Horse Guards
Horse guards out for the morning exercise. First time I've seen a troop of horses pull out in front of a blue light.
Reading Ride
32k river-ish route, off road and side roads, to Reading. Much nicer than the bus, even if it was warm.
H's electrolytes for a rapid recovery.
Pen-Y-Fan Sunrise
Up early. Early? More like up late since I don't think there was two much sleep before 02:30. For a little amble up to Pen-Y-Fan for sunrise (05:31 according to the Met Office).
We we up on Corn Du for 05:18 and the boys decided a "swift jog" over to Pen-Y-Fan for the moment was entirely doable. Slightly gutted that their pace from summit to summit was substantially brisker than my 5k pace on the flat 🤔
Setting off with nothing but stars, some moon, and the occasional strobe of F's head torch was a little magical.
Camping and wood-fired pizza at the always great Pencelli was fantastic, especially a few hours kip in my awesome Bivvy 🤩
And some not bad low-light captures from this Fuji sensor 📷.
Weir Progress
Progress. Well, preparation progress. We thought it would be a while. And so far it has.
Robertsbridge
Strangeness in Robertsbridge:
- Wheelbarrow guard of honour at the station entrance
- Bike stands used as protection for the planters (and more wheelbarrows)
- A pile of (maybe) donated books for the (possibly) swap-a-book stall in the station?
Winning Here
"in a nonviolent struggle, the only weapon that you’re going to have is numbers." Srdja Popovic, Blueprint for Revolution
Tactical voting FTW!
Didcot and Wantage
| Name of candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
|---|---|---|
| BEATTY Steve | Reform UK | Â 6400 |
| CASEY-RERHAYE Sam | The Green Party | Â 2693 |
| GLOVER Olly | Liberal Democrat | Â 21793 (elected) |
| JOHNSTON David Mervyn | The Conservative Party Candidate | Â 15560 |
| KHAN Mocky | Labour Party | Â 8045 |
| POMLETT Kyn | Social Democratic Party | Â 242 |
Henley and Thame
| Name of candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
|---|---|---|
| CARPIN David | Independent | Â 306 |
| MANLEY-BROWNE Nanda | Labour Party | Â 3574 |
| NEWTON Caroline Anne | The Conservative Party Candidate | Â 17637 |
| POMLETT Maryse | Social Democratic Party | Â 515 |
| ROBB Jo | The Green Party | Â 2008 |
| SHIELDS Peter | Reform UK | Â 5213 |
| VAN MIERLO Freddie | Liberal Democrats | Â 23904 (elected) |
> "And here’s the tricky part: every time we run this exercise, in which we ask people to imagine what’s important to their fellow countrymen, no one ever speaks of things like civil rights, or freedom of religion, or the right to assemble. Those are big things. Instead, people—in the Maldives, in Syria, in Serbia—talk about the little things: they want respect and dignity, they want their families to be safe, and they want honest pay for honest work. That’s it. It’s never sweeping stuff. Too often, however, dissidents fail to realize that it’s the mundane things that move people. Well-educated and passionate, these aspiring revolutionaries focus on lofty quotations from historical leaders and abstract ideas of liberty, forgetting that their constituent is a tired shopkeeper whose needs and thoughts and beliefs are far more basic."
Srdja Popovic, Blueprint for Revolution
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