Velo 100

Here I am crossing the finish line at the Birmingham 100 mile ride last week: just about recovered.

Beer Festival

The annual York Beer Festival, which Danielle and I really love, took place last week. We went with long time companion Patrick and had a good time. As you can see it is very popular, but never horribly crowded; just a really good event.

Through The Roof

Sitting outside having breakfast in Budapest I looked up and saw this shot through the "roof". I like it.

DNA

You may remember that Danielle got a DNA test on the dog, to find out his [very] mixed heritage. Milo was 25% Alsatian, 25% Labrador, 25% Australian Cattle Dot, 25% Unknown.

I had my DNA analysed and very interesting it was too. Here are the results:

53.5% Irish, Scottish & Welsh

25.7% Scandinavian

10.1% Sardinian

4.6% Greek

3.2% Balkan

2.9% English

So I have barely any English heritage at all; it all makes sense to me. The 10% Sardinian is  intriguing, actually it is all intriguing.

Danielle next.

Just to remind you, this is what that mix looks like [selfie in Budapest with Rowan].

Velo Birmingham

My preparation for the 100 mile sponsored ride from Birmingham yesterday was mixed. The good side was that many kind friends and family helped me exceed my sponsorship target for Alzheimer's UK in memory of my mother.
On the down side:  a) my bruised ribs from falling down the stairs has only just got better, b) I got diagnosed with a patch of skin cancer on my temple last week, so have been applying topical cream all week, and feeling a bit worried about it. c) I had a virus that has had me coughing for the past two weeks.
So I started the ride with some trepidation. But it was great. 15,000 cyclists, closed roads, really supportive local people cheering us on [whizzing through Bewdley the whole town was packed with people cheering us on, high speed high fiving, and calling our names - printed on our numbers]. There were plenty of people in villages who had set up free drinks and cakes for us on impromptu stalls - "It's like the Tour de France isn't it". An uplifting event. My time was 6hrs 16minutes which was not too bad. I came in the top 23% of the field, which I am pleased with: there were not a lot of old folk there!

The Cave

We are standing near the entrance to the Kirkdale Cave. We met a man who had "been down over 500 times". The chances of either Milo or myself going down once are non-existent; I think it great that people go down there, just not me.

Second Year

I took Rowan down to Leamington Spa where she has a room in a student house for her second year at Warwick. All seems good.

Honey

The final honey harvest of the year took place at the weekend. The total harvest for the year has been 25.4 kg, which is pretty good.

Pete is researching a book he plans to write about a scientist who investigated bones from a cave at Kirkdale in the North York Moors. So we took him to have a look. The river was in spate; we are standing in front of what is normally a ford but was totally impassable.

Artillery is Live

My work is available for rent via Artillery at https://www.facebook.com/pg/theartillery.co.uk/shop/
Scroll down and have a look.

 Me with Emilie-Rose and Ails, the two women who set up the project.

Bees

Ro and Pete came to stay for the weekend after their Wolds Way walk. Saturday we went to the Antiquarian Book Fair at the racecourse [the biggest in Europe apparently]. This was for Pete's research purposes, although Rosemary and I were the ones who ended up buying something there. I got a c1900 cycling map for York and surrounds; it is a lovely thing for which I inadvertently haggled the price down.
We then walked into York and in the Museum Gardens I tried out the slow motion video camera on my phone for the first time on these bees. They could be our bees as the Museum is well within the 3 mile radius that they can fly to.
In the evening Dave and Emma came round to eat with us all.

Myton on Swale

Work is busy at the moment, so getting in any training for my 100 mile ride for Alzheimer's UK next week is tricky. I rode on an off-road loop to Pilmoor last week; there were some beautiful spots on the way. This at Myton on Swale, a lonely spot on the site of a battle from 1319.

Budapest extra

I took this shot in Budapest; I hope it is a bit confusing. It includes Rowan, Rowan's reflection, the Parliament building reflection, a pool, and some lighting.

Milo Drinks

I have been busy working in the North West this week, so Rowan has been on Milo walking duty. She took this video of him drinking [tasting each trough] from the cattle trough on the moor.

Budapest 4

Our last day in the city saw us taking it all in, sitting in cafes and walking around. A great mini-break it was.

Budapest 3

Sebastiao Salgado is one of the best living photographers [I often get my students to look at his work], so it was good to see his Genesis exhibition in Budapest. Very inspiring, and great to share with Rowan who also appreciated his work. Having the gallery pretty much to ourselves was a bonus.

The Danube and Pest from the Citadel in Buda.

Budapest 2

Just walking round the city is what we like doing best. It is a fantastic middle European capital, really good to walk around. Tram, river, Rowan.

Budapest 1

Rowan and I flew from Manchester to Budapest and stayed in an AirBnB for three nights. Never been there before, and was suitably impressed. We both really loved it. The flat was right in the centre, very modern and with a view of the Dom across the road.

Through the Door

At Arras; I glanced over  and saw this through a door. I liked it.

This is the Modern World

Mother and daughter getting excited looking at dancing dogs on Snapchat.

Arras

The meal at Arras could not really be called unpretentious; but it did taste good too.

It's Cricket

There is always something satisfying about coming across a game of cricket on a warm sunny afternoon. Rowan and I passed this one down the road in Acomb. Everything in place, lovely green ground, players in whites, the sound of leather against willow [or mdf, whatever], a total of two people watching. Perfect.

Get Back

Sunday I managed to slip and fall down the stairs in spectacular fashion; net result was I strained my upper back and have been somewhat debilitated for the week. We all went a walk straight after [typically daft of me] and Milo enjoyed swimming in the Ouse on such a hot day.

Writing On The Wall

The light was casting this shadow against the wall in the dining room at Ro and Pete's house.

Rule 1: always have your camera ready to roll.

21st Wedding Anniversary

Friday was our 21st Wedding Anniversary. Went to Arras for a meal; really good restaurant, nearly as good as Skosh.

Big Foot Little Foot

Rowan took this shot of three lots of feet.