A very fine substitute for day time television is either looking out to the garden from a room indoors or sitting quietly in the garden itself.
No matter where you look, you’ll find some creature or other showing us mere human’s what survival is really about, plus of course, the characteristics they bring with that.

The Squirel is a fine example, disliked by some, seen as a pest, but a small animal which know’s it’s way around just about anywhere and can get there by all sort’s of means.

Last year the Squirrels found great pleasure in devising way’s wo get to the Wild Bird Feeder, never a moment went by where I didn’t look out and saw one hanging on it, biting it or concorting it’s body into an impossible position to get even the tiniest piece of fat ball.

It came about that between them, they made a bit of a mess of the feeder itself, so I brought it around the back of the house, into the Kitchen and set about repairing it.
Now, small a Squirrel may be, but this one certainly had a brain which could work that one out and whilst sitting at the table, glanced up to find him gazing at me through the window with an inquisitive look on his face!

This year, to avoid total annihilation of the Feder, I’ve acquired a load of too small to eat Chestnuts from over the Lane and heaped them up in the corner of the front garden.
Worked a treat, except they obviously didn’t appreciate the way I’d done it and have now made countless holes in the Lawn to bury them in!

As far as Robins go, I wonder why we assume it’s always the same one which is following us around the Garden fleeting from Wheelbarrow to gate to branch to the ground not far away from you.
It seems they’re not really hungry, just want to know what’s going on for future reference.

Magpies are another nuisance and seem to be the Hoodies of the bird world. Ginger the Cat was once stalking one, slowly edging forward with that sliht swaying of the body ready to pounce.
Mr. Magpie it seems, knew exactly what was going on, waited until the Cat was no more than 3 metres away and swooped in on him.
I have to say, I’ve seen Ginger run, but not seen what must have been a three feet high jump into the air before heading off somewhere to sulk !

We’re lucky down the Lane, beside the usual Finches, Blackbirds, Sparrows etc. we have Wren’s which are usually too quick to see in detail nesting just above the window where they balance on the TV Cable before going into the Nest, Herons, Woodpeckers and the occasional Sparrowhawk and Kingfisher.

Then there’s the Foxes of course!

But all the observations just make up for one good entertaining day and a masterclass of learning.
They don’t need Supermarkets, a work place or central heating, they just need their own little bird brains !!

Long may they continue and long may we not interfere with their ways, they were after all, here before us !

Do you remember the days when a trip to the Town Centre Shops was a reasonaably nice experience? You’d walk around in your own time, do a bit of Window Shopping, sit on a Bench maybe and watch the world go by.

Nowadays it seem’s that any Shopping trip ends up with you running the gauntlet between smiley wiley Sale’s Persons trying to get you to sign up for something, usually I’m sad to say, Charities.

I give to Charities as and when I can and fully appreciate they have to market their ‘product’. Guess it’s the old you have to spend money to make money, But I totally reject having my privacy invaded when doing something somewhere where I should be free to look round and make my own decisions.

I have a great sympathy for the youngster’s who do this work and respect they are trying to earn some money and unlike many, have made an effort to do so, but it’s hard sell and I feel sorry for them.

So you find yourself at the town centre and have to zig zag your way through like some Rugby Star going for a try.
I can get on with the Stall and the bit of Concession space within the Centre’s themselves, as long as they don’t suddenly walk out in front of me (it’s handy to have an Ice Cream in your hand when they do so).

First rant over!!

My next rant for the day is when you go to the DIY Superstores. You see them at the exit door as you walk in, the likelihood being they are either selling Double Glazing or other Insulation Products.

Why should we not be allowed to walk freely wherever we want and not have to be interfered with by people put there by large Company Managers after an extra bob or two on their retail mark ups?

Personally, if they put a donation box in the exit doorway saying ‘Please keep our Company afloat’, I’d probably put a bit of loose change in!

But, it’s not so bad as the Town Centre’s. At least with the DIY Franchise you can say ‘Sorry, I live in rented accommodation’ or ‘Oh deary me, I’ve just had mine done’.

I recall the days well when I got the phone calls at home. A good one was really going along with the Gas Company about why I should change to them, allowing them to tell me every detail of their never to be beaten offer.
“Oh yes, I’d be really interested to sign up” I’d say and get the enthusiastic “Great” from the other end obviously spoken with his fists punching the air with delight.
Then I’d come out with “So when are you laying the gas pipes down the Lane then”.

Again I’d say that I have a sympathy for those who do this work and to be honest, the one’s I’ve spoken to who do have done similar work have always said they disliked it and / or it was the only work going.

I apologize to those who do and when you see the 63 year old bloke doing a well trained run past all five of you in Ashford Town Centre, it’s probably me!

I guess it’s only natural that six month’s after completing my John O’Groats to Land’s End Cycle ride (six months and two days ago!) say “Got over your bike ride yet then Dickie?”.
Well, the answer I give is always the same….”No”, but this isn’t a no in the sense of being physically exhausted, it’s a no in so far as it has changed me in many ways.

It wasn’t so much the sense of achievement I got through the the mileage; at the end of the day, you wake up, have breakfast, get on your bike, pedal and see where you are six hours later! It was about other things…

I think the main thing and it sticks out above the rest, is it gave me hope. Hope not only for myself but passing that hope onto others who may feel that life is all downhill after you get to 60 or so.
I met so many people in their 60’s and 70’s going around on Cycles, Motorbikes, in Camper Vans, even Barges, simply enjoying themselves. Few had an actual plan, they’d just said ‘let’s go somewhere’ and they did just that, no return dates firmly fixed, just doing their own thing at their own pace.

Before I left for Scotland on that late June morning, I was seriously and foolishly thinking 1. I couldn’t do it and 2. It would probably be my last big challenge in life.
How wrong I was!
I’m already planning for 2013 when I hope to either cycle round the whole coast of Scotland (40 days or so) or taking a package Trekking holiday to the foothills of Mount Everest, a mountain which has captured my heart since, at the age of five, I saw the picture of Hilary and Tensing standing on top of it.
Whichever I don’t do in 2013, I hope to do that one in 2014.

Back to the cycle ride. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t go to Google Earth street level and re-live a few miles, stopping to pan round and thinking ‘I remember that’ and ‘where’s that strange house I saw on the lane between Kendal and Lancaster’ etc.

It really is a bit like being a child again, I go to bed and if I’ve had a stressful day, lay there and remember the people I met on the way, how much they inspired me and made me laugh; the Down the Lane Forum Members I met and had a good time with.

Most of all and apologies if I sound like I’m preaching, one should never say ‘I’ll never get around to doing that’. The moment, the dream has not gone by and even if health has intervened in an unwanted way, there are variations of that dream. If you can’t cycle that journey, do it by car or some other means. But follow that dream and face the challenges of it.

Finally, when I stood at the signpost at Land’s End and I’d felt this quite a few days previous to that, I had not felt fitter for years, I had positiveness written all over my head, I had a sense of taking a journey. It was the best thing I had done for years and I like to think it rubbed off on to other people who may have felt I was starting to graze a tad!

It did change me, I lived out a dream and since then, I’ve dreamt up a few others. It’s not ‘if’, it’s ‘when’!

John O’Groats to Land’s End by Bike - Follow the whole ride day by day with Garmin Route Maps (view on Google at Street Level) and loads of Photo’s.

..and why never to go again

Oh joy, another trip to the Supermarket today, full of the usual calamities, annoyances with a bit of a laugh thrown in between.

It all started well until I came to the M20 Roundabout. I was correctly positioned in the third from left Lane for where I wanted to go. The lights went green and the chap on my right had obviously thought it a great idea to skip from his Lane to the far left Lane for the M20 itself.
Luckily those cars to the left and myself were on the button and stopped just in time to let the fellow accross to the tune of various manufacturer’s car horns!

I parked in a fairly quiet spot within the Car Park, away from the maddening crowd and sheltered from the Sun.
After sifting through the Trolley’s to find the one which wasn’t going to take me down Aisle 4 rather than Aisle 3, I steered gracefully in and out of the Halloween Shelving which had been put there for all the kids coming in the Store and blocking the gangways for proper shoppers like most others and myself.
“No, you can’t have that” is the usual form of discussion along this part.

Off to the Cat Foods to find the one they do like on the odd occasion isn’t on Special Offer, so you weigh up the pro’s and con’s of buying another Brand and if the wastage is cost effective or not; on to the Denture Adhesive section where you get your piece of paper out and say aloud “Now, which one does Dad have, oh, must be this one”, making as sure as you can be not to whistle as you’re saying it and get sussed out.

Then you’re getting cold and once again remember what you say before every Shop, ‘take a Fleece’.

It’s about this time you think you should buy something a bit healthy looking; Cat Food, Denture Adhesive, Chocolate Digestives and Coffee don’t really tell the picture of you do they?! Anything will do, so you buy a small bag of potatoes (the posh one’s) and some Sprouts - things are looking better.

You’re also wondering by now as to why it is that 3 other people want to stand for 10 minutes staring at the things you want to look at and no matter what hints you make, they don’t move. I believe an electric shock in the floor set to 20 seconds of someone standing still would do the trick.

To the Tills! Oh, we all do it, arrive at the long Mall by the Tills and carefully calculate which queue is going to be the quickest. You see one with only three people to it, walk at a brisk pace only to find one of them appears to have a family of 15 at home and stocking up for 6 weeks.
Back you go and always come to the conclusion ‘why did I do that, by the time I’ve found one’, the long queue would have finished by then.

The queue itself can sometimes be quite interesting, especially seeing what everyone else is buying, but you get annoyed when you find the person in front of you has sent their other half off to buy the remaining four items and it’s 5 to 4 on they’re not going to get them before they come to the supposed end of the transaction. However, hearing about the Lady who lives 4 doors down’s Hospital Visit is quite informative plus the person who’s picked up the only un-marked item in the place and you have to wait for someone to get the price answering 12 other queries on the way.

It’s either that, or it’s the person who’s paying cash and will spend five minutes searching either for the exact money, or change to make it easier for the Cashier.

Have to say though, the service is extremely good. I have six items and they ask me if I need assistance with the packing. I’m always tempted to say yes and can they take it to the car for me.

Back to the car. This is when you’re expecting to find someone has parked next to you and some spoilt little Brat has swung the door open of their car and there’s a nice little dent in your door.
Today that didn’t happen, just someone who’d simply seen the space next to mine, swung accross and stopped making my reverse to the left more difficult.
That was enough. I had a Marker Pen in the car and wrote a note, sticking it to their Windscreen Wiper saying “My 7 year old Grand daughter could make a better job of parking than you”
Fearing the owner of the said car returned and happened to be a seven feet tall All-In Wrestler, I left rapidly.

Oh joy, I got home and it was time to relax, that is after I cleaned the Cat’s stomach deposit from the second and third stair’s. At least I saw it before walking on it I guess.

Oh well, soldier on.

(Disclaimer to Retailer - If you can tell which Supermarket it is - please don’t be upset, it’s not your fault!!)

In ‘Rules for Cyclists’ in the Highway Code, No.64 reads ‘You must not cycle on the pavement’.

After cycling quite a bit this year around Town, the County and then John O’Groats to Land’s End, I’ve made quite a few observations where it’s the Council’s who seem to ‘change the rule through proper sources for the safety of their Public’.

It seems to me that a Town has a cycling policy and most have made a genuine effort in making the place a better, safer and more environmentally friendly place by making space for Cyclists on busy roads where space permits, new Housing Estates usually having good Cycle Paths and making paths going accross Parks into shared space networks etc.

A fine example of ‘exception to the rule’ is the photo above. About 100 meters back from the photo and 300 meters ahead of it are proper Cycle Paths running alongside the busy Road.
It appears that when the Council found out they didn’t have sufficient space for this stretch, they simply put a Cyclists sign up for you to ride along the Pavement - certainly looks good on the Map, one continuous Path for about 3 miles.

Now, call me old fashioned, can you see the concealed driveways along this stretch, surely this makes it completely unsafe and a danger to any children who are feeling secure in the fact they are somewhere out of harms way.
For a car to get out of a driveway, the Driver has to edge onto the pavement to see what’s coming. If this happens just as little Joey or Susie are having a Sunday cycle ride with Mum and Dad, it put’s them in a very unsafe position.

Likewise, someone could be walking out their House and get run over by little Joey or Susie.

Local Councils are very keen and fall over themselves to show off a good caring environmental policy and in the main they are doing quite well considering the old infrastructure of our roads, but maybe they should also read the Highway Code before they simply send some chap around putting Cyclist signs up which could have some quite serious consequences.

I don’t like the old saying ‘We’ll have to have a Meeting about this’, but before some of these policies are put into action, maybe it’s worth asking a few keener Cyclists along to review the situation and give some feedback.

The ironic thing is that I’ve been ticked off for cycling on an almost empty pavement which was about 15 feet wide, yet I can cycle down the above pavement within the law and it’s about 4 feet wide!

Cycling has increased four fold over the last 15 or so years, so let’s make sure the roads are as safe as safe can be.

The Times they are a’changing

Now, maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong, but have 5 - 7 year olds changed a bit recently?

Here’s some typical answers to quite common questions we seem to be getting from Grandchildren of that age today.

Q. Shall we build a tree house today kids?

A. As long as we have planning permission, that sounds good Pop. Will it be substantially sound enough to hold my PC Work Station and within range of Wireless Broadband?

Q. Do you know where the Salt is kids?

A. Yes, in the cupboard next to Mummy’s Valium.

Q. Shall we have lunch.

A. OK, we’ll just wash our hands to ensure they are suitably virus free.

Q. Here’s 50p for your Piggy Bank

A. Oh, I’m afraid I only take cheques or EFT on the Internet. Paypal is an option but I’d rather avoid the delay and charges inferred.

Q. Lazy Town’s about to start on the TV

A. OK Pop, you can watch it on the other TV in the Bedroom.

Q. Shall we play Cowboys and Indians?

A. That is just so not PC Pop.?

Q. Do you like my new car?

A. Very nice, I assume it has a Catalyst Converter?

Q. Fancy a McDonalds Kid?

A. Pop, is that the way you really want us to go in life

Q. Are you sure you brushed your teeth?

A. Yes, Mummy said if we don’t we’ll end up wearing dentures just like your Grandfather.

Q. What about a walk down to the Park?

A. Yes OK then, hold on and I’ll get the SatNav

But, don’t worry, they’ll grow out of it and soon be on the PS2 with ‘Medievil Total War’ and ‘The Sims - Angry Edition’.

A thought goes through my mind about grandkids younger than that. Why do we sterilize bottles, forks, spoons and plates’ only to say not soon afterwards “Oh look at dear little Edward kissing that slug and playing with his boat in the drain overflow”?

Beats me, maybe I just forget about being young, I’m sure I must have been - once!

Could there be the slightest possibility that I’m getting past it and becoming just a tad cynical ?

The saving grace is that, one day, they’ll be just like me - poor things!

I was browsing my mind through some of the Singles of mine from days of old the other day and the thing that seemed to show up was the fact that I liked, and still do, long records.

Needless to say there are Albums of mine such as King Krimson and Pink Floyd which have tracks on them allowing you to start a track at Ashford and finish somewhere near Paris, but I’ll by-pass those!.

What attracted me to them, beside the fact I liked them of course, was the Record Players back in those days which said they could hold and automatically play 10 records usually didn’t, so being able to put a record on the turnstyle and sit down wasn’t missing too much.
Also, up to the mid 1960’s, all pop records seemed to be minus 3 minutes long, some I recall were less than 2 !

Some I had are; The House of the Rising Sun, American Pie, Hey Jude, MacArthur Park (anyone know what it’s about!!), Music, Stairway to Heaven, Riders on the Storm.

More recently, I guess Bat out of Hell was about the longest - and longer still if you got the Album version, over 10 minutes I think.

Because I’m an old miserable Git now, I can’t think of any very recent songs, released as singles that long, although I’m sure someone could put me right on that.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s a long record was one which would cause word to get round, “Have you heard Watsit by the Whoevers’, great record, 6mins 35 long.

Nowadays I have these songs put on to one CD and when I’ve finally worked out how to use my iPhone around 2018, I shall probably put them on that as well.
Long songs are for me something to get into, ‘go deep’ as we said back then.

There’s no harm in looking backwards and doesn’t every favourite song of yours have a background story to it?

Canterbury City Council in their wisdom have decided to remove most of their Street Waste Bins from the City Centre.

It appears that by doing this they are surprised that litter in the Streets has not increased and in fact has given people more incentive to take their litter home with them.

Click Here to see BBC Video

To me this sounds just a teeny weeny bit of a cop out! Why?….

Surely those who are relatively responsible people will take their litter home, they have concern and value their environment.
It may be what they want, but they’ll do their utmost to keep the Streets tidy.
However, some may err and this would obviously lead to messier outlooks.

Those people who have total disregard for rules, laws and other peoples views won’t take the slightest bit of notice of it. In fact, they won’t even notice the Bins have been taken away.
So, at best, the amount will stay the same.

Although the City Council say another reason they’re removing them is because of security and other issues, I do sense a slight tongue in cheek to the statement.

Canterbury is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Kent and indeed, the rest of England, it’s the official Church of England Headquarters, our version of the Vatican if you like.
Surely for Tourists, especially those who are better educated in local self pride, this will seem a little odd.
Also, for them to take their litter away with them may mean a four hour Coach Trip or a journey back over the Channel.

Surely, security wise, if someone’s going to do anything, they’ll find an alternative.

Maybe I’m cynical, I was about the shared space scheme in Ashford Town Centre when it was first introduced a couple of years ago and that has actually come good and people are respecting the changes., but with Canterbury, I don’t see a very clean and tidy outlook !

I’m extremely proud to proclaim that, in my Grandchildren’s house anyway, I am now the undisputed World Champion Javelin and Discus Thrower.
Fair enough, it’s on X-Box, but a Champion is a Champion no matter what way you look at it!

Also, I’m a pretty good handler of both Sonic Racing and Mario Karts on the WII as well, coming in a close second place to the vastly more experienced Grandson who plays it in his sleep as well.

So, the point is, there seems to be an assumpton that anyone over 40 or so, either can’t play PC and Console Games, or is simply no good at it. At 63, I reckon I’m pretty good and I bet there’s a few more like me scattered around the Globe.

Why is it that so many things are based or even manufactured on the basis they’re just going to be played by young people?
Are we over 60’s that way out of it, past it or whatever just not up to clicking and pushing buttons on a Remote etc?

This goes further still. Why is every Contestant on any reality Show young and being selected solely on they ‘wanna be a Celeb’ interview?
I believe a ‘Big Brother’ for seniors could have quite a pull audience. Maybe they think young people are all going to go ‘urrrgh’ if they see a Pensioner flirting with another one and any hope of any Seniors actually wanting to watch the Programme wouldn’t because they’d already drank their Horlicks and gone to Bed!

Fair enough, they do put the occasional more aged Contestant into the Jungle Programme, but that seems only for a laugh as they select the ’seen as hasbeens’ from those who obviously wear a wig and have dentures.

The perception that anyone getting on in years can’t be good at some things younger people do and aren’t ‘good value’ seem to be way off the mark to me.
We may not be so good when we’re football on the Park and certainly couldn’t run a sub 10 second 100 meters, but there are many thing’s we could wipe the board with over the youngsters - even in many cases, Console Games and the like.

So, before you budding young TV Producers come up with some other new Series, think of us. We’re getting fed up with only being used for the ‘what it was like’ and ‘frugal advice for Gardeners’ tag.

All the time we’re young at heart, we’re up there with you and I challenge anyone to produce a programme in which the younger generation can see exactly what we get up to - including the flirting!!

Oh, by the way, I’ve not long completed Simpsons Hit and Run as well!

The one thing which really came over to me on whilst on my John O’Groats to Lands End Cycle Ride was that there are so many retired and ‘more senior people’ getting on tgheir bikes and enjoying life to the full.

Our culture seems to be changing, maybe it’s modern medicine keeping us going longer than before and giving us extended youth or maybe it’s a throw back from the 60’s when many of us were teenagers at about the same time and the aftermath of that led to the ‘you’re never too old’ attitude.

Certainly before I left for my trip I was slightly wary of my age and if the bones would get me there, but after even just a few miles I was seeing that the large majority of those riding around weren’t young race boys rushing up the A Roads to do it in 9 days, they were those of my age and above doing the Lanes, taking their time, but most of all enjoying themselves.

Many it seems had taken out various safeguards for their retirement. Some had come into a few bob in the bargain and some of those went straight out and either brought themselves a Camper Van or a Harley Davidson.
The trend it seems is just saying to your partner “What shall we do this week” and the reply comes back “Put the Camping Stuff on the back, hit the road and see where we end up”!!

As for the Cycling, fair enough, those of us who are retired can take our time and financially permitting up sticks and take our time doing a few routes or indeed, the End to End.

The vast majority of us have worked our lives, we’ve had Kids, raised them, probably spent a fortune on them and now find ourselves to be ourselves.

Getting on a bit is in some ways a wee bit scary, but as long as you have reasonable health and a bit of time, we can spend the Autumnal years enjoying ourselves, seeing the World and just let it go by!