Bookend

Seven hours after I went down to the beach with the dogs and a packet of meatballs, I took the bike to,do a " round robin" 8 mike ride along the promenade from Rhyl to Prestatyn and back.
The halfway point is a nondescript hotel called The Beaches, which overlooks the sea, and as I turned the bike around, I suddenly heard a commotion from the verandah bar area.
Five people were waving at me, all red faced and very  much the worse for wear.
A chorus of "  Dobrey- something" ( I couldn't hear the second word) rang out
and one guy, waved his full pint of beer energetically as he added a cheerful and slurring  "yaayyyyy.......meatballs!" In way of greeting
The other drinkers looked somewhat perplexed.
I cycled away after a brief wave and  a smile......I still have not mastered taking my hands from the handlebars

32 comments:

  1. Such a small world. Next time ask him for his wife's cake recipe. Please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I doubt either of them could have recalled it

      Delete
  2. I'm perplexed.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:14 pm

      Janie,

      See previous Going Gently post.

      Love,
      Susie

      Delete
    2. Thank you. Sometimes I miss a post.

      Delete
  3. Were they yelling 'Dzien dobry'? (Pronounced 'Jen Dobray') If so, that's Polish for 'good day. All I recall -- or maybe all I could pronounce -- in a few brief trips to Poland years ago. A very small world, indeed.

    Love your blog.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No Mary is was Dobrey ( something) I couldn't understand or hear the second word

      Delete
    2. Read through your other comments and find that it means good evening. LOL, I love your blog but can truthfully say I never expected to learn Polish in it!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. It didn't sound like YET word

      Delete
    2. Dobri wibo.
      Means good evening .

      Delete
    3. Genkoa. Thank you and here endeth my Polish for tonight.

      Delete
  5. And "Meatballs!" wasn't a thank-you or a greeting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous9:43 pm

    There is a group of happy people who will forever remember the Welshman and the meatballs.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A nice ending to a good story, I'd say!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ah, that's sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  9. They were cheering you on.

    Go!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Obviously a friendly bunch! Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  11. And just how did they know you'd had meatballs?
    I never did learn how to ride no handed, either. One hand or two was my preferred way.
    Good on you to keep up with the riding, John. Take care. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  12. 'The Beaches' hotel, you say? I believe Tom Stephenson was staying there.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous5:50 am

    You haven't "mastered the art" of letting go off your handlebars?

    Try it some time. I can highly recommend it. If only (age ten or so - on a lonely country road, height of summer, on your way back from school, happy like the as yet to be identified 'Larry') your front wheel hitting a stone, destabilizing what was a good idea if not executed well. Yes, my knee was a bloody drama. Not to me. It just was. So I limped home all one kilometer of it. And then, and this, John, is where it pays to fall off your bike, over the next few days my knee crusted over. I kept the scab alive for weeks - by picking at it. Till I lost interest. Now I am as good as new.

    Throw them a meatball from me,
    U

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love the Polish lessons today Meatballs !

    ReplyDelete
  15. A reader of your blog maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  16. I immediately thought of 'dobre dania' which I have heard before. But I think it might be Czech. It supposedly means good food and would fit in with them being at a hotel and shouting about meatballs.

    ReplyDelete
  17. You did the right thing. Never stop to converse with people who are excited about something you don't understand --especially if they seem full of strange enthusiasms. A friendly wave and a fast bicycle satisfy courtesy.

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Delinski blood in me is utterly disappointed you didn't hop up on the veranda to learn some Polish drinking songs.

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes