North America 5   The Pick Up    Dawn hasn't broken yet, I'm lying quietly listening to the sad sound of the freight trains klaxon and hoping that the bike is what I expect.  To calm my jagged nerves I delved back into Ray Davies...

        North America 4          Entraining to the Land of Oh My Guouod  ALL ABOARD the Cascades   Went with my hosts to some friends dinner party, everyone behaved immaculately. Canadians seem to have a quiet modesty about them. Makes me feel a little gross....

This is the outfit that is fitting me up with my new mount that I've come 6000 miles to collect         What do you do on a Friday?Bike Friday Newsletter #72May 2015           May is BIKE MONTHShare the Joy of CyclingBike Friday Owners Earn...

North America 3           The Skylark has landed.   I must mention another movie I watched Whiplash . My dad was a drummer and he had a gig in a famous night club in the West End , and a few weeks later it received a direct...

North America 2    On Board the Canadian Skylark   Just before I left home I found another fairly Green ( new and mindful )  blog www.mindfulriot.com A  peddling feminist ,not piddling , I hasn't to add , whose syntax is more twisted than mine. I think she lives in Baltimore ,...

North America  ( 1 )                             Getting it Together When you decide to travel independently of agents or groups, the planning becomes a creative, exciting experience. Now that we have the Internet at our finger tips, it's amazingly...

April Happenings part 8   Birthday Menu Being a bit of a foody and having my brother around , the birthday tea became quite high, though hash brownies weren't offered. But here is a list of what was. ( this should interest my son, making hay/wine in NZ )  Breads: Rye-wholemeal-fruit...

April Happenings  part 7   We're having wonderful clear frosty mornings, and I tried a walking meditation and heard my first Cuckoo. I also took off my slippers and walked barefoot on the icy grass. I read about this Tibetan practice somewhere , but I'm getting too old ,or I don't...

April Happenings part 6   I've been watching a series about BA the airline , not the sheep, with horror, it seems that the management attitude towards the cabin crew is as bad as ever. Let me tell you a little story of mine. Coming off a night flight from Delhi...

April happenings part 5    Before catching the train to London to hear  my favourite song writer, I popped into the art gallery in Chichester , I'm a member, to catch their latest haul. This English artist Leon Underwood enlisted in the camouflage corps in WW1 . And he did the...

April Happenings part 4   Post, post Easter Had a bit of surprise when I arrived at the monastery on my Sunday walk from Stedham, loads of cars and Thai visitors, it's the Asian New year and the food was up a notch. Once again the sun shone down upon the...

     Should we Apologise ?   I checked in the dictionary and there are two contradictory definitions !  1) to offer defensive arguments ,to make excuses 2) to acknowledge and express regret for a fault without defence.      And there is also the   Apologist  one who apologises for...

April happenings part 3   Post Easter frolics I've started an early morning swim , and if you arrive before 9am you have free use of the sauna and jaccusi , which makes my visit to Leslie, who has early stages of dementia even more pleasant . Though when I arrived he burst...

Is it always for the Best ? Blessing in Disguise , One door closes another one Opens,   I'd like to explore through my experiences and people I have met ( and hopefully any comments that you contribute ) , whether there is any truth or relevance in this statement. When...

April Happenings  Part 2     Easter Frolics First I have a confession the lettuce miracle is over, it lasted one night only ( I have a ton of the stuff in the fridge ) but the good news is that if I follow Mr. K advice , and go over...

Urban Icons  ----Hokusai says---my friend Mike   My friend Mike is a very creative chap and the pictures he takes of the streets we walk on , but very rarely notice ( unless you trip and fall ) are remarkable. He also is a poet and offered up this piece, from...

Around Australia and a bit of Japan by Brompton  wow factor 91/2 /10 Winter 2012 I decided to get a three stopover round-the-world job first leg Hong Kong . When I first visited HK in the sixties as a BOAC steward though it already was this amazing emporium , you could...

April Happenings   Part 1 I thought I would give a monthly report on what's going on in this little corner of England , West Sussex is  nestled against Hampshire and Surrey.  I could present in the style of Garrison Keillor, " Welcome to Stedaaam , where the men are upright...

Though I haven't cycled in Africa , I did visit Kenya, Nigeria , Ghana and Libya when I was an Air Steward. On a night flight to Entebbe I noticed a Christian Monk on board and he came up to the galley to have a chat, as he noticed I seemed...

Precept ( 8 )  Going Alone: an in -depth look at non-attachment   This really is the very big one in our lives. On a cycle ride there is a lot of stimulation with new countries ,people and cities to visit. But in this Blog I want to explore what loneliness...