Green Patches

Cycles, cider and circle dancing

A few  idle thoughts for a Tuesday morning. It does make me smile to see how many readers arrive on Greenpatches via searches for cycling events, notably La Marmotte, and Circle Dancing.  If I remember rightly, I've used the latter while pondering on matters of discernment, Dancing ( in my case suffering   umpteen corns and bunions  in the process) to the Music of The Spirit. No matter, it's nothing if not gratifying, in a modest, Greenpatch kind of way, of course. Even if the blogosphere now counts various puzzled folk dancers and cycle fans who're wondering just what they've stumbled upon.

Cider? Nothing whatsoever to do with this blog,other than  it begins with 'C'  plus Mr GP and friend have plans to embark on cider-making this year. Hmmm.

For the cycling fraternity

Just so that those of you who've chanced upon this blog via refs to Mr GP's cycling activities don't feel you're being short-changed, the beloved has suggested I point you towards his recently published Guide to La Marmotte.   Have fun. Happy reading!

From cycling to simplicity

Mr GP has reached terra firma once more after an exciting week riding the London-Edinburgh-London cycle event, promo video here.  I don't think he'll ever forget the experience, and as for me, I stand in amazement at his timing; 94 hours and 50 mins, spread over four days.You're allowed longer, but he didn't realise that, so the event took on epic proportions, with some riding through the night which, thankfully, I wasn't fully aware of. Just as well! More details over on my other blog  As said there, he must have been riding like the folk in Browning's 'How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix!'  All of this in atrocious weather conditions. Well done to everybody involved! Photos here.

To a tenuous link For the duration of the trip Mr GP became a reluctant Twitterer, and Yours Truly signed up, too. Well, I had to keep track somehow, hadn't I? Now I know I've probably said this about every new development in modern communications, and would no doubt be happier back in the days when calling cards were de rigeur. And, hypocrite that I am, I've then usually gone on to embrace said despised new-fangled rubbish with all the zeal of the newly converted. But, when it comes to Tweeting, cheeping, or whatevering, I just don't get it. Maybe it's my Franciscan streak showing, but the thought of yet another techy 'thing' to tend makes my head go all fuzzy.This is the person who neglects her mobile phone for weeks on end, don't forget. I'm not a total technophobe; I've embrace internet fora e-mailing, blogs etc with enthusiasm. I've even sucuumbed to the dreaded Facebook. However,  I refuse to regale the world and his wife with details of my every waking minute. Or fill every waking minute thinking about what to regale the world with. (It doesn't do wonders for my grammar, either!).  So I read Mark Howe's new feature on Ship of Fools  - Hubris 2.0 'I get Twitter but it won't get me' with a sense of relief. Isn't there a slow food movement. Maybe somebody could start the same re cyberspace? Cybersimplicity, maybe?

Cheep!

Mountain climbing

Mr GP arrived home safely last night after his mammoth cycling experiences in the alps. I love the diagram charting his progress (above). Just one question, though: Why is he shown climbing up the mountain but never cycling down?

If you, too, have a head for heights, you'll love the clip below, taken by another competitor.  If like me, you begin to get the wobbles using the escalator on the London underground, you might prefer the Sound of Music's version of 'Climb evr'y Mountain.'

http://www.vimeo.com/5464145 

Of course, the simiilarities  to the spiritual journey is  too obvious to resist. Kelvin Wright has put it  beautifully in his blog:

...The spiritual life is like mountain climbing

Some people are mountain climbers. Some others -the "riders" - through wealth and good fortune are able to rent helicopters and take a fast trip to the top of the mountain. From the top, the helicopter riders enjoy the magnificent views and the the sense of serenity of which they have heard the mountain climbers talking . The riders might be tempted into thinking that their experiences are thus the equivalent of the climbers - superior even, as they have not had to spend so much time and effort; but of course they are mistaken. Mountain climbing is not about the views and the sense of serenity, even though these things happen often in the course of a climb. The benefits of climbing come through facing and overcoming obstacles; through developing skills which will spill over into everyday life; through the transformation which happens when a worthwhile task is undertaken. If the climber gets  to the summit and, for all the climb, cloud has obscured the view,  little if anything is lost. Conversely, if a climber is forever stopping to admire the view and seek a sense of peace, s/he will never make it to the top. By concentrating on the experiences which are peripheral to climbing, the riders miss the whole point; and the more entrancing the view from the top, the more danger they run of never becoming skilled climbers. It is possible that someone labours their whole life climbing mountains but never once manages to reach the summit. That person is still a far superior climber, in every way, to someone else who can helicopter themselves to the summit on a daily basis and at will...

For the rest of his reflections on Peak Experiences go  here.

Saturday's cyclists are definitely skilled climbers.

 

Wessex Wanderings

The Greenpatch duo returned yesterday after spending a gloriously sunny Bank Holiday weekend in Thomas Hardy country; objective: to   wander o'er hill and dale  on two wheels  in  the Tour of Wessex Cyclosportive  on Mr GP's part, and  to potter, ponder, paint and procrastinate over a nice cup of something - on mine.  Mr G succeeded on all counts; he's pictured here proudly displaying his gold standard certificate, after a gruelling three days slog.  Meanwhile, I clocked up most of mine, even if the cups of something weren't as numerous as I'd thought. Sherborne has plenty of teashops, but you needed to be really  quick off the mark to find a seat,  as I discovered. She who hesitates is lost!

 It also has far too many pretty little shops selling all kinds of tempting trifles, just the kind to make you hastily redefine the definition of 'wants,' and 'needs.' So, in typically perverse Greenpatch fashion, I shopped til I dropped (not!), coming away with a couple of postcards, a small gift for a friend  from the Abbey shop, and...hold your breath...two books from the  Abbey secondhand stall, bought for the princely sum of 75 pence total. 

Though I'll admit to one rather special 'extravagance - ' bought with a booktoken given me by some friends as a profession present.   K and Y, if you're reading this, I was thrilled to stumble across the late John O' Donohue's book of blessings: Benedictus   Many, many thanks, again.

Shopping apart, I found the town a wonderful place for both pottering and procrastination.  Nowhere was more than a quick stroll away, the sun shone, the people were friendly, and as for the Abbey....I read somewhere that it scores high on the 'wow' factor and I can see why.  I spent a good few hours just sitting opposite in the close, gazing and watching the world go by. 

Sunday's Eucharist at the Abbey celebrated the 1300th anniversary of the Abbey's founder, Abbot of Malmesbury and first Bishop of Sherbourne, St Aldhelm. I'll admit to not ever having heard of him. But the  description of him in the sermon by the Bishop of Ramsbury as a lyre playing, riddle, comic song and ballad writing 'Pied Piper,' going out to engage with the people of the area 'in their own space and in the earthy and rich language which was his own,' certainly put that right. Shades of St Francis there, I thought. Though whether the Bishop had quite  intended to inspire the picture I saw in my mind's eye, of an ale-swilling chubby chappie, rolling his way round the town, tankard in one hand and lyre in the other, remains to be seen!

Support old bags! (2)

The ultimate in recycling! Mr Greenpatches sports the latest in eco-friendly headgear.