I posted yesterday that my super duper bike Merlin had a problem yesterday. Cable doing the gears snapped (it had worn out with all these miles I have been clocking up and hills climbed) and this cable is an internal cable! So it currently being repaired so having to revert to another bike  “Gringolet” for a few days. It is named after a horse-so I think we will do famous horses tonight for the quiz!

I have been writing my story and I did go down a blind alley and got stuck for a while but I think I may of resolved that. The bike rides help you go over your ideas.

A first yesterday we had a Hobby fly over the house (when I say a first I mean the first time I’ve seen one!)

Answer from Yesterday  (questions might reflect my generation!)

a) “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton)    b) “All Along the Watchtower”  by Dylan but covered by many including Hendrix  c) “Watching the Detectives” by Elvis Costello d) “Can’t Buy Me Love” by the Beatles     e)”Common People” by Pulp  

Horse quiz  (name the owner/rider of the first four horses)

a) Gringolet    b) Copenhagen   c) Shadowfax   d) Bucephalus   e) name the winged horse from Greek Mythology?

I wanted a song about bicycles because my number one bike “Merlin” suffered a mishap yesterday the bike is black not silver. However the Hawkwind classic will do for today’s  title.

Talking about Hawkwind it did trigger a memory. So I thought I would once again revisit my youth in this blog. In my home town Hitchin there was a ballroom called The Hermitage affectionately called “The Herm” where many bands played at weekends. Hawkwind was one of them. When I was in the sixth form my pal Nick and I couldn’t usually afford the cost of the ticket so we had to be imaginative. We would go round the back of the venue when bands arrived and offered to help carrying in the equipment (a sort of roadie), it worked a treat and got into many gigs. One memorable night was when the Afro/Caribbean band Osibisa  came to play they unusually had two white roadies that night and no one questioned us! I was lucky growing up in Hitchin at that time because music was very much centre stage of youth culture and we would have rock bands playing at The Herm and had a fantastic folk club in another part of town that is still going! So I saw many up and coming bands and singers of both genres! Picture from below has just been sent to me even though it is cricket ( a house match at school) the hair goes with era I’ve written about-compare that hair style with the one in the recent picture of me playing cricket (well about 12 years ago) in a previous blog!!!!!

News on the Podcast -will take quite a bit of time now on editing (Dan is doing this). We have a couple more bits of recording to add as well.

Quiz for today are all  music lyrics (name the song and the artist/s)

a) “What’ll you do when you get lonely and no-one’s waiting by your side?”   b) “There must be some kind of way outta here, said the joker to the thief”   c) “Nice girls not one with a defect, cellophane shrink-wrapped so correct….”.d) “I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright…...”e) “She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge….”

Another wind themed title today thank you David Bowie. On my exercise today I used it to fly down the A38 and tried to come back with some sort of shelter with mixed success.

I apologise there is no Quiz today (will try and remedy this tomorrow) we have a family Zoom tonight and I also need to have a conversation later with the other half of Two Severn Bores Dan, about our podcast. I listened to the first part earlier and it was encouraging but we have one or two wrinkles to iron out. Clare when she listened didn’t believe the voice she heard was me not sure who she thought it was! Anyway a picture of Dan below we used this one for some publicity last year he does look brooding doesn’t he-perhaps he is thinking “What have I got myself in with this Story Telling Bloke!”

The nickname I gave  our leader yesterday (I may of heard it somewhere else) Mr Wiffle/Waffle was about right after last night’s address to us all. Why didn’t they introduce quarantine on flights 5 weeks ago? Why no acknowledgement of mistakes! Does make me cross!  It is significant that the two wide boy populist leaders in the world are where the most deaths are- I think both were slow to react-still enough of that! No political comments on the present crisis tomorrow I promiose!!!!!

With the change in the weather I thought we had better have a wind song title-I’ve done the two Dylan ones in previous blogs, so Donavan has the honour today! My goodness a shock to the system going for my walk today wearing shorts! Not many new birds to report but the lake near home had twelve Common Terns and a couple of hundred Swifts. I am hoping when Mr Wiffle/Waffle (our leader)  speaks later there will be some relaxation on the exercise rules. I have either cycled or gone for a walk with my binoculars on different days. I am hoping I might be able to do both on the same day! Fingers crossed.

Yesterday’s answers (no new quiz on Sundays)

a) Kitty Hawk North Carolina is where the first powered flight took place  b) Liverpool Road, Manchester was the first railway station c) Igor Sikorsky invented the first helicopter d) Karl Benz is acknowledged as making the first car but there were others at the same time  e) Turin is the base for Fiat

As life on one level appears to be on hold it does mean we can look back. So I thought I would give you little snippets of my past that may or may not of contributed to me becoming a Story Teller.

I mentioned a couple of days ago Laurie Lee so I thought I would give you an insight to events leading up to me getting a teaching job in Gloucestershire. As I left college in the mid seventies the country was struggling with its finances (it was just after the three day week and the world had an oil crisis) so public spending was being squeezed. Teaching jobs were like gold dust and often there were a 100 plus applications for one job. I was struggling to find employment and was prepared to go anywhere in the country that would have me! I was rather arrogant about some of the jobs I saw in the Times Educational Supplement and the summer was dragging on and I hadn’t got a job. I saw the job in Stroud and I had never ever been there before but I had read Cider with Rosie so I thought why not it sounds an interesting place and my parents were nagging me about jobs.

I was called for interview in early August (you can tell time was running out for me and there were of course no children in school), First dilemma was how to get there for first thing on a Tuesday-I wasn’t keen on an overnight stay my parents said they would have a day out and drive me there and pick me up later (remember there were no mobile phones then or Sat Navs ). So an early morning drive with a few arguments over directions the nerves jangling frequent glances at my watch soon the distinctive Cotswold Stone buildings loomed either side of us a real contrast to North Hertfordshire we were used to.

I was deposited just in time in the Church Street public car park opposite the school. Wearing my tight fitting suit and tie neatly in position (thanks Mum) I entered. I was met by the ball of energy that was Madge the Headteacher, there were six all male candidates in those days you were all there at the same time not necessarily any gender balance. Interview and presentation  went OK. Lunch was Steak and Kidney pie  (I wasn’t a vegetarian then) and I was hungry following my early start and I tucked in. We were asked did we want seconds all my fellow interviewees declined politely so I said “Yes Please!” I was full of praise for the pie I hadn’t realised it was Madge’s own cooking. I got the job and later my parents who were waiting in the car park were invited in to see the school. The joke for the years afterwards was that I only got the job because I asked for seconds of the Head’s cooking!

I think the above illustrates that era but also the idiosyncratic Headteacher that I first worked for but who taught me so much. It certainly was a different world I was moving to!

Yesterday’s answers

a) 5th July 1948 the NHS came into being  b) 19th January 1944 was the Butler Education Act which meant free secondary education for all pupils  c) There were the two times Jenner first administered his Smallpox Vaccine  d) Penicillin was invented in 1928  e) 3rd Dec 1967 was the first heart transplant.

Today’s question is all on transport

a) where did the Wright Brothers make the first powered flight?  b) where is the first ever train station?   c) Who designed the first helicopter?   d) Who is recognised as designing the first car?  e) which city is Fiat based?

We had a small street party today (with physical distancing)-not sure our singing would win any prizes! However, it was a quintessentially British celebration and we all enjoyed it. Ironically we see more of our neighbours to chat to (from a distance) than we did when life was normal.

Yesterday’s Quiz on Laurie Lee/Gloucestershire

a) Laurie took a violin with him when he left home   b) He joined the International Brigade  c) As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning  d) Counties that border Gloucestershire (old version) Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire, Monmouthshire and Bristol/Somerset e) Actor Simon Pegg grew up in Gloucestershire

I decided to pick significant dates in History that are not connected with war/battles (I seem to know so many of those ) so these dates have been for the greater good.

a) What came into being on the 5th July 1948?  b) What significant act of parliament was passed on the 19th Jan 1944  c) What was significant for health by the  two dates May14th and July 1st 1796?  d) What year was penicillin discovered?  e) What first took place on the 3rd December 1967?

Thought Don Henly’s song would be a good choice for today’s title. It has been a gorgeous summer day. I thoroughly enjoyed my  cycle ride especially as there was no wind! I am running out of different places to ride-so today I went up to Painswick from Upton St Leonards because I knew the road wouldn’t be that busy (wouldn’t normally try it)and I found a different route from there to the Slad Valley (those of you not familiar with Gloucestershire Geography was made  famous by the book Cider with Rosie).

Talking of Cider with Rosie when I first came to Gloucestershire I stayed with the school secretary for a fortnight till I got somewhere and she was at school with Laurie Lee -I did ask her if she was Rosie-she if I remember gave an enigmatic answer! When I first lived in Stroud and I didn’t know anyone in those early months so on a Sunday I would often walk in the Slad Valley and frequently saw Laurie in the Woolpack.

Yesterday’s Quiz answers on Climbers -all answers have connections with the Himalayas.

a) Tenzing Norgay accompanied Edmund Hillary to the summit of Everest   b) Reinhold Messner did the first solo of Everest without oxygen  c) George Mallory and “Sandy” Irvine disappeared on the 1924 expedition (Into the Silence is an excellent book on that expedition)   d) Joe Brown died this year    e) Sherpas are the Nepalese people famed for living in the Himalayas.

Today’s questions are all connected with Laurie Lee or Gloucestershire

a) What instrument did he take with him when he left Gloucestershire?   b) What organisation did he join in Spain in 1937 ?  c)  “As I walked out………………”(fill in the missing three words for one of his books   d) What seven (old style counties) border Gloucestershire ?   e) What actor who starred in Hot Fuzz grew up in Gloucestershire?

Another snippet from my St Helenian adventure is all about how one spent the leisure hours on a small island in the middle of the South Atlantic. The great thing when I was there was that my working day really did finish by 4 p.m. (all preparation for our work with teachers had been done back in the UK so it wasn’t like being at home where I would invariably be in school to some ridiculous hour). I managed plenty of reading while I was there as well as the ship! Weekends on the island were also free-no planning to do etc. With the nature of the isolation you had to find things to do -I did have an ambition to play cricket on the island but their season had finished-so dashing my hope of being an international cricketer-that came later! I obviously visited all the historical sites on the island sometimes two or three times. I took part in a couple of Hash Trails-this involves  running following a trail marked by flour but with many false ones and dead ends. You end up drinking beer at the end it has been called by people  “a drinking club with a running problem”. This was good fun and a great social activity.

We often joined a group that did hikes across to various parts of the island and had a picnic.  We followed old fishing paths that were not marked on the map. It was on one of these walks where we met JJ a charismatic Geordie (he was engineer) who liked to make the walks more adventurous by carrying some ropes with him so we could climb. Some snippets from my journal

“………the six of us walked along a precarious and slippery ridge till we reached the end of the peninsula. We took it turns to go down to a rock platform fractionally above sea level. Great fun dropping down and climbing back up. Stetson suggested we go back over the top. Slightly apprehensive I followed closely up a steep incline that involved some serious scrambling. Soaking with sweat and aching limbs  we eventually met up with the others…………..An exhilarating day, I felt I had rediscovered a missing fragment of my youth!”

“………we had walked out and around Turks Cap (a rock formation that looked like a gigantic hat-I did have a picture of it in a past blog)…. we slid down on the rope to the beach and spent time climbing the rocks as the sea would crash around you. We made our way out to Barnes Rock but even JJ thought it was too dangerous to proceed because the waves were so large (No RNLI or mountain rescue here). There had been one precarious moment when I dangled precariously over the foaming ocean below …….”  The pictures below between the quiz questions is JJ by the sea and me on High Hill!

Yesterday’s Cake Quiz Answers

a) Ice cream is the filling in Baked Alaska  b) The ancient Greeks started the tradition of candles on birthday cakes    c) Marie  Antoinette allegedly said “Let them eat cake”   d) Miss Havisham  let the wedding cake to decay  e) Easter is the time for Simnel cake

Today’s Quiz (thought we would do famous mountaineers as I mentioned climbing in the blog)

a) Who accompanied Edmund Hillary to the summit of Everest in 1953?  b) Who made the first solo climb of Everest without oxygen?   c) Who disappeared on Everest in 1924? (there are two answers-one will do!)   d) Which well known British climber died this year- he was 89?   e) What is the name given to the Nepalese group of famed climbers? 

One of my favourite choices of food from a coffee shop when on a ride is a tasty cheese scone. I made a batch at the weekend (a National Trust recipe-sometimes do Felicity  Cloake recipe). Obviously I can’t stop for a cake or scone at the moment so have to eat at home. So you can guess what the quiz is going to be today!

Before we do quizzes I was pleased to see a couple of Hobbies flying. it was my third attempt to see one! Picture below (not mine!)

Yesterday’s Answers on Trains

a) Cairngorm Mountain Railway .is the highest in the UK   b) Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9 and three quarters   c) The National Railway Museum is in York  d) Charles Dickens wrote the Signal Man  e) The train that was robbed in 1963 was coming from Glasgow and was held up in Buckinghamshire

Cake Quiz Questions

a) What is the filling in a Baked Alaska?     b) Which ancient civilization started the tradition of putting candles on a birthday cake?  c) Who is alleged to of said “Let them eat cake!”   d) What well known Dickens character had a wedding cake seeming to grow like a “black fungus”   e) What time of the year might you eat a Simnel Cake?

Today’s title is from the Duckworth Lewis Method their amusing song about “the ball of the century” from Shane Warne in 1993. I thought we should have a song about cricket as we are now in May! I’ve also included a proud parental picture -it was the first time I had ever played men’s cricket with both my boys David and Peter (I think Peter was 9 at the time). Cricket is a special sport because it does give the opportunity for parents and children to play together-that was a friendly game, later we did manage to play a few league games together.

Another touch of summer today, well sound of summer! Four swifts came screaming over my head this morning. I did see my first swifts a couple of weeks ago but that sound is to me so evocative of summer.

Today’s Quiz was inspired by today’s Exercise Ride. I saw a train as I pedalled over a bridge. So all the questions have a train theme. I hope you are all impressed by the diverse thematic questions! If you look back through the blogs you will be able to see all those questions-it is always a challenge for me thinking of a theme.

a) Opened in 2001 name the highest railway in the U.K.   b) Which platform at Kings Cross did the Hogwarts Express leave from?     c) What city is the National Railway Museum in?   d) Who wrote the Signal Man?    e) The train involved in the Great Train Robbery in 1963 was travelling from what city? And which county was it stopped by the robbers?