I’m off to Bridgwater in Somerset to get my bike serviced as it’s long overdue, I should have got it done when I came back from Athens which was nearly two years ago now! But with one thing and another I’ve not got round to it and I’ve done over 5000 miles on it since then! I’m cycling there rather than driving as I normally do, as I also want to try out a new tent that I brought last month. One other reason for cycling is that my backs gone again! I’ve not been sleeping, I’m uncomfortable all the time and I’m also in a lot of pain! So there was only one thing to do go on a cycle ride and in the process get the bike serviced and try out my new tent! It’s not that far and I’ll be there on Monday and home Wednesday, hopefully feeling a lot better! Fairly pleasant ride today mainly following cycle routes. It’s been a rather chilli day and I’ve had my fleece on all day. I was having a good day and all was going well until about 10 miles from finish! The road was closed and I had to go on an eight mile detour! Once I arrived at where I thought the campsite was it wasn’t and I had a bit of a nightmare trying to find it, it was a mile in the opposite direction! Still no major problem it’s was just annoying! After pitching my tent and struggling to get everything in (it’s a lot smaller than I’m use to) I then wennt for a shower only to find there was no hot water and I had to have a cold shower! Still the day finished on a good note the campsite is opposite a pub so I’ve been able to relax with a few beers and a nice meal in there.
Petzl Tikka Headlamp
For those dark nights spent in the tent, Garry has a Petzl Tikka headlamp which is suitable for proximity lighting and movement over short distances.
It has two lighting modes, mode one is for proximity work. Garry generally uses this when in the tent. Perhaps when cooking supper. Or when he wants an early start before sunrise and needs to pack his gear away.
Mode two is for movement and comes in very handy when Garry gets caught short in the night and needs to pay a visit to the bushes!
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August 2015 Update
Had a good day out at the annual Chilli Fiesta at the beginning of the month which is held in the gardens of West Dean house, a large 19th century flint faced manor house situated in West Dean near Chichester.
As it was such a lovely sunny day we decided to cycle the 16 miles from home to West Dean using the centurion way from Chichester, which is an old disused railway line that has now been made into a cycle path.
It is as the title suggest all about chillies! Chilli candy floss, chilli beer, chilli wine, chilli cheese, chilli jam, chilli peanut butter (I liked this), and chilli chocolate in fact almost any food you’d care to think of somebody added chillies to it!
Apart from all the chilli related stuff the fiesta also had a traditional fun fare, Punch and Judy, children’s play area, cookery demonstrations, a stage with live bands, food stalls selling different foods from around the world and the gardens of West Dean house which are immaculately kept and feature 16 restored Victorian glasshouses, a walled garden, a kitchen garden, orchards, ornamental gardens, spring, wild and woodland gardens and sunken gardens.
After being at the chilli fiesta all day sampling all the different chilli sauces you’d have thought that I would have had enough of hot spicy food, but no not me on the way home we decided to stop off in Chichester and have something to eat. I ordered a jerk chicken curry and unfortunately ate a whole scotch bonnet thinking it was a tomato!! That one did bring tears to my eyes!
Realising that I had an appointment to see my back consultant this month I thought that I should really try and see what stage my back was at! So I started to cut down on my medication and Began to do odd jobs at home treating them as if I was working (as in starting at 8 and only stopping at lunchtime for a sandwich rather than going out for a pint!)Another good reason for cutting my tablets down was I’d started to do some really bizarre things! Like I’d put my shoes on in the house then when I went to go outside take them off! Or I’d buy something keep the receipt and throw away the change! It’s either the medication or I’m going senile!
My plan of doing odd jobs at home was going really well and I wasn’t finding it too bad at all, although standing in one place for any length of time really hurts and by about 4 o’clock I was really uncomfortable and couldn’t wait to take some pain relief! But it was all going in the right direction, I was working, sort of, albeit at home but it was things that needed doing and it felt good to be able to do these things! Seeing as a few months ago I wasn’t able to manage half of what I’ve done this past month! Let’s hope that it continues to improve even though it does seem such a long slow process!
The day came when I was to see my consultant and I was feeling pretty good, I’d been doing those odd jobs at home, my leg and back were feeling a lot stronger and I’d halved my medication!
After talking with Mr McCutcheon we both agreed that another operation wouldn’t be a good thing as in his words “it would be a final throw of the dice” and certainly wouldn’t improve any strength that I’d gained and would probably put me back! The numbness that I have in my leg will probably be there for good and I’ll just have to do things to suit the way that I am!
After speaking with Mr McCutcheon I felt pretty good and was confident that things were moving in the right direction! However either the following day or certainly very shortly afterwards I was in a lot of pain and once again had to increase my medication! And I’m now back up to taking 12 tablets a day! Maybe I’ll just have to spend the rest of my life on tablets!
Julie had a week’s holiday this month so we decided to go away for a few days and drove down to Torquay in Devon with the camping gear and bikes on top of the car. We were booked into a hotel in Torbay for the first two nights, then after that we intended to move on somewhere and camp for the rest of the week.
On the day we arrived it was a lovely summer’s day with clear blue skies and we rode the short distance from the hotel into Torquay town (I still struggle to walk very far) where we had a look around seeing what there was to do the next day. Unfortunately the next day the weather turned and it rained all day, it was your typical British summer! So we decided to leave the bikes on the car and get a train to Plymouth about 30 miles away, in the hope that there may be something there to do on a wet summer’s day! There wasn’t it seems that most things involve being outside! The only thing that was inside and was of any interest to us was the Plymouth Gin Distillery, but as you would expect on a wet day the tours were all fully booked and we couldn’t get in! There was an indoor shopping mall but it wasn’t that big and only took a short time to look around. After having a short walk around the quayside we’d had enough of the rain and decided to get the train back to Torquay.
The following day was still very wet and the forecast for the rest of the week was pretty bad, so we decided to cut our break in Devon short and came home early! (Devon photos)
After a normal Saturday night spent down the pub I came home feeling rather peckish, but there was nothing indoors I fancied to eat so I ordered a curry online. Knowing that as soon as I sat down I would probably fall asleep I set the alarm on my phone to wake me up in half an hour at 11.30 when the curry was due to be delivered. Unfortunately I didn’t hear the alarm and didn’t wake up until 12.30am! Balls I thought I’ve definitely missed my curry, but I’m sure that I would have heard the door or they would have put something through the door to say that they called or if not they would have phoned me! But there was nothing in the porch and no missed calls on my phone! O’well I thought I’ll just have to go without and went to bed.
The next morning when I woke up it was annoying me that I hadn’t received my curry, but then again it could have been my fault! On the order form there’s an option to tick, delivery or collection and I know that in the past I’ve thought that I was getting a delivery when I’d ticked the wrong box and put down for collection. I checked the email confirmation that I’d received and no it definitely said delivery! So I waited until midday when they opened up again and got straight on the phone.
“Hello Mr Garry we’re just about to send out you’re order!”
“Sorry” I said
“Your order we’ve just received it and getting it ready”
“I sent that through last night” I said
“We know but it’s only just come through this morning so we’re getting it out now” said the voice on the other end!
“I don’t want it now at 12 o’clock on a Sunday morning, I wanted it last night!”
O sorry Mr Garry perhaps you could have it tonight or we can give you a refund!”
I opted for the refund.
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Devon Photos August 2015
August 2015 a few photos from Garry and Julie’s mini break in Devon. Julie had a week’s holiday this month. So we decided to go away for a few days and drove down to Torquay in Devon with the camping gear and bikes on top of the car. We were booked into a hotel in Torbay for the first two nights. Then, after that, we intended to move on somewhere and camp for the rest of the week.
On the day we arrived, it was a lovely summer’s day with clear blue skies. We rode the short distance from the hotel into Torquay town (I still struggle to walk very far), where we had a look around. Seeing what there was to do the next day. Unfortunately, the next day, the weather turned, and it rained all day. It was your typical British summer! So we decided to leave the bikes on the car and get a train to Plymouth, about 30 miles away. In the hope that there may be something there to do on a wet summer’s day!
Due to it being so wet, these are all the photographs that were taken. And hardly warrants putting on the website. But it’s another wet summer day here in Bognor, so Garry’s got nothing better to do! Click on any picture to enlarge, or alternatively view them on Garry’s Flickr page.
You can also find photos on Garry’s Facebook and Instagram pages, which you can view without subscribing. But if you already subscribe to social media, why not follow Garry?
Devon Photos August 2015
(click on any photo to view the album)
Plymouth gin distillery
Old buildings on the quayside at Sutton harbour, Plymouth
Lovely old fashioned ice cream van on the quayside in Plymouth
Some young seagulls waiting in the rain
Carousel at Sutton harbour
If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry web page. And, of course, you can always follow Garry on social media: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. Garry is also on Flickr, where his photos are released first, along with all the photographs from previous tours.
