So this is really good and I'm looking forward to part 2, while wondering if Stu had a brother...?

The favourable review of a waterproof riding shirt in the same issue was intriguing.
https://www.merlinbikegear.com/product/ ... ing_shirt/

while wondering if Stu had a brother...?

Yes and a scar over my eye

Write what you know

Probably ought to be in the drinking and/or reading threads, but it'll do here because what could be more Cheery than reading and having a drink at the same time?

On holiday in Bakewell, popped out for an ice-cream - preferably something like, oh I don't know, choc chip cookie dough maybe - but had a nice walk up the river instead and unfortunately ended up at Thornbridge Brewery HQ. Luckily they had choc chip cookie dough ice-cream porter available which was an amazing coincidence.

Just finished Bob Mortimer's 'Hotel Avocado' and moved straight onto Fern Brady's memoir 'Strong Female Character'. Curiously I'm a bit of a sucker for a chunk of avocado and also for a strong female character so that's handy.

Cheery Friday to the lot o' yez.

Hmm.
Wholly sick to death of all this V********* day pish, in the words of Monty Python "But what about us Atheists!" As it happens its coming up to 15 years since my last Girlfriend departed. I am now listening to death metal whilst drinking beer

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2025 9:46 pm Hmm.
Wholly sick to death of all this V********* day pish, in the words of Monty Python "But what about us Atheists!" As it happens its coming up to 15 years since my last Girlfriend departed. I am now listening to death metal whilst drinking beer

We got tickets for Ozzy in Birmingham with Antrax, Metallica etc.. We can’t afford it but who cares

Cheery cos it's Friday but not looking very cheery this afternoon

We got tickets for Ozzy in Birmingham

Ooh don't tell Dee, she didn't.

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2025 10:11 pm

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2025 9:46 pm Hmm.
Wholly sick to death of all this V********* day pish, in the words of Monty Python "But what about us Atheists!" As it happens its coming up to 15 years since my last Girlfriend departed. I am now listening to death metal whilst drinking beer

We got tickets for Ozzy in Birmingham with Antrax, Metallica etc.. We can’t afford it but who cares

Nice! I did consider trying to get tickets, briefly...

Spontaneous meet up with Kev and Peter at Talybont earlier for a brew and breakfast - that totally made my day

€0.35 beers in Porto. I don't know nor care if it's Friday or not. Had an uncharacteristically excellent performance on the mini golf too.

By the end of this month, they’ll be nearly an extra two hours of daylight at the end of the day

Even sat out in the garden yesterday and on my short ride, I just stopped and soaked up the sun

I know it’s Sunday now, but I found out last Friday that I’ve got 24 hours of holidays left over from last years allowance. For me, that’s two days off. Again, for me on two on/six off shifts, that’s fourteen days off. To be used by the end of March.

How cheery was that?

Well that's a lot of cheeriness in the last few posts, excellent!

I had an encounter with three ladies this afternoon, whilst walking the dog, which made me very cheery.

One young lady seemed to be more experienced cyclist, taking the other two, who were clearly not cyclists, on old mountain bikes, for a little bimble.

There was much giggling, stopping, starting, pushing, slipping, sliding and squealing, huffing, puffing, working out how to work gears and brakes, and apologising to me for slowing me down on my dog walk, and explaining that they don't do this very often, and that they were fully expecting to end up in casualty by the end of the afternoon.

Our paths crossed at least half a dozen times, for reasons.above,.and we had little chats each time.

Just put a smile on my face, people having a go at cycling, and hopefully having some fun and maybe doing it again

Not so much cheery as such, more like, feck that was close...

Just spoke with my mum after yesterday's car attack in Mannheim.
She was there, and would have stepped off a tram, at the exact time, in the exact spot, where the car drove into crowds.

As it happened, the phone rang, so she was about ten minutes late leaving home. Her tram was stopped, reversed and she managed to get a taxi home as the city was locked down

But genuinely put a cheery smile on my face, went for a run yesterday morning, past the petrol station, where a lady pulled up and got out of her car, in her pyjamas. The full works though, fluffy pink slippers and dressing gown. Love it.

. Phew, cheery news on mum's part there.

I wonder if it's a coincidence that coincidences seem to happen so often .

Friday-related cheeriness here... A couple of weeks ago when it was grey and windy and about 2°C, I went to work on Friday, which I don't usually. I took that time back yesterday when it was glorious all day and 15°C in the afternoon. I met my wife for coffee and cake after she'd been to the dentist, went for a 60 mile road ride, and went out for Greek food and drinks with some friends in the evening. Nailed it! Also saw my first bees and lambs of the year.

I know I'm very lucky that I'm able to do that. My wife isn't so lucky - she works in the NHS so although she had booked leave for tomorrow, she has to work because there isn't enough staff

thenorthwind wrote: ↑Fri Mar 07, 2025 8:20 am Friday-related cheeriness here... A couple of weeks ago when it was grey and windy and about 2°C, I went to work on Friday, which I don't usually. I took that time back yesterday when it was glorious all day and 15°C in the afternoon. I met my wife for coffee and cake after she'd been to the dentist, went for a 60 mile road ride, and went out for Greek food and drinks with some friends in the evening. Nailed it! Also saw my first bees and lambs of the year.

I know I'm very lucky that I'm able to do that. My wife isn't so lucky - she works in the NHS so although she had booked leave for tomorrow, she has to work because there isn't enough staff

That sounds like a perfect day!
I've also been getting summery feelings this week over Greek food....moussaka, Greek salad, those lovely stuffed vine leaves, all that was missing was the Retsina...

I went for a run this morning. I saw 2 Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, 1 Nuthatch, some nice fungi, lichens and moss. It also started and finished at one of my favourite bakeries, so Friday cheeriness continued with cinnamon swirls.

Did you eat some of the nice funghi to see all that

Risotto or death?

Fairly cheery, finally getting rid of a dose of man flu that has made my working week a bit of a labour (but not interrupted my weekends, hurrah!) Went for an amble round many local back roads on my small capacity motorcycle in the last of the evening light, which was nice. Looking like a sunny bike ride tomorrow

Finished the latest bit of walling for my brother, turned this:
To (see next post)

To this:
Essentially the narrowest point has increased from 2.5m to 4.5m. Only taken 50 years of struggling to get machinery through it!

That's a work of art Bob