the way of lovely things...but that will have to wait 'till next time. It's time for my forty winks now.

I think my days of rolling into work late are probably over.

Went in early a couple of day in succession and now it's kind of expected of me. I think I may have been told in the nicest way possible too.

***

Next blog post will most likely be a complete coffee overload. :)

2011-05-15T23:03:00.000+01:00

I have a lot to write about.

Some good.

Some bad.

Some great.

A mixed bag of things.

Life.

Some more thinking...

2011-05-03T02:27:00.000+01:00

Given Half the Chance...

An Other: Do you draw?
Me: I can just about draw stick-men.

I keep typing some stuff out.
Delete.
Type out something else.
Delete.
Repeat.

Sometimes what you are thinking doesn't translate into actual, coherent words.
Right now is one of those times.

Flat Dimensions/ Out of Hours Thinking...

2011-04-27T03:11:00.000+01:00

This is a square

This is another square

This is another kind of square...Trafalgar Square. London has many squares...albeit, usually smaller and often green (picture stolen from here)

This is a square meal (photo nicked from here)

This is the video for a song entitled 'Squares'

HERE

And...just in case you had any doubts...click on the the above link to scoot over to the Wikipedia article on...you guessed it...Squares!

***

In all honesty (as if it was hard to guess), I confess...I am a square.

Flat.

Two dimensional.

Constricted by the confines created by the four lines and four right angles.

A square.

It's not even a cube.

No.

Flat. Straight. A square.

My square confessional.

Confessing the obvious.

I can't make this any less square...not at almost three in the morning.

In ten minutes time, a chiming clock...somewhere in the UK (no doubt...many chiming clocks) will chime thrice for three in the morning...

Unless, of course, the owner(s) of the clock(s) somehow set/disabled the clock from chiming in the middle of the night.

This would be a highly useful function.

Chiming clocks in the middle of the night would be a something of an irritation...disturbing the peace and serenity of sleep.

Unless...like me...you clearly don't sleep the way normal sleep should be carried out.

Five minutes.

What would it take to not be a 'square'?

Sky diving perhaps?

I have no desire to do this.

Taking a trip somewhere dangerous?

No. I've known the squarest of people to undertake that task.

Run and hide in a deserted cave, living for some time as a hermit?

No. I'd be the epitome of the term 'square person'.

Some clocks chimed thrice...somewhere across the UK about three minutes ago.

Breath in.

Breath out.

I have an itch.

It's hard not to give in and scratch away.

Scratching is oh-so-very damaging...but oh-so satisfying.

I think I can live with some damaged skin.

I've had a lifetime to learn to deal with it.

Major precursor to itch...

Stress.

I'm guessing some regular sleep would be a good start.

It was ten minutes before those illusive three chimes.

It's now ten minutes past.

Twenty minutes in total.

Five minutes per side of a square.

Or maybe five minutes per corner.

It's up to you how you distribute those twenty minutes equally and in a square-manner.
Maybe you want to finely spread each of those minutes within the confines of the square.
I don't know.
It's up to you.
For me, it's five minutes per side.
I don't do stationary at a corner very well.
Nor do I do chaos within the confines.

End

Two thousand miles long...

2011-04-20T22:54:00.000+01:00

Today, as I was cycling back home from Richmond...stuck in unavoidable traffic with no way of filtering ahead...I took a look down at my cycle computer.
I clicked through the different screens.
Blah.
Time still wrong.

On a side note of time still being wrong...I spent almost a year with the time wrong during winter. You see, the damn thing was on summer time.
Then a couple of weeks before the end of winter time and the clocks going forward, I had my bike serviced and the front wheel changed and all that jazz. This required me to refit the magnet for my cycle computer and so I thought I'd measure stuff out again as the wheel was new and whatnot.
Annnnyway...so as I had to go into the settings of this dinky LCD screen thing, I thought I'd correct the time too. And I did.
Only problem now is that the clocks have gone forward and I'm now stuck on winter time...an hour behind.
I'm never going to get this right.

Ok...back to me perching on my bike in traffic not worthy of filtering through.
Yes.
Time checked and converted in my head to summer time.
Distance for the day checked.
Average speed checked...damn all this stopping killing my average speed (which is pretty dismal as it is anyway)...but hey.
Fastest speed for the day...checked...disappointed...as I had many an opportunity to pelt down hill in Richmond park and didn't (too much sun and lack of fluids...naughty me).
Then I got to the odometer thing...which tells you the total distance travelled since you first start using the cycle computer.
And what did I see?
Yep...two thousand miles.
Since end of August/early September up to now, I have cycled two whole thousand miles.

I don't know if that's considered a lot or not...
I'm guessing not. But to me...a formerly lazy person...super lazy...this is a big achievement.
That's like the distance between London and somewhere towards the South of Italy...so if I'd cycled from here to the South of Italy...it would have taken me...err...about seven months.

So yes...this post is to mark me having past the two thousand mark.
And also that cycling means the world to me...I owe a lot to cycling.

Let me make a list.

Things I owe to cycling...

*Regaining my mental sanity and being able to come off the wretched anti-depressants
*Becoming more active and fit/healthy...for I had severely low levels of fitness before
*Gaining quite a bit of weight...according to the sibling, I no longer look emaciated...I am now bordering on 'normal' (I've regained my bottom...shame cycling doesn't do anything for bingo wings though)
*Saving a crap load of money in terms of public transport and cars (err...then finding many other ways to spend it)
*Being less snappy and argumentative...I cycle off all my frustrations and smile a lot more now
*Feeling superior to every single (clearly) unhappy person stuck in a car...usually in traffic...(yes...I may even be developing an air of arrogance or narcissism here...not 'qualities' I generally attribute to myself).

Well...I'll leave my little list at that for now.

***

Ooh...just another thing. Something that was re-confirmed to me today.

The path along the Thames towards Richmond = absolute shit for cycling on...unless you fit your bike with tractor tyres!

Something new I saw today...as I was heading off the Thames path and back on to the roads (because I decided this was wiser), and going around a sharp bend (car park behind Kew Gardens), I saw a man driving a big yellow industrial vehicle (not tractor, not digger...but a lifting machine of some description) with a pendulum like thing swinging from side to side (dangerous much?)...and the driver was nattering away on his phone!

Why thank you supposed professional man for putting the lives of other people at risk. I hope you had a nice chat on this gloriously warm and sunny day.

It looked more bizarre than it seems in writing.

On matters of man-made flying...

2011-04-20T02:44:00.000+01:00

Our (scary) dinky flying machine from London City Airport to the Netherlands

The DLR...your one and only chance at pretending to be a train driver. The last time I went on the DLR was for that very precise reason.

To pretend.

I wasn't going anywhere and had nowhere o go.

So pretend it was.

Sitting at the front. Looking out. All of a sudden you see what a train driver sees.

That was well over two years ago.

I'm now two years older...growing ever younger...and had a destination this time.

London City Airport.

Electronic check-in as soon as you go up the steps from the DLR.

That's it.

Quick, small and simple...kind of like the flying machines there.

(I don't like to fly...it's not natural for humans).

Sitting in the tiny lounge.

Waiting.

I took some photos.

Whatever happened to those photos?

I DID take the photos...it's only just crossed my mind now. Yet I don't remember seeing them when I had the film developed.

Hmm.

Too dark.

Too bright.

I must check again.

Ah yes. They are there...looking very unfamiliar to what I remember.

Feeling nervous can change your perception of memory it seems...

At the gate.

Even smaller room.

All packed in.

No sooner had the little flying machine landed and been emptied of it's passengers, that we were shuffled on.

Reminiscent of cattle...in waiting and herding.

Small flying machines don't conjure up fond memories.

Terrifying.

Iran. Some years ago. A domestic flight between Tehran and Shiraz.

Sweaty people boarded. Crammed into a small flying machine. Sitting, waiting for more smelly people to filter in.

The hight of a scorching middle eastern summer.

Smoke everywhere.

The smell of sweat obscured by the smell of smoke.

Kicking and screaming I was kept on the plane.

Faulty air con apparently.

Off we went regardless. Up, up and away.

Ever increasing altitude, followed by many air pockets and the little malfunctioning flying machine making great swoops up and down and side to side.

Violently.

From that day on a fear of flying was instilled in me that years of flying about had failed to do.

Anyway...I digress...quite a lot.

Back to the little flying machine set for the Netherlands.

Up we went and around we bounced.

Not smooth.

A lot of hand clenching and nail digging.

Then down, down and land.

Phew.

***

Larger flying machine from the Netherlands to LHR

When you go away somewhere, as much as you may want to stay there forever...a return is imminent. You must return to reality...because a holiday is just that...an escape from reality.

Floating in the air, on the way back, was more serene and manageable.

For a start the flying machine was bigger.

Hell...if I'm going to die...I want to die with a hell of a lot more people than were on the flight out. I'd rather be implicated in semi-mass devastation than a freak accident culling only a few people from this world!

Yes.

I'm selfish like that.

It's more comforting knowing that you will be gone with more people as opposed to less.

Although this may not make sense to anyone else...it makes sense to me...in my head...and that's all that matters (to me anyway).

I draw the line there on that matter of selfishness.

No...actually I don't...because, technically speaking...this 'selfishness' I purport to is actually a form of sharing and sharing is caring...therefore, by default, selfishness is cancelled out.

Ok...there.

Line drawn.

Matter closed.

Moving on.

Taxiing.

Slowly gliding about for what seemed like an age.

Drifting off the ground.

Up.

Gliding again.

Smooth.

Bright sun beaming in through the little windows.

'...and our estimated time of flight is 40 minutes...'

Voices glided too.

No fear.

Serene.

Calm.

Clouds beneath us...fluffy and soft in appearance. I thought about bouncing off them...then reality prevailed and I sunk right through them.

Gliding along in the air.

Drinks and a snack. Quickly served, swiftly guzzled and munched. Rapidly cleared away.

#Ding#

A scenic descent over London's landmarks.

Look, look...it's Tower Bridge. Ohh it really is...there's the London Eye.

And look...I was only there a few weeks ago...it's the Olympic Stadium and we can see right into it this time!

Ahhh...Buckingham Palace...look, look.

A few moments later and...

Eeeee...it's Wembly Stadium. I told you the Olypic Stadium looks like a more normal version of Wembly Stadium!

Tour over and we close in on the ground below us.

I desperately looked for my own road...but we didn't fly over it.

Closing in on solid ground...faster and faster.

Anticipating and big thud...but pleasantly surprised when we gently glided instead...met with the relief of only having hand luggage!

***

Relax...how bad can it be?

Photos developed and printed. Some crap...some worth sharing.

A lot of scanning to do.

Maybe the extra cost of having someone else scan them onto a disk for you would have been worth it...

At some point this week...it will be done.

Shock Shock Horror Horror. Shock Shock Horror.

2011-04-11T22:46:00.000+01:00

Today was the first day in well over a month where I've not cycled!
The last time I went a day without cycling was 5th March.
Today was borne out of combination of a stinking summer cold, pain, lethargy and general crapness.
Why...how is it even possible to come down with a cold when it's so bloody warm and lovely?

To top it all off, we're due to go away tomorrow for a couple of days.
I have visions of me sniffing away at the Olbas like some junkie and dragging my feet around...just wanting to go to sleep.

We're leaving from London City Airport. This will be my first time there. Apparently not much in the way of duty free to distract you there. All very small and fast.
Oh dear Lord! The last time I was on a flying object...I had some form of air rage...induced by a cocktail of prescription medication and alcohol which were meant to calm me.
Err...not so.
Can't remember much of it or the couple of days that followed (so disgraceful).
Needless to say, nothing like that will happen this time.
It's a short flight...less than an hour long.
All will be ok.
All will be ok.
All will be ok.
I've also learnt my lesson!

Anyway...no sound this time...just moving images...

Compromise?

2011-04-10T20:57:00.000+01:00

No. I'm far too selfish to compromise...so fuck being on foot and taking public transport! I cycled myself across London instead.
West London to East London in little under an hour and no boredom!
Just met the friend and other half there instead.
Simple.

It was sunny and nice and now I'm tired.

Floral head garland...I have one of these now. It's summery and pretentious.
It is what it is.

My other wants...(a) a Luchador mask and (b) to paint my face with David Bowie-esque face paint.
The sun plays havoc with one's mindset.

The toilets at Liverpool Street station are pitiful. You have to pay a whole 30p to use them and they stink and have no hooks to hang your belongings on.
The provided bike parking facilities were interesting though. This was the first time ever I'd parked my bike up above my head.
Interesting.
Better and safer than finding somewhere on Brick Lane to lock your bike up.
No.
That wasn't going to happen.

I witnessed the other half talking away to an actual donkey.
I like this oddness.
If only the oddness was evident and played out more often.
Normal is boring.
Odd is good.

'When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants'

Uneasy riding...

2011-04-09T23:03:00.000+01:00

View Larger Map

So...I was at the above junction today. Waiting there at the lights on Charterhouse Street, wanting to take the fourth exit on to High Holborn.

Lights turned green and I moved off...as did the car behind me. Went round the monument thing and was about to head onto High Holborn when a black cab coming off New Fetter Lane starts charging forward and beeping his horn at me.

I kept moving forward...because stopping suddenly may have caused the car behind me to ram into me. But the taxi could have run me over.

Ok. The light was green. I moved off.

This is by no means the first time I've navigated this junction...so I'm a little baffled as to why the taxi was charging straight at me and what exactly I'd done wrong.

Needless to say, I was a little flustered afterwards and cycled through some unfinished road resurfacing works a bit further down the road.

Not so cleaver as I spent the next five minutes flicking and picking colourful bits of grit and stone stuff from my tyres...oh and noticing what may be the beginnings of a crack in one of my tyres!

Sometimes, when little red cones are placed across a stretch of road, the area really should not be entered.

For a moment, I thought I was riding over hot, unset road surface.

Anyway...stupid...stupid...stupid me.

A nice coffee quickly sorted everything out.

Today's sunshine was a little deceptive. On crowded roads with tall buildings on either side of you, shielded from the comforting and warm rays of the sun, it was actually rather blustery and...well...dare I say, cold!

Yesterday, on the other hand, was marvellous. Even in the evening, with the sun safely shining it's rays on another part of the world, it was warm. I found myself cycling home, in the dark, with just a t-shirt on top...cardi firmly tucked away in bag.

I hate the unpredictability of the weather and often end up either baking or freezing my arse off!

*Sigh*

Outcome of today? I now have a pair of black trousers (jeans), a floral skirt and brick coloured t-shirt to add to my ever-expanding wardrobe...or lack of a wardrobe.
Now I'm stuck trying to decide which of my purchases I will be wearing tomorrow. Either way, the t-shirt will be worn as it can goes with both the jeans and the skirt.
Oh...and as I shall be on foot tomorrow, I also have all the fun of deciding what pair of shoes to wear!

Tomorrow will be a day dedicated to coffee. The sole purpose of leaving the house tomorrow is for all things coffee related.
Coffee.
Coffee.
Coffee.
Hmmm...I'm hoping to be united with a nice ceramic coffee filter...any any lovely, superior coffee!

It just is...

2011-04-07T23:43:00.000+01:00

Ah crap...I've now forgotten the other music video that was synonymous with bikes. Maybe I'll wake up in the middle of the night and remember. Maybe I'll never remember.

It's hard not to be besotted by the messed up accent...a small little song and dance...

This, that and everything else in between...

2011-04-05T00:32:00.000+01:00

The sunset as I cycled home this past Saturday evening...

Last week panned out something like this...

Office bike...

At some point I kept my bike in the office for a couple of hours. Headteacher and colleague were away at a meeting and the office was my oyster...I was also running late hadn't had the time to lock it away...so the office would have to do.

If only I could always keep her in the office...but alas, good old health and safety renders that idea defunct. If only everything was up to me...

I already have a stash of shoes under my desk!

Still from the film 'Submarine'

Friday after work was film night. We went to see Submarine at the Odeon in Covent Garden. And it was a brilliant film. I don't really need to say anything more than...just go at watch it while you can. Oh...and it's directed and written (screenplay) by Richard Ayoade of It Crowd fame (by the way, another brilliant thing to watch)!

Saturday was spent back in Covent Garden and Soho trying to figure out what to get my mother for Mothering Sunday.

Oh, and on a side note, trying to find a place to lock your bike up around Covent Garden is near impossible. Nowhere near enough space provided!

A living window display...

Bike Love one...Pretty bikes deserve to be locked up more securely than this...

Bike Love two...My infatuation with the mixte continues and it has a flowery decorated basket...sort of...

Equal opportunities...Showcasing some motorised two-wheel love...

Isn't this sad? The poor bike was completely mangled. How? I will never know...A much larger vehicle perhaps?

A night sky curiosity...

Without my spectacles, the bright little blobs looked almost alien. One after another, they kept floating past.

Spectacles on, I realised they were little lanterns floating along.

Sunday...I joined my local cycling campaign group for the monthly ride. A forty strong group of us (I'm sure it was more), set off on a cycle from West to East and back again.

The rain held off and it was lovely.

Even my socially awkward self managed to talk to people without having a panic attack of some kind...actually...I've noticed I'm more at ease with people in general these days.

(Good riddance to the days when asking a shop assistant for a different size or colour would result in major panic and sweaty palms...and my mouth moving without any words actually coming out).

Anyway...emotional crap aside...back to the ride.

We rode along canal paths. Something I'm not used to (slightly more bumpy than roads...very narrow...with danger of wobbling and dropping off into the canal). However, it was very scenic. A part side of London you don't often get to see.

And the narrow boats...so pretty. I even spotted on with a 'Rosie and Jim' on board! How cute and nostalgic...

Our destination...the Olympic Stadium and site in the East of London...

Cycling back via one of the Cycling Superhighways (CS3)...my first time ever on one of these as will still don't have them in the West of London.

***

It's the last week of work before the start of the Easter holiday break. Not entirely sure how I'll be spending my time and whether I'll be going away...but...some time off work would be nice.

I had to politely decline working during the holidays today. As much as the extra pay would be nice...I need a break...and possibly some time to re-evaluate things.

So for now...here's a review of a Pashley Poppy that I wrote for a local cycling shop. Was fun riding around on different bikes not my own.

Ah...and a video for the opening titles to Rosie and Jim...because I now have the song stuck in my head and you should too...

Some lingering thoughts...

2011-03-28T01:22:00.001+01:00

I managed to not realise I was cycling past the demos on Saturday...until I asked a police officer what was going on.
I'm clearly far removed and detached from reality and the 'right now'.
This is what happens when you don't read, watch or listen to the news for a couple of days.
You drift off into your own bubble of unreality.
My unreality.

Cycling back home...along the same overly pompous roads of Kensington, I was distracted by some shouting and arguing.
No not the demos.
Fortnum & Masons had long been attacked...no this was mood of a different kind.
Through the traffic, I turned my head to see two middle aged men (in suits) arguing over a black cab.

"I shouted first. It's my cab".

More shouting and arguing...all whilst many more cabs went by.
Ah...silly people.

***

I saw more silliness on Saturday.
There was the bus and mini-van car thing.
Now...if only people would slow down and stop rushing.
Unless you're driving an ambulance, fire engine or...in some cases a police vehicle...nothing can be oh-so-important that you can't slow down a bit.
Even if you were going to be ten, twenty, thirty minutes...or even an hour late...it's not going to end in earth shattering catastrophe.

It really bothers me when I'm overtaken and thre's clearly traffic in front of me...or a red light...or (my particular favourite) the level crossing barriers are down.
Muppets!
But hey...whatever floats your boat...and accelerating and slowing down continuously burns more of fuel...so one more extra cost for you, impatient motorist! Rev away all you like...much to my evil delight.

***

Terra Incognita...I'm still trying to decide if it was the disillusioned state of a very feverish and ill person...or a tale of the run up of death.

***

Also went to Ikea. I could almost swear that someone had actually used one of the toilets in the display living spaces. I didn't want to look any closer.
On the other hand...it could have just been a scratched up plastic bag...glistening in the wrong way.
Who knows...maybe someone took playing to a whole new level...or was just very desperate.

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It's there...

2011-03-23T20:59:00.000Z

A more meaningful and coherent blog post is floating about somewhere in my head...and that's all it's doing, floating.
At some point in the not too distant future, the said blog post will be typed up...but for now, it remains in a state of mental float.

Today I larked around the park, in the sunshine, with a work colleague. We bumped into another work colleague who joined us for some childish fun.
Picture three grown adults on a see-saw...zooming about on a zip wire and falling off a tyre swing.
When the sun shines...everything is dandy.
Besides, when you spend your entire working day surrounded by children playing and having fun...sometimes you just want to escape the dull office and revert back to being a child again.
Today my inner child emerged.
Actually...my inner child surfaces quite often...mostly when on the bike and coasting down any downhill road.
I smile, kick my feet into the air and enjoy for all of two seconds...especially if it's pouring with rain...you need to cheer yourself up somehow.

Enough of the inner child.

Anyway...Last year at the London Sky Ride, helped out on the LCC stall urging people to sign the petition to provide lorry drivers with cyclist awareness training.
Well...the petition is ongoing and on Wednesday 20th March (next week people!), the LCC will be having a day of action at various points across London...trying to get more people to sign the petition.
Have volunteered myself to help out again...
So if you can't sign the petition in person...pop on over to the No More Lethal Lorries website, browse around a bit and sign away.

Given that two people were killed by large vehicles in the space of 24 hours, this week, I think it's important to raise awareness for all parties involved. Not just the lorry/van drivers...but also the cyclists themselves.
Remember people...loads of local councils out there offer subsidised cycle training. Personally, for me, it was super useful and much needed.

***

Some pictures from Friday to fill the void...

The inside of the cake...yummy, yummy chocolate...

A little button brooch I stitched at the Stitch & Craft Show on Sunday...

(Oh how bent my knee looks in this picture)!

Knitted angel...it looked amazing...plus all the art in the background was either knitted or stitched.

Giant knitting needles and giant knitting...but this was minuscule compared to the real giant one that wouldn't actually fit into one photo!

And on that note...the bit about the Stitch & Craft Show...well it was on Sunday at Olympia in London...and can I just say... I have never seen so many OAP's and zimmer frames under one roof before.

When waiting in line for the show, two coach loads of grannies turned up and jumped the queue...ohh...the rebellion!

Still...I came away with a knitting patter and yarn for a pretty scarf and some other crafty bits. Some new crafts to try out.

***

Ah...and to fill more 'space' and say what I can't say in words...we have some music...aptly being titled 'Failure'...because...well...

Oh just watch and listen...just not sure I will ever learn from my own 'failures'...

Saturday cycling & cake baking

2011-03-20T00:44:00.000Z

Ho hum. I vowed not to bake again...for some time...but I had to this one time. It's my sister's birthday and so I baked her a cake.
This be the cake..

It's a little rough around the edges...but I just like to call that 'rustic'...

A close-up of the glittery magic...it's a chocolate cake on the inside...

So that was how Saturday finished off...but it started with a loooong cycle.

Well, what I consider to be long anyway.

This is how it went...I cycled to Richmond and did a round and a bit of Richmond park. Then I decided that I was low on coffee and just had to go to Covent Garden (all the way in Central London) to get myself some Monmouth coffee. So off I cycled all the way there. I couldn't justify jumping on the train...I passed the train station and thought about it but cycled on.

I'm now a kilo of ground coffee better off!

By the time I got home, I'd managed to cycle just over 38miles. Yes...a whole two miles shy of 40miles. To me, that's a hell of a lot of cycling...and I managed to somehow maintain my usual average speed of about 11 point something or another miles an hour.

I'm quite pleased with myself actually...just not pleased at the bit where I ate like a horse once I got back home!

Ah...and whenever I bake a cake...I eat a fair bit of the cake mix and icing and all the crap that goes with it.

I'm sure I'll come down with salmonella one of these days...and morph into a very obese person...I'm already 'growing out' of my clothes! EEK!

Anyway...it was interesting to note the two very different types of cycling when comparing Central London to Richmond park.

As nice as it was to cycle around the vast expanse of Richmond park...I much prefer the cyclists of Central London...
Their 'fashion' is more palatable. I'd much rather stare at the back of some rolled up jeans than a man with shaved legs, no arse, and what can only be described as a whopping big nappy! For you see, that is essentially what padded shorts are.

***

Two little things about my day...

1. Going up a hill in Richmond park, I decided to admit defeat and walk it. Didn't want to knacker my knees any further (I have a mystery bruise on one knee as it is).

So there I was walking, pushing my bike up this hill...when an old man (wearing a leather jacket...in the sunshine) cycles past me and comments 'oh I know how that feels'.

Oh err...shame on me for not attempting to suffer cycling the hill...especially when an old man was able to. I bet he felt super smug about that though!

Ah well...as long as I made someone's day.

2. Cycling along in Central London, I was brought to a very sudden stop. Some stupid taxi only decided to go and turn in front of me.

I braked so hard that my back wheels actually lifted off the ground! Thankfully was able to unclip my feet from the pedals in time.

Emergency stopping being a major downside to clipless pedals.

And did I get a sorry from Mr Cabbie?

No.

He just shrugged his shoulders and drove off!

Cheers mate.

I wasn't going anywhere...buy heart was pounding at a million miles at the side of the road.

***

Anyway, must go get some sleep as I'm having an early start this Sunday (and lo and behold...it's already Sunday).

But yes...in the morning I shall be going to the Stitch and Craft show.

Just have to make sure I don't end up buying a lot of lovely yarn and other little things...(a) I already have a lot of yarn which needs using up...and (b) I do not have space to store any more 'little things'.

My room is still very cluttered and I'm lacking the motivation/drive to tidy it up.

I need a little trip to Ikea to sort out my storage issues.

***

I only realised a little while ago...but I completely missed Comic Relief this year. I think this might be the first time I've ever missed it.

On matters of insomnia...

2011-03-15T23:12:00.000Z

This is my keyboard...utter fail...

It's detached. I can still tap out commas though (and left pointing arrowheads if I so wish).

Here:

,,,,,,,,,,,,, <<<<<<<<<

The comma is far more important. As long as I can still tap out commas (and remember that the patch that was a button/key taps out left pointing arrow), I'll be ok.

Maybe I should revise my use of commas as well!

Let's hope no more keys become detached.

***

It's been weeks since I've had any sort of 'normal' sleep. It's mostly been a nap here and a nap there, followed by long stretches of sleepless nights.

Roll.

Toss the ccovers.

Flap arms round.

Kick a leg here...another leg there.

Too hot.

Too cold.

Itchy.

Generally very irritable.

I'm all out of my lovely little (prescription) sleeping pills.

I don't really want to go to the GP to get more either.

As lovely as they may be, they leave an awful taste at the back of your mouth the next day. And if used too often, become pretty useless.

Unless you develop an unhealthy addiction and dare to take more and more.

I don't want that.

Instead, I've been trying to bore or tire my way to sleep.

Successful?

Not really.

Another downside to the insomnia...night time snacking and unwelcome weight gain!

Because an urge for four pieces of buttery toast at two in the morning will do that to you.

Another obstacle (apart from my own problems) that stands in the way of normal sleep...is...the nocturnal sister.

Walking about, opening and closing doors, listening to music, talking and a general disregard for other people...every night!

If only she hadn't taken to being a student again, she would have been fast asleep before everyone else and a minimal irritation in the wee hours of the night.

Worst part is that the nocturnal sister is a marathon sleeper. So any attempts at revenge the next morning are futile.

Very unfair.

Even a brass band would not awake the nocturnal, marathon sleeping sister.

Again, unfair.

***

On the commute today, I crossed paths with my regular morons.

1. The same woman who still fills me with dread. We seem to take the same route every day, at the same time but in opposite directions.

I'm guessing she received the letter from the police, as she hasn't taken to attacking me again.

On the down side, I'm now pretty sure she knows where I work. She sees me go in most mornings.

Damn.

Not good should she choose the path of violence against me again.

2. Remember Mr. Moron who incoherently yelled abuse at me, tried to run me over and then attempted to spit at me?

Well, I think I had the misfortune to be viciously overtaken by him today.

There was a zebra crossing.

There were people and children.

They'd stepped out on to the crossing.

I'd stopped.

A car came whizzing past and over the raised zebra crossing.

The people took a jump back.

I thanked my lucky stars I wasn't in the morons path...but slightly to the side and the road was just about wide enough!

I should think the people at the crossing also felt very lucky.

They seemed kind of shocked.

I cycled down further. The lights were red and he was 'stuck' behind the lights (and other much bigger vehicles).

I looked to the side in his car's direction only to be greeted with an incoherent torrent of abuse...it was at this point that I was sure this was the same Mr Moron of a couple of weeks ago...despite the different car. This was clearly his weekday/work car.

I quickly mounted the pavement for security and waited until he was well and truly gone!

This time, I said nothing.

This time...I looked after number one...ME!

I wouldn't put it past someone like Mr Moron to actually harm another person. His kind of scum has probably already injured many and probably feels no remorse.

Oh well.

One day...

Until that day...I'll err on the side of caution as much as I possibly can.

It's scary.

Its scary that a healthy, fun commute can turn sour so very quickly.

This is the aspect of cycling around London that irks me the most. It really scars me and makes me think twice.

But I have every damn right to cycle from A to B and (almost) wherever I want. I won't give that up.

I was on my way to becoming a motorist at one point.

I was a considerate and careful driver. I abided by the highway code, all laws and even kept to the speed limit of each and every road.

I took hours upon hours of lessons.

All I needed to do was book the final driving test.

But I just couldn't do it...because as careful as I was, I felt very uncomfortable behind the wheel of a motorised vehicle...I felt dangerous...even though I knew I was trying to do everything right.

So...I gave up the car.

That was a couple of years ago.

I now rarely get into a car. I don't really have a need to...and I get terrible motion sickness anyway...so just as well.

***

This all leads me on to another matter...my work colleagues. Most of them are local...very local or local enough to not need to drive to work. Yet a substantial majority of them do. One of them lives less than a mile away. In fact...it's quicker for her to walk to work...yet she drives!

I don't understand.

And then she complains and moans about being parked into our little car park by the other cars.

My simple answer...WALK you lazy woman!

She's actually quite a lovely person...just somewhat misguided.

I don't think she takes too kindly to my cycling...or any cycling...either. She's one of those people.

Like I said, misguided and unfortunate in choice.

***

Yoops!!

That turned into a bit of a rant and a half.

I'll have nicer things to say next time.

I promise.

I've been working my way through the books I purchased on Sunday. Well...I've worked my way through one book thus far.

It's progress where I'm concerned.

I think I may have developed a fondness for the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A good thing? A bad thing? I don't know.

Not so lazy Sunday

2011-03-13T22:49:00.000Z

Some statue or another in Hyde Park...

The rain cleared up by midday and I was itching to get out. I cycled over to Hyde Park and rode around there for a bit.

I realised two things...(a) tourists on Boris bikes are scary and (b) Speaker's Corner is severely irritating.

I did however get pictures of some of the Anish Kapoor installations on my phone and toy camera...but who knows when I'll have that film developed...so here are the phone pictures:

Red blob in the middle of a small mass of water

Impressively shiny and pointy...placed in the middle of mush (because grass turns to mush after rain)

Far off in the distance...another blob...not red...

But with the hoards of people and limited space, there's only so long you can cycle around Hyde park. It's not like Richmond park.

Richmond park was far more challenging and fun.

Hyde Park was more gentle coasting while dodging people and twigs (yes, there were a lot of twigs and my wheels don't take so kindly to sharp, bumpy twigs).

Apparently there was a St. Patrick's Day parade going on, nearby, in Trafalgar Square...but, once again, like the Chinese New Year parade (which also started there)...I completely forgot and didn't go.

Oh well...no love lost I suppose.

Instead I rode up to Westfield, where I picked up some books, had a coffee and read for a while.

Short books...perfect for my poor attention span and lack of concentration.

I've started Babylon Revisited. Will try and get some regular reading done during my lunch breaks this week...as opposed to sitting at my desk and being disturbed...thus, ending up with no lunch break.

***

So...mileage covered today...just over 21miles...albeit at a slower pace than yesterday. There were good bits and there were bad bits.

Cycling on London roads is unpleasant at the best of times and I was sent into a little fit of giggles when a motorcyclist started smiling my way.

Err...it was more massive grinning than smiling...who knows why.

Maybe I was talking to myself at the lights again?

Maybe it was the look of utter misery on my face (I'm not a naturally smiley person...misery is my relaxed look).

Anyway...it was certainly more welcomed than the antics of a particular bus driver!

Yes.

Now a little rant about the bloody bus driver.

I'm on my bike...going about my business when suddenly, a big red bus beeps at me and cuts me up from the right.

He left hardly any space between the bus and myself...wedging me into a narrow space between the cruddy curb and the sides of the bus!

He then suddenly pulled into the bus stop.

Err...this all took two seconds. He could have just slowed down and stayed behind me.

But no.

Then, as I cycled passed, he waved his fist at me and yelled something.

Thankfully his window was shut.

What an aggressive little prick!

So typical of the impatient and often homicidal bus drivers of London.

I now have a ranked list of crap road users...it goes something like this:

(1) Mother's on the school run

(2) Drivers of urban tractors

(3) Bus drivers

(4) Boy racers/scummy drivers (think Honda Civic or an aged BMW of some description)

(5) Drivers of private hire vehicles

(6) Cabbies

Man with van just about misses out on my list because the above are miles ahead in crapness. I might change my mind though.

Or I might just move to a cycling utopia like the Netherlands...

***

Complaining aside, I've had quite a solitary weekend...devoid of conversation or contact with many people...despite being surrounded by so many people.

And 45miles in one weekend, for someone whose average commute during the week is only about 25miles...is quite happy inducing.

Once the weather starts perking up and I'm not having to battle the wind and second guess the rain, I'll try doing longer rides...along nicer routes.

***

Some aims for the new week:

(1) finish reading at least one book...it's a nice short 76 page book!

(2) finish knitting one foot of the pair of socks I'm working on...I only have the toe left to do.

(3) not get so irritated with people at work. Need to remember...in one ear, out the other. Also do not engage in work-place bitching!

(4) try and come to some sort of conclusion about my 'dusty pile'...I either need to let it go or seriously decide to make progress.

Ok. No point in making the list un-doable and too long.

There are other things for the list...it's just that I don't really feel like writing them out here.

Tidying my room up doesn't seem to feature in my aims...oops.

Maybe it should.

I don't know where to start with my room...it's such a mess.

I need a coat hanger...so maybe a visit to Ikea?

Things...clothes...need lifting off surfaces.

I'd like to be able to see and use my desk again.

I'd also like to be able to sit back in my big comfy chair and read.

Ah...brilliant. Light-bulb flashing moment here!

First day of the Easter holidays shall be spent spring cleaning my room.

Everything will be nice and clear for spring.

I like spring.

A much more natural new year start than a dismal day between December and January.

***

I can't remember...have I posted this video before? Sorry if I have but it's a brilliant performance. Drumming away on the guitar while it's being played is a total win for me.

If only stuck was a career, I'd really excel

2011-03-13T01:01:00.000Z

I want the blue chair...I now have a pair of shoes in that colour by the way.

Right. Where to start...I'm a bit awful at returning blog comments...so I'll start with...no...I am not married. The ring was on my left hand because the corresponding finger on my right hand seems to have been taken over by a rather nasty case of eczema.

Actually it's starting to spread to my left hand now.

Ah...the joys of worry and stress.

I never seem to be going through a bad patch of eczema when I have an appointment at the skin clinic. It's as though my skin knows when to spite me the worst.

I also seem to have some sort of 'teenage' outbreak of spots...which are so tempting to pick at! I look like a sheet of dot-to-dot mixed with patches and flakes.

It'll pass.

Ok back to marriage.

I'm not too fussed about marriage...but I hear there are financial incentives. Besides, I'm sure I'd make a great bridezilla.

No puffy white gowns on me though. No, no. Floral all the way...and I will be excluding certain members of my family...because I'm mean and don't like some people!

And some people don't like me...but I don't like them...so can live with that.

Whether they can or not...well...I really couldn't care less!

Oops...I seem to have veered off into my wider family politics. I'll stop now before I open a massive can of worms!

***

I keep seeing that bitch of a woman who pushed me. I tried to take a different route to work every day for the past couple of days...and yet...I've crossed paths with her on three occasions! And every time I passed her, my heart sank and my hands started to shake a little.

Now, on my commute to work, every time I catch a glimpse of a big black car, I keep thinking it's going to be her.

This vicious little moron has filled me with dread.

I caught her flouting another law...driving her 'tractor' and nattering away on a mobile phone. I thought I filmed her on my camera...but no such luck. It was too sunny and her windows were slightly tinted!

Bah...if only I'd had my camera on my bike the day she pushed me.

I'm guessing I'm probably going to be passing her quite a lot and there's nothing I can do about it.

This irks me.

No.

It's more than that. I feel uncomfortable sharing the roads with her.

Ugh! Plenty more where she came from though.

How unfortunate.

***

Just as I promised myself to start saving more and spending less...this happens...

But I really needed another pair of red shoes...

...and I'd been lusting over this necklace for a very long time.

I think three weeks to a month constitutes a long time. I also got myself the Bodum Travel Press.

Bodum Travel Press

I'd only gone into Whole Foods to use the toilets! But yes...this travel flask is a work of genius. Dump in your ground coffee, pour in the water and brew on the go. Plus it keeps your tea/coffee piping hot for around two whole hours.

I love it.

I may now need the normal Bodum Travel flask.

Everyone should run out and buy one of these. Worth every single penny I think and ever so stylish.

***

Today having been Saturday...although I think it's now Sunday...but anyway...I cycled to Richmond park and all the way around it and back home again.

It only worked out to a total of just over 23 miles and took just under two hours.

What??

It felt like so much more (distance wise) though.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

Somewhere at the top of Richmond

The deer at Richmond park

They suddenly got up and started galloping off

Putting my feet up for a few minutes

Coffee stop on the back home

***

Sunday will be a lazy day. Or maybe not. Either way...I think it will be raining. Maybe I'll just watch the rain. No coffee & knit Sunday this week.

I'll daydream about taking a trip to far off lands on board a massive container ship instead.

It sounds much better than a cruise liner...far more exotic.

Hmmm...a job at Maersk would be nice.

On the topic of work, jobs and education...I feel like I'm back at square one.

Twenty seven.

Growing older by the day.

Still confused.

This is why I'd gladly settle for being a housewife...but that's kind of out of the question.

So the stress continues and the eczema flares up.

That passing comment from years ago still resonating in my mind...'you're one of those confused people'. Cheers to the woman that made that comment stick in my head.

She got it spot on.

I go on about being confused and not knowing what I want to do, yet seem to be completely unable to take action and change things.

Everyone else I know or went to school with, seems to be light years ahead of me...and I'm just...stuck.

If only stuck was a career. I'd really excel. I'd outdo every other 'stucker'.

I need a career...but right now I seem to be unable to concentrate on the simplest of things. Even something as simple as writing a blog entry...it was comfortably Saturday when I started writing this...and now...we're into Sunday!

It takes me about three hours to watch a programme that's about an hour long. Don't even get me started on films...it will take me a few days to watch just one film...unless I'm at the cinema and have no control over pausing...but I seem to drift off to another place quite a lot.

Books? I have no concentration span.

But I'm going to go to the library on Monday. I'm going borrow a book and I'm going to finish it. I'm going to try.

I may fail miserably.

I don't know how I manage to get anything done at work. I'm so behind with some things and catching up seems so impossible.

Ho hum. What am I going to do with myself?

***

La-di-da-da. And with all the negativity and catastrophic thinking...I almost forgot something good. My all time favourite band are coming to London in three months time.

I now have tickets to go and see Low play at the Barbican in June. Woohoo. I'm excited.

To me, they are absolutely amazing. You might not agree...but I just can't get enough of their music...so listen away if you wish...

Oh what a headache...

2011-03-07T02:21:00.000Z

So, after receiving a call on Saturday morning (yes a SATURDAY...weekend day...I didn't even know the police in the office worked that day!), things have been sorted regarding the incident on Thursday.
The police now have the vile woman's details and will be sending her a letter. She will also go down on their records as a suspect (whatever that means). They won't be going to see her in person because they 'do not have enough officers' and they won't be pushing things further because I wasn't 'physically injured'.
So a letter it is.
I'm ok with that as long as she gets the message...which she probably won't. I just hope our paths never cross again...which they, unfortunately, may do if that particular route is one she takes regularly!
Oh well...such is life.
Deal with it an move on.

My poor laptop has also been sorted out...thankfully. And I have some extra ram in there too. I can notice the difference.

The weekend.
Yes.
It's over now and I am wide awake (thanks to a long nap I had earlier).
Oh, how will I ever get up for work?
So yes.
This weekend.
On Saturday we went to Camden. Le other half wanted to buy some jeans from some shop...and they didn't have his size.
I, however, did manage to get the ring I'd been lusting over.

The silver ring I'd been lusting over...from some stall (Camden Lock Market)

I saw yet another twin of my bike...or maybe it was the same one I'd spotted in Camden a few weeks ago...

Bike twin...albeit with ugly saddle and manky tyres...and a chain in desperate need of a clean!

(Oh...and yes...those dots all over the floor are blobs of spat out gum...nice...huh?)

I didn't cycle there. I had to make a compromise. The other half doesn't cycle and is not likely to mount a bike any time soon. So we took the tube. Plus...Camden isn't exactly the sort of place that fills me with joy when it comes to locking up my bike...especially on a weekend!

Camden...heading off...

Saw this at the tube station and found it rather amusing...'Mess Room'...was then informed by the other half that it was some sort of Naval term...Kind of killed the funny element then!

His & Hers coffee at Tapped & Packed...I just had to take him there...

Some crazy bike bike locking up antics. I like.

It's been so cold lately...it's almost as though we've regressed back to full-on winter!

Anyway...Sunday.

Sunday was meant to be Coffee & Knitting with my friend. We had a place all planned out...a new place for us to have a coffee, natter away and carry on with some knitting.

But...

Genius here went and kind of ruined that.

Well, we still met up...

Let me explain...

I cycled into Central London. Pulled up to a Sheffield stand to lock my bike up. Reached for my pocket to get my keys out and realised that I'd left my keys at home!

GREAT!

I was bursting for the toilet, cold and had no way of getting my lock onto my bike!

I ended up running along to the nearest bike shop to buy another lock.

You can never have too many locks.

Ho hum.

I did however, get myself a nice new pair of shoes to cheer myself up...from the children's department of John Lewis.

Hah. My feet are small enough to buy kids shoes and pay far less.

Gloat. Gloat. Gloat.

In other news, it seems as though, here in London, a lot of pedestrians are clearly suicidal and the bus drivers and drivers of urban tractors homicidal!

Why are some pedestrians unable to use the crossing when it's less than a metre away from where they are standing?

Why must they jump out in front of me when the clearly stood back to let the car zoom past?

Why did the bust driver give me way and then cut me up and try to squish me?

Why on earth did the driver of the urban tractor pull such a stupid move? Would it have killed him to have waited for the car in front to turn before he moved off?

Apparently...so instead, he suddenly pulled out in front of me.

And the answer I got...'Sorry. I didn't see you. Sorry.'

I don't want an apology. I just want to be more careful. Use your eyes. Look back at your blind spot. Then you won't have anything to be sorry about.

***

This coming Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday. I'm going to make everyone have pancakes for dinner. That's the plan.

Must remember to go by some plain flour.

Must also try and remember my keys!

Keys.

For once...

2011-03-03T20:00:00.001Z

Yep. For once it's not me with a virus...it's my poor laptop. So here I am blogging from my phone as a friend attempts to 'heal' my poor laptop.

I chased a beautiful sunset yesterday. Have inserted a photo of it...but seeing as this is on my phone, I'm not sure where in the post it's going to show up.
Ah...and after months of not having gone to my local cycling campaign meeting, I made it to the one last night!
Still wish there were more women and younger people who attended.

Then I welcomed Thursday...today...one day away from the start of the weekend.
WARNING...RANT ON THE WAY...
Yep. So it was that this morning, I left the house nice and early, full of energy and enthusiasm...on my bike.
I was half way to work and stopped at a junction, waiting for a clearing to turn right.
A clearing opened up and the next car seemed far away. I made my move, turned right...then signalled to move towards the left...as I needed to take the next road left!
See...nothing wrong there.
The car that had been far off, had somehow (speeding!) Ended up right behind me and had to use its brakes! Shock horror...surly big, burly cars (glorified) tractors should never have to slow down for anything?
I thought the big car behind me would safely overtake me...oh how wrong was I...

The driver was quick to cut me up, pull down her window and proceed to yell, scream and swear at me...all while her little son sat in the back of the car!
I told her I had done nothing wrong and for her to mind her language...and that she was clearly speeding if she had to slow down that much.
Ms. Mental didn't take too kindly to my obvious logic and continued to cut me up, yell and swear.
Then when stopped in some traffic, she got out of her tractor, stood in front of me and continued being a total psycho-bitch! Finger wagging so close to my face, I told her to back off. Psycho-bitch then shoved me...yup...pushed me!
At which point, I took down her number plate and said I would report her...which I did.

Another driver had to get out of his car and usher her back into her car.
My only guess is that, this being after 9am...she was somewhat late driving her child to school.
Solution: get up earlier, leave the house earlier...or just live with being late. It's really not the end of the world if you're a bit late...don't take it out on innocent people and you won't have police knocking at your door!
Simple really.

This set the tone for the rest of my day...pretty Crap!

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And the rain came tumbling down...

2011-02-27T16:43:00.000Z

...Actually, it poured. It poured rather heavily!
As I cycled back home, after having collected my bike yesterday, the heavens opened up and drizzle turned into an all mighty downpour.
Thank goodness I now have aluminium rims and functioning brake pads...with the ones on the front wheel being absolutely superb.
I can now actually come to a complete stop when it is raining!
Phew...

***

I spied this on my walk to the station:

Shepherd's Bush never fails to entertain me. His harem trousers were out of this world...and that utility belt/harness...well you should of seen it from the front!

I would have loved to have managed to get a photo from the front...however, I fear I may have been totally mutilated if I'd tried.

The man was huge...many, many times my size.

But his get-up was intriguing.

I like it when something puts a smile on my face when it's wet and miserable outside (and I happen to be waling in that wet and miserableness outside).

What excited me even more was catching a glimpse of my West London cycling hero...Mr Yeti Cyclist.

Mr Yeti Cyclist...West London's answer to...I don't know what (I was hoping to have some witty words to put here...but don't)!

This man is brilliant (to me). He's old and still cycles. He carries the most awesome animal skin bag on his back...it's like a whole animal just emptied out (hence the Yeti name).

I saw him again as I was cycling back home...much later in the day...in the pouring rain.

One day I'll get a clear picture of him and his most awesome animal bag...one day...

Now if you thought Mr Yetti Cyclist was awesome...you've clearly yet to hear about my local gardener. He rides a bike too...and carries along his lawnmower, chainsaw/hedge-cutter and and a myriad of shears and gardening tools...whistling tunes as he precariously clutches his implements and cycles at the same time.

***

Today has been pretty much like yesterday in terms of weather...drizzle followed by rain...followed by heavy downpour...decorated with miserably grey skies.

Horrible.

Ugly.

We've hit a drizzly, miserable patch.

***

My no-baking lasted all of one day!

I baked a loaf of bread today...but...that's not exactly baking as such...is it?

I've been trying to convince my mother to give up buying ready bread...be it your bog standard loaf of Hovis or Kingsmill or whatever...or even from the supermarket 'bakery'.

I don't think it's going to wash with her.

Nothing ever seems to.

I can't get any of my family to cycle, convert to wholegrain rice or pasta...nothing...nada!

Am the odd one out here...the official family black sheep...and somehow I'm content with being 'different'.

It takes far too much effort and energy to try and blend in...be like the rest.

I'll stick to being lazy and being me...even if it does irritate the family.

***

After a whole week off, it's back to work tomorrow.

Oh boy.

The thought of going back to work makes me want to hide under my duvet...or better yet...when cycling to work...to just keep pedalling on...past the gates at work...and on to pastures new.

If only...

Ideally, I'd love to skip country...go somewhere new.

Start fresh.

From scratch.

This, however, will never happen because I do not have the balls to make it happen...err...or the funds...

***

A little bit of evil...

A little bit of everything

2011-02-26T10:31:00.000Z

Coffee yesterday was accompanied by this pretty squirrel spoon...

My bike was finally booked into the workshop to have the wheels changed. Turns out it's only the front ones that actually need changing.

Rear ones (which I had changed recently) are alloy...aluminium...whatever...already. A sarcastic thumbs up to the people who changed it and then then told me it was steel!

Ah well, at least it's one less thing that needs doing and one less cost to incur.

But you know...after I dropped my bike off yesterday, I kind of felt lost without poor Alison by my side.

I walked the streets of Central London a lost person. I had cycling lights, a helmet and cycling shoes...yet no bike...and was heading towards a tube station!

Dreaded public transport.

Well...I didn't particularly feel like walking seven and a half miles home with the bag full shopping I'd done on my way to the station.

Topping up my Oyster Card.

Fiver on by card.

Add some by loose change.

Doink!

Change goes through and pops out the other end...

In again...

Doink...and again...

It took too long and the transaction was cancelled.

The stupid machine ate up the 50p that actually went through.

I walked over to one of the station attendants...'The ticket machine just held on to my money'

After some questions and them finding out that it was only 50p, I was greeted with blank stares and dirty looks.

'I want my 50p back please'

Was passed onto another attendant and after some dilly dallying and signing a receipt, I got my 50p back!

Oh why couldn't it have been like this a couple of weeks ago when the ticket reader overcharged me a good few pounds...to the maximum amount of £7 I believe?

Oddly enough, there was a piece on BBC London's evening news about Oyster Cards and customers being overcharged...by millions and millions in 2010.

I believe a good £65.8million!

So for this and all the times I've been overcharged or had my money gobbled up by ticket machines...TFL (Transport for London) I sincerely HATE you with all my heart!

With the Olympics coming to London in 2012 and the in massive influx of people for that short period, I can only imagine the sort of killing TFL will be making by overcharging and 'technical' errors.

And of course...unsuspecting, inexperienced visitors are more likely to make Oyster Card mistakes, leading to overcharging. These short-term visitors are also far less likely to want to call up or chase up...or even notice their being overcharged.

Once again...TFL, I HATE you.

Oh joy...in just a little while, I'll be taking the tube to go and be reunited with Alison (the bike) again. Hmm...maybe I should just leave earlier and walk. It will take me like two hours...right?

I'll see once I'm done typing here.

***

Another reason I hate TFL. I've mentioned the lack of decent bicycle parking facilities at my local tube station before. I have pictures to illustrate this...

See the mass of empty space there? Well, some years ago, there used to be bicycle parking facilities in that spot. TFL removed this and replaced it with empty space!

Bikes are now chained to the railings outside...
Way to go TFL/local council!

***

Other things I saw whilst out and about yesterday...

The flowers on my road only grow more beautiful by the day...

Another Pederson Bicycle...so elegant in every way...

Err...poor bike...the stole everything. At least they left the forks...but maybe it would have been kinder to take those too...what scum-bags!

***

Peanut butter and chocolate muffin/cupcake things...

After a succession of disastrous baking attempts recently, this time my baking went well. But as of now, I'm giving up baking for the foreseeable future.

I'm also giving up cooking.

End of.

I'll prepare my own food...just no more cooking for the family or baking.

It's too time consuming...and frankly...I need to be putting my time into other (more important/urgent) matters.

Here's the recipe for the Peanut butter and chocolate muffin/cupcake thingies...

Ingredients:

2 eggs

250g self-raising flour

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g sugar (I used demerara sugar)

A few table spoons of cocoa powder

2 tsp of baking powder

A couple of drops of vanilla extract

About half a glass of milk (or however much is needed to soften up the mixture)

A dollop of cream cheese

Peanut butter (crunchy or smooth) to taste (I used crunchy)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 and line your baking tray with the muffin/cupcake cases.

2. Cream together the sugar and butter then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in a couple of drops of vanilla extract.

3. Mix together the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and sift into the mixture a little at a time, mixing in well between adds.

4. Add milk to the mixture to soften (so it's more like cupcake mix rather than dough) and mix in a dollop of cream cheese (if you feel like it).

5. Mix in a table spoon or two (or three) of peanut butter.

6. Fill the muffin/cupcake cases about 3/4 full and place in oven to bake for around 25 minutes (or until they are ready...really depends on your oven...check with a skewer or knife...if mixture sticks to the skewer or knife, then they are not ready yet).

7. Allow to cool then add the topping.

The topping: Spread on a bit of peanut butter then sprinkle on crushed up Crunchie chocolate bar (or anything else you'd like to use).

There you have it...my last bake for a long while!

***

I Googled 'squirrel' and came across this. Apparently people were going nuts for squirrel pasty...

***

Right...on to more pressing matters...

Do I pull on a pair of trousers...toss on a dress...or put on a skirt? There's also the option of shorts.

Am in such an irritable mood and just cannot choose...

Maybe I should be a proper crazy person for the day and wear all of the above together...

***

Grandaddy- Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)

I think the sun messed with my head...

2011-02-24T23:31:00.000Z

There's a cow on that balcony...

I cycled myself into Central London today...in the hopes of having my wheels changed.

Hopes and dreams of new (less slippy) wheels were somewhat quashed when (a) mechanic was off ill (although there was another one there) and (b) parts were not there.

Will hopefully have this done tomorrow.

Parts are now there and new wheels will be built up.

Phew.

Fingers crossed.

Anyway...I didn't mind at all that I didn't get new wheels. The weather was far too lovely.

Sunshine.

Warmth.

Sitting out under the sun on a park bench.

Walking around.

Cycling about.

Having coffee.

Having yet more coffee...

Coffee number one was a coffee on the go. Neat cup...ehh??

Coffee number two...

I saw some police action being exerted on a postman...

Police action on postman...

Handcuffs.

Crowds.

Lots of police.

Police cars.

Turns out Mr Postman had only been thieving from the post.

Not very exciting after all.

On another police-related matter...

Cycling home, I stopped at some red lights. Made my way forward to the advanced stop line (you know...that little extra box...painted green with a large bicycle print in it).

Mr Cabbie crept into ASL box.

Then...Police car (yes...the law itself!) drove straight into the ASL box and stopped at the line!

Pointed this out to Mr Police man...

Only to be met with: 'Well there's no one in front of me'

Uuhhaa...how about me...on a bike...

Plus...should you, Mr Policeman, not be setting an example to the rest of the population???

Grrr...

Not impressed.

Given that the weather was so lovely today, there were a lot more people out on their bikes...

Most noticeable...a shed load of bicycle messengers.

Surly there can't be that many of them...

Hmmm...

My particular favourites are the ones on cargo bikes...

Pretty green bike...I like green...

What happened to the rest of this bike? Or did someone just lock up a basic frame? Am I missing something? Please enlighten me...

No Lycra here...

I struggle to come to terms with why some people find it necessary to clad themselves in cycling Lycra for getting about town. It's not like they're doing a sportive.

Normal clothes work absolutely fine...especially in thin layers...strip off as you go along and get warmer...

***

I was in a stupidly happy mood today...but now? I'm not so sure any more. I think all that sunshine and fair weather must have messed with my head.

I don't know.

Things are never as they seem.

To have the option of an invisibility cloak at hand would be nice.

Every time I felt uncomfortable...woosh...invisibility cloak on and bam...

I'd be invisible.

Shame you can't make yourself invisible from your own thoughts/from yourself.

That would be even more useful.

Ick...ack...

I'm making no sense.

This is all nonsense.

I don't know what to say...other than most of what I say is absolute rubbish...

Go figure...

***

Oh wait...I do have something to blabber about...

Veganism.

I went into a bookshop today...to pass some time. I picked up a book on being vegan and vegan living.

It quickly dawned on me that it's a load of crap (in my opinion).

I'm sorry if that offended anyone who is a vegan.

I doubt any vegans actually read my blabber.

Oh wait...not many eyes pass by my blabber...so it's ok.

Veganism = a load of tosh!

There we go...

Blunt.

Tofu or any other food will not replace cheese.

Tofu is tofu.

Any other food is any other food.

One cannot be the other.

You cannot substitute...

Only attempt to emulate.

If you choose not to eat animal products, then why try to emulate them?

Plus...I quite like my leather and suede shoes.

I also like my beeswax beauty products.

I also like to knit with wool...and like the feel of soft, soft silk against my skin.

Vegetarian...I can do...and have done (in the past) for many years.

Vegan...err...hell no!

I sometimes walk...

2011-02-23T23:26:00.000Z

Walking into town today

No sooner had the throat infection cleared up...I now have some sinus thing. I think the throat infection only cleared up in time for my appointment with the GP.

It's just all so irritating.

This has been going on for too many months.

I'll feel great for a couple of weeks...then bam...I'm struck with one lurgy or another.

Tried to rest a bit today and then there came a point where I couldn't take it any longer.

Wellies pulled on and umbrella packed, I headed into town on foot.

I spied some interesting things on my outing.

First up...this clock...

Dumped...

Then it was some bike lusting...

Peugeot Mixte...not too fond of the flat bars...but it was some mixte love was in order...

Next up was this sturdy workhorse...

A red Kronan bike...they are Swedish don't you know...

Next up...possibly the most uninspiring bicycle parking I've ever seen...

Uninspiring bicycle parking...as provided by a local church...

Yes. It was bicycle parking provided by a local church and rose just above the ankles.

You'd struggle to lock anything more than one wheel to one of these.

Why do some companies even bother selling such poor things?

Ah well...at least this church attempted to try and provide some sort of locking up facilities.

***

I may not have cycled today...but I did cycle myself to High Street Kensington to meet a friend yesterday.

It was a nice cycle and lots of cycle parking available.

Thank you High Street Kensington!

However, it's possibly best to empty you bladder before you head off on your bike. Every dip and bump in the road was paaaainful.

Maybe it's good conditioning.

Maybe it's not.

Whatever...

***

Tomorrow I'm getting new wheels for Alison. Nice new alloy wheels. Will hopefully have the brake pads replaced too.

I hope I'm not disappointed and this is the right move to make.

If' you've tried braking with steel rims when it's raining...you'll understand why I am having this done.

I want to hold on to the steel rims and 'do' something with them...decoration of some sort?

Maybe tip it on it's side, hang it up and use it as a sock drying hanger.

Most probably just clutter yet another corner of my room.

Sheesh...I'm such a hoarder.

Either way...going to have my wheels changed means that I get to go into Central London...which in return...means that I can go to Tapped & Packed for a coffee!

Mmmm...nice coffee...

***

I want to get some new handlebar tape too...

These ones are flowery...oooh...

Floral handlebar tape

Pretty...pretty...pretty. And I quite like grey. It makes a change from black...without being too outlandish and colourful.

I'll progress to outlandish and colourful at some point down the line...just not yet.

Right now, I just want grey and floral...

***

Our fridge-freezer died today. I opened the freezer to dripping! I'm kind of hoping this means we get to go shopping for a new fridge-freezer.

I like hunting down new home appliances.

***

Here's some Hefner...

The days of indi love songs are no longer...but I'm still rediscovering with a pile of old cd's from years gone by.

Saturday, Sunday & Monday...bad memory. WARNING...epic long post!

2011-02-21T21:51:00.000Z

Haven Green as seen through my eyes...

Oh wow...it's only Monday and I'm struggling to remember what I did on Saturday. That's why I initially started journalling and then blogging...to counteract my bad memory and also vent any frustrations...andy anything inbetween.

The weekend was fairly quiet and uneventful. Saturday was the weekly supermarket shopping (hell & torture all rolled into one)...followed by Sunday, where I walked into town (local) and then [literally] walked back home. Other than getting a few supplies...I had nothing else to do and didn't feel like plonking myself down for a coffee for one. In any case, I couldn't decide on a coffee shop...so home I plodded...music in ears.

Saturday

Sunday's initial dress...which made me do this...so I changed into the below...

Hat and scarf added for venturing out...walking is so much colder than cycling...

Today...cycling and narrowly avoiding having to put on the oh-so-attractive waterproofs!

The friend and I didn't have our Knitting & Coffee Sunday as planned. The place we planned on going to was closed on a Sunday...so we went today instead.

Just as well I have the week off work.

We went to Tapped & Packed in Fitzrovia. Brilliant coffee place where you can get a decent brewed coffee...however...no toilets!!

Tapped & Packed

Coffee (Nicaraguan, brewed and drip filtered), Knitting and Sugar (if you so wish)...

Absolutely loved the coffee here and the food, although a bit on the sparse side (it is a coffee place after all) looked tasty too.

Must try lunch here at some point.

This is definitely a place I will be returning too on a regular basis.

I quite liked their oddball collection of spoons...and there was a pretty old bike outside too (total plus points where I'm concerned).

Aside from the lack of toilets, it is also a rather small place...so make sure you get there before the lunchtime rush!

Go.

Go visit and drink lots of tasty coffee.

I urge you to visit!

It's worth it just for the coffee.

***

Here's how far I've gotten with my knitting so far. Nice alpaca yarn...so very soft and luxurious

***

Also popped into Velorution to see about the alloy wheels for my bike. Am going to drop my bike off later on in the week to have the wheels changed.

Goodbye steel...hello alloy...and...most importantly safety.

I endeavour great things from alloy rims...namely being able to brake when it's raining!

I'm sticking with the 27" though.

Less hassle and it's already costing me an arm and a leg anyway...I really don't want to be adding to that cost further.

Not at this moment in time.

27" alloys will do me fine for now.

At least I get to keep the same tubes and tyres. One less thing to worry about.

Eeek!

I can't wait.

I might even treat myself and the bike to some nice floral embossed handlebar tape.

Watch this space.

***

A Pedersen Bicycle

Saw this beauty locked up outside Velorution...then saw more inside.

It's a Pedersen.

I'd love to test ride one at some point.

The saddle is hammock-like, absorbing all of the shock.

There were many nice bikes to lust over...

Velorution being another place worth a visit if you ever pop over into Central London...and just so happen to love bikes...especially pretty ones!

On a side note...some interesting Pedersen facts (taken from Cyclopedia, William Fotheringham):

Named after the Danish inventor Mikael Pedersen, who first made similar 'safety' type bikes.
Pedersen lost his thriving business due to poor business practices.
He was reduced to selling matches and later, upon his death, buried in a pauper's grave.

Poor Mr Pedersen.

***

On another poor note...

Saw this sad sight at the corner of Regent street and Great Castle Street (just off Oxford Circus):

Poor mangled up bike (with rusty chain in need of a good service) with this note attached to the seat...

At least someone had the decency to leave this note...

How on earth did the taxi manage to mount the pavement?? I'm guessing it ended up knocking the bike over badly as it's only chained poorly to the lamp-post.

Ho hum.

What can I say!

***

MY RANT OF THE DAY:

On my way cycling home, as I was going down The Vale on the Uxbridge Road (in crActon)...some moronic thing in a car decided to pull up too close behind me and beep at me.

Moi?

Well...I stupidly flipped him off...gave him the finger!

Then the pikey moron decided to try and squish me between his car and the curb...all whilst playing with his mobile phone.

I tried to stop...then he slowed down and started to back up a bit!

Then I tried to move on from the right...thinking that the moron was stopping at the curbside...only for him to try and ram me off my bike (still playing with mobile phone here).

He then proceeded to pull his window down...spit towards me (and woefully miss...because pikey morons have poor aim) and blurt some sort of words out to me.

I only managed to make out 'mum' and 'pussy'. The rest of what he said was...well...I really couldn't make it out!
Pikey morons also, clearly, lack the ability to speak clearly or coherently...so how he managed to obtain a driving license (assuming he had one) is beyond me!!!!

Ah...this is where my helmet cam would have been useful...because, other than flip him off (ONCE), I did nothing wrong!
Argh...
What an absolute arse...

Cake baking fail...possibly...

2011-02-19T02:38:00.000Z

I baked a cake. It didn't turn out great...just ok. I let mediocre cake cool. I poured jelly on mediocre cake and stuck it in fridge.
Two minutes later, I look in the fridge to find that said cake had absorbed all the liquid jelly like a sponge.
Should have used some common sense there and let jelly set slightly.
Should have also used common sense and added a 'buffer' layer between cake and jelly to further reduce absorption of jelly.
Now I have this soft sponge thing sitting in the fridge, saturated with liquid jelly.
I'll let it set and see what it's like then.
It may end up in the bin.
No worries.
I'll bake another cake and do it right this time.
Trial and error.

***

This past week has been a rather peculiar week. For four out of the five working days, I've worn trousers!

This was Thursday and Friday:

Thursday

Friday

This is some sort of record for me. Four whole days in a row!

Hmm...not sure what to make of trousers...other than they are utterly uncomfortable for cycling in.

Anyway...no work next week. So I don't really have to worry about what to wear.

Phew!

However, looking at the weather forecast for the following week doesn't exactly fill me with joy.
Rain. Rain. Rain.

***

On Matters of Sleep...

I'm so tired.

Probably a good sign as it's now far gone past two in the morning.

But sometimes it's more effort to go to sleep than it is to just stay awake.

Getting up and preparing to go to sleep can kill your sleep.

It kills my sleep.

I'm then suddenly left not feeling tired any more.

***

I'm actually starting to type gibberish...so this is probably a good place to STOP.

Here's some music to listen to...

I've been rediscovering a lot of music from a bygone time...my bygone time...and this is another rediscovery...

Improvising...

2011-02-16T22:42:00.000Z

Coffee & Knitting

Just finished watching the new series of Masterchef. It's one of only a handful of shows/programmes I watch on the telly.

Not a big fan of the telly here.

Sometimes...I'd rather watch paint dry.

In the meantime, I've had some coffee and done some knitting.

Socks for myself with some soft, self-striping yarn (I'm fairly sure it's alpaca...I kind of lost the label) from i knit london on these amazing square needles.

***

This reminds me...this week's Knitting Sunday is going to be awesome. I'm not going to say much...other than I am super excited and have high expectations of the café we shall be going to!

Coffee lover heaven.

Having a choice of coffee bean and roast.

Choosing your method of brewing.

Excited much?

***

A three or four year old child did this...have no idea which child it was...but hey, if you can't find the cap to the pen then improvise!

***

Worn to work today...

I don't usually wear trousers...but have found myself wearing them more and more over the past three weeks or so. Still not very comfortable to cycle in...but hey...it's all about variety and ten minutes of discomfort isn't exactly going to kill me (I hope not anyway).

This particular pair of trousers are super uncomfortable though...they have no stretch whatsoever and are a pain to get on.

Kind of reminds me of that one episode of The Mighty Boosh (The Chokes)...here...watch from 0:50min.
By all means, watch the entire episode...or even better...go get the dvd box set. It's absolutely brilliant!
But yeah...the whole trousers too tight thing reminded me of this episode:

Weight gain makes it somewhat difficult to squeeze into clothes you bought when you were trimmer. And cycling everywhere only serves to thicken the legs further...
As long as it's all muscle and not flab...right?
Right.

***

Anyway...anyway...anyway...

Moving well away from all that...it's time for some music.

More rediscovery.

I need to dig this out again and put it on my ipod.

Just the music to dance down the road to...because walking like a normal person is just not good enough!

***

Oh...I almost forgot.

I've been wanting have Alison (beloved bike) re-painted. Stumbled upon this place (Armourtex Ltd) some time ago on another blog.

My only problems now are...(a) deciding on a new colour and (b) finding a workshop somewhere where they will strip my bike down and then do a partial re-build after the frame and forks have been painted.

Maybe I'll pop along to Armourtex some time, within the next couple of weeks...to have a poke at colours and whatnot.

Err...maybe I should call them or email them first though.

Alison will only start to rust and weaken if I don't do something to save her poor soul very soon.

A sure sign of spring...a bit prematurely...

2011-02-15T18:20:00.000Z

The mandatory annual foot flower photo...

It's become something on an annual must. As soon as the flowers spring up from between the blades of grass...I jump in and take a photo with my feet/shoes.

I think the flowers came out super early this year. January has barely parted and we're still in the grips of winter...yet...somehow, flowers and blossoms seem to be sprouting out from nowhere.

Crazy.

It would take one unfortunately frosty morning to kill most of them off.

Anyway...I had my sick day off work yesterday. Wallowed in pain until about 12pm then got bored and was dragged out by the lure of brilliant blue skies and sunshine.

It was worth it.

Today was back to work...though I didn't last long before general crappy ill feeling set in and I cycled myself home...via the GP surgery...(drizzled all the way)...

Which happened to be shut for a luxury two hour lunch break!

*Sigh*

It's not as if I was going to get an appointment for any time this week.

My neck and throat are in pain. Maybe it's mumps...maybe it's a throat infection...maybe...maybe I'm just being a complete hypochondriac.

*Goes to Google symptoms of mumps*

Swelling...I don't know but it sure does hurt to swallow and is hot and generally painful.

Headache...tick.

Joint pain...tick.

Nausea...no.

Mild abdominal pain...tick.

Fatigue...tick.

Loss of appetite...I'm far too greedy for this to ever happen (even when really ill!)

High temperature...hmm...my neck feels really warm. Does that count?

Eek! My ears started hurting earlier...

Ok...calm down me.

Overreacting here. It's probably a slight throat infection...if even that. But on the other hand...if it is mumps...I shall be infecting everyone around me...mwahaha.

Will call GP now...

Surprised and shocked that I actually got an appointment for this week. Though, as usual, receptionist was dull and slightly rude and gp (probably not the same one as before) will be equally indifferent and dismissive!

And this is the only GP surgery within my 'catchment' area. Grr. I miss my old GP.

Err...I'll probably be perfectly fine come Friday. Ah well.

Panic over.

***

Clothes for today...Woollen dress, dotty tights, woollen cardi (plus lots of under-layers...yes it's still cold enough to double up on tights and tops)

***

Couldn't decide which piece of music to share this time. This little gem won. It's short and sweet...and takes me back many years.
Ah. The joys of rediscovery!