Do you re-read these books ?
Do they pay re-reading?

I read them when they first came out, starting with Wyrd Sisters in 1989. I stopped at about XXXX but did read some of the later ones. First few books were simple brush strokes and the latter ones the language had lost his nuance. Others (Small Gods?) I got the impression that Pratchett was bored of the idea before the end of the book.
But many books were genius, filled with gloriously wonderful ideas and descriptions.

I noticed Wyrd Sisters as it was piled to the ceiling in John Smiths in Glasgow. Bought a copy and was hooked.

Anyway- you have to read Light Fantastic else you don’t understand why the librarian is a monkey :)

Tournaments are boring.

I don’t play but can kick a ball. At uni it was chance to meet new friends in kick-abouts outside the halls and on Friday nights. Have also played pickup matches in the US and in Europe at campsites. For that football is unequalled.

I kinda follow Stirling Albion – a club that is part of the community.

Coming back to the OP: The feeling when you are part of a crowd living for the moment is brilliant (yes – even at Stirling Albion).

Reduce the pain by exporting his tool bars  and copying his Normal template (which defines how an empty document looks in Word, default fonts etc).

Other than that I am not sure MS Office has changed much over the years – default is now .docx etc but that might be it.

Good luck!

Thump is off to Strathclyde to study Prosthetics and Orthotics..

Limited choice of uni’s to visit because he wanted to do physio in Scotland, but came back buzzing after the Strathclyde open day.

Had a face-face interview  – they were impressed that he does his own bike maintenance and knew what allen keys were. I’ve trained him well.

Got an unconditional based on his Highers: Has 35 hours contact time a week and gets an NHS stipend (plus elite athlete grants etc). Sounds like he  knows half the uni already ! It’s meant to be an excellent course so good luck to him :)

£1000. Ya beauty!
Makes up for months of nothing :)

Yay!

Mercian has been saved:

https://road.cc/content/news/mercian-cycles-saved-four-local-businessmen-309121

Also do look into Bikeability courses – there may be free training.

In Stirling this is done via Recycke-a-bike.

Bromptons are amazing – best bike ever.

The Brompton can feel a bit twitchy at first but the front pannier helps stabilise that.

You can get reduced gearing Bromptons – or even an eBrompton.

The fold and unfold in about 30s. When I got mine, 20 years ago, I regularly had to demonstrate this to a crowd in the town centre.
Do check your wife is strong enough to lift whatever folding bike you get. I often just put mine sideways into the rear seat so it’s not much of a lift.

My go to is a Ground Effect Rock Lobster.

Or a Galibier Trail Jersey.

I once dropped a jar of Ragu in the supermarket. Kapow!

These Guinness can things – can they be guaranteed to go off if dropped ?
Would be a spectacular way of ending the neighbour’s late-night BBQ. Just launch one over the fence…

There’s a big difference between a professional footballer and a MAMIL on a mountain bike.

Footballers will do a high intensity session on the morning of an evening match.

Have you tried CamelBak ?

They may warranty it for you.

Many years ago I ripped the pocket clean off mine and they replaced it gratis, no questions asked.

If you stop cycling completely you’ll feel very sluggish at the start of your first ride due to a change in plasma volume. Not a big deal as you’ll warm into it.

Thump is a powerlifter (British youth champion and off to the Worlds in a few months) – he comes back from 3 weeks away stronger than before. Obviously he can”t use this as the basis of his training, but do less rather than do more.

Excellent.

Keep wearing the helmet: buzzards can rip some gashes in your scalp.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-65601462

Worst I’ve had is being attacked by redwing blackbirds in the US. Would swoop to just miss you – then pull back as their neighbour took over. A harrowing couple of miles.

Used to play in Stirling on the grass at Kings Park.

Guy came over from Arkansas for a game. Thwacked the ball so hard it left a Nike logo imprinted on my arse !

Had some spectacular head-ons too. And cycling in on the road was always a hoot.

£75.

Yay.

VAR Tyre Levers.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/var-tyre-levers/

Work a treat on really, really tight tyres (think Schwalbe Marathon Plus on a Brompton).

Also carry a pair of Pedros because they work most of the time.

I also have a Koolstop Tyre Mate in the shed.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/koolstop-tyre-mate/

Yikes.

That part of the world (Falkirk / Grangemouth) is a mess of motorways, A-roads and other such nightmares. It would be very easy to end up on the motorway if you’re not from round these parts.

Elie Chain Walk, Fife:

(From the RSF Archive)

I once stole my own bike from outside Morrisons supermarket in Stirling.

Came out with the weekly shop and realised I’d forgotten the key for the lock.

Home was many miles away. Walked into Halfords where they lent me a hacksaw (the guy behind the till said he recognised me and so lent me one from his toolkit).

No issues while hacksawing the lock other than the trolley guy offering to get the caretaker to see if he could help :)

Keela Roadrunner trousers are an excellent middle ground.

Issued to cycling police, paramedics etc  reflective trim and with zip vents,  Dry quickly too

(Not that I commute any more but do cycle everywhere)

Alex McCormack

Looks like he slept for 3hrs last night. And he’s on his way again!

Kerry MacPhee also slept for 3-4 hrs and is back making good progress.

I have a dead SLX 12-spd M7100 shifter *.

If you want it, drop me a message with your address and I’ll post it to you.

Take whatever screws you need and then drop some cash in a charity tin.

* Don’t ask, I also have 6 dead Shimano derailleurs. It’s what happens when your son – who squats 260kg powerlifting and is also deaf – rides bikes.

His favourite trick is to rotate the cranks on the crankset – rotates them a full 180 degrees while just riding along !!!

Anyway – plenty of bolts if you want them :)

That says 25 /29 for front and rear.

Sounds about right.

My pump’s gauge is 20psi out though and so use a Topeak digital pressure gauge.

No!!!

Classic clubman’s cycle.

I always lusted after a Mercian but never bought one – always thought the top tube too long and the front end too low. Sob.

On a tour of the local high school (Stirling, Scotland):

Music block has a mosaic of famous musicians.

Teacher points to Bruce Springsteen and asks if any of the children knew who he was.

Child replies in awe, “did he go to this school?”.

I do wonder what The Boss would have written about if he’d grown up in Bridge of Allan.

If it’s not interactive i’m not interested.

Me too. Lunchtime nap is my secret weapon.

Best tip I’ve heard was to do ironing. You are doing something to keep you awake but can still take in the presentation

Yes – they are compatible AFAIK.

(I run Deore and XT cranks across various bikes and use the same direct-mount chainrings on each. 32t for my son and 28t for me).

XTR may be different.

Waterproof phone case – or something like that.

You can use the screen inside the waterproof case

Mine is by Fickaskap but they’re not made any more.

Something like this (I think)

Waterproof Phone Cases

Colsnaur (again).

Roasting on the climb but the descent was as sweet as ever. There’s one section near the end where you burst into a viewpoint and then ride several hundred meters through gorse. Absolutely superb !

FInished with coffee and cake in the garden :)

Private Eye.  Don’t read all of it, and some weeks it’s just the cartoons.

When Saturday Comes. I don’t really do football but the writing is excellent and has some thought-provoking articles.

Both get passed onto neighbours when I am done

I still ride my 22 year old Airborne Lancaster.

Snapped mine many years ago. Cracked at the dropout.

Contact the school.

Although they should have contacted you first.

Stuff happens and the school will follow a process.

However, primary schools sometimes need reminding of this while secondary schools are more tuned in.

Keando – great to hear things are going well.

A TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Intervention) replacement valve sounds like a massive improvement for the replacement – and you’ll not miss being on warfarin.

Improvements in medical device technology are ace :)

The top tube of my (steel) Cotic Soul was cut out and is used as breaker bar by Marcus Stitz’s mechanic.

I use https://cycle.travel/

Make sure you have space to store the roofbox off the car: they take up a lot of space.

We now have a Thule Ranger foldable roof box.

Lives in the loft for 51 weeks a year.

Cetirizine hydrochloride +1

Take a 1-a-day table before bed and that’s me sorted for the next day.

Get a pack from a supermarket or a local pharmacy.

(If I don’t I wake at 3am with a streaming nose and feel rubbish as I sneeze my way through the morning)

The above are pseudo-random ;)

In reality, most random numbers used in computer programs are pseudo-random, which means they are generated in a predictable fashion using a mathematical formula. This is fine for many purposes, but it may not be random in the way you expect if you’re used to dice rolls and lottery drawings.

For truely random numbers:

https://www.random.org/

Colsnaur with friends.
Stunning morning with a 500m vertical descent :)