I’m sorry there was no blog on Sunday, and then two on Monday. A glitch in the system – probably the Lincoln imp, whom I met today. There’s no breakfast at the hotel, so it’s a hungry ten miles to Retford. But then a huge breakfast butty, and a proper coffee, for a fiver?! Impossible, […]
I need an early start, to get to Sheffield in time for a morning service. So I’m loading the bike while the kitchen is making me a huge bowl of porridge. It’s a blustery day, and threatening rain. I’ve cycled a whole week without any rain at all, so I can’t complain if today is
Angels on the ceiling Read More »
Bradford cathedral this morning is full of bicycles. Well, not quite full, but there are lots of us, and there’s lots of bright lycra. There is also a Bishop, a Dean, and a Lord Mayor. (I asked a uniformed official if he was in charge of the Mayor. No, he said; he was in charge
Joining the CCR Relay Read More »
I’m on a bit of a deadline today. 41 miles might not sound like a lot, but I’ve got to do it all by lunchtime, in order to be in Bradford ready to perform early this afternoon. That rather relies on nothing going seriously astray. I learnt my lesson about main roads the other day;
Watching the clock Read More »
No cycling today, other than a bit of parading through York, to the Minster and back. But I’m fielding radio interview requests from early morning – including more than one where the suggestion is that I “just pop into the studio”, 200 miles away. Those weren’t the only misunderstandings. I was denied entry to the
If this is what you call a rest day… Read More »
Yorkshire, I’m told, is God’s own country. There’s a cartoon showing the Almighty, during COVID, leaning on a gate in the Dales. When a passing dog walker asks God what he’s doing, the reply is , “working from home.” Yes, it’s very pretty; the sun is shining, but not so much as to make it
Don’t look at the bunch of keys – they’re just there for scale. Look at the tiny tack. It took me nearly an hour this morning to locate the cause of the flat tyre, rectify it, and get on the road. I was expecting a difficult day – communication with Durham cathedral has been less
Difficulties in Durham Read More »
I nearly missed it. Trying to follow an approved cycle track beside a main road should be straightforward. But the convolutions it performs at junctions, and the need to look out for sudden crossovers, means I can only look up briefly and riskily. And then suddenly here I am, almost at the foot of Anthony
Angels in the North Read More »
My Mam was a Geordie, though you wouldn’t know it if you met her as an adult. Like many of her generation, she emigrated to the Big Smoke as soon as she decently could, looking for escape and opportunity. And as quickly as she could she lost the Geordie accent. So heading for Newcastle upon
There’s a lot of preparation involved in an undertaking like this. It’s a pilgrimage, of course, so there are those who say the only preparation that counts is on your knees – saying your prayers. But I don’t want to neglect other aspects of preparation. The Bach Cello Suites aren’t exactly Grade 2 material, so
