Broken Stuff and Rude Pictures in Day to Day

On balance, I’ve had a great weekend, but a lot of things broke. The lock on the back door has had a broken spring for weeks, and I finally got around to replacing it yesterday before it locks us out. On Friday morning the grill and toaster both stopped working. The toaster is 20 years old, so I just replaced it. I took apart the cooker yesterday and confirmed a burnt-out grill element. I have ordered a replacement. My only concern is that the thermostat is stuck and that’s what caused it to fail. Last night the iron stopped working. We have a spare. This morning I found the back tyre of my bicycle was flat. I shall try and fix that this evening.

So, why was it “on balance” a great weekend? I’ll tell you. It was naked bike ride weekend! On Saturday I left Regents Park by bike and cycled nude round our capital city for two and a half hours. It was so well organised this year, we were back at Hyde Park Corner by about 5:30. The weather wasn’t great, but it was warm enough, and the sun did come out once or twice. It didn’t rain. I haven’t heard an estimate of the number of riders this year. I’m guessing about 1,500. Not as big as some years, but still a good showing. It would have been more if the weather had been better.

Here are some pictures. None of me this year as I went without a wingman. Lucky I suppose that my tyre didn’t go down yesterday and leave me stranded somewhere on the streets of London.

Getting changed at Regents Park:

Lining up for the start at Cumberland Place:

Approaching Trafalgar Square

Nude with Balloons:

Nutter:

The Mall, Approaching Buckingham Palace:

I was approached by a photographer before the ride who asked if he could take a picture of me. He was photographing 100 London cyclists for a project that he hoped would end in an exhibition, or maybe a book. So I agreed. I was still fully clothed at that point. We had quite a long chat. I also spoke to an Irish fellow after the ride for quite a while. He didn’t approve, but it was quite an interesting conversation. The phrase he used that sticks in my mind was, “Where I come from, Religion has not been a great success story”.

Last updated June 15, 2015