Bikes…
Jude needs a new bike, so we were hopeful that the Chopper down at the shop at Patmos would do for him. It was also reduced! So, we took his old bike & Eve’s bike down (her bike needs repairing) on Thursday evening… only to find that the Chopper was too big. He couldn’t ride it comfortably. Eve could, but that was not the point really. So Jude needs another – he didn’t have one in the shop, but said he’d try at his garage & over at a couple of other shops he’s friendly with. Jude didn’t accept that well – the ‘now’ thing was praying on him. He cried & needed carrying home (such was his misery).
Friday I bumped into Jack on the way home, just past the newsagents, he having parted company with Thomas & finishing of some chocolate (guiltily). Thomas gave it to him (he doth protest too much) as I pointed out (grinning) that I wasn’t telling him off, was I? Popped in at the bike shop & nothing doing – no bike for Jude at the garage or shops in Nelson or Burnley. Ooooh dear…. Eve’s bike not fixed either because no ‘little chain thing that attaches to the gears’ (can’t recall the name). But I make a mental note it’s an 18 inch wheel that we’re after (as well as one with gears, obviously) when he tells me there’s a couple of other chances he’s going to check. He saw that Jude was upset & he was a little affected – he doesn’t like to disappoint.
Saturday morning I pop to get the paper & dib in… nope – no fix, no bike. I remember that Eve’s front tyre needs replacing as well, so point this out. I suspect he’s basically out of leads, so I say not to worry too much – we’ll look if he keeps his eyes open & what will be will be. Jude is disappointed. Eve is disappointed her bike is not fixed as well – she spends a good deal of her play with Amber over the road playing on bikes. Amber looks to have an 18 inch wheel bike with gears, but this also has pinkness & flowery decals.
It’s a low key weekend. Jack has history homework; they have to do a historical figure. Choose anyone from history & write about them – someone who changed the world also seems to be an important criteria. Jack has chosen Dr Barnados; he’s not sure why, but Louise & I kinda suspect it’s the helping the downtrodden, education & equality which (given his Thursday night dream of converting buses into off road vehicles & driving them to Africa to be used as classrooms seems to chime with his general thinking at the moment). He gets upset that we criticise his lifting of phrases & paragraphs from the Internet wholesale & decides that he’ll do Henry VIII instead as he has his own source material (studies from juniors) on the subject. Digs this stuff out (making a mess of his room in the process) and then complains that Henry VIII is boring (and also one of the suggested characters from discussion in class).
Leave it a bit Jack.
We go to the supermarket (him & me) via the library (no books on on Henry of Thomas Barnado) but there’s a DVD he likes the look of & a couple of books I wouldn’t have minded if I had time for reading at the moment). We chat about things on the way into town & he points out that kids his age would hardly ever have seen a dead body, but in Bernado’s time.. I point out that this is a darn good way of opening his history essay were he doing Thomas Barnodo & we chat some more along these lines & let him mull it over.
At home he’s doing Barnado again & Louise & I outline an approach for him to tackle writing it (research on the internet – print things out – read these & highlight the salient points & then write up in the structure plan he has (he had a structural plan all along he wasn’t sticking to it). He makes some good progress.
Sunday, Eve has borrowed Jack’s bike (against his wishes) & is plying with Amber when Amber’s next door neighbours offer Eve a bike. She comes to tell us, I pop over & it’s clear that the bike is somewhat big for her (it’s bigger than Jack’s) but we tend to not look a gift horse in the mouth, we say thank you very much & she’s off (somewhat shakily) on it taking it back round to the back street.
…continuing…
16/09/08@06:51:55
So, we’re all on the back street checking over the ‘new’ bike – Louise has had a go & Jack has had a go & Jude is a bit upset because he hasn’t got his bike yet… He knows my earlier enquiries have come to nothing because I checked when I was getting the newspaper that morning.
So we’re there chatting away & Brenda over the road pops out for something & overhears us. We tell her of our surprise acquisition & the says she has a new bike. Nice ladies bike – folder. John get it out to show us. John says he’s supposed to be riding a bike for his knee, but the one he has isn’t so good – he can’t get it in the car & he can’t get his leg over (queue gag re asking the man at the bike shop as to whether he could do anything with his bike because he can’t get his leg over, “It comes to us all” is the response from the older bike shop owner.) It’s useless to him & it’s apparently offered to me. I’m not paying attention – Louise graciously accepts & I have a bike as well! How did that happen? ” bikes in one day? Not one for Jude though. Poor Jude is upset.
A little later Jack & I set off to Morrisons on the bikes – zooming there in no time (although I have to say I do not like going down Fernley Lee Road – it is just that bit too steep: both brakes on & concentrating on the misshapen road (lots of roadworks) conscious of cars behind & needing to signal direction & you can’t really turn to check the car behind you & you can’t take your hands off the brake to signal. After that the roundabout in the centre of town seemed a breeze.
Coming back we went up Park Rd – less right turns & not so steep an incline (although longer). I was struggling getting a lower gear so really had to push quite hard. As I reached the point of giving up & reached the top of the hill (well – as far as we were going) & turned round to see how Jack was getting on – his bike slips into some delightfully low gears that I’m sure would be easy for even getting up Fernley Lee. I was a little disappointed to see that he was pushing – he’d got off & was pushing! I would have shouted some chastisement but I was somewhat out of breath.
Yesterday – off to the the other bike shop in town – see if he has anything there. Looks to be – 23 inch frame. I call Louise to measure Jude’s inside leg to see if this would be good for him? He has a 21inch inside leg! Ooh. Well – this bike is green & blue, it has suspension& it has gears & it’s £30? OK, yes tiptoes will do fine! I go back to the shop to get it. Ah, but he’s not checked the bike over since it came in… Ah… He checks over the gears & the do not work quite as well as one would expect… hurumph. He’s not going to let me take it away just yet… he wants to ensure all is well (he brakes seem OK). So – now that we have got Jude’s hopes up we have them dashed once more… Bah.
Tuesdays Todmorden closes… It’ll be Wednesday, then…
