Richard Hawley

Aye

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

Things didn't quite work out with this - found I was punching way above my weight, literally. Too tall & way too modern for me, despite its 'back to basics' aspirations. So, sold it swiftly to a nice chap from Doncaster who was much more suited to it. After beating myself up over this rather arrogant mistake I've returned to my comfort zone of the British bike & will shortly be picking up my 'new' BSA Bantam. So small & light that it makes me feel like a giant, and about as intimidating as Miss Marple's knitting. I shall get the Box Brownie out & capture an image as soon as I can.

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

Look forward to it - my only biking experience was 'riding' a Bantam around some woods in the early 70's [would be accurate to say not so much riding as falling off] - when I [not the bike] hit a tree the owner decided it was best to call it a day...

We don't count the days of having a Honda 50 - which was a sturdy work horse commuting to Chester for a year or more - my weight reduced the top speed to about 20mph...

There's a lot to be said for 20mph!

Anyway, here's the Mean Machine. Comes complete with pipe & slippers.

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

I'm not catching it Lofty...

Wednesday was an odd day. My curtains fell down & the electrics on my bike fried. And why is my laptop suddenly putting a black box around what I'm typing?

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

PS: It's awfully good to be back after the apocalypse.

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

One thing that didn't go away was the spammers - 12,600 had signed up since 11 March! Pity the background stuff didn't stop working!

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There's a raven in the distance, his inscription's all around you, you can't hide

https://www.facebook.com/LiamMcKaheyandtheBodies
https://cousteaux.com/music

Indeed.

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http://www.nickbarberphotography.co.uk

Mum's care home rang to say that they now had a dedicated phone for relatives to make video calls to their relatives via WhatsApp, whilst we're not able to visit during lockdown. Only just having acknowledged, grudgingly, the 21st century I don't have a smart phone. Downloaded some clever software that allows me to use my laptop instead. Great. Spent most of Saturday getting it to work & finally added a friend's mobile number as a test. How was I to know that the bloody thing would ring them up? At 4am...... Having hit every button & almost thrown the laptop out of the window in panic I'm hoping that I managed to cut the call off before it connected. I shouldn't really be allowed to play with grown up things, should I?

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

The Hoover, not a thing I get too involved with, has begun to malfunction. Thirty years with not a blip & now it goes wrong. I can't understand it......

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

Sometime around about now, 40 years ago, I left school. I don't suppose it was a particularly bad school or a particularly good one. Yes, I could have engaged more, but then so could they. I could have tried harder, but so could they. I could have listened. And so could they. I could have taken the whole thing so much more seriously.......
So, Rowley Fields, you'll have to forgive me if I still hold a grudge, or refuse to relinquish the chip on my shoulder. I was earnest & you rubbished my ambitions. Stood by whilst I was ridiculed. Yes, thanks for all of that. My thoughts the day I left? Well, this just about sums it up.....

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

That's a great song - I only know of a few Grass Roots' songs through the PF Sloan/Steve Barri connection. Cheers!

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http://www.nickbarberphotography.co.uk

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.

After a lot of prodding about with the circuit tester, poring over wiring diagrams & bending the ear of my engineer friend, yesterday I declared the Bantam fit for action & took to the roads once more. What a sweet little thing it is. Definitely what I needed to get my confidence back in the saddle & relight the motorcycling fire. We may have a combined age of 110 but last night, for me & Bluey, the streets were ours.

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The heartbeat doesn't change, only the faces surrounding it.