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Simple Simon

Waiting.

All that I can do now is wait; the machines have been oiled, the panniers are being packed.

The whole of the world will soon be beneath my wheels and I am counting the days left upon this sceptered isle.

Normstock.

The fantastic roller coaster that is Normstock came to Brighton beach last weekend. As with all rides, BigBeachBoutique started off with queuing, jostling, and jockeying for position. As you finally settled into your allotted space, you got the feeling that the ride taking place beneath your feet was special.

Like all the best roller coasters, this one started slowly, beats gently climbing towards an aural apex, before crashing down into the breaks. And, just like on a roller coaster, I was one of many with my hands in the air.

Then, with a finale of glitter and fireworks, it was over. The theme park was closing. It was time to meander, natter and reminisce. No one knows if the roller coaster will be built again, but Normstock II will be a fondly remembered night, an event that will pass into legend, and an excellent finish to my English summer.


	Leaving.
	After months of staring at the big map on the wall, days scouring the Internet and hours spent talking in the pub; the day is finally upon us to leave. We have vacated our home, put our possessions into storage, and loaned our animals to family. We are leaving behind familiar Brighton, our much-visited local pub, and all our friends and family. Ahead of us lies that singular truth that everything will be uncertain.
	After two days of last minute buying, planning and looking at maps on pub tables, we leave the hospitality of Bernie and Jeanne's house. Our first moments of cycling with such wobbly and ill packed bikes, (I even have two pounds of home made jam strapped somewhere) are fraught with a mixture of nervousness and despair. Cars nearly mow us down, we daren't stop at the traffic lights lest me lose the momentum built, and stopping and handling the bikes without toppling over is an act we need to master to quickly. Somehow, and in one piece the bikes successfully navigate us to the station, to catch the train to take us to the ferry that will carry us to France.
And as England disappears from view, I sit in clean clothes and freshly waterproofed shoes, smoking a cigarette, wondering how long it will be before something is robbed or stolen, how long will these clothes stay clean and pristine, how long before we lose the naïveté I feel we have, what will be our first accident, what problems will we have with bureaucracy and people in the months to come.
The one thing I can be sure of is that none of my current imaginings will bear any relation to what happens in practice.

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After here we were in France.

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