BLOGGED: Tory Cllr in Code of Conduct Trouble over Muppets Insult
“There are rumours of Green Party members jumping ship. Elect Muppets – get a comedy show”
I has a lane to myself at Vauxhall this morning. This was the first time it has happened. The 9am booking must have been the magic tipping point. Too late for the commuting crowd, a little too early for the slackers. I sit somewhere in-between these days,
I pushed myself hard, not having to worry about who was behind me and who was in front. I’m finding that I tire heading up the pool, but then put on a power stroke for the return leg. Garmin tells me that I put in the exact amount of strokes, up or down. It’s all in the mind.
My final time of 19’07” for 1km is my best yet. I’m not sure I have it in me to find another 8 seconds to shave off.
An email dropped from Surrey. It’s that time of the year again to vote in a new Members’ Committee. For the first time this is being carried out online. That will piss off all the old coffin dodgers.
I took my usual approach: Vote early, vote often etc. Ha, bloody ha. Plus also vote for any candidate that isn’t part of the mature, white, male demographic. It’s a choice that’t not always available.
I read the brief biogs, and then looked in detail at who was proposing and seconding each candidate. This is often the key. I had four votes. I was able to endorse two candidates.
The chores are building up in the flat, but the brilliant S Ldn blue sky was too good to resist. Work wasn’t until later in the day and so I rolled out on a bicycle ride. I took out the BTWIN for the first time in a couple of weeks.
I made an on the spot executive decision: To Ally Pally!
This use to be a weekly trip for us, making the long schlep all the way up from Sunny Stockwell. We had a season and a bit of great hockey memories watching the London Racers before Ally Pally fell apart and the team relocated to Walthamstow. We didn’t ever cycle up to Ally Pally on a Friday night.
I loaded up a traffic free-ish route on the Velo Beeline 2. It got off to a good start by taking me through Albert Square. I’d call it PEAK BLOSSOM for the cherry blossom trees. The wisteria season is waiting to explode.
I crossed at Westminster, through Clerkenwell and then up towards Hackney.
I think.
Out of nowhere The Emirates appeared. OH HAI. I’ll have a bit of that.
I have no emotional interest in Arsenal. Except I recognise them as a club that usually does the classy thing, on and off the pitch. I walked around the spaceship stadium and snapped away. The flag saying South London Gunners was taking the piss.
The rest of the ride was all about the climb up to Ally Pally. I bloody LOVE a decent climb. I managed to overtake a roadie who was struggling. I gave him the nod as I advanced up the hill.
The blue sky day meant that the Ally Pally experience was stunning. I could see clearly over to Crystal Palace, and then further still with the hills of Surrey on the horizon. It’s also a great spot to make sense of the London high rise cluster districts.
I didn’t hang around long. I was feeling energised and wanted to channel this for the bicycle ride back down to SW8. It was pretty much retracing the same course, albeit heading around the backstreets of The Oval when I was back on home territory.
It was the ideal weather for a spring pre-season cricket game. It doesn’t look like this will hold until Thursday when Surrey walk out for the first time this season.
The afternoon sun had stirred the first tulip in the South Lambeth Road front garden. Late afternoon also seemed to stir the crazies that emerge out of nowhere during this time of the year. The local pony and trap could also be heard clip clopping away outside.
I followed the Lambeth Cabinet meeting early evening. Arrogant as an adjective doesn’t do justice for that shower.
More rewarding was Andy Kershaw Plays Some Bloody Good Records. He’s still got it, Comrades.
Links for Monday 27th March, 2023
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