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
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
Such a small world. Next time ask him for his wife's cake recipe. Please.
ReplyDeleteI doubt either of them could have recalled it
DeleteI'm perplexed.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Janie,
DeleteSee previous Going Gently post.
Love,
Susie
Thanks susie
DeleteThank you. Sometimes I miss a post.
DeleteWere 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.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog.
Mary
No Mary is was Dobrey ( something) I couldn't understand or hear the second word
DeleteRead 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!
DeleteDobri yetchor.
ReplyDeleteGood evening.
DeleteIt didn't sound like YET word
DeleteDobri wibo.
DeleteMeans good evening .
Genkoa. Thank you and here endeth my Polish for tonight.
DeleteAnd "Meatballs!" wasn't a thank-you or a greeting.
ReplyDeleteIt was an observation?
DeleteThere is a group of happy people who will forever remember the Welshman and the meatballs.
ReplyDeleteDobre Deyhn!
ReplyDeleteA nice ending to a good story, I'd say!
ReplyDeleteAh, that's sweet.
ReplyDeleteThey were cheering you on.
ReplyDeleteGo!
Polish vodka?
ReplyDeleteWelsh beer by the look of things
DeleteObviously a friendly bunch! Lovely.
ReplyDeleteAnd just how did they know you'd had meatballs?
ReplyDeleteI 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. ♥
'The Beaches' hotel, you say? I believe Tom Stephenson was staying there.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't "mastered the art" of letting go off your handlebars?
ReplyDeleteTry 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
Love the Polish lessons today Meatballs !
ReplyDeleteA reader of your blog maybe?
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteYou 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.
ReplyDeleteThe Delinski blood in me is utterly disappointed you didn't hop up on the veranda to learn some Polish drinking songs.
ReplyDelete