On my recent trip to France, I had to hunt around in the recesses of my brain, and dust off (it was very dusty) my French speaking skills.  My cycle buddy for the holiday, Rev Rach Ward was much more confident than me and was able to hold a conversation for more than just a…

We have recently had some landscaping work done at home to try and flatten out our lawn. What I thought might be a guy with a spade and a rake, turned into 2 guys, a digger, a dumper truck and a small tractor and roller. (I think they were big boys playing with big Tonka…

One of the things cyclists, or at least me, worry about is steep hills. On my recent cycling trip, we had one day when we had to climb some 20% hills, one for around 2 miles. However, by far, the most scary experience of the whole trip was Greenhow Hill. This is the descent into…

Another incident that happened on my recent cycling adventure was meeting an obstruction in the road. We were cycling along roads in the Yorkshire Dales and a message came through that there was a lorry obstructing the road in front of us. We had to turn off onto a narrow country lane and were met…

I have just returned from a 4-day cycling trip from Morecambe to Bridlington following the Way of the Roses cycle route. There were some highs and some lows – literally, but in all it was a fantastic experience, and a great achievement for everyone who took part. Also, plenty of material for TFTD! On our…

This thought was first published on October 10th 2020 I have recently become more aware, that I am looking and sound more and more like my mother. It’s something we might look forward to or dread! My son is often referred to as a spitting image of his dad – indeed I have photos of…

Last weekend I took part in a cycling event in Oxfordshire. The intention was to cycle with my sister and her friend but at 9.30pm the night before my niece suddenly announced that she would like to join us. So, with zero training and a bike that was possibly OK we set off early the…

My son and his fiancee recently came to stay, bringing their 4 month old dog, Bill. “Mum, will you look after Bill whilst we go to a friend’s wedding, please?” How could I refuse? However, what he failed to tell us was that, looking after Bill meant him staying with us for nearly 4 whole…

Another of the highlights of my trip to Athens, (a previous TFTD mentioned the Museum of Cycladic Art), was watching the ceremonial changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The guards change every hour throughout the day, and stand absolutely still in between times, staring straight ahead. Their dress and their…

How often do we step on a metaphorical banana skin? We  think everything is going smoothly and something “trips” us up? Or we think we have the solution and it turns out not to be so? We come up against a problem and rather than face up to it, we run in the opposite direction.…