It’s a bit hilly around Budleigh Salterton, you know. I’d never ventured that far south before; had always kept straight on through Otterton and up to Woodbury Common. Today though I thought, heh, let’s go left instead… kind of wished I hadn’t… more bloody hills. Sheesh. Still, it was all very pretty.

It was a good ride in general really: phone went off at the top of West Hill. A text from Carrie in Singapore, winging her way home. Hurrah! So a lighter heart dropping into Ottery, and then up again out the other side, up the 20 per cent gradient of East Hill, and out towards the coast road before doubling back and descending into Sidford, at which point a policeman in his car told me to slow down. ‘Twenty through here’ he called as I overtook him on the outside. I held out a hand in mock apology but didn’t slow…

Watched the Tour tonight and watched them ride over a couple of climbs that my brother and I rode over once so long ago. They seemed to be going a great deal faster than we ever managed, of course, but still, it was nice thinking ‘been there, done that…’ So Virenque won in Morzine and took yellow, whilst Hamilton finished with the Armstrong group, complete with fractured collar bone. It made me think of things I ought to have written in my ‘cycling versus football’ article; how poor baby Beckham breaks a little bone in his toe and has to have months off, yet a pro cyclist fractures a collar bone and continues to ride through the pain, riding over huge mountains into the bargain. And still keeps up with the favourites. Or Jimmy Kaspers, who rode for several days earlier this week with his neck in a brace and his leg all taped up. Plus, footballers run around a bit for 90 minutes and then have a week or so off… in the Tour, the riders race for five hours a day, then get up and do it all the next day. For over three weeks. Now tell me, who most deserves your respect?

Game over.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Wild Swans retrospective ‘Incandescent’ is nearly with us! We are all as giddy as schoolboys.

posted by duke harringay at 9:29 PM

What a lovely day. Walked into town amongst the stragglers of the office set and dropped into my favoured barbers at just after nine. It’s a great barbers shop; just one bloke who opens up at around 7am and closes at around 2. Nothing fancy, just able to do a grade two back and sides and top trim properly (and it’s amazing how many cannot get that right) for just under a fiver. No fuss. And I know I’ve said it before, but it’s amazing how a good haircut can raise your spirits, isn’t it?

So then dropped in at the post office to pick up my mail: a copy of ‘Love on the Dole’ from Amazon; a copy of ‘Hicksville’ from Fantagraphics; some Mac software from my saviour in San Francisco; the new Swell compilation of early b-sides and rarities (devastatingly terrific, of course); another copy of the forthcoming LTM compilation of Be Music productions ‘Cool As Ice’; a packet of audio CDR’s so I can finally make some more mix CDs and update the Tangents radio playlist… Then a wander around the Continental market that occasionally visits Exeter and home to make one of those aforementioned mix CDs. Catch up with some email, take it easy…

Then this afternoon, a ride out in the sun to the top of Haldon and down through the place of fallen leaves. Up the Teign valley and over the hill to Longdown before back down into town, riding past all the traffic up Blackboy Road and feeling smug. Quickly water the garden, pick a few flowers, then sit listening to Dylan and write this.

Much better than sitting listening to someone ramble on about yet more changes to the blah blah blah system. And most assuredly better for my health.

posted by duke harringay at 5:57 PM

I am sick tomorrow. It’s a non pupil day so who really cares anyway? It won’t be costing the school anything, and no-one will need to cover any of my lessons. You see, the thought of sitting through another series of talks about the new whole school behaviour management plan and The Way Forward with Arts Status just fills me with a mixture of dread, boredom and hysteria, and frankly I think I’d much rather go and get a morning haircut and take a leisurely afternoon bicycle ride. So I shall.

I feel better already.
posted by duke harringay at 9:07 PM

and this is hilarious
posted by duke harringay at 8:39 PM

I just bought a(nother) bike. Not a new one, just a second (actually I think it’s third) hand hack road bike. James, the technology student teacher who left today and is headed off to France shortly to work (but not teach!) asked me if I fancied a road bike (we’d been talking about cycling a few days ago) because the one he has here is just taking up space, and he needs cash more than an unused bike, so… so I said yes. I mean, 150 quid… it was a bargain.

I don’t know when I’ll ride it though. I said to myself it would make a good winter bike because it has mudguards, and that it would also sit nicely on my turbo trainer for winter workouts when I can’t get up the bravery to venture out in the cold. I also told myself that if/when I do get my old Scot repaired and resprayed, I can transfer the parts to it and thus have my old road bike resurrected… Hmmm.

Spent way too much money recently. Just on ‘stuff’. You know how it is. Being alone does this to me… got to spend money.

Got to get my life back.

posted by duke harringay at 8:38 PM

I take / I don’t take bribes. I like / don’t like myself.

Listening to Close Lobsters this morning, and Visitors and Wedding Present last night… scratchy soul music, stuff that takes my head higher, spiralling out the window and away from this world. Remember how it felt to feel that uptight about Things That Mattered, instead of crap from work… Yeah well. And I don’t know about you, but listening to ‘relaxing’ music when I’m feeling stressed and wired just has the opposite effect; it winds me up even tighter. I need the release of guitars that scream, of words that rage and purify.

Tonight I shall play Fire Engines.

posted by duke harringay at 11:29 AM

Driving to school this morning, Colin sniffing so much I started to wonder if it was hay fever or a bad coke habit. Probably the former, as I don’t see how anyone could support a habit on a teacher’s wage.
posted by duke harringay at 8:53 AM

Garden watered, pink flowers picked.
posted by duke harringay at 5:18 PM

Year 10 were back from their week’s work experience today, so it was back to business as usual. It’s amazing how much difference it makes not having to do morning (5 minutes) or afternoon (15 minutes) registration. So today, a day full of teaching (non contact lesson taken up with a Science cover), and candidates for the new Art post in for interview. It would have been nice to actually have had time to meet them properly and look at the their work, but as it was, I managed a quick hello and a fifteen minute flick through portfolios at lunchtime. Lunchtime, ha! Lunch today was a biscuit. That’s all I had time for. I didn’t pack any lunch because we were meant to have lunch over in the refectory block with the candidates but that just didn’t happen. It’s all such a farce really. Plus I just couldn’t be arsed with any of it today at all. I couldn’t give a fuck what happens in school anymore…

More notes from the finances and premises manager today too: can we include Office X on the Microsoft school agreements? How the fuck would I know? All I know is I’d like it to teach my course next year. And yes I could go with, say, Open Office, but then anyone else who wanted to use the Macs for other work would only whine because they didn’t have Word. And another note saying he can’t process my order for cameras because it now has to be signed by the Governor’s Finances Committee. So when the fuck THAT will happen is anyone’s guess. So it looks like I will be starting a course in digital photography and video in September without any cameras or computers. Won’t that be nice? School would be okay if it wasn’t for all the bloody adults screwing it all up… but hey, as I said, I couldn’t give a fuck what happens there anymore…
posted by duke harringay at 4:58 PM

Tonight’s viewing was an Alasdair Sim / Terry Thomas double bill: ‘The Green Man’ and ‘School For Scoundrels’. Marvellous stuff. Had a good laugh at the idea of the School of Lifemanship being based in Yeovil, and had a strange desire to listen to the old Bubblegum Splash song ‘the 18:10 to Yeovil Junction’. Maybe we should include Yeovil Junction in a movie this summer… also maybe Lyme Regis, where Reggie Perrin heads off to when he fakes his suicide. Just a thought.

Le Tour is on the telly now. They just passed through Fontainbleau, and I’m sure I spotted the hotel we stayed in seventeen years ago. My parents have a photo of my brother and I pretending to study a map in Fontainbleau, the car behind with our bikes on the roofrack. Mine was my lovely Flying Scot, in British racing green, the frame of which is currently sitting in my parent’s attic. I wonder if you can still get the original Flying Scot decals? Maybe I could get the seat binder lug fixed, a re-spray and new decals for it. The temptation is great.
posted by duke harringay at 9:47 PM