oldphil

yes, I noticed the give away in your post after I replied! Old age and decrepitude beckons, methinks

Stockhill Lane houses were upgraded to indoor facilities in the early 70s onwards, at a cost of £3500 per dwelling. The Council considered it better value than demolition and re-building, a view borne out by the subsequent fiasco with the Basford tower blocks.

same here. Bagnall rd was rural then. Dad at Raleigh, mum doing Watmoughs wages. Gran lived ten doors down and did lunch (dinner,we called it) Funny how Mill street never posed a problem on the bike (heavy frame, and three speed Sturmey Archer gears) Very grateful to those days - especially considering that they fostered me.

too right. Tony Capstick has much to say on the matter (and much else besides) - a lot of which is very, very funny; on account of being utterly true.

was the home the Old Rectory, Rivergreen or Laura Chambers Lodge? Used to visit those three fortnightly to pay the residents pocket money and pick up their pension books. This was the bad old days, when the council ran all the homes. I often had to scoot out with the staff to retrieve the odd stray.

Too right. Otherwise it's "Sleeping with the Enemy" territory! Had to do a double take, Compo - thought the Christmas fairies had nicked my cupboard.

Don't give in. If you must have a packet in the house, have a packet of herbal cigarettes in. They taste awful (I thought) so they come in handy when the urge is overwhelming, but two puffs and you stub it out, and blotted out the craving. Put your fag money in a jar every day and label it with something you'd like to get (not 200 cigs!). Persevere, there's a whole new life beyond the fag packet!

That is a sobering thought - something to think about when you see parents smoking in the play areas!

My Thyroid is inactive , reading 9 instead of 0.4 to 4. Wasn't diagnosed until well after the heart attack, so the inability to function properly (at work or on the bike) was put down to the effects of the heart condition. Now manage 20+ miles on the bike every other day.Trust me, in no time at all you'll look back on it as the best thing that could have happened!

It really is the best way. I had my last ciggie April 18 2008, about half an hour prior to what went on the hospital notes as a catastrophic myocardial infarction. It was the kick up my complacent backside I needed. Stick with it. your taste buds do improve, and at some point there comes the realisation that there is a life beyond cigarettes. Good luck

Absolutely. The supermarkets have much to answer for. My dad echoed your observation, FLY2 - and he died in 1981! I'm learning to ignore the bits of life that annoy, and embrace the rest.

True. I suppose it depends which Chrismases you remember most vividly. Have to say. I've just got back from a few days in Hebden Bridge. It felt like a journey back to how I remember Autumn/Winter.

I've found that the drivers who annoy me most are either girls "driving" mini coopers or blokes keeping their heads warm in tweed caps. Not sure how many drivers I manage to annoy.

Always carry a torch, to light someone else's way

As did the Saxons. Their butchers occupied Fleisch Hewers street (flesh cutters) - The native Angles adapted it to Fletcher Gate.

gate is the Danish word for street. The Vikings got this far at one time.

many many thanks. the video makes sense of it all. plan is for the two old codgers to work our way to Lincoln tomorrow. will report back Phil

Rog, is it my imagination, or is there a cycleway along the "new" dualled stretch of the A46? can't see it properly from the car. Now the hedge cutters are out in force, we fancy moving further along from the canal with the rides. We're ok as far as Kneeton, but can't see a friendly route past Newark. I agree with Phils observation about your possession of cojones. The traffic noise alone puts me off!

Barry Norman did, once. He made two mistakes. First he waited until Marion had consumed several "who hit Johns" ie, bourbon miniatures. Second, he chose to disparage Senator McCarthy, whom the good Duke regarded as "one of the finest Americans ever to draw breath"

be on it in a bit - just off to English Youth Ballet rehearsals

quite agree, Phil. Jonab, an evening like that would happily be my last one on this earth. The phrase gift horse in the mouth comes to mind

Because the light at the end of the tunnel is always some numpty with a torch bearing bad tidings of great sorrow. For me, "One foot in the grave" has become my autobiography.

intrigued me to the point of checking the "historic UK" website (too hot to do much else today) - brilliant article - give it a read. click on the history magazine, then history of wales, then scroll to page three "history of Patagonia"

What? men, or our nipples? I'm guessing it's to do with the point on the timeline when they're developed in the womb.

All down to the big con called globalisation. It's cheaper for the multinationals (the only ones with clout nowadays) to source all the manufacture of individual items in one place, then ship them to where they're needed. Works fine until things go wrong. Prime examples at the moment are the Co2 shortages (I thought we had too much on the planet), and the problems Brexit will cause the UK(supposedly) with the new European satnav. I reckon over the next couple of decades things will turn full circle, and we will go back to making daily walking trips to independent shops for stuff as we nee