Last Saturday I went to the Garden Party at my previous place of employment only to discover I was a day early. Fortunately the home next door were having their Summer Fete so I went there instead. 

Maypole dancing in August!

I have finished writing the account of my cycle trip and hope to talk to the printer next week. Still need to have it proof read and to do whatever corrections and additions are required but I feel I am getting there.

I have cycled over to Lancaster a couple of times recently, I am amazed that I can manage a journey that only a year ago I would have considered a major undertaking. I am rarely using the car.

Giggleswick show on Saturday.

Gosh doesn't time go quickly and yet I  don't seem to have much to report.
I am still making progress on the book, am getting the hang of it now and I am happy with what I am writing, unfortunately this means I will need to review what I wrote at the beginning to make sure it matches the rest.
I will still need a few more weeks.
I cycled 48 miles today to Lancaster and back and was delighted to get there in under 2 hours. I am getting stuff together to show at Giggleswick Show on August 10th (be there or be somewhere else). I am taking part in a transport research project at Lancaster University, it sounds very interesting looking at what influences our choices about how we get from one place to another.

Morecambe Bay sunset

Still looking for a job, anyone got one?

So hit, so humid, we British are not used to such prolonged heat. I feel like I am melting and am hoping the thunder arrives to freshen things up.

Gordale Scar

Crackpot Hall, Swaledale.

I have been walking in the Yorkshire Dales, see pics. What a wonderful part of the world. No need to go cycling for 2000 miles there is some of the finest scenery right on my doorstep.

I am getting on top of turning the blog of my trip into a book and hope to have the script finished in a week or two.
I have been offered a relief worker job but am still looking for a permanent job.
The hot weather is not good for cycling in, I am glad I am not pedalling around in this weather.
I am going out early for bike rides before it gets too warm.
The Tour de France is coming through the Yorkshire Dales next year and already accommodation businesses are advertising for the event.
I am more interested preparing for Giggleswick Show on 10th August and the Festival of Walking on 18th August www.walkforall.com

I really now have reached that age when I can go out wearing clothes that are comfortable but not stylish, the children aren't around to stop me appearing in shorts that reveal my white short fat legs and it is great.
I am disappointed that the cortisone injection I had in my frozen shoulder hasn't made much difference so I shall just have to put up with it until it eases naturally.
Still no work but have some interviews coming up so hoping.
Making some progress with getting a book written, fresh approach seems to be working.
I have been over to Fountains Abbey today, every time I go I discover some new little corner I haven't seen before. Wonderful place.

July.

Gisburn forest from Whelpstone crag.
Gosh it is difficult writing  book.
I had blithely thought it would just be a case of tinkering with what I had written in this blog and adding bits.
However, I am all over the place grammatically and I keep going from present to past tense.
I am now trying my third rewrite this time not worrying about about a separate chapter for each day just writing as it comes and having a section for stats, route and distances. Wimbledon keeps interrupting my progress but I'm getting there.
Went for a good walk to Whelpstone crag today, surprised how extensive the bike trails in Gisburn forest have become and how many people are out riding them.

I attended a memorial meeting on Saturday, we were remembering a remarkable woman who had been an inspiration and help to so many people as well as being wife and mother in a kind and loving family. The Meeting House was packed with people all of whom had had their lives enhanced by this person and although I had known her for many years learned so much more about her life from others. I was taken back to my Mother's memorial meeting when again I had learned things about my own Mother and how she touched people's lives in positive ways. It makes me think about my own life and how I might be regarded by others.
I went to a concert by the Haffner orchestra in Lancaster the same evening, they played pieces by Bartok, Holst, Hummel and finished with an uplifting rendition of Beethoven's 6th symphony.
Sunday was spent helping student son leave one house and then go back next day to another house. What fun.
Went to the quiz last night and we won two rounds so will soon be able to go for another meal out!
Still trying to knock my blog ramblings into some sort of coherent prose for a book but it is not easy with my tenuous grasp of the English language (grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation and tense are all providing a challenge).