tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11657732909071012422024-03-16T18:52:21.271+00:00A Cuban In London"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." (Maya Angelou)A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comBlogger1106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-20007394118902820182022-04-12T00:01:00.003+01:002022-07-04T21:52:41.740+01:00Time to Press 'Pause'<h3 style="text-align: left;"> I'm not quitting, just taking a break</h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3V5MXZW7wpDsYmBhAVlZMUzGB1s6X8If0oiZqvh31Az3Al1Y6I5ZY9Zcc0GdmoQ_nw32-ma9SBfQ07LOosZ03gdewMxAy-nTg6M4EZjghrCvqmGqFX41kP8CDhCmqzvEwB8cvOFX7EsjJe7JCnKm0144F9uknyfnkasFeyE3FXYfyqN_QjsKJIWL/s4343/DeborahJaffe.co.uk_7707_1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2891" data-original-width="4343" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3V5MXZW7wpDsYmBhAVlZMUzGB1s6X8If0oiZqvh31Az3Al1Y6I5ZY9Zcc0GdmoQ_nw32-ma9SBfQ07LOosZ03gdewMxAy-nTg6M4EZjghrCvqmGqFX41kP8CDhCmqzvEwB8cvOFX7EsjJe7JCnKm0144F9uknyfnkasFeyE3FXYfyqN_QjsKJIWL/w640-h426/DeborahJaffe.co.uk_7707_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In my natural habitat (photo by <a href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/">Deborah Jaffe</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">I started this blog in June 2007. After an uncertain beginning, it pretty soon became a space where I could let my creativity run wild. Unsurprisingly, many of the pieces I wrote here made it to my first book, "</span><i style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cuban-immigrant-and-londoner">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</a></i><span style="font-family: times;">". The experience of blogging and the (mostly) positive feedback I received as a blogger, gave me the confidence to approach publishers.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, as many of you, fellow bloggers and readers, have noticed, I don't post here often. That's because in between holding two jobs (teaching English as a foreign language and delivering cycling training, in addition to promoting my book when possible) I find it difficult to update this much-cherished space of mine. That's why I have decided to pause for the time being. I won't be idle, though. In fact, I haven't been idle. One of the reasons why I'm taking a break from Blogger is that for the last seven years I have become more established on <a href="https://medium.com/@acubaninlondon">Medium</a>. As a platform for writers, Medium felt like home as soon as I signed up to it. Becoming a member years later was the </span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">next </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">logical step. What that meant was that I suddenly had access to a wide range of contributors, writing on anything from relationships to food. I also loved the sense of community we all created.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">You, too, have the chance to access similar content (including my own posts) and become part of the Medium community. By clicking on the link below, you can sign up, become a member, start reading stories on your favourite topics and even write your own posts.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't delay. I'll be waiting for you. Hear that sound? That's the sound of the kettle. I've just put it on.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://acubaninlondon.medium.com/membership"><span style="font-size: large;">Become a Medium member today</span></a></span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-13226491869346197022022-03-03T00:01:00.001+00:002022-03-03T00:01:00.200+00:00Four Ways in Which Writers Can Support Independent Bookshops<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">And why I, as a first-time published author, will
be promoting my book at them</span></span></h3><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijF18BxYFxJ3Dz_UBgJ-VQtlFCM4Y3vKVlp-1F9mY18DkkkOVj5Qr79XFVEuAIBRhbAFa7fRsVDNsRlzX2HbwarPU_DyrUc9iUKI6fiIoukUznajjVJMM-ekHNiXMSLwF6ZDAtmKxdY_jUDT4ydL-UBhubYurjPhlyNdOHOMEKjTpR6AH_U4pWRfRk=s4928" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3280" data-original-width="4928" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijF18BxYFxJ3Dz_UBgJ-VQtlFCM4Y3vKVlp-1F9mY18DkkkOVj5Qr79XFVEuAIBRhbAFa7fRsVDNsRlzX2HbwarPU_DyrUc9iUKI6fiIoukUznajjVJMM-ekHNiXMSLwF6ZDAtmKxdY_jUDT4ydL-UBhubYurjPhlyNdOHOMEKjTpR6AH_U4pWRfRk=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/">Deborah Jaffe</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">W</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">hat have Irish poet Seamus Heaney and
African-American novelist Toni Morrison got in common? Their books are amongst
many I have bought at independent bookshops over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Newly arrived in Britain more than two decades ago,
I remember the excitement of venturing into an indie bookshop on West End Lane,
in then chic-becoming West Hampstead. West End Lane Books is still there, its
green exterior welcoming book lovers, both local and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since then my love affair with these offbeat,
unique and occasionally architecturally whimsical buildings has intensified. Some
boast neatly arranged shelves. Others are jungles of higgledy-piggledy nooks
and crannies. They all, however, offer a friendly hand to the visitor, inviting
us to get lost in a volume’s open pages for hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It wasn’t long after I’d fallen for independent
bookshops’ charm that the first threat appeared on the horizon. Behemoth Amazon
arrived in the bookselling world and changed its business model overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I confess that at the time I was as guilty as the
next person of moving my custom online and using Amazon as my go-to for cheap
music and literature purchases. Yet, at the same time I still frequented
independent bookshops. It’s just that I did it less often.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Perhaps it’s because of more maturity on my part or
the effects of an eighteen-month-long pandemic and its knock-on effect on
socialising, but I have lately felt the urge to visit more indie bookshops. To
amble in and ask the staff how they’re faring, how the business is doing and
how the current situation is affecting them. As a newly published author whose
book, <i>Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</i>, is being marketed and sold in all
major retailers including Waterstones, WH Smith and, yes, you guessed it, online,
on Amazon, I want to focus more on indie bookstores and its eclectic clientele.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">An independent sector in such a crowded and
commercially-driven world like bookselling is a precious resource to hold dear.
Not every author has the backing of a big publishing house. That’s why I’ve
come up with four ways (amongst many more. Please, feel free to leave your own
suggestions in the comments box) in which we, writers and readers, can help
keep indie bookshops afloat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If you move into an
area where you’re planning to stay long, have a look online and check where
your local indie bookshop is. Many are difficult to find. High rents and
overheads mean that sometimes bookstores have to share the space with other
venue users. Hoxton Books sits on a busy thoroughfare in trendy Hoxton, but
unless you know where to look, you’ll miss it. Have a walk around. Who knows?
It might even inspire your next post, or even book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">2-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Find out if they
support other causes. Many independent bookshops link up with other creatives
and support them in various ways. I’ve been to nights of poetry and music,
where the money collected is split evenly between venue and performers. Again,
have a butcher’s<span style="color: red;">*</span> online. That tenner you coughed up for the new edition of
Shakespeare’s sonnets and Sujata Bhatt’s <i>Augatora</i>? It goes towards
supporting the free performance you’ll attend next time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">3-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Join a book club.
Many independent bookshops run them. Part of me feels funny in suggesting this
one because when it comes to reading, I’m a lone wolf. But at the same time I
understand the importance of analysing certain literary works with a group of like-minded
readers, even if they don’t all agree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">4-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Bookshops nowadays
double up as cafés, a trend that would have had fictional character Bernard
Black (of Black Books notoriety) in a fit. But they do. If you can spare some
time (and money) enjoying the homemade cakes on offer and drinking the freshly
brewed coffee, you will still be supporting independent bookshops’ survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Independent bookstores are more than retailers.
Many are community hubs, beating hearts of a neighbourhood, town or village, challenges
to readers of all ages to broaden their horizons. Let’s hope these hives of
creative power are still kicking around in years to come. Let’s get behind
them.</span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;">*</span>Cockney rhyming slang: “look”, from
“butcher’s hook”</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="au pp" href="https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cuban-immigrant-and-londoner" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;" target="_blank"><em class="wo" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner”</em></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;">, on sale now.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-81747685530763077152022-02-18T00:01:00.003+00:002022-02-18T00:01:00.196+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor 20th September to 1st October)<div class="h k aj ak bl" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline !important;"><p class="mr b cg ch ei ms is it iu iv iw hz bw" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; display: inline !important; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; max-height: 48px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cycling back to Edmonton and its incinerator</span></span></h3><p></p></div><p><a aria-label="Post Preview Title" class="au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi" href="https://medium.com/woodworkers-of-the-world-unite/diary-of-a-cycling-instructor-20th-september-to-1st-october-6cc5a86f2e27?source=user_profile---------36-------------------------------" rel="noopener follow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border: inherit; box-sizing: inherit; color: #191919; cursor: pointer; fill: rgb(25, 25, 25); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"></a> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG8UiDeI_KALVY4fZcS6uBsrn6SP1Zot3vG56I5mbxR8il3hhyvwdOOXgHvc2zuelQwm-qq5sxvkbIJWhWydZoa5feXxFC3vIIynJGja9dxoHTqdGM_zZnv7_qYu6CL19ObrjMogjCk9lNR-ggL9WlWL-DviGBFzTq_WLaE2gLGhAwta7EW6uTlgV3=s3456" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3256" data-original-width="3456" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjG8UiDeI_KALVY4fZcS6uBsrn6SP1Zot3vG56I5mbxR8il3hhyvwdOOXgHvc2zuelQwm-qq5sxvkbIJWhWydZoa5feXxFC3vIIynJGja9dxoHTqdGM_zZnv7_qYu6CL19ObrjMogjCk9lNR-ggL9WlWL-DviGBFzTq_WLaE2gLGhAwta7EW6uTlgV3=w640-h602" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="cf hy" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Phallic and menacing: the beast in the background</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> (photo by the author)</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">E</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">dmonton never stood a chance against Cambridge. </span></span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Not as a <i>vis-à-vis</i>
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">encounter</span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After all one is a ward and the other
one a city. The imbalance was shown more in the way of how campaigns played out
in each area and how effective they were.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It always feels strange going back to Edmonton. As
soon as I cycle past White Hart Lane (or Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as it’s
called now) and enter N18 territory a sense of nostalgia overcomes me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I lived in this neighbourhood of Enfield for more
than twenty years (my abode was in N9). Whilst some people have long had
reservations about this part of north London (diverse, multicultural,
working-class), I’ve got a soft spot for it. I was one of Edmonton’s residents,
one of the many immigrants shopping in the Green, having my hair done (when I
had long hair) at Victoria’s on Fore Street and buying jollof rice and chicken
from Rebecca’s Kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But when I went back recently in order to deliver
some cycling training at a primary school off Fore Street, there was another
thought doing the rounds in my head. A Facebook friend of mine had just sent me
a link a few days before to a BBC Sounds podcast. The programme – called “<i>Power to Which People?</i>” – focused on the
planned expansion of the Edmonton incinerator, the largest of its type in Britain
and a bone of contention for environmentalists and community groups for many
years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had already moved to Edmonton and my son was still
a small baby when I first spotted the monster in the distance. It stood erect, a
carbon dioxide emission machine coughing up smoke continuously. I still remember
that in those years we had someone from Greenpeace or similar outfit camp up in
our fifteenth-floor flat for a whole day, monitoring the incinerator.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since the news was announced, there has been a
campaign to stop the extension of the incinerator. “<i>Power to Which People?</i>” touched on that. A village in Cambridge
faced a similar issue. A developer wanted to build an incinerator in
Waterbeach. Had they gone ahead with their plans, the new structure would have
been taller than Ely Cathedral and visible for miles around.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The council stopped the project on its planning
stages arguing that it would have a detrimental impact on the landscape and
nearby historic buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sadly, Edmonton is not Cambridge. It is an urban,
heavily populated and deprived part of the UK. There are historic buildings, however.
Salisbury House, on the northern side of the A10, is a Grade II listed late 16<sup>th</sup>
century three-storey building. The poet John Keats lived on Church Street with
his siblings and grandmother. A blue plaque links his presence to the area. But
instead of cathedrals, there are chicken shops, kebab joints and Poundstretchers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Edmonton is already at the receiving end of a
pollution onslaught. It’s surrounded by the North Circular to the west, the
aforementioned A10 to the north (officially called Cambridge Road. Oh, the
irony!) and Southbury Road (already Ponders End territory) to the east. To the
south, Mollison Avenue completes what I used to call when I lived there “the
square of death”. Lung-wrecking fumes from cars, lorries, vans and buses engulf
the local population.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I cycled away from the school the first day, I
turned around, looked up and locked my eyes on the beast. The incinerator still
looked menacing. Phallic and imposing, it was the tallest structure dominating
Edmonton’s urban landscape. I set my pedal and rode off. Power to which people?
My answer to the question is: power to the people trying to stop the
incinerator’s extension.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><b><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">E</span></b></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">very school has them: the eye-rubbing,
guilty-looking, late-running children pushed gently (and occasionally not so
gently) towards the school gates by angry-red parents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>T</b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">he location of a headteacher’s office tells you a
lot about the way a school is managed. There are pros and cons when it comes to
the headmistress/master’s office location. Put it in close proximity to classes
and I can smell micromanagement a mile off. Place it away from the madness and
it’s a hands-off type of SLT (Senior Leadership Team), trusting teachers to do
their job.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or a headteacher who doesn’t give two monkeys how
the school is run.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>I </b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">love a staff room
with a sense of humour: a hatted skeleton looking like a version of a
mambo-dancing, “The Mask” era Jim Carrey is just the start we need every day.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 115%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5y2dO-G3bbCJTUpgTPK_hcPfHW5Tp-2DP3rDaLS1dQ7Soqf2NdGxr0jD0d2wMpO_9qWWiDtHtIqvjZaeoLQGUtxmVPMUEOe6DRLZJaRQlMYNd8nA_LvaPkeWo3HksGgJT7gtbrIIIY7jbhdKZVf16MhODIuuXkSWsOax5jphy5mrjTjynipll8hdN=s4180" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4180" data-original-width="3410" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5y2dO-G3bbCJTUpgTPK_hcPfHW5Tp-2DP3rDaLS1dQ7Soqf2NdGxr0jD0d2wMpO_9qWWiDtHtIqvjZaeoLQGUtxmVPMUEOe6DRLZJaRQlMYNd8nA_LvaPkeWo3HksGgJT7gtbrIIIY7jbhdKZVf16MhODIuuXkSWsOax5jphy5mrjTjynipll8hdN=w522-h640" width="522" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="cf hy" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It will probably have to wear a “mask”, being so close to the incinerator </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(photo by author)</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">...</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="au po" href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6886/9781528994293" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;" target="_blank"><span class="mr iq" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em class="xp" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner”</em></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;">, on sale now.</span></span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-33845383394598892342022-02-16T00:01:00.005+00:002022-02-16T00:01:00.198+00:00Chronicles of a Newly Published Author<div class="h k aj ak bl" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline !important;"><p class="mr b cg ch ei nk is it nl iv iw hz bw" style="-webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 3; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; display: inline !important; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; max-height: 72px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brixton: a cultural and intellectual powerhouse of London</span></span></h3><p></p></div><p><a aria-label="Post Preview Title" class="au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi" href="https://medium.com/writers-blokke/chronicles-of-a-newly-published-author-fe38f06d7b55?source=user_profile---------30-------------------------------" rel="noopener follow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; border: inherit; box-sizing: inherit; color: #191919; cursor: pointer; fill: rgb(25, 25, 25); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"></a> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSVb_HVbU9lgPNpV-ekVk7RvFCl2nwRb2z2C0TAc7O_s1eB4SL4gjxUW0_bmIfsqBTYPBchra5nIqZSzT_kSVF6MzrCBo8cuUD7hzmWzSi9pbOUnfBrbpnUiDjPgL8GpKpPgHZXcdEaaZYQYuIpDJd1f1PLO1-pI_g9ymB60H7iOFBdfTjyAjP7C4S=s4928" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3280" data-original-width="4928" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSVb_HVbU9lgPNpV-ekVk7RvFCl2nwRb2z2C0TAc7O_s1eB4SL4gjxUW0_bmIfsqBTYPBchra5nIqZSzT_kSVF6MzrCBo8cuUD7hzmWzSi9pbOUnfBrbpnUiDjPgL8GpKpPgHZXcdEaaZYQYuIpDJd1f1PLO1-pI_g9ymB60H7iOFBdfTjyAjP7C4S=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Photo by <a href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/">Deborah Jaffe</a></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><b><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">O</span></b></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 14pt;">ne of the advantages we, immigrants, have when
relocating to another country, at least at the start, is a lack of awareness of
codes. By this I mean that we are not
conscious of local prejudices and hang-ups. The urban geography we slowly
become acquainted with is just that: new territories to discover and new names
to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That’s how I found out about Brixton and its (unjustly
deserved, in my opinion) bad reputation. In my early days at the travel agency
where I worked for more than half a decade, I once mentioned to a colleague
where I was planning to go later on that evening. He looked at me as if I’d
just sworn at a client on the phone. <i>Brixton? Are you mad? Do you want to
get knifed?</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Irony of ironies. My colleague (London-born and
nearby Kilburn-dwelling) came from Irish stock and in years to come he’d relate
to me tales of his parents (both from Northern Ireland) and the animosity and
discrimination they faced when they arrived in the British capital. Yet, here
he was, repeating the cycle. A cycle whose meaning I couldn’t grasp at the time
but which was already making me curious.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Of course, I went to Brixton that night. As days
turned into years and years turned into a couple of decades, I came to fall in
love with SW9. I may live north of the river and hang out mainly in east
London, but there’s something about Brixton that lures me back. It’s the crazy,
organic and hard-to-define cultural and intellectual mix the place has to
offer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I saw a post-Baduizm but pre-New Amerykah Part One Erykah
Badu at Brixton Academy (before it became O2 Brixton Academy) in the early
noughties. I’ve raved to anyone who will listen about Fish, Wings and Tings,
one of the top street food joints, not just in London, but probably in the
country (pre-pandemic I’d already been to the place about half a dozen times. I
can’t wait to go back). I danced my head off to the beat of master
percussionist Kevin Haynes’ <i>batá </i>drums outside <i>Habesha</i>, an
Ethiopian restaurant in Brixton Village on a sultry summer evening a few years
ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">At Pop Brixton I enjoyed an excellent dance-heavy set
by the bandleader, pianist and producer Eliane Correa’s band, Wara, in the
summer of 2018. And at the Electric in 2017, I was reunited with the music of
one of my salsa heroes: Isaac Delgado. Along the way from that evening in the
late 90s up to now, I’ve caught up with the history of the place. From the
controversial sus laws to the Brixton riots, I’ve been filling up the gaps my
university degree never addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In the summer of 2015 when I embarked on a three-market
bicycle tour (Borough, Brixton and Portobello), it was in the second one where
I stopped and spent more time. Whether speaking in Spanish to the many Latin
Americans who have stalls or work in the area, or waxing lyrical with the
elders on Brixton Station Road, this was me taking full advantage of the
culture London had to offer. The difference was that this time around I was
aware of the code system. And I didn’t give two monkeys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, piece of advice for any fellow immigrant newly
arrived in London. Go wherever the hell you want to go. Codes are meant to be
broken and postcodes to be travelled through. You could even start in SW9. I
know it will welcome you with open arms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a class="au po" href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6886/9781528994293" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;" target="_blank"><span class="mr iq" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><em class="xp" style="box-sizing: inherit;">“Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner”</em></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.06px;">, on sale now.</span></span></span></p><p><br /></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-16345544268701951972022-02-08T00:01:00.001+00:002022-02-08T00:01:00.194+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (6th September to 17th September)<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> The loneliness of the long-distance BMX rider</span></h3><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1U6eXJsa5WPaVHOlVCfPgm8R8-xMPUCVIF7nOMq6OdcDv7Soa0fz1w6Ay43Pi9R8ILOhuLvcePsq6GrDaeBT-xUXH0xUvYafGPedH_lhK9a4bv4VDgpIWuI6Q75rKS9-ZxKrbI7C4Ew6sjns7Of3rff7Zms3sDyluGRXWD_iKYs1La7xr_h-ZzAZR=s4608" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1U6eXJsa5WPaVHOlVCfPgm8R8-xMPUCVIF7nOMq6OdcDv7Soa0fz1w6Ay43Pi9R8ILOhuLvcePsq6GrDaeBT-xUXH0xUvYafGPedH_lhK9a4bv4VDgpIWuI6Q75rKS9-ZxKrbI7C4Ew6sjns7Of3rff7Zms3sDyluGRXWD_iKYs1La7xr_h-ZzAZR=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The office these days</i></b> (photo by author)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>H</b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">e said, me and my dad cycled to Epping Forest. I
asked him, you’re telling me that you went on that bike? And he nodded. Nah, I
replied, no way you could have cycled to Epping Forest from here Lordship Rec,
on a BMX. And he insisted. And I resisted. And he kept going at it. Minuscule
Year 5, looking at me, resembling more a Year 3 if you ask me. And eventually I
relented. In the end, I relented. We’re all allowed our fantasies. Even if
they’re about fifteen miles long and ridden on a BMX.</span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>S</i></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ome of the more dreaded phrases in schools, whether
as staff or visitor are:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>Can I leave
these boxes here in the staff room? Only for a couple of days.</i>” You know
that come the end of term, the boxes will still be in the same way. Taking up
space or tripping people up. The boxes will be moved to one side, left on
tables (or on the only table in the staff room and moved to one side when a
member of the staff decides to sit down and eat their lunch) or abandoned in a
corner until someone remembers that it’s the end of term and they need the
special customised pens they’d ordered back in September. The ones that came in
boxes. And no one can’t find the damned boxes…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>Oh, I can’t
get hold of So and So. Wait a minute</i>.” Half an hour passes and So and So
hasn’t appeared. You are ushered into the staff room, shown where the toilets
are and trusted with a fob (guard it with your life, the attendance officer
menacingly tells you) and still no sign of the person who coordinated the
cycling training.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two hours later, already on the playground with your
first group of trainees, you see the same attendance officer approaching. Her
body stoops a bit, her manner is less brusque and her voice is apologetic. So
and So will not be here until Thursday. It’s Monday today. But it’s fine. At
least the sun’s out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
need volunteers for/we’re looking for volunteers for…</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
(usually uttered during staff briefing and after a few events for which the
staff have already volunteered three or four times in a row). This is a feared
phrase, chiefly feared by the type of personnel for whom the word “no” is
non-existent. As soon as the request is made, these dedicated members of staff
scan the room to see who else is willing to swell up their ranks. But no,
perhaps one or two new faces will throw their hat in, yet, on the whole, it
will be the “old brigade” chipping in again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><!--more--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i></i></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJX4TVqHVS9iaqrv0vEgFjU-_yNNV0XHh6XnYxFM3ns0oAkqBiLPKYxJZLNBmW_-cfqtxIzE6jQgDZjFavCyXGzC_YSZEi2y6euiisymRW8UcEgb7u0H-o8GQHpKI2YVMBNmbETDhF1ju9SeMehXt6xe-Kx9oVugd_Y6AC8OsUc3hF6X97ADxW608D=s4608" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJX4TVqHVS9iaqrv0vEgFjU-_yNNV0XHh6XnYxFM3ns0oAkqBiLPKYxJZLNBmW_-cfqtxIzE6jQgDZjFavCyXGzC_YSZEi2y6euiisymRW8UcEgb7u0H-o8GQHpKI2YVMBNmbETDhF1ju9SeMehXt6xe-Kx9oVugd_Y6AC8OsUc3hF6X97ADxW608D=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>You won't see a desk in my office, but there's plenty of seating space</i></b> (photo by author)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i></i></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>T</b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">here’s a gender-leveller amongst cycling trainers. Both
men and women, do the same sprawl across couches in the staff room, leaving our
cycling gear in one chair, whilst plonking our bottoms down on another one.
Helmets, saddle tool bags (that’s me) and double panniers (one of my
colleague’s) are instant additions to a staff room’s décor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s easy when you have a big space with plenty of
tables and chairs. But in these Covid times when signs outside social areas
warn to “keep 2m apart” and not have “more than six people at any one time,
otherwise use the library as an overflow room”, I feel embarrassed about taking
up all that space.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I move my bags and place them on the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><!--more--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>O</i></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ne of the differences I’ve noticed in schools is
how they approach cleanliness. Some boast top of the range hand-washing soaps,
whereas others don’t even bother providing paper towels. Then, there are those
with state-of-the-art jet hand-dryers standing next to a traditional turn-on/turn-off
manual tap.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><!--more--><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>A</b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">cronyms in education always crack me up. Whether as
a former member of staff or visitor nowadays, I find their obscure nature part
of a secret language only shared by practitioners. One of the beauties this
week was RRS (Ready, Respectful and Safe). When asked to explain what the
acronym meant for him, a member of the staff got so excited that I thought he
was going to cry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I bet he was the one
who came up with the slogan. He deserves a BMX and a fifteen mile-long ride to
Epping on it.</span></div>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-61698796545445855832022-02-06T00:01:00.001+00:002022-02-06T00:01:00.206+00:00Chronicles of a Newly Published Author<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Petticoat lane in east London and an immigrant's memory-building</span></h3><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir73HmiLQz3icmdrZMi0uaq1h4WBy6dNvJIMj50HyEp4I1bS3at84ACQTw5iS8bUCRlI0RdYqongBBrs6-Hx0ChLE8nrzLDCmX0g0m6WgLIL4Q-Uj0mWER8gN01lVksPwOrG2rkIQXr4u1ITWK2CL8oS-yYEFNkc0GXKY0PdmL0ZM9KagWQsaYjiIu=s4928" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3280" data-original-width="4928" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir73HmiLQz3icmdrZMi0uaq1h4WBy6dNvJIMj50HyEp4I1bS3at84ACQTw5iS8bUCRlI0RdYqongBBrs6-Hx0ChLE8nrzLDCmX0g0m6WgLIL4Q-Uj0mWER8gN01lVksPwOrG2rkIQXr4u1ITWK2CL8oS-yYEFNkc0GXKY0PdmL0ZM9KagWQsaYjiIu=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/" target="_blank">Deborah Jaffe</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">“</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Talking to yourself can be useful. And writing
means being overheard.</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">” Zadie Smith, “</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Intimations</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">”</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">More than being overheard, we writers hope that our
readers will eavesdrop on our conversations. Even when there’s no other
interlocutor but our reflection on the mirror. We don’t want to be read by
accident, but with intention. So, yes, please, come closer and place that glass
on the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Memory-building works in different ways. Years
after I visited Spitalfields Market and Petticoat Lane, I ended up cycling down
the latter in my first shift for the Felix Project as a volunteer. By them I’d
been in London for twenty-one years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For almost a decade I was a volunteers’ manager,
amongst other roles. First, at Enfield Arts Partnership, in Edmonton, and after
that, at the Field Federation of Churchfield and Houndsfield Primary Schools,
also in Edmonton. Along the way, I learnt the value of volunteers’ selfless contribution
to society. Long before Eton-educated, twenty-five-grand-shed-owner David Cameron’s
ill-conceived, opportunistic “big society” idea, I had already seen evidence of
communities coming together for no other interest than to improve the lives of
the many.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Eventually it was my turn to become a volunteer. It
all started in 2012 with a local group, Bountagu (a portmanteau of Bounces Road
and Montagu Road in Edmonton, Enfield), a Big Local-funded project that sought
to tackle various pressing issues. It, then, continued behind the mike at East
London Radio, co-presenting different shows and leading one, “<i>The Marathon
Man</i>”. Since 2018 I have been volunteering for the aforementioned Felix
Project, hoisting a heavy, Deliveroo-style bag onto my back and cycling from
café to café, restaurant to restaurant, or supermarket to supermarket,
collecting unwanted food in good condition in order to re-direct it to where
it’s needed most.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That’s how Petticoat Lane (or “The Lane”, as it’s
known by locals) and I reconnected. The market on Wentworth Street runs six
days a week and the one on Middlesex Street (word has it that the street
changed its name from Petticoat Lane to Middlesex Street in the 1800s to spare
the blushes of virtuous Victorians who couldn’t deal with the thought of
underwear) operates only on Sundays. In regards to the latter, it is said that
one of the reasons for its presence is the influence of the Jewish community.
Since Saturday is their Sabbath, it makes sense for them to shop on a Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That’s how we build our memories. That’s how we
take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. That’s how one day we catch
ourselves talking to ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And you reader, yes, you, you are more than
welcome to place that glass on the wall and eavesdrop on our conversation.</span></p><p><br /></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-39498939075477625642022-01-31T00:01:00.002+00:002022-01-31T22:55:59.175+00:00Meals On (Two) Wheels: The Barn on Holloway Road<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A north London cafe that has earned its rightful place amongst the capital's top gastronomic choices</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkNYigZfNEfIvC-dZ4js3oEYzp0xAxUwnrVCvS-bTo3pv57fq8awww1ImhVgnW6771tUZPP1OUnyi22iwKPfWhPop9MV26gay6V7RM-tvSQQY4HE6WfPSFMpS-3iI1p2D2XtlMt_cNIQWJdADSsmxf3b5hdRgzi7_lpyakeYCr4bnlR6Tvnaag_d2s=s4608" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2131" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkNYigZfNEfIvC-dZ4js3oEYzp0xAxUwnrVCvS-bTo3pv57fq8awww1ImhVgnW6771tUZPP1OUnyi22iwKPfWhPop9MV26gay6V7RM-tvSQQY4HE6WfPSFMpS-3iI1p2D2XtlMt_cNIQWJdADSsmxf3b5hdRgzi7_lpyakeYCr4bnlR6Tvnaag_d2s=w296-h640" width="296" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The Barn could be that place you take a photo of for
when you’re down in the dumps. The layout, the staff and the homemade food make
for an unforgettable experience.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This lower-ground eatery (you have to go down a few
steps before you enter food heaven) is located on Holloway Road, north London, a
short saunter from Highbury and Islington Tube and Overground stations and
around the corner from Arsenal Football Club’s The Emirates.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">With so many restaurants and greasy spoons around,
a food lover is always spoiled for choice in this area. I’ve had some lovely
fish and chips from Fish and Skewers, just on the other side of the road. I have
used my <i>injera</i> to mop up the juices of cubed tender lamb in my <i>awaze
tibs</i> at Mesi’s Kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, when it comes to breakfast, I’ll stop at
The Barn, if time allows. The key phrase is “if time allows”. Time stops at The
Barn. You’re ushered to your seat by one of the three brothers who run the café
and immediately you feel at home. A home you’re not in any rush to leave any
time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioie5BTjyWmt2pOrN_h_XuDKlSS1OXxJWAYpPpz-WvII_Hy9ZZsCI0MVI5YqBMc81uSm0NxgtMsP5zCAoaX55N38ezJDX0qNLNR_llMMFajgoMctsRDSOnrf8YPZLHI_ibg2BG1Zlxv-VW2n4ea4MNdU75Z3HiPn0BDoEesro_LGCrUIzAoQv_RWNU=s4608" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioie5BTjyWmt2pOrN_h_XuDKlSS1OXxJWAYpPpz-WvII_Hy9ZZsCI0MVI5YqBMc81uSm0NxgtMsP5zCAoaX55N38ezJDX0qNLNR_llMMFajgoMctsRDSOnrf8YPZLHI_ibg2BG1Zlxv-VW2n4ea4MNdU75Z3HiPn0BDoEesro_LGCrUIzAoQv_RWNU=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />On my latest visit I went for the grilled halloumi
on toast with roast veg combo. It also came with mixed baby leaf, balsamic
glaze and chilli oil. All this was laid on two pieces of toasted ciabatta. The
ciabatta was warm, the salad crunchy and the halloumi nicely done. To drink, I
had what I always have: a strong mocha (sometimes with a triple shot of
espresso, if I’m in the mood)<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The place was almost empty when I arrived but after
a few minutes two regulars came down. I realised they were regulars because the
staff asked about both their wellbeing and that of their relatives’. One of
them was a woman who pulled out a laptop from her bag. Another one who was not
going to leave any time soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Restaurants, cafes and bars have taken a big
hit during these Covid-ravaged times. It goes without saying that whenever I’ve
got the time and finances to stop at one of these establishments and sample
their food, I do so without thinking of a certain price hike (bearing in mind
that the bill came up to just over a tenner, that was not a bad deal). Places
like The Barn are not just food joints but hubs. The man eating his “The Barn
Breakfast” two tables away from me would definitely agree.</span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-92219264644229219952022-01-26T00:01:00.002+00:002022-01-26T21:39:19.172+00:00Around London's Magnificent Seven<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Brompton Cemetery and Kensal Green: flipsides of a royal coin</span></h3><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1cIsufN5nSVN-ycUr3D1VaDZJsoRMHsR5mRTo303iCnHjFnN8Xm3Vm_sTORhrLonupdL-tq2IiKlXiqDZa6SJf2YS4I4AOX9V0ZHPZrfm5-Yna2gJH_frlb0h4YKmYsgYwr4RXZHSpvd2mi9_wq-rLZsZwWz0rRRA7riPWlD7laDJTKbrkAceBy_h=s4608" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1cIsufN5nSVN-ycUr3D1VaDZJsoRMHsR5mRTo303iCnHjFnN8Xm3Vm_sTORhrLonupdL-tq2IiKlXiqDZa6SJf2YS4I4AOX9V0ZHPZrfm5-Yna2gJH_frlb0h4YKmYsgYwr4RXZHSpvd2mi9_wq-rLZsZwWz0rRRA7riPWlD7laDJTKbrkAceBy_h=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The irony of it. I’d already been <i>to</i>
Brompton Cemetery, but never <i>inside</i> Brompton Cemetery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">London works in mysterious ways. How many times
have I cycled or walked on Fulham Road? Usually on my way to or from Stamford
Bridge (never to a game, though. Can’t afford the ticket prices. But I’ve been
to a couple of events there and, of course, to the shop).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">What I’d never realised was that one of London’s
Magnificent Seven was right next door to the Bridge. Many years ago, I stopped
at the entrance to the cemetery on the Fulham Road side to fix something on my
bicycle (you can also access the graveyard from Old Brompton Road).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">What first catches the visitor’s eye is the layout.
A road called Central Avenue threads its way southwards straight past regularly
spaced colonnades and the Great Circle until it reaches the chapel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The affluence of the neighbourhood Brompton
Cemetery sits in is reflected in the many notable people buried here. From
women’s suffrage movement leading activist Emmeline Pankhurst, to the “Lady
Gaga” of the 1920s, Marchesa Luisa Casati, you’ll find plenty of several famous
residents here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Brompton Cemetery is also an architect’s dream of a
place. Or that of a student of architecture. Or even an art student’s. Today I
spot a couple of people sketching the columns in the Great Circle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The café is a welcome stop. I’m in need of a sugar boost.
What with this September day being hotter than your average August one. A warm,
but much-needed breeze caresses my face as I rest my bones for a few minutes
before saddling up and carrying on to my next stop: Kensal Green.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I come out directly onto Kempsford Gardens, turn
left onto Warwick Road and ride all the way up, Ladbroke Grove-bound.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">As a city, London has a peculiarity that I feel
puts it in a category of its own. However, my lack of world-travelling
experience stops me from making conclusive, conversation-ending comments. For
instance, I’m unable to make comparisons with any other major metropolis, where
perhaps, a similar situation plays out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">In the British capital it’s not uncommon to find
social housing estates (or council estates) within spitting distance of
well-off areas. I lived in Edmonton, Enfield, north London, for many years. The
area had (still has) a reputation for being rough. Yet, it was within walking
distance of Winchmore Hill and Bush Hill Park, two neighbourhoods that could
comfortably be labelled as middle-class.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Royal Borough of South Kensington and Chelsea
is different. There is a stark contrast between the moneyed southern part
(mostly hundred-thousand-pound houses and million-quid mansions) and its
multicultural, migrant-heavy northern counterpart. A bicycle journey between
two of London’s Magnificent Seven, Brompton Cemetery and Kensal Green, is
evidence of this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">As soon as you turn left from Holland Park Avenue
onto Ladbroke Grove, the scenery changes. What were tree-lined streets before
becomes a compact mass of people walking up and down the busy roads. It doesn’t
help that this next stage of my tour coincides with school pick-up time.
Throngs of children and their parents/carers mill about. Either waiting for
lights to change or for buses to arrive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Ladbroke Grove’s tarmacked surface carries a
painful reminder for me. It was on this road that I pushed my bicycle down to
the site of Grenfell, where a fire had broken out on Wednesday 14<sup>th</sup>
June, 2017, in the early hours of the morning. A few days after, Saturday 17<sup>th</sup>
June, I pedalled down the Regent’s Canal towards Notting Hill. I wanted to help
out. I wanted to show the survivors that they mattered, that this part of
London mattered. That they were in our thoughts and hearts. That like many of
them, many of those who died, this immigrant could have faced a similar fate
(I, too, used to live in a high-rise).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Pedalling up Ladbroke Grove today, I recall a few
lines from a poem written by the Vicar of St Clement Church, Alan Everett, for
the victims of the fire:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Forced to watch<br />
Lights at the windows<br />
Torches<br />
Of those who were still alive<br />
For the time being<br />
Signalling<br />
Desperate faint hope<br />
Until floor by floor<br />
The darkness snuffed them out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6vpyVJCo5RAehie8GZRXtYnrLtH779JFoYoj7PSgm0EmEvT76cShgMKGIRVYhK0UPT2vm8hUdzU6YqIKqnEb2DdaOnd0GolLX_yZV58iGsBfuXWM40xUIlPZJVaDVp6NCF3DPNNRIZGp05gJHQ0VoeXipo5UvmF5-0hua5OMI6Hi8KALqqSr9mFJE=s1857" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1857" data-original-width="1135" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6vpyVJCo5RAehie8GZRXtYnrLtH779JFoYoj7PSgm0EmEvT76cShgMKGIRVYhK0UPT2vm8hUdzU6YqIKqnEb2DdaOnd0GolLX_yZV58iGsBfuXWM40xUIlPZJVaDVp6NCF3DPNNRIZGp05gJHQ0VoeXipo5UvmF5-0hua5OMI6Hi8KALqqSr9mFJE=s320" width="196" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The oldest of London’s Magnificent Seven, Kensal
Green is also the city’s oldest commercial cemetery. For birdwatchers, the
graveyard is heaven on earth. It was declared a conservation area in 1984 and
boasts rare flora and fauna.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">With seventy-two acres covering the area between
the Grand Union Canal and Harrow Road, this is a place worth more than a visit.
I’ve already been twice and it’s likely I’ll come again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">153 monuments are included in the National Heritage
List for England at Grade II* or Grade I. No wonder Kensal Green has a lot to
shout about. Some of those buried here include novelist Anthony Trollope, Lord
Byron’s wife and the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">With only an hour to spare, I get back on my
bicycle and head for my final destination: Highgate Cemetery. Sadly, I get
there at quarter to five and last admission is at half four.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Of London’s Magnificent Seven, Highgate is the only
I’ve never visited. There are two sides (although if you’re only interested in
paying your respects to Karl Marx’s grave, it’s the East Cemetery you need to
go to). There’s an entrance charge, which is eight pounds fifty if you only
want to visit the East Cemetery and a tenner if you want to include the architecture-rich
west side, too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I get back on my two-wheeler and make my way
back to Abney Park, where this tour started. Hard to believe that the sun is
still shining brightly and that the hoodie I brought with me (you can never be
too sure when it comes to the highly unpredictable London weather) stayed in my
pannier. As I cycle down Stoke Newington Church Street, I’m already thinking of
my next adventure. By bicycle, of course.</span></span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-29096725024792311602022-01-24T00:01:00.001+00:002022-01-24T00:01:00.211+00:00Around London's Magnificent Seven<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"> West Norwood: a Gothic cemetery with a touch of the millionaire about it</span></h3><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQT7am9EKz3bEc2sUopzoPwLfgYk8R7jwZMCRcu_bDo5dkUkP4YxDJ96POmNRZ3ktOPayxuBXq2ciQeR4NEt6Nnr4MwWe8sNwbklZwQ8LxBTsGTCpFeHaQ3EEFQxmDeR22sjxVxfamvvQZfPnxCBX-QDiW-wNzUf-fxg61ZH7PVi0F-K2dWRWD_EzC=s4608" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3022" data-original-width="4608" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQT7am9EKz3bEc2sUopzoPwLfgYk8R7jwZMCRcu_bDo5dkUkP4YxDJ96POmNRZ3ktOPayxuBXq2ciQeR4NEt6Nnr4MwWe8sNwbklZwQ8LxBTsGTCpFeHaQ3EEFQxmDeR22sjxVxfamvvQZfPnxCBX-QDiW-wNzUf-fxg61ZH7PVi0F-K2dWRWD_EzC=w640-h420" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">H</span></i></b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;">alfway through what is an exceptionally warm
September day, it occurs to me that my attraction for cemetery parks is as much
about their history as it is about my disappointment with London’s modern
architecture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">As I cycle away from Nunhead Cemetery on Linden
Grove, I think of Rowan Moore, <i>The Observer</i>’s architecture critic, and
his opinion on many of the capital’s latest vertical additions. One of his more
recent pieces dealt with 22 Bishopsgate, a monster of a building at 278 metres
high, located a stone’s throw from Liverpool Street.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Moore asks two questions: the first one being, is
there such a thing as too big when it comes to such buildings? And the second
one is, is so much space needed at a time when remote working and the altered
habits of the pandemic might conceivably reduce the demand for conventional
office space?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I’m not interested in the second question. It is
the first one that has troubled me for almost as long as I’ve been in Britain.
22 Bishopsgate comes only second to the 310-metre Shard in the race to be the
tallest building in the UK. Throw in the Gherkin, the Grater and Nine Elms
Vauxhall (in reality, the complex sits between Battersea and Vauxhall) and for
the last fifteen, sixteen years, we have been looking up most of the time in
central London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The effect of this new trend is that the
traditional, low-rise design I came to love so much when I first relocated here
is finding less and less urban space. Most architects want to build <i>up</i>,
not <i>across</i>. Or, if they build <i>across</i>, they still want to go <i>up</i>.
Perhaps, that’s why I feel attracted not only to London’s Magnificent Seven,
but also to its parks, green areas and (low rise) estates.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Another reason why I dislike the Shard, the Gherkin
<i>et al</i>, is that they all smack of money. This is the new London of
overseas investors, dark, fancy, empty flats at night (a lot of property is
bought but not occupied) and poor doors (the segregation of inner-city upmarket
apartment blocks). No, thank you very much, but that’s not for me. I’d rather
hang out in the rundown area in and around Bethnal Green than bloody One
Commercial Street.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The world’s first Gothic-style graveyard,
specific-designed West Norwood sits on a hill. After a pleasant ride down
Dulwich Common (great road infrastructure), I pull up just outside this “Millionaires’
Cemetery”. The reason for the moniker is the number of high-quality mausolea
and memorials.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">At first sight the formerly known South
Metropolitan Cemetery has more in common with Nunhead than with both Tower
Hamlets and Abney. Its paths are tidy, its landscaping manicured and its architectural
gems clearly signposted. I wonder what autumn here will look like. It must be a
festival of colour with so many trees (oak and lime amongst others) providing
much-welcomed shade right now. Grade II-listed West Norwood boasts great
biodiversity as well. Bats, woodpeckers and tawny owls have found a home here.
In addition, a £4.6m awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2019 will
help restore historic monuments and secure the graveyard’s future for years to
come.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Amongst the people buried here, some names are
familiar: Baron Julias de Reuter, who went on to found the well-renowned
Reuters agency and Sir Henry Tate, founder of the Tate Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">With the sun just past its zenith, I saddle up
again and head for the river, this time to cross it back northwards. The next
stage of my bicycle journey will take me to two cemeteries in the same borough.
Yet, the areas they sit in couldn’t be more different. This is the London many
tourists don’t know about. The one where a door can lead the visitor through a
hotel-style lobby, whilst another one will take them to a social housing
development.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-25694348125369748222022-01-22T00:01:00.002+00:002022-01-23T23:35:45.596+00:00Around London’s Magnificent Seven<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Nunhead: from hamlet to architectural gem</span></h3><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjduFl4zUF4ksszVMhy70eEFLdDrf9xe8pnaSn-rk7a0bMW-Ue153OSP9bjW8mNaJce5sHCxE6KhGjX3vKERhsH6mYT9kEg2tAoY6JiXbbO4PlZ9VyRB7L3p7NtjgiM-PcQgS_oMLX_1Z4PwwEEbQ2B4YGSAlbFUJODk5-XCcsmIKbNBBG87kYV_GUQ=s4608" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjduFl4zUF4ksszVMhy70eEFLdDrf9xe8pnaSn-rk7a0bMW-Ue153OSP9bjW8mNaJce5sHCxE6KhGjX3vKERhsH6mYT9kEg2tAoY6JiXbbO4PlZ9VyRB7L3p7NtjgiM-PcQgS_oMLX_1Z4PwwEEbQ2B4YGSAlbFUJODk5-XCcsmIKbNBBG87kYV_GUQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">T</span></i></b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;">he first few days of the ninth month of the year are
meant to usher in change. This change is of a slow nature and transition,
though. It’s as if summer has trouble vacating its room and autumn is too lazy
to move in. The unexpected weather situation plays out in people’s choice of
clothes. Instead of long-sleeved tops and hoodies, we have vests, cropped tops
and the odd bare-chested, beer-bellied bloke on display on the Regents Canal
towpath.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I decide to take the longer route to Nunhead
Cemetery; down the canal, Limehouse Basin-bound, instead of the faster and more
direct one down Whitechapel and Mansell Street. I’m in no hurry and could do
with a break from motorised traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">It’s logical that as a cyclist my eyes are fixed either
on what’s ahead of me or on the ground. Factor in regular shoulder checks behind
me and what this means in reality is that I miss a hell of a lot of what goes
on above.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The end of summer signals migration for many birds.
Whilst I’m still none the wiser when it comes to our winged friends (this was
my homework from the first lockdown and I never got around to completing it), I’m
aware that swallows are about to head south once more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Still riding as carefully as I can, I scan the
skies above me every now and then. There are no signs of swallows, or swifts (I
often confuse the two). A V-shaped skein of geese passes me overheard, its
quasi-military flypast formation a beauty to behold.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">What I do notice is the long, white trail of a
plane on the cloudless sky. A rare sight just a year ago, these other birds (of
a metallic winged nature) are making a quick return to our airspace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Over the walls of a school on the banks of the Regents
Canal, I hear laughter. It’s the sort of laughter that makes me nostalgic for those
eleven plus years I worked in primary schools. There’s no sweeter sound </span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 18.6667px;">to make my heart sing </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;">than
that of children playing during morning break or at lunchtime, making up their
own games, giving a makeover to others or bringing back old ones.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I leave the off-road path and join the westbound traffic
on the A1203. Again, I’m surprised by the amount of vehicles on the road. It’s
not even noon yet, however it’s a horns-beeping and free-fumes-for-all motor
festival here in east London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Cycling over Tower Bridge and heading south of the
river, I wonder (not for the first time) how Londoners feel about the Thames. I
was born by the water. The sea was a few minutes away from my flat in Havana. And
polluted though the water is, we love sitting by it, on the <i>Malecón</i>
(seawall), declaring our love to it. Away from it, almost every single <i>habanero</i>
I know feels nostalgic for the sea. But a river is not the sea. The vastness of
the latter is limited by the banks of the former. At the same time, this city’s
history is closely linked to water. The first settlements were based near the
Thames. The current site of the City of London is the original Londonium, named
so by the invading Romans who made their way along the river.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">We must also take into account the sheer size of
London. Would someone living in the sticks (say, Barnet or Bromley) feel the
same way about the Thames as someone living in Greenwich or Westminster?
Propinquity tightens bonds, in my opinion. A closeness that Wilfred Owen’s
ghost feels himself in the poem “<i>Shadwell Stair</i>”, as he moves “<i>along
the wharves by the water-house/and through the cavernous slaughter-house</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Built in 1840, like Abney and Brompton cemeteries,
Nunhead was a small village surrounded by market gardens and open fields.
Unlike five of the other “magnificent seven” (Highgate Cemetery sits on a
hill), Nunhead rises to two hundred feet above sea level at its highest point.
On a clear day, in the distance you can see the City of London and its (ugly,
in my opinion) all-domineering, towering high-rises, St Paul’s Cathedral and
even Alexandra Palace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The silver lining for the graveyard, especially for
its trees and wildlife, came in the 1960s and 70s. Unable to earn any revenue
from the grounds, the United Cemetery Company left it to its own devices.
Nature took over and the cemetery changed from lawn cemetery to meadow and
woodland. Bird species include green woodpeckers, tawny owls and ring-necked
parakeets. Amongst the trees, specimens include the horse chestnut, the gingko
and the oak.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Nunhead has three Grade II-listed buildings: the two
gate lodges and the Anglican Chapel. The latter was destroyed by an arson
attack in 1976. Thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund the building was refurbished
and made safe and accessible to the public in 2001. It is nowadays used for
theatre and music performances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">As I unlock my bicycle outside Nunhead I hear
fluttering overhead. I look up and I think I see a couple of swallows
criss-crossing the air. But, then, again, they could also be swifts. You never
know. And I’m none the wiser.</span></span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-65018305735793374392022-01-20T00:01:00.006+00:002022-01-20T00:01:00.217+00:00Around London’s Magnificent Seven<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park: not just a burial ground for the East End’s
working class.</span></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh4qCmNuhB797bAETwLo40FtAreZkLqcKcw9NsW5njqI8gv9BEllAFGSIe4uhbSPkC38QnRo1GVqnH2uL83hwEqySGgR2bu6Qb02VhJqetNflZJfZQ_1GdKqz_BQVeO9pO087icVLbMy-1rvTWYlptPQ8e-wVo5PNicx1mvEGhxeCM5xdWagEyTX4b=s4585" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4585" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh4qCmNuhB797bAETwLo40FtAreZkLqcKcw9NsW5njqI8gv9BEllAFGSIe4uhbSPkC38QnRo1GVqnH2uL83hwEqySGgR2bu6Qb02VhJqetNflZJfZQ_1GdKqz_BQVeO9pO087icVLbMy-1rvTWYlptPQ8e-wVo5PNicx1mvEGhxeCM5xdWagEyTX4b=w640-h428" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">M</span></i></b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;">y early morning cycle ride to Abney Park sets me
up for the journey ahead. Carrying on to Mile End, my body welcomes Hackney’s flat
terrain. Not too much exertion yet.</span></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">At the bottom of Globe Road I turn left onto Mile
End Road in order to continue my journey towards Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.
I’m now on the previously much-maligned Cycle Superhighway 2. Hard to believe
that it was only a few years ago that this long road, running from Aldgate East
to Stratford, was nothing more than a blue strip with no dividing line<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>between motor vehicles and bicycles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The difference between then and now couldn’t be
starker. At present an off-road, segregated lane snakes almost all the way
eastwards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">I fall behind a head-down, traffic-charging, heavily
tattooed fellow cyclist. “Fellow” might be stretching it a bit. With his brake-free,
fixed-wheel track bicycle, he belongs to the sort of tribe for whom purity in
cycling is all that matters. A frame, two wheels, pedals, handlebar and seat
(D-lock hanging from his rucksack, of course). That’s it. Who needs my seven
gears when his own muscular legs can propel him anywhere he wants to go?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">His D-lock becomes a blur before I go over the
canal. I’m now in Tower Hamlets, home to the largest Bangladeshi community in
the UK. Saris are a common sight and I immediately think of Sujata Bhatt’s poem
“<i>My Mother’s Way of Wearing a Sari</i>”. I still remember a few lines but I
will have to look up the rest when I get home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">These days<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">in the darkness,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">broken up by the moon’s<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">almost full brightness, before dawn<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">my mother rises<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">and in this room without a mirror<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">in this room where we all sleep together<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">she turns away from the windows-<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">her glass bangles pushed up, away<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>from her wrists<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">so they are motionless on her arms<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>soundless-<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">In the darkness she finds her sari<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">and begins to wrap it around<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">her waist – her right hand is firm<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">and fast and moves like a fish<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">fanning in and out of the waves-<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>blind, mute,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">her hand zigzags making pleats<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">so fast I cannot count them<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">By the time I enter Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park the
sun has inched further up on the cloudless sky. I’m beginning to feel the
effect of this early September’s Indian summer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Unlike other members of the Magnificent Seven
(Highgate, Abney and Kensal Green, for instance) THCP is not a
celebrity-magnet. In fact, this cemetery almost ceased to exist in the
mid-to-late 60s. At the time the Greater London Council (GLC) decided to clear
the graveyard in order to make way for a brand new park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The GLC’s plans hit a wall when many local
residents, whose relatives were buried here, voiced their disapproval. The idea
was shelved, but not before a section of the grounds was cleared for the
intended park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park’s proximity to the
Docklands might be an explanation for the number of sailors interred here. Many
of them lie in unmarked public graves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Like Abney Park, THCP has a scruffy look. Paved
paths and bush-covered trails share space equally. Personally speaking, I love
it. The grounds have an air of wilderness about it. Plants and flowers grow
almost undisturbed and species vary between woodland and meadow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">There’s however a sad story behind THCP’s “rough”
look. During the Blitz, the Luftwaffe targeted the aforementioned Docklands
(the Thames being a centuries-old major trading and shipbuilding area) which
resulted in the East End being left in ruins. Many homes were left uninhabitable,
shops and local business destroyed and a third of London’s docks wrecked. Tower
Hamlets Cemetery Park suffered a similar fate unfortunately.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Trivia moment of the day. I learnt recently that
one of the graveyard’s most famous memorials belongs to Joseph Westwood. This
man ran a shipbuilding company. Eventually the company became known as Thames
Iron Works. Some of the employees put a football team together. With the
passing of time, the football team became West Ham United FC. The team’s
origins are still referenced in nicknames such as “The Hammers” and “The
Irons”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Reaching-out me would have loved to share this
information with my “fellow” track bicycle rider, but I doubt he’d have stopped
to listen. It looked as if he had places to rush to, his D-lock hanging from
his rucksack as he disappeared in the distance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><p></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-26999309261636084112022-01-18T00:01:00.001+00:002022-01-18T00:01:00.181+00:00Around London's Magnificent Seven<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Abney Park: a hidden treasure in north London</span> </span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA4LxnT0pJx9esmhOGfQI1xh9XuNQfiNHY9NgAx6bFPH8PvxUrXEPO16rQfL_XYDhWBa6hNYb84ZhIKDabYwIkzIl8ZCc6rCDXxj4SqmpE1hqifZJoPUnZatXm5vk1bdhx4OgV9oRG9Xox6LLrRJjFVLt8aOAyvw1q9evBctYmm6TMrYZXLmsLuLZp=s4320" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4320" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA4LxnT0pJx9esmhOGfQI1xh9XuNQfiNHY9NgAx6bFPH8PvxUrXEPO16rQfL_XYDhWBa6hNYb84ZhIKDabYwIkzIl8ZCc6rCDXxj4SqmpE1hqifZJoPUnZatXm5vk1bdhx4OgV9oRG9Xox6LLrRJjFVLt8aOAyvw1q9evBctYmm6TMrYZXLmsLuLZp=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><i><b><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana;">A</span></b></i><span style="font-family: times;"> serotinal morning announces itself by blending
extant estival greens with emerging autumnal reds. Perfect start for a
Covid-delayed tour of London’s Magnificent Seven. These are Victorian-era
cemeteries that were created to ease pressure on parish burial grounds.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">It’s logical that as a north London resident I kick
off at Abney Park, a graveyard opened in 1840, in nowadays trendy Stoke
Newington. I don’t spend much time inside, though. I’m so used to these
grounds, having found them by chance many years ago, on one of my many cycling
jaunts. During the first lockdown in 2020 Abney was one of the two places,
along with nearby Clissold Park, my girlfriend and I frequented.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Today I come across early-rising runners, friendly
dog-walking strangers and school-age children following anxious-looking
parents. Abney’s location serves as a quiet short cut between Stoke Newington
High Street’s hustle-bustle and Stoke Newington Church Street’s café life with
the added bonus of chancing upon famous graves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Like those belonging to the non-conformists buried
here. These were rebels who defied the ways of the Church of England and
refused to align with a particular Christian denomination. The chapel (derelict
and rundown, though it is) was designed in a manner that showed no bias towards
a single Christian sect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">In addition, if like me, you are into the music of
the late singer Amy Winehouse, you’ll be interested to know that her video “<i>Back
to Black</i>” was partly shot here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">With the sun beginning to beat down on the pavement
and my stomach rumbling, I hop back on my bicycle and head off for my second
destination: Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">No matter which route I choose, everywhere is
bumper-to-bumper. The start of the academic year, road closures and the
proliferation of LTNs (low traffic neighbourhoods, a polarising issue if ever I
saw one) means that from Amhurst Road and all the way down Mare Street to Roman
Road, I have to zigzag my way around buses, lorries and cars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Some years ago I came up with a moniker for this
area: the Hipster Republic of North, North-eastern and Eastern London. Its
borders have changed slightly (gentrification works in mysterious ways), but
the core of it remains the same. It starts in N16 Stamford Hill and continues
through Stokey, Dalston, Hackney, Hoxton, Homerton and Shoreditch. From £5
bowls of cereal to ironic beards, from zany and thought-provoking graffiti to
checked shirts, this is the new, creative (and some might say, overpriced) London.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">One of the tell-tale signs that lets you know you
have arrived in Hipster Land is the frames you see either on the road or
parked. I’ve been dipping in and out of Laurent Belando’s excellent book, <i>Urban
Cycling</i>, so I’m able to recognise some of the specimens. The bicycle <i>par
excellence</i> in these parts is the fixie, or its close relative, the single
speed two-wheeler. Understandable when you notice how flat most of east London
is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">But it’s not just the road surface that contributes
to the ubiquitousness of these machines. Both fixie and single speeds are
fashion statements. Their cultish and aesthetic appeal is all part of the
phenomenon I’ve come to describe as “the individualisation of cycling” (some
people would call it “fetishisation”). A bicycle is not just a bicycle. A bicycle
is an extension of a rider’s individuality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Furthermore, there’re also the professions.
Fixie/single speed owners tend to belong to that turn-of-the-century cabal that
spread slowly through previous no-go areas in east London (I still remember
when someone told me Mile End was known as “Knife End”) bringing rents and
house prices up. They are the artistic directors, marketing managers, graphic
artists, web designers, performers, project managers, communications and media
managers. Of course, their bikes have to say something about them in the same
way the brands they create say something about their company.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Following hot on the (w)heels of the fixie and
single speed come the road bike, porter bike and vintage two-wheeler. Today I spot
an equal number of these frames on the road. From just past Hackney Empire to
Old Ford Road, off Cambridge Heath Road, they seem to be everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Out of the three, it’s both the porter and vintage
bikes I’ve got a soft spot for. Road bikes, or “racing bikes” leave me cold.
Perhaps, it’s their aggressive look, too much Tour de France, incongruous on
these narrow streets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">The porter and vintage bikes, on the other hand,
invite effortless elegance and style. Today I see a lot of what was formerly
known as girls’/women’s bicycles and have been thankfully re-baptised as “step-thru
bikes”. Just a clever way of convincing gents that they don’t have to swing their
legs over their seats the whole time to prove they’ve got a pair.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times;">Rolled-up yoga mats poke out of baskets
sitting at the front of porter bicycles. In others, pooches sit comfortably, a
gentle breeze ruffling their hair. In open defiance to speed or terrain, porter
and vintage bikes are the non-conformists of our age. Perhaps a place at Abney
is already waiting for them when they reach the end of their cycle.</span></span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-29018327587721823632021-12-29T00:01:00.001+00:002021-12-29T00:01:00.199+00:00Meals On (Two) Wheels: The Full Monty<div class="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;"><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.79em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A culinary wonder in London’s East End</span></h3><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiohEIQ2VLL1ds-ymMUWBp3pInXgmV-uh0e3w0SUoJp7kwV_BSPa7pi5JDUtkAhyesPP2LFWc23BLCMhN8pfc0E64PZif6_Cl7gpvICdNiEY-JT9RWwrasfzijH2XQ_U_-Lj3FfOwrDvP6miuXMnbhV5TaoXWBKjDcKlrROTJ1acoRw-jlK5x9ocYRf=s3519" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3519" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiohEIQ2VLL1ds-ymMUWBp3pInXgmV-uh0e3w0SUoJp7kwV_BSPa7pi5JDUtkAhyesPP2LFWc23BLCMhN8pfc0E64PZif6_Cl7gpvICdNiEY-JT9RWwrasfzijH2XQ_U_-Lj3FfOwrDvP6miuXMnbhV5TaoXWBKjDcKlrROTJ1acoRw-jlK5x9ocYRf=w640-h628" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">It’d been a while since I’d gone on one of my long
cycling jaunts around London. This time around, with the temperature reaching
the late 20s (really, September? I thought you were supposed to usher in
autumn), I decided to tour the Magnificent Seven. These are seven,
Victorian-era cemeteries built on the outskirts of the capital to ease the overcrowding
of the existing burial grounds at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I knew I was looking at a 30-mile-plus journey, so
stocking up on good, belly-filling food was essential. My first stop was at one
of my favourite cafes in London, <i>The Full Monty</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">One of the elements <i>The Full Monty</i> (formerly
known as <i>The Workers’ Café</i>)<i> </i>has in its favour is its location. It
sits far enough from the overpriced restaurants and eateries in Shoreditch,
Hackney and Hoxton. Yet, it’s not off the beaten track completely. Situated on
Globe Road, it is right next door to the London Buddhist Centre. East End
legend, Ray Winstone was born in nearby Plaistow. West Ham United Football
Club’s London Stadium is roughly ten to fifteen minutes away on two-wheels. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I was feeling hungry. The ride from Abney Park
(where I’d started my seven-cemetery tour) had worked up an appetite in me. I’d
have usually gone for the full English, but this time I opted for the full
veggie instead. I wasn’t disappointed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV_QfXA-gZi7p4Kki74Rijz6IMyuLMBxBKNkmeqS97bKyS6SxGD0Oo5DVXlpwOJCOw5a2VMl4Pli8WnwFop9cPFz_yAmucwv65L7FJy5HqNRhI7MR-gvwwIYGt_cuncJSQiyREodp-cnHCVfXH7M825IZyrghFXrB_xNRECN_klDasWsqBxADwQVcr=s4360" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4360" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV_QfXA-gZi7p4Kki74Rijz6IMyuLMBxBKNkmeqS97bKyS6SxGD0Oo5DVXlpwOJCOw5a2VMl4Pli8WnwFop9cPFz_yAmucwv65L7FJy5HqNRhI7MR-gvwwIYGt_cuncJSQiyREodp-cnHCVfXH7M825IZyrghFXrB_xNRECN_klDasWsqBxADwQVcr=s320" width="254" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br />A generous portion of mushrooms, with fried eggs
and tomatoes, two hash browns, one vegetarian sausage and two pieces of toast
was all I needed to refuel. I belong to the “really well done” brigade, so I
chastised myself for not telling the lovely and smiling staff to cook my egg
well. Still, it was nice.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Having lived in London for close to 24 years now,
I’m always on the lookout for local characters. I’ve never been afraid to
strike up conversations with complete strangers, especially when these
interactions help me understand an area’s culture better. On this occasion a man
turned up dressed in a suit, waistcoat, shirt and tie. He also wore smart
shoes. Despite the already-rising temperature, this gentleman seemed at ease
with his choice of wardrobe. The way he just strolled into the café, sat at a
table and shot a cursory glance at the menu, told me he was a regular. Later
on, as I was unlocking my bicycle and getting ready to go, I noticed that he,
too, was a cyclist. His frame was parked next to mine. Although we did exchange
a few pleasantries (he was having a smoke outside), only when I was riding
towards Tower Bridge later on, it occurred to me that I could have stayed
behind a while longer and found out a bit about his life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The total bill at <i>The Full Monty </i>came
at £6.50. A snip when you have similar establishments just a mile and a half
away, on Cambridge Heath Road that will charge three or four quid more for a
similar meal. Although I didn’t have any beverage this time, I’d strongly
recommend the mocha here. I’ve had it before and it’s the way I like my mochas:
strong (double shot of espresso) and milky. I’ll certainly come back to <i>The
Full Monty</i> again. And this time, if Mr Dapper-Man-on-a-Bicycle happens to
be there as well, I’ll have my phone ready. There are some stories that need to
be recorded and told.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6886/9781528994293">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner is on sale now</a></span></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-16977732458256669062021-12-15T00:00:00.001+00:002021-12-15T00:00:00.187+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (2nd August — 3rd September)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">Thinking of insects and Unsplash models </h3><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh8f8dq-1JpXsWC3MCXDcwM2WEaA7f0N753Upnzb9H-HVoIdVUuRvs38jBMMWZx_BWHVaSCR2DoymZxBG9nFQRZgWCpwDEplaYD113G1fZEIigrseE50rYHMJHcLDBlRsYLAQsRrLKXw/s4608/2+August+to+3+September.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh8f8dq-1JpXsWC3MCXDcwM2WEaA7f0N753Upnzb9H-HVoIdVUuRvs38jBMMWZx_BWHVaSCR2DoymZxBG9nFQRZgWCpwDEplaYD113G1fZEIigrseE50rYHMJHcLDBlRsYLAQsRrLKXw/w640-h480/2+August+to+3+September.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="709e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Monday 2nd August — Friday 3rd September 2021</h2><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="709e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">A couple of tiny winged creatures crash against my shades as I ride down the A1, in Barnet. I think back to when I started driving fourteen years ago and this used to be a common occurrence. Insects smashing against the windshield.</h2><p></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="86b2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I read in the paper the other day that the i<mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">nsect population is in free fall</mark>. There are fewer bumblebees, fewer butterflies, fewer of everything we tend to call “creepy crawlies”. This is not only down to the old swat with a newspaper or similar rolled-up publication, but also to the disappearance of an insect-rich wildlife habitat.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0588" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">In a drive towards economic growth we have sacrificed marshes, tropical rainforests and meadows.</mark> Pesticides, whilst having been seen as a godsend at some point, have caused much long-term damage to the environment.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cc87" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The small nature of insects doesn’t </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">allow us to see how tall in ecological stature they are.</mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">They pollinate crops, constitute an active part of the food chain and keep the soil healthy. Without them our planet would slowly, but surely, grind to a halt.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="dd2b" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">London’s green enough for us, Londoners, to become aware of insects’ importance. Parks and recreation grounds are ten a penny. As a cycling instructor I’m never short of a “Such-and-such Gardens” to run an off-road session.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="487e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Another minuscule winged creature smashes against my sunglasses. I stop, take my shades off and shake the little darling off carefully.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f5e7" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I think I hear a “thank you” as I cycle off.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa nn no lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2219" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">W</span><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ith some time to kill until my next lesson, my mind wanders off to Medium. I’ve just drafted up another article and whilst choosing a picture from Unsplash to go with my piece I couldn’t help </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">thinking of the models in the photos. What if they also happened to be writers on Medium? What would their reaction be when faced with myriad posts featuring them? In the same poses? Making same gestures? Ad nauseam.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7069" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">This would be enough, I think, to make anyone waste away like poor Narcissus, eventually winding up as a flower.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c624" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Tell you what, though. Some insects would love it.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa nn no lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="dd2f" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">I</span>very rarely listen to Radio 4’s <em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Today</em> programme these days. With no school work because of the summer holidays, all my assignments are cycle skills-related and therefore I can get up later.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b5c8" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">However, I had an early lesson today and my landlord had the radio on in the kitchen. I <mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">happened to catch the end of an interview with a Tory minister. </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Funny how Covid has not only wreaked havoc in our lives, but also brought new clichés. </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">As if we were in need of any. For instance, the phrase “if the pandemic has taught anything…”. </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Every time someone (especially a politician) uses this false promise of a phrase what follows is evidence that </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">people are not learning the lessons being taught.</mark> As the first lockdown was winding down last year Last <mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Minute wasted no time to start flogging cheap (airborne) holidays.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1b8a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Summer 2020 saw Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, promoting his “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme. In addition to this ill-thought initiative (it was responsible for ushering in another wave of infections) he encouraged businesses to coax employees back to their offices and shops. Seems like the only lesson this government is interested in learning is how to spend more. Or get people to spend more. Economic recovery. Even if that’s not what the pandemic has taught us.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c238" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">If the pandemic has taught anything is that we (humans) are not in charge. We’ve never been. We never will be. Nature is. And we’d better learn that lesson before it’s too late.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa nn no lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr ns" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="np fp gp nq nr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="12e9" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">I’</span>ve got a few one-to-ones and <mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">family cycle skills lined up for the next few weeks. Most are people who either want to get back to cycling for leisure or want to get to work with minimum contact with other commuters. </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Never thought </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">that a bit of misanthropy would be good for business.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b36a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I’m usually asked the same question at the beginning of the lesson: is it safe? (sheepishly, though and not in the terrifying way Laurence Olivier’s Dr Christian Szell voiced it in <em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Marathon Man</em>).</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="592e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Yes, it’s safe to cycle in London. In fact, it’s safer than many people think. Whilst the current — still-developing — cycle infrastructure is not completely flawless, it’s </mark>better than it was ten years ago. The key factor for me is a change of mindset. We, cyclists, are road-users. And everybody else had better get used to that.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ni iq ir en nj it iu iv nk ix iy iz nl jb jc jd nm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="456c" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Besides, if you’re a driver and leave your car at home, you’ll be doing the environment a world of good</mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">.</mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> You’ll be contributing to the protection of our environment. </mark><mark class="tw tx jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Who knows? You might even get a “thank you” from a winged friend.</mark></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-12207079832402540182021-12-13T00:00:00.001+00:002021-12-13T00:00:00.202+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (11th July — 30th July)<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <span style="background-color: #e8f3e8; color: currentcolor; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;">The England football team lose on penalties and a murder of crows triggers apocalyptic visions</span></span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLZGI0m-1MvECZRImY0TPUJqflwrRrnWmmPm0aX8cSTaBPCsCNYSYrjioRb_RWiT8J4yIiZbCmb2J3HDwNgvDh5k2sNWpypWfynZE9D4T8tukqCA2KM1EZa5mBSz5t_1QDUXc4U9poII/s3662/12+to+30+July.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3662" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLZGI0m-1MvECZRImY0TPUJqflwrRrnWmmPm0aX8cSTaBPCsCNYSYrjioRb_RWiT8J4yIiZbCmb2J3HDwNgvDh5k2sNWpypWfynZE9D4T8tukqCA2KM1EZa5mBSz5t_1QDUXc4U9poII/w604-h640/12+to+30+July.jpg" width="604" /></a></div><br /><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3b9c" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Monday 12th July — Friday 30th July 2021</h2><p class="im in dl io b ek ip iq ir en is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c876" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 0.86em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">T</span><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">he mood the morning after the night before is subdued. Unlike last week when we had overexcited zombies instead of riders (many of the children stayed up late to watch England beat Germany in the semi-final of the Euros), </mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">this time my co-instructor and I are greeted by a sea of disappointed faces.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c29a" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">England lost again.</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> On penalties. </mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Against a team that didn’t deserve to win (sorry, Italy fans, but your eleven was totally uninspiring).</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> To make matters worse,</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><a class="bu nr" href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/12/gareth-southgate-racist-abuse-of-england-players-unforgiveable" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank"> the racists were out in force again</a></mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">. </mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Plus ça change, plus la même chose</em></mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ed23" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The only consolation was that the kids managed to concentrate more.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3535" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">An</span><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">elderly man passes us on Mountfield Road riding a Brompton. He’s smartly dressed, even though it’s all bright cycling gear. Colourwise, the effect is more David Hockney’s “</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">California period” than the muted grey of London’s N3 he could have blended in with.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b734" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Banter ensues. He also did some cycling <mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">training “</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">in my time</em></mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">”. He leaves me savouring that phrase, “</mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">in my time</em></mark><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">”. Continuity. He must be pushing seventy, I gather. I turn back to face the kids and carry on explaining the importance of L-shaping your way around a junction when turning in or turning out.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2265" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">I’</span>m still of the opinion that children start in school too early in the UK. This reflects itself on a pattern of <mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">low-level disruption in later years. If a Year 5 or 6 child is asked to focus on a task on the road, this requires a certain level of maturity, responsibility and independence. If they’re still transitioning from a “play” stage to a formal “this is how you hold your pencil” one between </mark>Reception and Year 2, you can bet your bottom dollar that some will be left behind. These are the ones still “catching up” when they get to the top end of primary school.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="dd43" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">I think that if children started writing and doing phonics at age seven or eight instead of five or six, they’d have more time to play and understand the importance of play not just at their age but throughout their lives. Picking up a pencil in order to draw squiggles on a piece of paper when they’re still too young should take a back seat to getting their hands dirty while mucking about with other kids.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0e99" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">W</span>hen the roads are deceitfully quiet as they are today, children suddenly acquire a sense of false confidence. <mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">For a cycling instructor this situation might be manna from heaven (no grumpy drivers to deal with, for starters!), but in reality you want some challenging traffic your young charges will have to deal with.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a884" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">W</span>hen I told children today that we’d ordered a fleet of vehicles to travel up and down the roads where they were going to do their drills if traffic calmed down too much, some believed me. Some people might think this cruel, but to me it denotes the importance of keeping an innocent mind for as long as possible.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4b14" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">A</span>fter Sunday’s evening thunderstorms, Monday morning feels as fresh as if the world’s been made anew. Last night the tap-tap-tapping on my window sounded as if nature was weeping on us in biblical proportions. Quite apposite, I thought, as <mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Glasgow gets ready to host the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in the autumn</mark>.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1a98" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">E</span><mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">very time I hear a church tolling its bells (I’m sure it was the one in Crouch End this time), I’m reminded of the Catholic church near which I grew up in Havana. Did its bells ever toll? I can’t remember now. I think it unlikely, though. What with Fidel’s well-known approach to Christianity. There was no other God but him.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="dfeb" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">E</span>arly morning and I’m waiting for a trainee in Lordship Rec, Tottenham, north London. Two dozen crows descend upon the four or five light green refuse bags that crowd around one of the bins outside the Hub, the volunteer-run café. Like a scene from a Hitchcock film, the birds apply themselves to ripping the bags with their pickaxe beaks with strong determination and fervour, trying to get at whatever they can find inside.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3806" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><a class="bu nr" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU517MJSunY" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Metallica’s <em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Call of Ktulu</em></a><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;"> </em>appears in my head all of a sudden as the soundtrack to the spectacle unfolding before my eyes. As Hetfield and Hammett move up the scales, the corvids’ feeding frenzy increases, interrupted occasionally by the odd runner, walker, pram-pushing parent or two-wheel rider. There’s a lot of shoving and get-out-of-my-way attitude amongst the birds, and harsh, loud cries. These are the same crows that have always been regarded as a menace by farmers. Their bodies shot and nailed to barn doors. Then, there’s that word “scarecrow”. <mark class="th ti jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Not that I’m likely to run into such old-clothed figure here, on the Rec. But with their big, scrawny feet bouncing across the grass, and their high-pitched, shrill calls, crows elicit revulsion in some people. In the same way they’re tearing the refuse bags now, they’re also capable of tearing flesh.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek on iq ir en oo it iu iv op ix iy iz oq jb jc jd or jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="234d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">My trainee arrives. She, too, scares them away momentarily with her bicycle. As we move towards the traffic model area, I turn around one last time. I notice a look of defiance and pride coming from one of them. As if it were telling me that should all or most birds disappear, they’d be the last ones to go. If, that is, they did go. I don’t know why, but it somehow feels reassuring.</p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-70229381785910108522021-12-10T00:00:00.002+00:002021-12-12T23:35:27.347+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 5th July — 9th July)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;"><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Taking ownership of your learning is the only way to enjoy the challenge</mark></h3><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYT2dDAAY4PeQuIa_8pYmDZnY9PEjqCfnZj8GH4nCKuvOrWjNNHZ93vpl_1fq02HBTQ2LggvP0jmWQsZDpsj7geYJQyzbPxA1LmHt2D1dfcGGgL6gUnlL0SialPRrJ0HYD87Dakq3Okg/s4608/5+July+to+9+July.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="1351" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYT2dDAAY4PeQuIa_8pYmDZnY9PEjqCfnZj8GH4nCKuvOrWjNNHZ93vpl_1fq02HBTQ2LggvP0jmWQsZDpsj7geYJQyzbPxA1LmHt2D1dfcGGgL6gUnlL0SialPRrJ0HYD87Dakq3Okg/w188-h640/5+July+to+9+July.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="bo hv" face="sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;">Not a lamp, but a sky-tickling, Victorian-era, rusty stinkpipe</span></td></tr></tbody></table><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="26c2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Week Monday 5th July — Friday 9th July 2021</h2><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="26c2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">“Back, forward, back” might sound like the slogan of a government that’s dilly-dallied over Covid, but the phrase is actually part of cycling training’s lingo. It’s what a rider does before executing a U-turn.</h2><p></p><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f108" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">It takes time for our young charges to adopt our language, let alone our practices, but it’s ever so interesting to see the intention there, on their anxious-looking faces. Many of these kids have been cycling for years, and yet, the concepts we introduce, the techniques we discuss and the tips we give them, carry a magic that spellbinds them. Well, most of the time and most of them.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d542" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">O</span><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">thers are just as happy riding their BMXs in the local park, hands off the handlebars, bums off their seats.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa pn po lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2010" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">D</span>elivering cycling training in a school exposes you to some “<mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">colourful” language</mark><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">. The type many people can’t conceive teachers and school staff ever using. Nevertheless, this exposure validates their humanity in my eyes. As someone who was in the same environment for eleven years, I’ve got utmost respect for anyone who throws their lot in with educators. Even if that means putting up with the “f” word bandied about gratuitously.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa pn po lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="fba5" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">M</span><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ore than cycling, it is language training what we deliver sometimes. We live in a world of cars, not traffic and masculinised drivers (he/him/his). Since I started working as a cycling instructor my intention has been to revolutionise the way we see the road. That’s why I employ the term “road users”, not cars, “they” instead of “he” or even the longer-sounding “he or she”. The mythical creature we’ve created to explain that when pulling in on the left side of the road (as it should be. After all, we drive and cycle on the left in the UK), we must look over our left shoulder, is “pizza delivery person”.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2c7d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Let the anti-woke brigade call me politically correct. If they’re handing out badges, I want mine.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa pn po lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9e41" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">At</span><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">what moment of the learning process do you let go?</mark><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> Never mind if you are an English language teacher or cycling instructor, like me. An adult learner (as I have </mark>been) or a child. And when mistakes are made, do we look back and say, we could have done more? <mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Or is it more about our learners taking ownership of the material they’re given?</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2cf6" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Once we leave the safe confines of the school and start our on-road training, there’s very little we can do when our young trainees make the wrong choice. Even when the training is playground-based, there’s not a lot we can assist them with. Especially when they’re in the top tier of the school, Years 5 and 6. We cannot ride their bicycles for them. And I wouldn’t, given the chance.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9eec" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The most beautiful part of learning is when the challenge doesn’t become easier, but more appealing. Damn, you actually start enjoying the challenge, the getting-out-of-your-comfort-zone feeling. That’s the moment that’ll stick with us.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa pn po lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr ps" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pp fp gp pq pr" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pi iq ir en pj it iu iv pk ix iy iz pl jb jc jd pm jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="908b" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">I</span>t’s not that I don’t mind that that <mark class="ov ow jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Deliveroo rider cut in in front of me, or that he jumped a red, or that he zigzagged so perilously around pedestrians on the pavement later. I do mind that. But what I mind above all, is that he stayed on the same gear going </mark>up Holloway Road, Highgate-bound. Mate, change to a bloody lower gear! That way you won’t have to get off your seat.</p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-59346953975545670332021-12-08T00:00:00.001+00:002021-12-08T00:00:00.193+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 28th June — 2nd July)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">In north London, I find a road with its own inferiority complex </h3><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94kRaUigaz4z1lgkzwPF-B52OeH_OAVb7QNmGg83vaid6TUCBYBbvQwdb136UD7cOl1OmIJHxcUAHbwvY-o1T2l6xCUbPavGrpwt3eU-HBD78QwvCUMmEwHdg9C07hdPFPws2cd8H_wg/s4571/28+June+to+2+July.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3099" data-original-width="4571" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94kRaUigaz4z1lgkzwPF-B52OeH_OAVb7QNmGg83vaid6TUCBYBbvQwdb136UD7cOl1OmIJHxcUAHbwvY-o1T2l6xCUbPavGrpwt3eU-HBD78QwvCUMmEwHdg9C07hdPFPws2cd8H_wg/w640-h434/28+June+to+2+July.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3bb4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;"><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><br />Week Monday 28th June — Friday 2nd July</mark> 2021</h2><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="3bb4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Of the four core functions in cycling training (observation, position, communication and priority), both position and priority are the harder for adult learners to take in. We’re so used to giving way to motor vehicles that any attempt to reclaim our right on the road is seen as a threat.</h2><p></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2be8" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">When I explain to trainees that the primary position, i.e., riding in the middle of their lane, away from parked car doors, is one of the ways to keep safe and visible, they look at me as if I’m crazy. Yet, how are we to challenge motorists’ hegemony if we don’t start by reclaiming our roads?</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="850e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">It’s the same reaction I get when I tell them that as soon as they begin their cycle journey they become road-users.</mark> That means that should traffic appear all of a sudden, coming from the opposite direction, the cyclist still has priority. And yet, time and time again, I see the same response. Trainee pulls over (not even pulls in on the visibility line, but disappears completely from the traffic flow) to give way to, most of the time, a car.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5b95" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Methinks we need an updated version of <em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Midnight Cowboy</em>’s Ratso’s famous “<a class="bu ny" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c412hqucHKw" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">I’m walking here! I’m walking here!</em></a>”, but with the word “cycling” instead.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f659" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">We’ll leave the bonnet-banging out, though.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa oz pa lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a4b8" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">O</span><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ther than London and Havana, I’ve never lived in another capital.</mark> It follows, then, that I could be biased in favour of my adopted city. Although I know that most metropolises have well-established immigrant communities with their own network of restaurants offering authentic cuisine, I doubt that they have the same multicultural mix we have on a stretch of road like Green Lanes, for instance. Vietnamese, Turkish and Italian (to name but three countries) eateries vie for the visitor’s attention. You only get a real sense of how diverse this city when you walk or cycle past these restaurants and you get hit by the smells emanating from them.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa oz pa lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6ad1" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">“T</span><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">his is where you’ll be based for this week. </em><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">This is Year 6’s self-contained area where we encourage their independence</em></mark><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">.”</mark> These are the words you don’t want to hear when you first turn up for your new school assignment on a damp Monday morning.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="d34f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Last time I was in this school was almost twenty years ago. So much has changed. For instance, they certainly didn’t have a self-contained area for any year group back then.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="162d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I left my lunch in the fridge reluctantly. <mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">It was all right in the end, though.</mark> My only gripe was that the chairs were child-designed. There’s not much joy in (almost) crouching down on a plastic seat after cycling around a school on nearby roads with a mixed-ability group of riders.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa oz pa lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7591" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">D</span>uring training today I became distracted by a half dozen swifts flying over us. Pirouetting around like little kites in the sky. Luckily, the kids didn’t catch me looking up. There’d have been a lot of explaining to do.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa oz pa lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd pe" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="pb fp gp pc pd" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0a01" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">S</span>alisbury Road in Wood Green is a rare street. <mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">It looks and feels like a major road, and yet there are give way lines at every junction with other roads, turning it into a minor or side road.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ou iq ir en ov it iu iv ow ix iy iz ox jb jc jd oy jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="cc66" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tp tq jz" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Something Salisbury might want to bring up with its therapist one day.</mark></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-8415262643220834412021-12-06T00:00:00.006+00:002021-12-06T00:00:00.186+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 21st June — 25th June)<p> </p><h2 class="ej dk dl bo b ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez br" id="7b57" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em;">Are we sanitising our children’s futures too much?</h2><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbG3Js7-8wTcAplZoWIvo0WbETkJ59lvVMiUruAI5YEBbdRdF4XNhymt1ouR8LAiZefP2f2aG6Mt-jmM11NFJ7Mr0YiiBC-8mm5_AXUoV_NZ8Ju8vI1MA1URi3K54QWYYPYCAVIXXPck/s4328/21+to+25+June.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4328" data-original-width="3419" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbG3Js7-8wTcAplZoWIvo0WbETkJ59lvVMiUruAI5YEBbdRdF4XNhymt1ouR8LAiZefP2f2aG6Mt-jmM11NFJ7Mr0YiiBC-8mm5_AXUoV_NZ8Ju8vI1MA1URi3K54QWYYPYCAVIXXPck/w506-h640/21+to+25+June.jpg" width="506" /></a></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8de0" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;"><mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><br />Week Monday 21st June — Friday 25th June</mark> 2021</h2><p class="im in dl io b ek ip iq ir en is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="403c" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 0.86em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">T</span>he greeting today was “<em class="js" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Have you done a lateral flow test recently?</em>” Just when you think that Covid’s <mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">receding in the distance on our rear-view mirror, you’re snared back into its anaconda embrace. A throat and nose swab later, I was ready to go and check the bikes.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa lv lw km" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7551" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">On</span>a morning like this one, when London’s typical spi’ing turns into a downpour, you’re faced with the dilemma many trainers face: grit or caution?</p><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c107" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I’m of the opinion that our risk-averse society has gone a bit too far in dealing with how the younger generation uses the outdoors. In many schools, the minute the first raindrop falls, “<mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">wet play” is declared. However one of my indelible memories as a child is of playing in the rain.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="750e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Some will say that there’s a liability factor involved. Who’s responsible if you take children out and one of them ends up on the ground because the surface was too slippery?</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5aba" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">This creates an uncomfortable situation for the trainer. On the one hand, I <mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">think we need a more grit-driven attitude, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t like to be on the receiving end of a parent’s complaint.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9b76" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">We had to cancel the off-road training session today.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa lv lw km" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a2db" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">E</span>ven worse news today. My co-instructor and the lead of us two, has been taken ill and can’t make it the rest of the week. The school office staff was not impressed at all, even if they didn’t take their frustration out on me. Look, I still got up early and clocked in just before nine. I could have done with a lie-in.</p><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="82f4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">On top of that I had to cycle back home up and down rain-sodden Archway Road.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa lv lw km" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz ma" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="lx fp gp ly lz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mb iq ir en mc it iu iv md ix iy iz me jb jc jd mf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="4c3d" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">C</span>ycling through Highgate earlier reminded me of how barbershops <mark class="ti tj ow" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">used to double up as dentists, doctors and A&E department in the old days. Now, after this sixteen-month pandemic-affected year, they’ll double up again as what they’ve been for many years: a community hub.</mark></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-49014313222519571022021-12-02T00:00:00.001+00:002021-12-02T00:00:00.197+00:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 14th June — 18th June)<h3 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #f0f1ef; color: currentcolor; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;">Can a T-junction be a metaphor for life?</span></h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcy6iv6p-9sM5NruPrReaM3n7FJnzcz2bx7t_yfwPbeQWYVJ-b0SOAklNtO5lq9Bc4p-te5KgFfHNsd4KJBglXJ6n1lxFWmhiugLAwyg9V2PqZ556R5yoxHQrKf56uR4Cy1YaecKFIGo/s4608/14+to+18+June.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcy6iv6p-9sM5NruPrReaM3n7FJnzcz2bx7t_yfwPbeQWYVJ-b0SOAklNtO5lq9Bc4p-te5KgFfHNsd4KJBglXJ6n1lxFWmhiugLAwyg9V2PqZ556R5yoxHQrKf56uR4Cy1YaecKFIGo/w480-h640/14+to+18+June.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9320" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Week Monday 14th June — Friday 18th June 2021</h2><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9320" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">In the primary schools I’ve worked with, the ones I’ve been based at and the ones where I’ve been delivering cycling training so far, I’ve seen the same notice, or variations of it: “<em class="js" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">Please, do not leave any dirty dishes/glasses/ cups/ mugs/cutlery in the sink. Wash, dry and put them away.</em><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;">” Usually accompanied by a wild array (worthy of a Damian Hirst’s Turner Prize entry) of grease-stained plates left in the aforementioned sink.</span></h2><p></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ov ow lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pb iq ir en pc it iu iv pd ix iy iz pe jb jc jd pf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="1d46" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">N</span><mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">othing like the countdown to the summer holidays echoing in a semi-empty staff room. It’s such a pleasure to hear teachers and teaching assistants working out the number of weeks left until the </mark>summer break after a Covid-struck sixteen months. It’s the same sense of normality I get as soon as I pedal off after a few days without cycling.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ov ow lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pb iq ir en pc it iu iv pd ix iy iz pe jb jc jd pf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bcb4" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">W</span>hilst waiting for the children to come out to the playground today I <mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">saw a magpie perched on a branch. I was suddenly reminded of the nursery rhyme. What’s not clear in the text is the time lapse between birds. For instance, I happened to see just the one magpie today, </mark><mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">does that mean that I’ll have sorrow, even if another one joins it after a couple of seconds, thus, turning my sorrow into joy?</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek pb iq ir en pc it iu iv pd ix iy iz pe jb jc jd pf jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6ccf" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">I can’t wait to see seven magpies, though, if only to reveal the secret </mark><mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">that was never to be told.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ov ow lu" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz pa" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ox fp gp oy oz" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek pb iq ir en pc it iu iv pd ix iy iz pe jb jc jd pf jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="06a4" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">N</span>egotiating a T-junction on two wheels is as just showing sharp observation and position skills as it is a good lesson for life. You don’t pull out of a junction (assuming you’re travelling on the side or minor road) without checking. Similarly, in life you shouldn’t j<mark class="tp tq ka" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ump into situations without thinking. Of course, occasionally we come up against unexpected</mark> events and our centuries-old fight-or flight instinct takes over. But when possible, consider doing what good riders do: wait until the road is clear and only then, proceed.</p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-68162726440756591252021-10-29T00:01:00.001+01:002021-10-29T00:01:00.225+01:00Why I Wrote "Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner"<h3 style="text-align: left;"> <i>My book is a call to strengthen the bonds that unite us</i></h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhCpPj1fbTNgVF0hcTrfOjn3jY4-44V2EBuO6QhN6PX0FXZVQUsgJe6JwgulFwWYIpP0Xg1yyZ2SGSeXlQNrDAIkhHIez6n2uFkAazoDmNjGXkKTQd321sVTuiOL9CKJ4MtESS7B9WCw/s4607/DeborahJaffe.co.uk_7731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3044" data-original-width="4607" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhCpPj1fbTNgVF0hcTrfOjn3jY4-44V2EBuO6QhN6PX0FXZVQUsgJe6JwgulFwWYIpP0Xg1yyZ2SGSeXlQNrDAIkhHIez6n2uFkAazoDmNjGXkKTQd321sVTuiOL9CKJ4MtESS7B9WCw/w640-h422/DeborahJaffe.co.uk_7731.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/">Deborah Jaffe</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">Published by </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cuban-immigrant-and-londoner" href="https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/cuban-immigrant-and-londoner" rel="noopener" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Austin Macauley</a><span style="font-size: large;">, supported by an </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/" href="https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/" rel="noopener" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Arts Council England</a><span style="font-size: large;"> grant and with photographs by the excellent </span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/" href="https://deborahjaffe.co.uk/" rel="noopener" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Deborah Jaffe</a><span style="font-size: large;">, my first book, “</span><a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://mariolopezgoicoechea.ampbk.com/" href="https://mariolopezgoicoechea.ampbk.com/" rel="noopener" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</em></a><span style="font-size: large;">” hits the shelves this week.</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="32de"><span style="font-size: medium;">Somewhere towards the end of my book, I write “<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">This is what writing from an EAL immigrant’s perspective represents. Shards of glass that amount to nothing more and nothing else than the imperfect creation of a glimpse into the life we’ve lived, the one we have yet to live and the experience that has accompanied this process.</em>” The “shards of glass” are a reference to an image produced by the photographer <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.gillian-allard.com/" href="https://www.gillian-allard.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gillian Allard</a> in 2017 for one of her challenges on the Sky Arts show “<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Master of Photography</em>” (Gillian went on to win the competition).</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="2f29"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shards tend to be seen mainly as broken pieces of glass and therefore they have a negative connotation. For instance, you can get cut if you walk on them barefoot. For me, though, shards and the distorted image they return, represent the various ways in which our lives as immigrants play out.</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="9895"><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s why I decided to split “<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</em>” into five different chapters. They each deal with five different identity markers. <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</em> was the trigger to write the book from a self-proclaimed Londoner’s perspective. <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">A Cuban in London and London in a Cuban</em> is a collection of 250-/300-word light-hearted vignettes depicting those little moments that enrich an immigrant’s life. <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">As the Land is the Language</em> is a reflection on our relationship with the English language as immigrants. <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">From Here and There</em> is a compilation of the articles I’ve published in newspapers and magazines in the last fifteen years. The closing chapter, <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">An EAL Immigrant Writes</em>,<em class="markup--em markup--p-em"> </em>seeks to explore the ways in which we, non-native speakers, express our ideas and thoughts in our adopted country’s language, in this case, English.</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="8081"><span style="font-size: medium;">The main aim of the book “<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</em>” is to serve as a platform for fellow immigrants to share our experiences. Furthermore, through the book I would like to start a much-needed conversation with the wider public in the UK on the contributions made by immigrants to this country.</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="fbfd"><span style="font-size: medium;">The ideas behind this book have long been in gestation. Some come from my professional life. An example of this was a First Light-funded, EAL children-supporting project I managed at two primary schools in 2009. Another <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.intofilm.org/" href="https://www.intofilm.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">film-related project</a> I managed years later, in 2014, sought to delve into issues related to identity and belonging.</span></p><p class="graf graf--p" name="644d"><span style="font-size: medium;">Above all “<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner</em>” is part memoir, part autobiography and part reflection on an Afro-Latin Caribbean immigrant’s life in London for more than 20 years. It’s a journey that’s barely begun. Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride.</span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-73227430218319157812021-10-25T00:00:00.001+01:002021-10-25T00:00:00.214+01:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 7th June — 11th June 2021)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">Are children the only future we have? Aren’t we all (young and old) the future, too?</h3><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictdRkcr5bnfeaAhbe7GOld5JKTLu1a2O0r5kZS9yRgO7JL2ELaJsN3T8E3ZNbKHJEO0JC6mxldaq8PtpuhBL8HHeduI4Chrxzif2PEJkRKYWrf7-XevLvDGN85Pz0Z21dbUj68TkIeC4/s4608/7+to+11+June.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3212" data-original-width="4608" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictdRkcr5bnfeaAhbe7GOld5JKTLu1a2O0r5kZS9yRgO7JL2ELaJsN3T8E3ZNbKHJEO0JC6mxldaq8PtpuhBL8HHeduI4Chrxzif2PEJkRKYWrf7-XevLvDGN85Pz0Z21dbUj68TkIeC4/w640-h446/7+to+11+June.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2d43" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Seen at a primary school: “<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Children are the only future the human race has. Teach them well</em>”.</p><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="0377" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">I’ve no problem with trusting the younger generation to guide us in the right direction. <mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">B</mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ut I do think that by focusing solely on them, we end up ignoring those like me in their mature years.</mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> Thus, we create a two-tier system.</mark> Children, <mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">teenagers and young adults sit at one end, all future-ready, whereas middle-aged and elderly people occupy the other, past their prime and with no future to look forward to. The much-needed cross-generational overlap doesn’t </mark>happen or it happens rarely. <mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The only future the human race has is an across-the-ages approach, in which we leave behind our differences and hang-ups and concentrate on our similarities and common goals.</mark></p><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a798" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Now, let’s go outside and teach this lot how to do a proper hand signal.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa mq mr jm" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c67f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Odd, incongruous and ironic sign of the day: “<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">We only have one planet. Look after it</em>”, whilst underneath it sat two packs of 12 plastic water bottles each.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa mq mr jm" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a364" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Working in schools again reminds me of that moment when you have a group of children in front of you in a semicircle. Most seem to be paying attention to what you’re explaining, but there’s always one talking in a low voice, their pitch just a few decibels high, enough to communicate the joke, but not enough to remain unnoticed.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa mq mr jm" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5231" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">There are some sounds in schools that I’ve missed: for instance, the slapping sound of a pair of flip-flops marching down a corridor, announcing the arrival of summer.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa mq mr jm" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="291c" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="rh mo mp" style="background-color: #d1e7d1; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Terminology in cycling training can be confusing sometimes to outsiders. For instance, the phrase “</mark><mark class="rh mo mp" style="background-color: #d1e7d1; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">creeping and peeping</em></mark><mark class="rh mo mp" style="background-color: #d1e7d1; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">” has</mark><mark class="rh mo mp" style="background-color: #d1e7d1; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> nothing to do with stalking someone</mark>. It’s what happens when we approach a junction and visibility is poor. As we inch past the give way lines (<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">creep</em>), we’re in a better position to make a judgment (<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">peep</em>) as to whether to continue our journey or wait.</p><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6de2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Another phrase that might floor those not familiar with cycling training is “<mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">new lane, new look</em></mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">”. </mark>This phrase has nothing to do with our approach to fashion, but how we negotiate junctions, turn at them (<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">new lane</em>) and check behind (<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">new look</em>) to see what the traffic is like.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa mq mr jm" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu mv" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ms fp gp mt mu" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="f6e5" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Sadly, cycling also falls prey to the parenthood-as-status phenomenon. The perpetrators are chiefly dads and their sons. The former more than the latter. In this case, the offspring-on-two-wheels becomes an accessory to advertise daddy’s coolness.</p><p class="hw hx dl hy b ek hz ia ib en ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik il im in io ip iq ir dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7d40" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">Time and time again we come across the “<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">But my dad says…</em>” type of comment when we’re training children. To which the only reply can be “<em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Yes. Your daddy says that you can ride with just one hand/use just the one brake/or not bother wearing a helmet. Sorry to break it to you like this, but, your daddy’s not always right. Also, it’s our duty to train you properly.</em><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;"> </em></mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="is" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Outside, you can do whatever you like, even take both your hands off the handlebar. But in here, we’re in charge.</em></mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">” </mark><mark class="mn mo mp" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">That usually does the trick and keeps them quiet. The kids, not the dads.</mark></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-2945676378298800452021-10-18T00:00:00.007+01:002021-10-18T23:51:53.158+01:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 31st May — 4th June 2021)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">Summer’s finally here and so are showers </h3><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJD4GQYnJmD1001LHT_bCaM64uauakfBqaYt6id3FNuw3YQK2XL7Qfp7NVboqYvncpkW9x5E9p89op0l1vX8sNT6EqwYtjdpKO0gXCcy2JD4sz1TZcyngDmO26dyrirOrhs5rWvv0x0/s4608/31+to+4+June.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJD4GQYnJmD1001LHT_bCaM64uauakfBqaYt6id3FNuw3YQK2XL7Qfp7NVboqYvncpkW9x5E9p89op0l1vX8sNT6EqwYtjdpKO0gXCcy2JD4sz1TZcyngDmO26dyrirOrhs5rWvv0x0/w640-h480/31+to+4+June.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="95d4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Week 31st May — 4th June 2021</h2><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="95d4" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;"><span style="font-size: large;">On my way to Enfield today, I choose the Green Lanes route. I’m co-delivering a playground-based, week-long, half-term, cycling training programme. As I ease down the still-new, Holland-inspired, off-road cycle lane, my mind wanders off.</span></h2><p></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7dee" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think of those pioneer record-holders at the 1896 Olympic Games, seeking to improve their fixed-sprocket frames. The result was an increase in size of the front wheel with the pedals still on it (no chain yet, in those days). And that’s how the penny-farthing was born.</span></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="5c5e" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;"><mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">I imagine that if there were cycling instructors around back then, they’d have had a nightmare </mark><mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">telling their learners to set their pedal up correctly every time they came to a complete stop.</mark></span></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="de5f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><span style="font-size: large;">Still, it must have been fun.</span></mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2ad3" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blue-shirted, dapper-looking elderly man with matching hat. I salute you, sir. And I thank you. That little nod and hand on heart as you walked past me in Victoria Park, Finchley, whilst I was talking a learner through a cycling drill was priceless.</span></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="9f0d" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m sure you were a cyclist in your younger days. Who knows? You probably still are.</span></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c05b" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m waiting for a learner for a 1–2–1 session in Priory Park, Hornsey, north London. The voices of two blokes working out not too far from me are drowned out by the sound-blasting fitness routine music unleashed on the park by a personal trainer. <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The first few days of June have not only brought the sun out but also ear-splitting songs. Fun days ahead.</mark></span></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="8a93" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whilst still in Priory Park, I suddenly remember that I’m not far from Campsbourne School, where a plaque celebrating <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Britain’s first black female football player, Emma Clarke, was unveiled </mark>a couple of years ago. I wonder if they let visitors in. Masked up and on two wheels. Worth finding out.</span></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ccd5" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some people get second cars. This cycling instructor just got a second bike: a folding Raleigh EVO 2 beauty. <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">At 16 kilos, it’s a bit on the heavy side but as an alternative to my hybrid, it serves its purpose. My only gripe? It doesn’t fold like a Brompton.</mark></span></p><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ff23" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><span style="font-size: large;">I realise that I’m beginning to develop Brompton envy.</span></mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="79ce" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">Someone forgot to tell Halfords that we no longer use the term “women’s bikes” in cycling training. <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">“Step-through” or “step-thru” bikes works better and it takes away the stigma of a man riding what could be seen a lady’s two-wheeler. Then, again, with names such as Vengeance and Voodoo in the men’s section, I can just imagine what sort of male customer Halfords is catering to.</mark></span></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b561" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">On behalf of all cycling instructors in the world, or at least those based in the British Isles, <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">I demand warm sunny days during the summer, for the whole duration of the season. If rain must be had, can we put a request in that it happens only at night, between the hours of 11pm and 6am? Nothing like waking up to a bout of morning fresh air.</mark></span></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa ne nf lk" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni nj" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ng fp gp nh ni" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek mz iq ir en na it iu iv nb ix iy iz nc jb jc jd nd jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a169" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes people ask me <mark class="rz sa jp" style="background-color: #f0f1ef; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">if I wear my cycling instructor hi-vis when I’m riding to and from work. Yes, I do.</mark> How else do you think I can have some proper banter with parents/carers and their children without looking like a dodgy bloke?</span></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-82511408802885298452021-10-11T00:00:00.002+01:002021-10-11T00:00:00.317+01:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 24th May — 28th May 2021)<p> </p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">A cycling trip down history near the king’s former hunting grounds</h3><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQztqfjEA-7OZXTw4fUftmQgt3GOCRlC00REGDBN8AdhKkZrJC_WO4vJ52DL69XqkhCngmikyjWVCPOx71VGoQ9ek_f8qps8INanpLKIayigE91QhcEoPrK70mdLrYi5BRKXJDypbxwc/s1781/24+to+28+May.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1781" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQztqfjEA-7OZXTw4fUftmQgt3GOCRlC00REGDBN8AdhKkZrJC_WO4vJ52DL69XqkhCngmikyjWVCPOx71VGoQ9ek_f8qps8INanpLKIayigE91QhcEoPrK70mdLrYi5BRKXJDypbxwc/w552-h640/24+to+28+May.jpg" width="552" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hw hx dl bo hy hz ia em ib ic id ep ie eq if es ig et ih ev ii ew ij ey ik il ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="60d2" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Week Monday 24th May — Friday 28th May 2021</h2><p class="im in dl io b ek ip iq ir en is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="162c" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 0.86em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">It</span>was an on-off, sudden-shower, sun-bursting type of morning ride today. On arriving at the school where I was working today I was greeted by a row of bicycles left outside. <mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">It </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">never ceases to amaze me that children who leave their bicycles out when it’s raining are more concerned about wet seats than soaked helmets (also left outside).</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa op oq lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ov iq ir en ow it iu iv ox ix iy iz oy jb jc jd oz jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e313" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">F</span>lashback: walking down a corridor I spotted a sign on one of the school’s display boards. It read<mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">“Together Everyone Achieves More”</mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> (TEAM). I still remember when that used to be the go-to motto for every community and voluntary group’s workshop or event.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa op oq lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ov iq ir en ow it iu iv ox ix iy iz oy jb jc jd oz jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="ebe7" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">A</span>big thank you to the brother who gave me the thumb-up (just the one, mind, he kept his other hand on the wheel) on a miserable-looking, grey morning as I went up Cannon Hill. You made my day.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa op oq lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ov iq ir en ow it iu iv ox ix iy iz oy jb jc jd oz jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="b55c" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">T</span>rying to explain to a group of Year 6es the better way to control your bicycle whilst riding slowly is futile if you do the explaining in the vicinity of a Year 1 class playing outside. The little ones will always drown your voice out. <mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">And very welcome they are to do it every time.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa op oq lt" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot ou" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="or fp gp os ot" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="im in dl io b ek ov iq ir en ow it iu iv ox ix iy iz oy jb jc jd oz jf jg jh dd ei ji" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="93e4" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq jr ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">“F</span><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">ilho da puta!</em>” The words pierced the rain-soaked air on Green Lanes. A car had pulled out of Effingham Road without checking and had just missed a scooter. Scooter Man had made his feelings clear by calling the driver a son of a bitch. I caught up with Scooter Man at the traffic lights on St Ann’s Road. <mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">What a son of a bitch!</em></mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> I said, hinting that I’d understood the phrase he’d just used. </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">In my country</em></mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">, he replied, </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">I punch him. Here, in UK, no, but in my country… </em></mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">and he mimicked decking someone. </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Where are you from</em></mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">? I asked him, knowing beforehand that he’d name a Portuguese-speaking country. </mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="la" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Portugal, but I lived in Brazil</em></mark><mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">.</mark></p><p class="im in dl io b ek ov iq ir en ow it iu iv ox ix iy iz oy jb jc jd oz jf jg jh dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="6b54" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">The lights changed and <mark class="on oo jz" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">he sped off, leaving behind a trail of Portuguese swear words on a London road.</mark></p></div></div></section>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-71742394926784411702021-10-04T00:00:00.001+01:002021-10-04T00:00:00.255+01:00Diary of a Cycling Instructor (Week 17th May-21st May 2021)<h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #757575; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 28px; margin: 0.92em 0px -0.42em; text-align: left;">Julian Barnes’ definition of style and how it applies to cycling</h3><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQ9CqdQ293r6V-iXhztU4ZoB4V2Gkf0QedIkLEDiHyoBJHct5UNfQ3qbFlKoI-VHKU8YupyQee8cK1V0VNZ6Rk7Is3TjSbN_nw2OR5tmBxNYgTQwPU7MbboWesMwmDLxDJGoNvbO7bSY/s4608/17+to+21+May.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNQ9CqdQ293r6V-iXhztU4ZoB4V2Gkf0QedIkLEDiHyoBJHct5UNfQ3qbFlKoI-VHKU8YupyQee8cK1V0VNZ6Rk7Is3TjSbN_nw2OR5tmBxNYgTQwPU7MbboWesMwmDLxDJGoNvbO7bSY/w480-h640/17+to+21+May.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><h2 class="hv hw dl bo hx hy hz em ia ib ic ep id eq ie es if et ig ev ih ew ii ey ij ik ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="51cc" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: 500; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 28px; margin: 1.72em 0px -0.31em;">Week Monday 17th May — Friday 21st May</h2><p class="il im dl in b ek io ip iq en ir is it iu iv iw ix iy iz ja jb jc jd je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="38a8" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 0.86em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">T</span><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">he early morning sunshine was misleading.</mark> By the time I got to the junction of Green Lanes and the A406 (otherwise known as the North Circular Road, or North Circ) on my two-wheeler, <mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">the sky was overcast and north wind-driven grey clouds were presaging heavy rain.</mark></p><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="a239" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">It didn’t take long for the showers to materialise</mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">. </mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Nothing like a Monday morning downpour to snap you awake and set you for the week ahead.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="097d" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">O</span>ne and a half sugars is either just one or two. <mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Very rarely does the person making the tea or coffee get it right. </mark>That’s a fact. This applies to all work environments, from offices to school staff rooms.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="bd28" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">“S</span><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="kz" style="box-sizing: inherit;">tyle is a function of theme. Style is not imposed on subject-matter, but arises from it. Style is truth to thought. </em></mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="kz" style="box-sizing: inherit;">The correct word, the true phrase, the perf</em></mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"><em class="kz" style="box-sizing: inherit;">ect sentence are always “out there” somewhere; the writer’s task is to locate them by whatever means he can.</em></mark><em class="kz" style="box-sizing: inherit;"> For some this means no more than a trip to the supermarket and a loading-up of the metal basket; for others it means being lost on a plain in Greece, in the dark, in snow, in the rain, and finding what you seek only by some rare trick such as barking like a dog.</em>” <em class="kz" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Flaubert’s Parrot </em>by Julian Barnes.</p><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="2a1f" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">The same is applicable to cycling. The way we create our own “cycling style” is similarly individualised</mark>. How we set our pedal up, on the left or the right. How we check the traffic around us, either a furtive glance over our shoulder, or a more professional-looking, almost-under-the-armpit look. How we navigate stationery vehicles at junctions (some slalom their way around them until they get to the front, others prefer to hang back at the end of the queue). <mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">This is what defines us as riders. And as instructors.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="27a3" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">In</span>most schools you find the same old messages on the noticeboard: timetables, health and safety directives, union bulletins and staff responsible for safeguarding. <mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">And then, there are the schools in which you come across a beautiful display of photos where people are hugging and beaming at the camera, in the “before” times</mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7551" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">L</span><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">ife’s not about finding all the right answers, but asking yourself tough questions.</mark> I<mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">f not, ask a cycling instructor. We arrive in schools with the expectation of providing nuggets of wisdom on how to ride on the road. Most of the time, though, what we’re doing is unlocking knowledge. We’re eliciting the answers our young charges already have but are too young or afraid to ask.</mark></p><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7152" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Cycling training is not just about riding a bicycle well, but </mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">capitalising on the sense of freedom your pair of wheels has already given you and building up the skills and capacity to do it more often and more assertively.</mark> <mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">In a nutshell, we provide the frame(work), you provide the feet and the brain.</mark></p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="e409" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">T</span>hat moment when a member of staff starts a conversation about a particular child only to realise halfway through that there’s a visitor in the staff room (me) and suddenly ellipsis ensues.</p></div></div></section><div class="n p fa os ot ls" role="separator" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); display: flex; font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 24px;"><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow ox" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; margin-right: 20px; width: 3px;"></span><span class="ou fp gp ov ow" style="background-color: #080808; border-radius: 50%; box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; height: 3px; width: 3px;"></span></div><section class="dd de df dg dh" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8); font-family: medium-content-sans-serif-font, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="n p" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><div class="ab ac ae af ag di ai aj" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 64px; max-width: 680px; min-width: 0px; width: 680px;"><p class="il im dl in b ek on ip iq en oo is it iu op iw ix iy oq ja jb jc or je jf jg dd ei jh" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="7741" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;"><span class="s ji jj jk jl jm jn jo jp jq ff" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-size: 66px; line-height: 0.83; margin-right: 12px; padding-top: 7px; position: relative;">A</span><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">sensor-operated bin greets me when I step into the disabled toilet.</mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;"> </mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">Its slowly-opening mouth an inviting yawn to drop my litter or take a peek in</mark><mark class="th ti jy" style="background-color: #e8f3e8; box-sizing: inherit; color: currentcolor; cursor: pointer;">. I choose the latter and I’m presented with an array of used tissues and sanitary towels. It looks slightly frightening, this bin, it does. It reminds me of a crocodile, lying still on the grass, fangs open, its long row of teeth on display.</mark></p></div></div></section><p><br /></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-4787582439836336602021-07-14T00:01:00.001+01:002021-07-14T22:00:24.988+01:00Meals on (Two) Wheels<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="sohne, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #757575; font-size: 22px;">Andu Cafe: the flavour of Ethiopia in Dalston</span></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSEhHtWGI9PzIBKXRvGsA8KwXkKoKhloN8x3LAjA_HI48mN2LFGSRIfe4d_bc_VxwNniNI_vmQ6qBvpZ902WZZAglgMMsTp67TmmufwQpgrFBmX3ACU4kIyh-Kdeknzczjdl_dAkR_yM/s4608/2021-04-11-041620871.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="2581" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSEhHtWGI9PzIBKXRvGsA8KwXkKoKhloN8x3LAjA_HI48mN2LFGSRIfe4d_bc_VxwNniNI_vmQ6qBvpZ902WZZAglgMMsTp67TmmufwQpgrFBmX3ACU4kIyh-Kdeknzczjdl_dAkR_yM/w358-h640/2021-04-11-041620871.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>Some of us have kept the high street food
economy going with occasional takeaway orders during these lockdown times.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It was my girlfriend who told me about Andu Café in
Dalston, east London. This is an area well known to both of us. We’ve been to The
Arcola Theatre, just down the road and to gigs at the Dalston Eastern Curve, on
Dalston Lane.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, I knew nothing about Andu, an Ethiopian
vegan restaurant on Kingsland Road. Already this is another place to add to
Meal on (Two) Wheels’ ever-increasing list of must-visit cafes and eateries in
the Big Smoke.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Andu’s success is a combination of low-price,
high-quality food, friendly service and cash-only policy. The punters outside
(some of whom looked like regulars) were evidence of this.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoTqzadKYiTpwTB1FN5vNhP9HYgVkRmJqJ4mQGd1YpjQTyVQQ6BZZnsWvTjrvyEOLDq00DBWAcW33ZxBx6MJoN395iKLg9euj0vvcuP1sW2IBscrzUtXtlHWWIF730K3vMB6psun9ZJk/s3388/2021-04-11-083101127.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3247" data-original-width="3388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoTqzadKYiTpwTB1FN5vNhP9HYgVkRmJqJ4mQGd1YpjQTyVQQ6BZZnsWvTjrvyEOLDq00DBWAcW33ZxBx6MJoN395iKLg9euj0vvcuP1sW2IBscrzUtXtlHWWIF730K3vMB6psun9ZJk/s320/2021-04-11-083101127.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Beautiful, tasty and well-presented food<br />(photo by the author)</b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The menu’s simplicity betrays its tastiness.
There’s only the sampler platter to try. This is a six-dish mix of spicy lentil
stew, greens, spiced potatoes and onion, two split peas and some vegetables.
This is usually served with either rice or <i>injera</i>, the traditional
Ethiopian bread. I would strongly recommend choosing the latter.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I’ve written in this section before about Ethiopian
food. Andu’s food is as good as Mesi’s Kitchen’s, even though the latter’s menu
is far more varied.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />The <i>gomen</i> were nice and crunchy. The <i>yesimir
wot</i> (lentil stew cooked in a <i>Berbere</i> sauce) was well seasoned. The
lightly curried mix of cabbage, potatoes and onions (<i>tikil gomen</i>) was
tender and well cooked.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is street food the way it should taste:
gloriously satisfying and cheap. As London prepares to open up the doors of its
cafes, restaurants and pubs, Andu’s should be on everyone’s list. Whether to
sit in or take away, it won’t matter, the grub will still be good.</span></p>A Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.com18