Tag: found

#365daysofbiking Stone me

February 1st – Heading out to for a gentle spin and resolving to take it a little easier – after all, I’d now got a cold developing which seemed to feature a particularly unpleasant mouth infection as a side dish – I bumbled past the monitoring well sensor post by Pier Street Bridge in Brownhills. Something on top caught my eye.

A beautifully painted smile stone.

There’s a local culture (particularly in Clayhanger in recent years) of painting random found stones with patters, cartoons or any art you fancy, then hiding them for smile stone enthusiasts to find.

Frequently this is a fun activity enjoyed by families with young kids.

I left this one where it was, but it was lovely to see.

Find out more about smile stones here.

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#365daysofbiking A small kindness

December 16th – Another grim, blustery day, but I had a lot to do. Errands were undertaken all afternoon and crossing the Silver Street bridge in Brownhills, I noticed someone had spotted Dora the Explorer had probably been dropped by her friend and popped her for safekeeping up on the handrail.

A small act of kindness like this always warms my heart: Some bereftl child is probably missing this soft toy desperately, and hopefully they will be reunited by now (I posted the find on local Facebook to catch anyone looking).

Thank you to whoever rescued Dora: Your kindness was not unnoticed.

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September 5th – On the way back, I popped to the church at Stonnall, to have another look for the grave of an old acquaintance I knew was there, but had been unable to find for years. I finally found it – slightly neglected, lettering disappearing to the weather, but still there – and unguardedly, I fell into memories for a while.

Decades ago, we’d cycled these lanes together, and discovered places like this quiet churchyard. We weren’t huge pals, but we rode together fairly often, and shared the odd pint.

As I looked from the churchyard over Stonnall, the air had a scent of autumn, and the landscape concurred. I felt a little autumn inside, too.

Time and memory wears you like a stream polishes a pebble bed.

Stepping back into the light, I got on my bike, and rode home.