Ups and Downs

I had my wallet stolen today (hence the title of this post) which was only a major inconvenience until I realised that the silver st. christopher my mum had given me was in there - ironically the safest place I could think to put it - and then it became a bit devastating. It happened in the photo shop as I was picking up my snaps, which have at least provided some consolation. Most of them aren't actually from this trip, they're from some of the preparation visits I did last month in London and Nottingham... Anyway, the captions should be explanatory.

So I'm in London now (dirty, stinking, scabby, thieving London to give it its full title today...) and until today all had been going great, apart from a bolt snapping on my front pannier rack on my way to Hitchin on friday which meant I had to get it fixed on saturday morning and subsequently had to hop a train to London (damn it!) in order to get there in time for the world naked bike ride...

The ride itself was funny, pictures to follow (though not of me, I was firmly behind the camera!)... I began by keeping my cycling shorts on but half way round felt I wasn't really entering into the spirit of it all properly so off they came. I never realised so many people in London had cameras! Most people seemed to find it all quite amusing, though there was some hostility... one person threw a bottle of yakult at me, fortunately unopened. (not very friendly bacteria).

Since putting my clothes back on I've been to a mini-seminar on sustainability and this morning I visited the Islington Ecology Centre - a green project in Gillespie park, currently overshadowed by the massive new Arsenal stadium they're building there. It was interesting to see at first hand some of the stuff we'd talked about at the seminar to do with borough councils, planners & developers and local communities trying to hang on to their green spaces... Quite how I'm going to turn all the jargon and bureaucracy into an entertaining piece of drama that engages young people I don't really know... but I'll burn that bridge once I jump off it, or however the saying goes! For now, I have a cycle ride to plan and a zillion people to phone/email. And a lost wallet to mourn for. With possibly the help of a pint or five. Enjoy the photos...