Get On Your Bike

Today, I bumped into one of those sullen teens that village elder Islwyn had conscripted to help dig out the now leaf filled and silt covered duck pond.
We have very little in common, except for knowing the ever busy Islwyn, but he made a point of telling me that after a fair while looking, he had finally found a full time job!
The job is based at a recycling plant 600 feet down and 8 miles away on the coastal plain and would mean a bone crunching 5 am start.... A daunting prospect just as we edge our way into the snow season.
I asked the teen how he was going to get to work at that ungodly hour and without any hesitation he said brightly
" I'll bike it!"....
My response of " good for you" didn't quite cover the admiration I felt
And I couldn't help thinking that Norman Tebbit of " get on your bike and look for work" fame, would now be waving his knickers around his head with joy at the prospect of a young  man slogging back from work up a 1 in 6 hill in the pitch black.
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Hypnotised by a chicken leg
Chris is working away again, so tonight I roasted a chicken and me and the dogs shared it in front of a roaring fire as a bit  of a treat.
I have toyed with the idea of a trip to the cinema but I just can't be arsed.......how " teenage" am I?


46 comments:

  1. Very!

    And wot, no scotch eggs!

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    1. I am on weight watehers
      Only ones itch egg allowed per week!

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  2. In the 1930s my Granddaddy cycled from way 'oop north' heading south ,stopping to look for work on the way. He ended up in Coventry. He beat Tebbit to it!
    Jane x
    Jane x

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    1. It was the spirit that won us the war

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  3. Anonymous5:43 pm

    Best Picture!

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  4. God bless the lad! He seems positive and eager!
    As for YOU, get your butt on that couch and go see something--Thor? Lots of eye candy there.

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    1. Did consider it
      But my armchair has won out

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    2. Thor! Phoar! I never liked men with long hair before but for Thor I will make an exception

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  5. In these tough times, my son, undaunted and screwed around by job agencies and a government that shows contempt for the youth these days, got on his bike and finally found a full time job.

    Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar says hello to the dogs! :)

    Take care, my friend.

    Gary

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  6. Good for the kid. I hope he makes it, in life as well as to work.

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  7. An avid reader yet first time commenter however couldn't resist remarking on the cute little 'ear headband' worn by Meg or could it just be gorgeous George awaiting his turn?! x

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    1. And you have a bunny tail in today's third photo

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    2. I see the George ears but what bunny tail ? I only see one photo.

      cheers, parsnip

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    3. On Rachel's blog have a look x

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  8. I do that when my husband is away. Nothing is ever wasted on a roast chicken when you have dogs.....

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  9. Anonymous6:20 pm

    Look at the puppies waiting patiently for their chicken. Good dogs. My congrats to the young man for finding work.

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  10. Favorite Young Man usually cycles to work, a trip of many miles (Porsche currently disabled). Then he goes on long rides to the beach or out and about with friends. He rides hundreds of miles every week.

    Love,
    Janie

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  11. Well done that lad. Most of the Teens in our village wouldn't dream of using any other form of transport than 'Mummy's Chelsea Tractor' :o(

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  12. Good for that young man! Oft times a rarity these days. And prayers for his driving in the winter.....Winifred is looking as pretty as ever!

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  13. That will certainly be something to tell his children and grandchildren about one day..."You think you have it hard? Let me tell you about my first job..." Those poor kids.

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  14. The fixed concentration of a dog wanting food whilst one is eating can be both fascinating and irritating, this ability being most noticeable in our rottweiller girls!

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  15. I admire the young man's enthusiasm for his newly secured employment. Although I do believe a actually arising at 3AM and shoving off on his bike at 4 AM may not be as doable in reality (especially when he is greeted by a cold driving rain as Winter arrives) as his plans are in his mind. My best hope would be that he quickly meets someone on the job that can share a ride with him & split the petrol cost. He is too young & determined to be squashed by some delivery truck and end up lying in a ditch.
    So...was that the young man's roundabout way of communicating that he would not be available to help clean out the pond mess?

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  16. Excellent fellow...much more backbone than some of the teens around here....

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  17. I find that when you take an active interest in the youngsters you find that the majority have some redeeming characters ....well hidden in most but there is something going on in there that is worthy of a little praise.
    Have you listened to "The Kitchen Cabinet" R4 this afternoon?
    I thought of you straight away, like aural porn for you!!
    Catch it on the iPlayer

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    1. Yes it was great fun.....loved the old guy who hated veg

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  18. Oh how I love those doggies.
    It's very good to hear of a lad with a bit of gumption. Well done him. I think some of these kids need is a bit of encouragement and a pat on the back.

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  19. I hope that teen's enthusiasm stays with him as he's pedalling. There was a period in my life where i didn't have any transport besides my legs to get me from home to job. You just do what needs doing, and that's that.

    Love the photo. When i have roasted chicken chez moi, the cats are as fixated as your dogs. Everyone loves roasted chicken in this house.

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  20. I think you were hypnotised by those melting eyes at least as much as the dogs by the chicken.
    And congratulations to the job finder - and happy and safe rides to him.

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  21. That kid is getting a good cardio foundation for the future......hope he makes it through the winter!
    Sweet photo of the dogs!

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  22. Anonymous10:16 pm

    sharing that meal at the fire sounds wonderful!

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  23. Just e-mailed an old friend inviting her for a spot of lunch and a good old civilized stroll.......... the spell check sent her the invitation of " a good old fashioned vivisected walk" she replied "look forward to it!"

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  24. That's a wonderful attitude, even though I despised Norman Tebbit for expressing it. I am currently dealing with some 40 year-old cunts who could take a leaf from that young one's book. I am just about to call them such, in fact.

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  25. Wishing that young fella lots of luck...looks like he' s making some of his own...
    my cats were gazing at my ham sandwich exactly the same way today...yes...they did each get a bite

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  26. Inquiring minds would love to know if you knew him a sullen teen before the encounter? At any rate, nothing like a good job to cheer up a kid. I do hope he finds a ride soon, although I also remember the determination of my oldest daughter, bicycling twenty miles a day to a volunteer job, all one summer.

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  27. nothing like a roasted chicken to get a dogs attention. teddy lives for them. i am roasting two tomorrow morning.

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  28. Haha. Great photo of the dogs.
    Hope the young man will be safe biking in the dark. And here's hoping he meant bicycle, and not motorcycle--which is also known by the word 'bike' here.
    Have a great Wednesday!

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  29. Love that picture. Winnifred and I share similar foreheads. I must try to stop frowning!

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  30. May I just remind everyone of what Norman Tebbit ACTUALLY said. He was referring to his unemployed father back in the 1930's (?), and said "He got on his bike and looked for work, and didn't stop until he found it". Poor Norman is much maligned.

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    1. p.s. I had friends who lived in Malawi, and their gardener used to walk 10 miles to work in the morning, and another 10 miles home in the evening. No bike!

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  31. I'm off to a cheapo film matinee in just 3 hours. Wonder if my review will be good enough to coax you out.

    Btw: That pic is a winner.

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  32. My dad aged fifteen was evacuated to North Wales in the war, he got on his bike & cycled home to Liverpool, faked his age & joined the Royal Marines !

    Wish the sullen hoodied stealers of bikes for drug money teenagers in our village would get their arses into gear.... I was so pleased to hear one was working in the boat yard... he lasted one day. They were such nice little boys ...what went wrong ?

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  33. Wow, I'm impressed by the guy's determination to have a job, however unpleasant or gruelling the conditions. And a 16-mile round trip on a bike in the depths of winter? Jesus. He deserves a medal! Makes me realise how spoilt I am, with my 20-minute drive to work in a fully-heated office!

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  34. I sometimes commute to work on my bike. 11.5 miles each way. The only part of it I don't love is the 130 foot climb in the last half mile, why did I buy on top of the highest hill in the County?

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  35. Good for him.

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  36. Well done to the lad, I hope that he or his family can get him some decent waterproofs and some high viz stuff, and I wish him very safe journeys.

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