1st ride and a bit of local history.
 

Haven't been doing much for the last couple of months-and that means anything. I've had a lot of problems but the one that has affected my riding has been a Joint and muscular discomfort. Even driving has been a problem but today--Fine morning- warm temperature- wind of 15mph from the SE. so timefor a ride.

Only a "Recovery" ride as I did did know how the hips-knees and thighs were going to stand up to pressure. one thing had to be on the cards though and that was a coffee and Breakfast on the seafront.
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No pie but Scrambled eggs on toast as it was only 9am.

The history part. Back in the 18th. century England was experiencing a few problems with Napoleon Bonaparte so defences were built up along the Kent and Sussex coast in case of invasion. Locally we have several of the defence towers and a "Fort" called the Redoubt. This is right on the seafront at Eastbourne and was never used in anger as the invasion never came but it has been used as a military establishment ever since. Nowadays it is just a Tourist attraction but a lot of military history with Southern Army Regiments. As it was open when I passed- I took a look to find that it was an open day and the now defunct regiment of "The Diehards" was on show.

http://www.thediehards.co.uk/

Only a few young lads and a loud Sergeant barking orders to them but apparantly they were noted as Sharpshooters within the British Army.
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The redoubt was set up as a Gun emplacement but by the 1900's- the fort had become redundant as a defence site and in WW1 the guns were melted down for the scrap metal as they were "Old Technology". One has been "Borrowed" from Portsmouth and shows the seriousness that this defence was regarded. "Bony" was considered a real threat to England. The other pic shows that if "Bony" had landed and the cannons fired- There would not have been much left of Eastbourne.
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So on with the ride and a few miles to get in and a few slopes to see how I was going to fare. Plenty of other cyclists out today and I had a couple come past me on the back roads so decided to see if I could stick with them. Couple of youngsters in their 40's and I sat behind them for a couple of miles till a slope came up. Don't know how but I passed them and left them. These looked like serious riders and we were doing around 20mph before the hill. Then they just dropped into granny and spun--I didn't. Luckily the legs held up but the lungs did get a workout.

So only 30 miles at a gentle pace and not of much interest so just hope you enjoy the history.

And here I thought you were planning for the wedding on the 29th.

Nice post, Stapfam! I like the website photos of the guards in their busbys; it reminds me of the lead soldiers my dad had on display when I was a child.
I was just thinking of you this morning as I was giving my garden a Spring-clean! I truly hope all your problems have been resolved.

No Pie??? Any time of the day is good for pie......

What wedding????

Thought you had decided to stay in Malaysia as we haven't heard from you for a while.

Apparantly one of the Queens grandson's is getting married. Don't mind too much as that day has been declared a National Holiday. And 9am was not too early for Pie- I was too hungry so had breakfast instead. Pie came later.

And Miss Kenton-- Today was getting the pool ready for Summer We have had 2 days of sun so the wife wanted the pool filled-cleaned and decking cleaned. The garden is just recovering from our hard winter and finding the holes where we have lost plants.

But tomorrow looks like our 3rd day of sun in a row. Providing no adverse effect from my first sensible ride of the year--I should be able to get a few hills in. Just to see if they have grown over the winter.

Good to see you back.:thumb:

Re: the hills growing, they have.

Good to hear from you again, and I'm glad you're feeling good enough to ride and dust your youngers on hills!

Re the quote above, did you get the story in the St. Andrews evening paper, along the lines of "2 St Andrews graduates announced their engagement. One is an RAF trainee and the other has an administrative position in a retail chain"

Nothing at all wrong with either job, both very respectable, just nice to read a more factual and less giddy report!

Just face it--Until Prince "Bill" gets a more prominent role within the Monarchy-Like become King- he is just a mere mortal like the rest of us. A very rich and fortunate mortal but at present he has his own life to forge and make.

I cannot remember the Queens wedding but I do Remember Charles' wedding and that was not lasting.

Now a Coronation- That is something I will get excited about as I can remember the street party we had at the last one. Fish paste sandwiches and a jelly with real fruit instead of tinned stuff. Someone must have had a contact in the Black Market to get the amount of food and lemonade us kids put away that day.

And for the Americans--That was in 1953 and Britain was still in the throes of Food Shortages from the war. Most food had only just come off rationing and it was hard to find-let alone buy.

I liked the history lesson and the information about your ride.

My ancestor Horatio Nelson was key in the demise of Napoleon.

Well Stepfam, the 'Diehard Regiment' may be defunct but clearly their stubbornness still inspires. Bravo! Well done.

Glad you're starting to feel your old self again.

Thanks for the history lesson and for taking the time to share the colorful pictures.