Another New Year

For the past three days I have been celebrating the Tibetan Buddhist New Year. This year is the Female Year of the Earth Ox.
I always find a New Year a time full of anticipation - it's a bit like setting off on a Backpacking trip as you never know exactly what it has in store for you. In common with lots of others, my work colleagues and I start this New Year with the threat of redundancy hanging over us. From my perspective a forced early reitirement might not be such a bad thing. On the plus side I would have lots of extra time for my various backpacking trips-walking-camping-cycling and photography.However, I would have to get by on a smaller income with which to do all these things- there is always a catch!! Hopefully we will all know our 'fate' over the next two months. I must say I will be glad when it is all sorted as work is not a nice place to be right now with the morale of the workforce ,as you would expect,very low. I feel quite excited by the uncertainty of the coming year -another rotation of the wheel of my life.

Presentation at Dorchester Hospital

Last Thursday evening the RevPro Cycling team were invited to attend Dorchester Hospital for a presentation evening. We were able to hand over a cheque to the Dorset Kidney Fund for the sum of £11783.31 Just under half the total came from our LEJOG bike ride and the rest was raised by JD and various Masonic Lodges. As well as handing over our cheque we in turn were each presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for the £5643.00 that we had raised on our End to End ride. The photo shows JD (centre) Gareth Morns (r) and myself. Dave Vaughan who was so vital on the ride in his role as support vehicle driver (and mother/nurse etc) was also at the presentation but is not shown in the photo as he is behind the camera with his finger on the button.

Music to our Ears.

Today was the first time that I have been able to get out for a 'proper' ride of more than ten miles this year. With all the bad weather we have had it has not been possible to get out for any distance. Today Gareth Morns and I managed to get out for a ride of about 35 miles cycling out to Swanage and back.
It was great to be on the bikes again and able to listen to the music of the gear change/chain /wheels etc etc. If you are not certain what sounds I am referring to just go to :
www.specialized.com/bc/microsite/holiday/.
ENJOY!!

March of Time.

Over this current winter I have certainly felt more my age. The cold weather seems to have got into my bones. Limbs that I have broken in the past have ached like crazy and I have even suffered with cold feet and chilblains on my toes.

Now I think that my brain is on the way out!!!

Some of you will remember the tale I told you of the time I was in Jessops. I completed my purchase and was just about to leave the shop when I noticed that someone had left a carrier bag on the counter. I pointed it out to the sales assistant and left the shop. About five minutes walk from the shop it dawned on me that the bag had in fact been my own - an item that I had purchased in Boots. The embarassment of going back to Jessops and having to ask for my own bag back was about as painful as it gets! OR SO I THOUGHT. Yesterday I was just about to leave work at the end of my shift when JD phoned me. I continued packing up my gear as I was speaking to him. I locked all my kit in my locker and then realised that I could not find my company issue mobile phone. As I continued the conversation with JD I opened up my locker again and went through my uniform pockets etc etc. I then went back into the office to check if the phone was there. No phone! I searched for it for a good few minutes before I realised that the phone I was looking for was in fact the phone that I was using to talk to JD with. I told JD what I had been doing during our conversation and all the other guys in the mess room just fell about laughing. The pleasure's of getting older!!