A Puncture Waiting To Happen

Back on the bike and on my best bike. This is because when I accidentally ran over some glass on Friday on my not-so-best bike and stopped to check that nothing was lurking in my tyre, I saw how bald the front tyre was. A puncture waiting to happen, with or without glass. So I needed to change the tyre, which I haven’t done yet.

The update on breakfast-watch is that Doggo loved his ‘cottage pie’ and licked his bowl clean. 

L emails to say she’s been for a swim, so presumably she got in and out of the pool ok as she now appears to be in work. So limbs seems to be healing ok there.

L and Daughter head over to visit L’s Dad as it’s his birthday today while I stay at home churning out paperwork for this weekend’s dog show, while chucking balls.

(Tuesday 25^th July)

Being 'Fine'

I’m the bike again, which is good, whilst L’s in the pool, which is 'fine'. Oh no, the f work. This means her injury is sore today.

I’m still cycling on my best bike as my new wheel sits in the spare room waiting to be put on. This is actually one of L’s Christmas presents to me as I bought it with the Wiggle vouchers she gave me. Such a romantic treat.

It's squash tonight to which L power walks with boyo aka MD. Hope it was better than ‘fine’. Then it’s drinks afterwards in the Navigation.

(Thursday 6^th April)

All Bright Electric

Finally, on the best bike. Yes, I’ve not fixed my other bike yet although I have ordered a new wheel for it.

Things don’t start off too well and nearly end in disaster. I get to the end of the road and no front brake! For some reason it had jammed but I soon manage to fix it.

Tonight I am up in Sheffield, at the Leadmill for the second leg of Feeder’s All Bright Electric tour. I miss tonight’s football game for that, which is annoying as when I booked tickets the match was still on the Saturday. Bloody TV games. 

Is it just my age or are lead singers getting ever younger? Once singer\guitarist Fin O’Brien announces that The Jacques are from Bristol I find myself wondering what time he had to bunk off school in order to make it to Sheffield in good time. A bit unfair really, The Jacques are not new and have being going since early 2014. 

They play a Strokes-ish indie pop that they may well have discovered at school... The fact that they've been around a while now and, despite some critical acclaim, haven't broken through is perhaps because there isn't really anything about them that stands out. They're pleasant enough but struggle to command the attention of a Feeder focused audience tonight.

At the end of their set, I mishear and I think they're about to play a cover of 'Eleanor Rigby' but it's actually one of their singles called 'Eleanor Ring Me'. Yes, it must be my age.

Age is at least something I have in common with Feeder and none of us are getting any younger. This year it's twenty years since their début album 'Polythene' and therefore roughly twenty years since I discovered them. They've aged well, probably better than me.

Despite their longevity they have always maintained that they are not a band for the nostalgia circuit but sometimes I have wondered. Yes, when they come out on tour it is always to promote a new album. So it's never just the hits but the stuff that is not new really is 'just the hits' and the post-2001 Buck Rogers breakthrough hits at that.

As someone who has invested a lot of years in the band this is frustrating and from the feedback they get on social media it's not just me tearing hair out that I can't afford to lose. So this time we hoped things might be a little, shall we say, more varied from a band who have a back catalogue of nine albums, an early EP that has acquired cult status and literally dozens of classy b-sides. Promises have been made and set list votes put up, so excitement builds.

Then the tour starts in Liverpool with the set list almost exactly the same and in exactly the same order as on the tour they did before Christmas. So excitement declines...

But then Feeder do often get more daring as they find their feet on a tour and tonight we are at Sheffield's Leadmill. My second favourite venue of all time after Nottingham’s Rock City. The Leadmill has a generous curfew for bands and tonight Feeder are about to make good use of it.

The first cause for excitement is the reinstatement of 'Shatter', last sighted in 2008 on the Silent Cry tour. It's sounding very different tonight, less meaty perhaps with a quiet build up rather than them smashing straight into it but it’s slightly more elegant I would say. Very nice.

Next surprise, the inclusion of 'Sentimental' off the Renegades album. I have nothing against 'Sentimental' but this really must be a Grant Nicholas favourite as it does crop up more often than you would expect. It wouldn't have been my choice as a surprise but any surprises are very welcome.

Then I sort of settle in and enjoy the rest of the set, not really expecting anything else to surprise me until the encore, if at all. Of the usual suspects the back to back trio of 'Come Back Around', 'Insomnia' and 'Borders' all sound rather fine tonight. The epic newbie 'Eskimo' is particularly epic and there is a surprisingly strong 'Lost and Found', it's not usually one of my favourites.

Then we're half way through the closing double of 'Just the Way I'm Feeling' and 'Buck Rogers' when there is suspicious whispering amongst the band. Nicholas announces that there has been a lot of requests for the next track on Facebook, it's an oldie off 'Echo Park', we haven't played it for ages etc, etc... and I'm think stop being a f****** tease, we all know you're just going to play 'Buck Rogers' and then leg it... but then suddenly it isn't. It's 'Turn' which they have occasionally, shall I say rarely, been playing in the encore. Now it's in the set and the evening has suddenly got rather wonderful.

Well after that, he can do what he likes with the encore. He can even play 'Tumble and Fall' if he wants but the entertainment isn’t done yet, not by a long way. I’m obviously just expecting the excellent but incredibly populous finale of 'Seven Days in the Sun' and 'Just a Day' but first the band play the rather gorgeous 'Infrared-Ultraviolet' off the new album.

So value for money then but still we aren’t done. That intro he’s playing doesn’t sound much like 'Seven Days' to me, it sounds very like 'Sweet 16'. You crafty bastard Mr Nicholas, awesome stuff. You now have one very happy punter who’ll still be smiling about this next week.

While stood at the front of the gig, a couple of friends who I haven't seen for ages appear beside me. We have a good chat at the gig and afterwards over a beer in the Sheffield Tap.

(Friday 31^st March)

Bizarre Concept

On the bike today for the first time this week but I take my best bike. This is just to make sure I get there and because it’s a lovely day which results in a lovely ride. L says that’s a bizarre concept, which is exactly my response when she says she had a lovely long swim.

L’s physio says she needs a small football for her exercises which she has to squeeze between her ankles. MD has three, so I’m sure he can loan her one. It might cause a bit of a fracas though and it would need a good bleach and scrub prior to use. After her latest treatment, acupuncture, she says her ankle now feels wonderful and is now ready to be trashed again on Sunday, as is her prerogative.

I meet L at squash and we do a dog-baton change, presumably they’re all off beat boxing again. I get slaughtered a squash and then notch up another dark one as the Eclipse Stout is on this week at the Navigation.

Then we knock back a bottle of red between us at home.

(Thursday 12^th May)

Research Purposes

I take my best bike to work as the other one is ill. Very nice it was too although it did start raining just as I got into the last mile. Everything seems to be working fine on the bike after its service last week, so now I’m all set for Sunday’s Sportive.

L reports that the Canning Circus Christmas tree is now up. Oh no.

L suggests a Caribbean meal tonight and asks how I’m fixed because she wants me concoct one. I’ll give it a go.

After a bit of investigation we decide to order a Caribbean takeaway instead, purely for research purposes you understand. So that I can see what I’m trying to concoct but then the takeaway closes before I can actually click the 'checkout' button. So we order an Indian instead which isn’t something we need to research but what the hell.

(Friday 18^th October)

What Will Go Next?

I cycle, although the ankle is still well dodgy. At least I don’t fall off the bike or anything like that. I’ve been mixing the injuries up nicely, so who knows what will go next.

In the evening I have some success in fitting my new rear wheel on my best bike, I just need to try it now although next week’s Carsington Duathlon, when I’d next hoped to use it, isn’t looking very ankle friendly at the moment.

I’d even rejoined British Triathlon especially to get the reduced entry fee, although I’ve not took the plunge and entered the duathlon yet. It’s been four years since I was last a member and I’m sure then they weren’t quite so interested in my ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and how many disabilities I have. 

British Triathlon now have their first one legged mixed race scientology following transsexual member or perhaps not. 

(Tuesday 24^th September)

Incidents We Don't Talk About

Today, on the bike, I have one of those incidents that L doesn’t allow me to talk about, which makes me a bit late for work.

I actually did a wheel change this morning and took my front wheel off my best bike because the one on the bike I commute on is so buckled. Thankfully it wasn’t that wheel, it was the rear. Probably because my tyres are so full of holes. I really must get some new ones.

It’s Yorkshire Day today. Our spy in Yorkshire (Daughter) says we should be eating pie ‘n’ peas and washing it down with Yorkshire ale. Sadly not in the Brunswick. They’ve ‘upgraded’ their food menu and have taken the pies off it. Now everything has fancy names, is twice the price and cannot possibly be delivered within the constraints of a lunch hour.

The Waterfall has already done this to us. Clearly somebody doesn’t want us to go out for lunch.

My colleague and I have a sandwich each, which they do with a side portion of chips. This delicacy costs considerably more than a generous helping of pie, chips and peas used to. How can that be right?

Tennis tonight and we have the wheelchairs ready to go just in case that particular tournament is still running but knowing our luck the centre will have been booked out by the Asian Women’s Blind Tennis Association for their annual tournament instead. I check and they haven’t, at least not this week.

So we get to play and ‘enjoy’ a rather hot game. That’s temperature wise not skill wise. Then afterwards we enjoy (without ironic quote marks) a welcome pint in the Victoria. 

(Thursday 1^st August)