Too long away!

Hi Folks back in the saddle again with the bike and the blog after a long silence. One of my loyal readers has been giving me a hard time for my lack of posts recently - so this should keep him happy! Lots has happened in the last few weeks; some things I will talk about and others that are best left alone! Not trying to be mysterious but this blog is about pictures and the fun things of life and I want to keep it that way - I'm sure you understand.

As the opening picture suggests, I was out for my one hour run on the bike this morning and having benefited from a self imposed diet that started last November, I could feel the benefit of being one stone lighter! With my diet, I have cut out (almost 100%) potatoes, rice, pasta and bread and these "fillers" have been replaced by salads - lots of salads! I say almost 100% as I allow myself the odd chick pea curry, cooked by my neighbour, Shobna or as cooked by myself recently. The curry is bulked out with potato so difficult to have without or a substitute. Surprisingly, I haven't really missed the "fillers" as I discover many and varied salad ingredients. Long may this continue and here's to further weight loss!

Our weather in North West London dawned cool, calm and clear - so absolutely no excuses not to get out on the bike. This morning was the first proper run since the end of October as a mixture of atrocious weather, work and sometimes total laziness kept me off the roads. I always find that the longer I leave it, the longer it will take to get back into but as I easily slipped on the shorts, I felt good. I managed the 16 mile route in just over the hour and I was delayed by a loose spoke on the front wheel, probably one of those things that happens when the bike sits for a few months. I noticed the tell-tale sound and checked it whilst stopped at lights. Easy enough to fix as I carry a spoke key but I might leave it into the Bike Shop for a tune up especially as this was the wheel I rebuilt after the bizarre hub cracking episode. Felt good to get out again and as tomorrow's weather is set fair, no reason why I won't make it two days in a row . . . as long as we don't have a repeat snowfall as illustrated below!



Shot on Monday 2nd February at 830am - three frame panoramic stitch - Canon G9.

London was paralised and most extended their weekend. Hannah managed Tuesday off as well but most struggled in to work and tried to work as normal. There was further snow on the Friday of that week and as I drove Hannah to school, I very nearly slid into the back of the car in front as we approached a roundabout. Instinctively (and probably wrongly!) I stood on the brakes and hauled on the handbrake but to no avail - the car continued to slide slowly towards the car in front. Thankfully we slid to a halt millimeters from the bumper and the person in front probably knew nothing of our mini drama.

Quaker roots

Following a recent Ulster TV programme, "Lesser Spotted Ulster" where they featured the Moyallon Quaker Meeting House, I decided to find and visit this on my next trip to Northern Ireland. As my Grandmother was a Quaker and my Father and his two brothers were educated at Friends' School, Lisburn, (a Quaker School), I have always had a connection and interest in this way of life and religious practice.

After a little online research and details from the tv programme we set off for the Gilford area south of Lurgan in Armagh and quickly arrived in the former Linen Mill town.



There was the usual toing and froing as we tried to find the location and I declined Muriel's requests to ask a "local" as they all looked a little strange and "country"!

Eventually I relented and asked three girls employed at the local petrol station and all three didn't even know what a Quaker was - not looking good. What I did ascertain was that Moyallon was north of Gilford on the Portadown road and off we went with more hope.

Without too much difficulty we found the usual brown sign announcing the whereabouts of the Meeting House and after a short drive past some newer, impressive properties we turned the corner and approached the Meeting House that dates from 1736.



As we approached the Meeting House through the modest gates, the place looked deserted but as we got out of the car and walked to the Carriage arch we heard human movement on the other side of the arch. Luckily we were greeted by Nigel who is the Warden of the Meeting House, who was only too glad to take a few moments and give us a personal guided tour of the inside of the Meeting House.



The panoramic above shows the main Meeting room, set up for the usual 20 to 30 members who meet on the first Sunday of each month. A larger and younger meeting takes place every Sunday in the nearby Lurgan but I sense that Meeting House doesn't have the same history or atmosphere.

Strange to think that by having the delays in finding the location and avoiding talking to a "local" and taking precise directions, we arrived at the Meeting House just as the Warden arrived and this gave us the guided tour. If we had arrived earlier we would have missed this experience . . .