#365daysofbiking Giving it some stick

April 12th – Mindful Gifts secondhand shop in Darlaston, lunchtime: A selection of every kind of wooden walking stick you could wish for, each with a history and story known only to itself.

This is a wonderful shop and always a delight to mooch around – so much more interesting than a normal charity shop: It’s frenetic, frantic and stacked to the rafters with… Interesting stuff. All in aid of folk with dementia, so what’s not to love?

If I were to need a stick, I’d definitely have the one with the bicycle bell.

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#365daysofbiking Keep me in mind

January 9th – Spotted just hanging around outside the wonderful Mindful Gifts dementia charity shop in Darlaston, this lovely fellow. Not sure of his actual staff role, but clearly an important member of the team.

How adorable!

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#365daysofbiking Blue

December 23rd – A ride out on a wet day on pre-Christmas errands: Getting game, cheese, mince pies and other bits and pieces in the pouring rain. On my way from Whittington to Lichfield, I came over the A38 junction at Hilliards Cross near Fradley South an on the otherwise unremarkable flyover, a flash of blue caught my eye. I stopped, backed up and spotted a blue plaque.

I’m not sure if it’s an official English Heritage plaque, but somehow I doubt it: but it’s a fascinating thing and a real bit of local culture.

The Ride to the Wall is a charity mass motorbike ride to the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, and you can find out more here  – it’s a real spectacle and a great fundraiser for charity.

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#365daysofbiking A goldmine:

October 30th – A shoutout here for a little shop in Darlaston I love – Mindful Gifts. It’s a charity shop, but not as we know it Jim: It’s a veritable treasure trove of music, books, ephemera and great miscellany at really low prices. 

Mindful Gifts is run in aid of folk with dementia and it a really wonderful charity -and there’s always a buzz around the shop. Find out more here.

Do pay a visit if you’re in Darlaston.

November 9th – I’ve also been passing this advert in various spots around town, and it’s bugging me a bit.

No one should have no one at any time of year, not just Christmas.

We can all do something about this here and now.

Any time is a good time to take someones hand, smile and say ‘Hello, chum.’

Do it now.

September 29th – I’ve been passing this odd little feature for years without realising what it was, only learning of it’s true nature a year ago. The ‘park’ – such as it is – lies in the triangle of the junction where Farewell Lane meets Church Road in Burntwood, just by the parish church. Who’d have thought such a small, railing enclosed verge could be classed as a park? It’s a lovely thing, but I wonder which tree is which?