I think I posted similar last year in this thread? Anyway a nice full to the brim Berlingo from M&S tonight on our weekly foodbank collection (bread, chilled, flowers)
MrsRNP runs a community kitchen and does 80-100 three course dinners FOC for anyone every Monday, there's food hampers to keep people going through the week.
I took the turkeys down earlier (supplied by a local butcher who does a good price) ready for Christmas day dinner. Last year she did 150 three course covers for people attending and delivered throught the valley.
I posted in another thread recently about the love our children would have had and instead MrsRNP puts it into society - this is it in action!
[url= https://i.ibb.co/sysw8Nn/IMG-9977.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/sysw8Nn/IMG-9977.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.ibb.co/86zRkb5/IMG-9976.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/86zRkb5/IMG-9976.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
You and MrsRNP are wonderful people
I'm average, MrsRNP however is an amazing human.
Happy Christmas you lot.
A massive amount of donated food at the supermarkets tonight. Probably 10+ Berlingo loads - way more than we've ever had at this time.
Done three loads tonight, called in at our fire station and gave the on call crews loads and filled their freezers.
Going back for the rest on boxing Day. Hopefully be able to distribute it but if anyone is in Rossendale or surrounding areas please get in touch.
[url= https://i.ibb.co/d5RpY0G/IMG-9991.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/d5RpY0G/IMG-9991.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.ibb.co/FBZnZSP/IMG-9992.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/FBZnZSP/IMG-9992.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.ibb.co/KwsrXF1/IMG-9993.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/KwsrXF1/IMG-9993.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Great work RNP!
I hope Bert gets to join you on the good work
Good effort! All we ever got at our Fire Station were the Red Bull girls in their ridiculous modified mini, I think they were disappointed as the whole watch was well over 40, one well over 50! They gave us crates of the horrible stuff as when they’d given it away they could go home and didn’t fancy ChezVegas on a Friday night… well done Mr and Mrs RNP and good luck with the meals tomorrow.
and good luck with the meals tomorrow.
Turkeys are in the Rationale cooking overnight. Beer time now!
[url= https://i.ibb.co/XDyrvFf/IMG-9995.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.ibb.co/XDyrvFf/IMG-9995.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
That's brilliant. I'm hoping to volunteer at either Fareshare or The Real junk food project next year. I hate food waste and really enjoy cooking and would like to combine that with helping others. Not been feeling very positive lately so need to do something to turn things around.
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this. I usually marshall this event which raises money for a great local charity, but wasn't there this year, but Craig made this lovely video showing the fantastic folk on both sides of the tape who make this kind of event so enjoyable to get involved with in any capacity.
It's just a daft piece of telly, but this made mrs_oab and i smile the last few days.
Great scenery, great locals and a dafty couple.
Watch series 2
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001v58c/episodes/guide
PSA 'planet parade' at the end of this week.
The forecast isn't looking great for a clear night, but could be a great excuse to be outdoors and see something unusual.
https://gostargazing.co.uk/2025/01/12/see-the-parade-of-planets-in-january-and-february-2025/
I was very pleased to see a Blackcap in my garden for the last couple of days. It made me smile.
A few weeks ago a young person offered me their seat while I was in a queue, very kind, but I didn’t take up the offer.
Last week while riding in a gondola, another lovely youth offered me their seat. Again I declined. But it was lovely knowing that chivalry is not dead. I told both of them how kind they were and how well brought up they were.
yes I’m officially old.
love the blackcap. We’ve had a female and male around the garden feeding lately, also siskins.
Thought I’d try a thread revival!
We bought some railings recently from Facebook marketplace, they were just what we wanted, excellent quality steel and very little in the way of alterations required for where they are going. The seller held them for us even though he was deluged with buyers, some offering several time more than the asking price! I’ve passed on the karma by giving a young couple we met at a wedding lots of free Landrover bits.
And… whilst we are on positivity, my appeal for fixings advice here on STW for those very railings was very successful, lots of helpful people. Yes, you heard correctly, lots of helpful people here on STW!!
I'd forgotten about this thread. Thank you for resurrecting it, we need it!
Mrs. 10 had her cancer caught early, before it spread and most likely won't need any further cancer treatment.
Last Sunday we were the 3rd car in a 4 car shunt. No one hurt, just lots of badly dented metal.
The guy who caused it held his hands up ehen he reported it to his insurers. We're insured through the same company so easy for us. They've been falling over themselves to get repairs underway and hire cars sorted.
He might have ruined our plans for our week off, but not trying to wriggle out of his responsibility has been very helpful to the rest of us.
I’ve twice been in a large group of people, on a beach, this week, all interacting in a positive joyful manner. From lots of different countries and continents but all happy and smiling and communicating in various languages.
So what brought these people together? Bottlenose dolphins!
During my awesomely positive experience riding a bike park with my son and his mates, I gave one of the mates a lift and put his bike on the bike rack on the back of my car. Unbeknownst to us the ratchet holding his bike worked its way loose until, at 70mph on the M27 his bike fell over! Bars hit the ground and lost about 2mm (yes this happened to me before in a slightly different way!) from the end. The lad had a terrible day after that, buggered the pinch bolt on his forks, lost a screw out of his shifter, only managed about 4 runs that day after having to visit a LBS to get the fork sorted.
Anyway, I offered to replace the damaged bars, Burgtecs. The new ones turned up today and the post person who delivered them wondered why the big box was so light. I told her the story about the bars and she was quite engaged. It was just a pleasant experience. My son's just collected the bars and told me he's going for a haircut.
Feeling a bit low today, Landrover turbo problems, the pressure of Christmas and a planned (by my sister) family gathering in January. I went out to chop logs for kindling and a Sparrowhawk chasing a Blackbird shot through a 50mm gap between me and the gate - below knee level!
How they missed me, the log store, the bins and motorhome I don’t know, isn’t the natural world amazing?
That’s my uplift that I’m going to cling to today, take care y’all.
😀 Love that! It's the kind of thing to suddenly and unexpectedly put a perk in your step!
I've had a rough week. It's dark af here today, low cloud grey; and I'm absolutely done in from a week of solo parenting (small kid and small dog) and manic work. What's really sapped my energy is how bad a job I'm doing of said solo parenting, and how I'm managing to turn what should be enjoyable interactions with said kid into things that I know she won't enjoy - because I'm tired, strung out and not able to just relax and enjoy the moment. And knowing that each time I screw it up is something they'll remember, that can't be magicked away as if it never happened. ****.
So yes, looking for the positivity today. The one good thing about small kids is, to a point at least, every interaction feels like a clean slate - they don't really bear a grudge. So. We go again!
@nicko74 children are very resilient and just the fact that you are thinking, and worrying that you’re doing “the right thing” is a sign that you care. I have utmost respect for single parents, hopefully you have support from Grandparents? We have our grandson often but as lovely as he is at 3 1/2 we’re very relieved sometimes when he goes home!
Thank you for the reassurance - it's too easy to get in a bit of a spiral, so it's good to get a different perspective! Fortunately I'm only solo parenting this week as the OH is away - I agree with you though that people who do it properly/ full-time (and I know there are a few on here) are superheroes.
I'm being made redundant and the job market seems slow.
But time with the family, friends getting in touch and me keeping riding reasonably well in the slop has kept my spirits up.
I believe it will be a positive thing, just got to get through the difficult, uncertain bit.
Remember clouds have silver linings, not always how we think, it's a new corner to turn or junction to take but it will lead you on and don't forget the bikes;)
I love this thread. I'm a week and a half the other side of prostate cancer surgery. The diagnosis, lead up, tests etc. spread over the last few months have been a bit shit. Especially as along the way I caught Lyme disease and had a chest infection that lasted over 2 months and for a while looked like it might prevent my PC surgery. I've also been dealing with elderly parents with dementia and other health issues. There have been moments throughout all this that I've been in a pretty dark place.
However, I'm already starting to feel a bit better after surgery, physically and mentally. My wife, family and friends have been incredibly supportive. NHS care has been excellent. Although it's going to be a couple of months at least before I can ride a bike again, I am already hatching plans with my kids and mates for bikepacking and other cycling adventures next year.
We have our grown up kids coming for Christmas and I'm really looking forward to a quiet family time with lots of country walks to help recovery and gently move back towards fitness. The first time I throw my leg back over a bike, hopefully towards the end of January will be a huge milestone that I'm really looking forward to.
Please keep this thread going. We all have shit to deal with in our lives and it's easy to lose sight of the good stuff. Taking stock of the latter really helps.
Holy cow Blokeuptheroad, that's pretty hefty. Hope you're doing well - and fair play to you for finding and hanging onto the positives in there. As you say, it's kinda vital; and it's amazing how it can change your perspective and energy levels just to have that
All the very best sir.
I hope things go from strength to strength ,and you enjoy all that quality family time.
I hope you are also hatching some 'Tiger travel' plans for 26. 😉
If you are going to be heading up this side of the border, givvus a shout 👍
I'm taking some of Blokeuptheroad's current positivity, holding it close, and running with it. Need a bit of that today. Thanks for the post, and good luck with recovery.
@fasthaggis thanks. The Tiger does indeed feature in my plans for next year and a trip "beyond the wall" is a possibility. In fact, I reckon I'll be riding it a lot sooner than any of the push bikes. The seat is a bit more padded and supportive of my rearranged undercarriage than a Charge Spoon on an mtb!
@kelvin, thanks. Sending positive vibes in your direction.
Great to hear positivity coming out of dark times.
On a much lighter note, finally got out for a first ride on the Camino, which rides every bit as well as I'd hoped. And I got a lovely close up of a red kite hovering above me at one point.