More Snaps

Yay! The sun is shining and it's lovely and warm. Tempted me out on the old Argos road bike this morning  for a quick pootle round the village which was very nice indeed. Not sure the legs appreciated it mind you.

Prints on the table

As a result, the next darkroom session will be put back as I hate wasting good sunshine by sitting in the dark! Oh, well, the snaps from the wedding I recently went to will have to wait. I have a few prints done already thank goodness.

Mr Posse is back home asnd soon to be wandering down to Wales for the weekend. Mr Posse does nothing but surprise us! And recently has been no exception :-)

Mr Posse in the Summer Parlour

Cycling club huts

There are not many of the things left it is fair to say. The famous De Laune cycling club had one at one time but sold the land for about 10 trillion groats and are now the richest cycling club in the UK.

The Ayr Roads Cycling club still has theirs thanks to the good work of the members and especially Vic Posse to keep the thing in goodish order.

The Great Man- VIC POSSE - looks out of the club hut onto the rabble.

Yes, Mr Posse had his 75th there- and great fun it was too even though we did not get to play pass-the-parcel while we were there. It rained though, not long after this shot was taken.

Summer is coming !

You can tell when summer is on its way when the wet weather gear comes out again after being put away for a week or so.
The rain lashed down yesterday, the wind blew hard too but surprise surprise, the ferry went to the mainland and back - not I'd have wanted to be on it though.

 Eve and Mr Posse enjoy the windy walk!

Down to the beach.

Mr Posse was still here so, we chatted the morning away, did some 'stuff' and then ventured out when the rain eased a bit. Twas lovely - the walk down cemetery road to a beach hereabouts. Breezy but really lovely.

Had a text message from some pals who are on their way up here from the southern isles " marooned on Barra; force 10 gales and no ferries". Ah well, at least they are getting the full island experience!

Saturday was a little better - as it is today. Warmish too. Eve and Mr Posse took to their bikes then and we met Mr Windy in The Woodlands cafe after a lovely coffee with Mr & Mrs Toots! How lovely was that?

 Before the ride,or was it after?

 Mr Windy casts a critical eye into my Olympus XA2

Hopefully the weather will have settled to our usual [whatever that is] by the time Ms ook arrives!

Stornoway sunshine

See, the sun can shine [for a short time ]

Three cyclists

This may have been 2011 but they all still ride. Mr Gilbert [right] is on the mainland now riding fixed again. Mr Posse [left] is married and will visit again soonish and Eve has a new bike - not just Mr Posse's retro bike to ride.

A once fast table

I used to work at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester before I was 'saved' and got a life. The old track surface, down since the Velodrome opened in 1994, was being replaced just as I was leaving so, as a parting gift, a wonderful carpenter called Alan Whitworth - who also works on the track, made me a fantastic table from the old surface. Here it is complete with scratches, track-lines and probably a bit of Craig Mcleans skin, now located in the summer parlour of our little abode in the Isle of Lewis. This huge table - at which I sit now typing this - finally got here due to the good auspices of Vic Posse who was up visiting recently to bring up his two dogs for a hol. Nice init?

Ongoing

 

Another snap from the recent Perkeo roll of Foma100 shot in a day or something. Love this little camera even if it's a bit battered these days. 

Eve and I were strolling along the harbourside in the sunshine and we noticed that the repaired wall was nearly finished. it's been going on for years and now other bits are collapsing. Did you notice I said the sun was shining! It had been for days although the rain is now back,

We did our cleaning stint at the bowls clubhouse today and treating ourselves to brunch out. Mending the infirm campag rear derailleur on the Late Vic' Posse's  Euroba bike today as well. The lower spring was not functioning and I thought the cage tension spring had broken. I spent ages sourcing and buying a new spring then found today that the thing was gummed up despite outward clean appearances. A little bit of tinkering and cleaning and now the thing works fine.

Did I tell you we are back home?

We are back home after negotiating what are the hell of mainland roads [and contributing to that hell]. We weddinged up Mr & Mrs Pardoe - which was lovely and, saw the Posse Ayrshire clan which was great. Visited the Irvine Maritime Museum, ate cake and got tired [then ate more kake]. Lovelee.

Since I specialise in wedding snaps, I did take a camera. I might have to show you a snap too.

Ok, here's one I prepared just now. No idea who it is but I think it was this last wedding.

not the best but lovely

 

Not the worlds best shot but a lovely snap of Eve racing a criterium with our great friend Vic Posse who is a tad unwell at the moment. We wish him all the very best for his recovery.

Back in the the day the racing club we ran promoted quite a few tandem races both on the track and on road circuits like here. Great fun but I did rather have my fingers crossed at time - tandem crashes are not fun. Having said that we never had one during all the promotions thank goodness.

scootering

Told you they were everywhere. whizzing this way and that - all ages aboard and not an obvious problem anywhere. 

Got the bike Eve is going to use for a forthcoming retro bike ride down from the loft. A lovely campag equipped Euroba - race owned by a good pal Vic Posse. The freewheel is being super-efficient as I write, freewheeling in both directions which it shouldn't. I have let loose on the wd40 and hope that will do the trick.

Bear with me while go out to the darkroom to develop a film. Will not be long.

 

Mr & Mrs Posse

Posing for me in Irvine outside the Scottish  maritime museum. Lovely day and some fab ice creams afterwards.

That's it; I'm close to throwing myself off the edge of the ...... carpet!

La la la LA LA LA LA LA. 

Has it gone yet? I mean, can I open my eyes and see if it's gone? 

Oh, I can't hear anything. Can't see nowt neither, the curtains are drawn and everything. It's all stopped shaking too. Maybe it's stopped - for the time being.

They are really nice mind you but that hammering - argh! Only three weeks to go and it'll be all over - if I haven't thrown myself off the [fairly ] deep pile carpet first!

Anyway, as I wasn't saying - but should have been, I found this little snap I tooked a while back whilst slumming it in Ayrshire - that's the mainland UK just below the bit just above and all that. I was there for Mr Posse's celebration of 75 years past his birthday. This was / still is Angie, posing in the water. The sea stuff.

This will see the inside of the darkish room - once I can find a space and a suitable moment.

Sex romp

I'm still reeling from the little doggie in the back of Brendon's car who insisted on humping his bed repeatedly while we drove from there to there - along the Electric Brae. The Electric Brae was indeed so exciting as birthday boy Vic Posse had advised that I almost managed to stay awake. But the antics of Charlie the dog fair put me off my dinner.

We'd ventured onto the mainland for the party - all balloons and what have you. When I say balloons, we were ordered to blow countless of the blighters up but, apart from a few bursting on the newly cut grass of the field we were in at the club hut for the party, they didn't see the light of day again. Still, the soup was great, the cakes too and we all had a grand time.

Here's former World Masters Track Cycling Champ Mr Smith making balloons, taken with the Kodak Cresta on Chinese film. Eh? And yes, Mr Smith is 84 and still riding his road racing bikes!

Vic

 

Sad to say our great pal Victor Posse died yesterday.

Think this picture sums Vic up - always up for a challenge here riding a tandem criterium race with Evelyn some years back. 

A fine fellow, he will be missed by everyone not least his wife Gwyneth and the rest of his family.

Rest in Peace Sir