triangle

The room squeaked like that scene close to the end of Kubrick's 2001 movie.

I was here to hand over the keys from The Car That had Gone Too Far.

Still only 123,000 miles and looking good, but a tad expensive over the last year with various springs, computers, exhausts and other incomprehensible pieces creating the situation for substitution.

I signed paperwork and was shown a set of manuals weighing a kilo before being offered a run through of how the replacement worked. I decided it might be easiest to drive it and figure out the buttonage later.

One of my first passengers noticed the occasional little orange triangles in the mirrors. Could it be a reference to a novel?

audible intake of breath

woodpecker - I know where you live

Jack Frost had done the rounds this morning and I decided that long fingered gloves would be best for cycling. There was a sharpness in the air and I could see the steam from my breath even before I'd started any pedalling.

A combination of sunshine and the icing sugar frost sprinkled across the landscape will probably guarantee the hasty departure of leaves now, although my route was still through more green than orange, rust or yellow.

Part way along, I spotted the swooping flight of a woodpecker and for the next kilometre or so it darted along the trees by the side of me flashing a red head and green body as it clung high up to the sides of trees.

I'm back indoors now, with its noticeable temperature change from outside. Next on the list is some report writing before I get myself organised for my flying visit to Dublin.

maybe not

We were chatting today about a possible car trip to Paris, in the near future.

I was a little reluctant on the idea because of the recent troubles, what with the petrol supplies being cut off and the various protests in major cities about the latest actions from the Sarkozy government.

I'm probably just unlucky in that the last two trips have both been at times when there's been some sort of major industrial protest and the tunnel and/or sea ports have been blockaded, so I've had to weave around 'Operation Stack' on the M2, just to get into France in the first place.

Come to think of it, one of the trips was also the day after my own car's front springs decided to snap, so we had to make a last minute swapover.

If we go ahead it will either be the 'rule of three' where I'm due another anxiety based visit or else everything will go completely fine.

Maybe I'll tune into TV5monde or koreus.com for a check on what they are saying about it all.

glow in my eyes

Outside, the hookahs were being passed around as we headed into this evening's venue to enjoy meze and hummus.

Inside, the dance tracks pulsated with arabic influence as the room quickly filled as more people were sucked in from the busy street.

I've spent the most time in Saudi Arabia where there's no alcohol in such places and segregated eating, so the wine list displayed prominently and the western attired Lebanese at the next table ordering champagne aperitif took a moment to register.

Otherwise the spices and flavours were a familiar flashback, as, later, was the cardamon spiced murrah coffee in the tiny cup, whisking me to middle eastern memories of clattering trains, desert picnics and mysterious meetings.

replacement

The car service department is becoming a little too familiar over the last few months.

It has pleasant seating, coffee, Wi-Fi, television, lifestyle magazines and various exhibits around the edges to view.

I've reviewed whole documents whilst sitting at the little round tables and had telephone conference calls with different parts of Europe.

They've loaned me cars whilst mine is under repair and in idle moments I've even looked at their shiny shiny cars on display in the adjacent showroom.

I suppose that's the subtle ploy to get me to realise that my current vehicle has reached the end of its fully dependable life-span. It's in until Saturday this time, to have the pipey bits re-twoggulated or something.

a late lunch and an old friend

Back on the road this week, although on Sunday we were on the way to a Jamie Oliver late lunch via an unexpected cushion shop.

The latter gave me the opportunity to slip away to an adjacent bookstore. I

t was only a few minutes before my disappearance was registered, but enough time for me to spot the little George Orwell title which I've had with me this week.

It was quite a surprise, because I thought I'd read all the readily available Orwell titles, so this was similar at a personal level to those discoveries that we read about where a new Ted Hughes manuscript or Vaughan Williams choral work is discovered.

To me, the essays in this Orwell selection come across a bit like a letter or conversation with a comfortable friend after quite a long gap. You don't have to agree with everything, but its great to hear from a strong point of view.

Actually, as I was handing over the cash, the shop assistant was equally animated about it - "Ooh - you've found that - I just read it a few days ago - its really fascinating..." etc. I'm also sure it wasn't mere salescraft but that she had already found it to be an interesting extension.

So I'm rationing my reads of it, in amongst the commercial stuff that I'm working on this week.

10/10/10 10:10:10 - cycling moment

Its one of those odd moments where I realised today was 10/10/10 and also by co-incidence I happened to take a photo at around 10:10.

I'd been out cycling and a few minutes earlier had been overtaken by a modest peloton of other and somewhat faster cyclists, led by someone who was explaining a route nearby that could be used for races.

I then turned onto the New Short-Cut which leads to the Very Steep Hill which I'd have to climb a few minutes later. The short cut is a way of missing out a big main road and substituting a leafy lane with squirrels, so pretty good news really.

Thats where the hastily grabbed photo was taken, just before The Climb Where Others Walk (they know who they are).

There's a later picture of my quick pineapple and ginger Torq Bar stop, in a small village, just before starting the homeward leg of the journey. I think I'd already taken a bite, judging by the picture.

it's got a basket, a bell that rings and things to make it look good

I popped briefly into the bike show in Earl's Court today for which they'd set up a big bicycle park outside.

Inside there was a strikingly blue carpet (more or less the main colour of the rashbre central background) and large numbers of people roaming around looking at the various equipment on display. It's ages since I've been to an Earl's Court exhibition, and I suspect the last time was for something to do with information technology.

The format seemed identical, though, with the stands, a few larger areas and some exhibits - in this case of mountain bike trails and a commuter circuit where the latest folding and fixie bikes were being pedalled around. The edges contained snack bars which I'd place in the 'absolute emergency use only' category.

There were plenty of exotic bikes on show, and lots of high tech gears and gizmos.

I'd wondered if it was going to be a small affair, but there seemed to be a largish part of the Hall set aside and in some places the crowds completely blocked the walkways.

Perhaps the combination of improving cycleways, green agenda, London Hire Scheme and similar is moving more people back onto two wheels?

five times around the earth leads me to a green teapot

So much for my big mouth.

The car's annual inspection took place today and confirms my suspicion that an ostensibly still lovely car can reach a financial break even point. I've spent quite a lot on its recent services not to mention the £1000 brake thingy that they threw in for 'free' as part of the last service.

Today's little encounter with the testing department could have cost about £50, but instead I fear it will be some higher order of magnitude.

I suppose in fairness the car has done around 120,000 miles now (thats about five times around the earth at the equator) so I guess it may need a little extra TLC (tender loving care).

Unfortunately, I don't have time for that so I suppose once it's repaired it will have to go.

I shall be driving the rashbre central green tea-pot now, until I can get a wiggle on and the other one fixed.

M3-M25-M40-M42-M6T-M6-A57

A pleasant and surprisingly traffic free round trip to the North West of England.

It was one of those occasions where I achieved mastery of the jam. I usually switch my sat-nav on for long journeys, but often choose my own route sections and let it's eternal patience reselect the route.

This journey worked well in both directions with a total of about 440 miles of UK roads without jammage.

There, I've said it, which pretty much confirms that my next journey will be a difficult one.

taxi

The water taxi was the only real time I touched the surface of the town.

It was very fast in the way that an old style Mini coupe seems fast because of the closeness to the road. In this case the speed was both spatial and temporal, because I don't think we'd have got from the harbour to the restaurant in even four times as long by road.

It turns out I wasn't the only one that hadn't been here before. Other than the local folk, it was a first for almost all of us, except my travelling colleague who'd approached the place from the sea, and carrying armaments.

The grey mists didn't help to get a sense of the geography. I could see a few cranes and tall buildings in the medium distance, and was aware that the area near where I was staying had been modernised. But apart from the evening restaurant, I didn't get a sense of the location before I bundled back into a taxi and out via a distant airport.