Results for the August (2)Writing Competition

The entrants this time around are:

Janus http://vikinggoodtoo.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/the-bet/

O Zangado https://boadiceaschariot.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/salop-aug-cw-2/

Isobel http://wp.me/pMKim-dt

the royalist https://boadiceaschariot.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/showdown-at-horseless-gulch-august-cw2/

Araminta https://boadiceaschariot.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/council-house-blues-the-ballad-of-sharon-and-kev/

Bilby https://boadiceaschariot.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/possum-with-thanks-to-val-for-the-inspiration/

The parameters  were as follows:

1.an argument of any sort.

2. a childhood memory and

3. a phrase (or saying /quotation /word) which is particular to your family.

Deadline midnight GMT on 31st August 2010.

Continue reading “Results for the August (2)Writing Competition”

Hurrah for the helmet.

Ok, it may seem like I’m constantly blithering on about the bliss-out effects of cycling blah, blah, etc, etc ad infinitum but I also concede that it’s not without its occasional mishaps.

Mountainbiking is arguably more hazard-strewn than the routine road commute. There’s mud, rocks, exposed roots and twisty gnarly descents in them thar hills. Plenty to stop you in your tracks, in other words. Having said that, it’s probably a bit more comfy to be wiped outby a malevolent branch in the spokes than it is to be knocked sideways by a people-carrier driven by a reckless, stressed mother late for the school run. Continue reading “Hurrah for the helmet.”

Lousy Logic

As a toper I confess to being bemused and irritated by the plan to place a minimum price on alcohol. Perhaps I am speaking out of turn, given that I live in France, where I have never seen a display of public drunkeness, but it is the unfairness that irritates. Why should people who can handle their drink be penalised because a bunch of meat-heads cause problems? Why not target the culprits with minimum penalties for their misbehaviour, and leave Joe and Nelly Bloggs to have their quiet snifter in peace, and at a price they can afford?

A summer holiday

I have recently returned from a trip to the UK and Europe. I was gone for 5 weeks. Although it was the depths of winter, the weather was warm (26 deg) and sunny when I left Cape Town. I flew BA into terminal 5 at Heathrow, where I was met by a friend who drove me into London for a spot of breakfast. The great thing about flying that route is that there is no jet lag. Despite the long flight, 12 hours, give or take, the time difference is only one hour and thus one is able to sleep through the night. Even though I am tall, 1.93m, (6’ 4”), I found the leg room to be adequate and though I know it is unfashionable to say so, I rather enjoy airline food. Continue reading “A summer holiday”

Mine Rescue

This illustration from Le Figaro explains in detail how the trapped men are to be rescued, if all goes to plan. The first phase has begun, drilling a guide hole 38cm across, to be widened to 66cm. The drilling progresses at between 8 and 15 metres a day, and the depth is 700 metres. The trapped men will work to clear the debris as it falls, moving it into the tunnels. When the shaft is complete, phase 2 begins. A small container capable of holding one man at a time will be lowered. The journey to the surface for each man will take 3 hours, so the rescue of all the men will take 3 to 5 days.