ACME Miscellany

[Oscar's dad]

A good write up ted.  Sorry about the change of tone but the deep, dark, cold night sometimes offers you uncomfortable glimpses into other worlds...

Me, huggy and BFC were on the outskirts of Witham at about half past midnight, according to our Garmins the temperature was hovering between -3 and -4.  I'd just rolled off the A12 bridge and was approaching the Coleman's Bridge industrial estate which has a branch of Screwfix when I noticed a young woman walking onto the bridge on the other side of the road.  She didn't look right, I think it was the 1000 yard stare.  I wasn't sure what to do and thought about it for a few seconds.  If it hadn't been so late and so cold I'd have probably ridden on catch up with huggy and BFC.  Anyhow I turned back and found the lady leaning on the side of the bridge looking at the empty A12.  She obviously wasn't in a good way, told me how shit she was feeling and how shit the world was and how she needed to get to her friend's house in Colchester but the trains had stopped and she couldn't find a taxi that would take her.  She said she was waiting for an HGV to appear on the A12 and she was going to jump off the bridge in front of the lorry.

I started talking to her and she kept telling me to go away and then walked back towards Screwfix.  I switched off my bright lights and followed her.  I managed to persuade her to stop walking and said I would try to get her a taxi which I'd pay for.  I phoned Chet's and the dispatcher said the lady had been giving them trouble during the evening but I said I didn't think it was a good idea for her to be left wandering about and said I thought she'd hurt herself.  The dispatcher said she'd need to get Chet's permission to send a cab and she'd phone me back.  The lady then let me talk to her friend in Colchester and I got his address, the chap told me the ladies name.  By then the lady had relaxed, drank some of my water, and shortly after Chet's phoned back.  They said they would send a car providing I paid by credit card which I did.  About 5 minutes later a cab turned up and off the lady went.  She said she was on probation, she'd had dealings with Open Road who I do my Appropriate Adult volunteering with, it sounded like she had some mental health issues plus problems with drugs and alcohol.

Its a sad world out there and there are some really lost souls 

[psyclist]

Let’s hope the random act of kindness will have a positive impact on her wellbeing. Thanks for sharing OD, does make you stop and think.

[Jem]

Well done for sticking around and not giving up when she told you to go away.
Often, when people say that, it is when they most need help and for someone to just bother to be there and to care.

[JenM]

Steve, Thank you for stopping. You helped not only the girl but the potential lorry driver who may have to live with a lifetime of trauma.

[Nik's Nick]

Good job OD.

[Oscar's dad]

I’m wondering if the next time we all meet up we should have a whip round for The Samaritans.

[Nik's Nick]

Just let Jibers continue to manage the finances, and donate the change every week. It'll soon add up.

[alotronic]

Good Samaratins award - for acts of extreme kindness, as above. Nice work OD, it's very easy to just step over people in distress (literally in London) so good on you for showing some charitable spine.

[Oscar's dad]

I’m getting a bit fed up with this. The Bard turns up last week after many weeks of absence and consequently writes one of his exceptional ride reports. Terrific, normal service resumed. This evening, once again, no Bard. So once again it falls to me to write the ride report    So here it is...

We went to The Hoop at Stock. It was very nice.

[tedshred]

Thank you for that, it was almost like being there.

[Oscar's dad]

Thank you for that, it was almost like being there.

You weren't there, I checked    I had a good rummage around under the table and thoroughly searched both toilets and there was not a single sign of you.

[jiberjaber]

You missed out the "can you move the bikes so we can lock the gates" ruse at about 22:50 to get us going! 

[Oscar's dad]

You missed out the "can you move the bikes so we can lock the gates" ruse at about 22:50 to get us going! 

I don’t do detail anymore. I’m revolting.

[psyclist]

I don’t do detail anymore. I’m revolting.

What has doing detail got to do with being revolting?

[BFC]

As mentioned last night:

1) My birthday bash in Maldon, Saturday 8th December - breakfast at the 'spoons from 09:00 [Rose and Crown - there's a small beer garden to the RH side for bike parking], followed by Christmas Beer Tasting at the Mighty Oak Brewery, from [11:00-15:00] and lunch afterwards at the Blue Boar, probably. All welcome.

2) Colchester Brewery Beer Tasting at Dunmow Maltings, evening of Saturday 16th March. Tickets coming soon - I will get them for anyone interested - Soupy and Mrs T will be going with me.

3) October 2019 will be my 10th anniversary as an AUK Organiser. One of my winter projects is to devise nice sociable 50 and 100km routes, probably Dick Turpin themed, pub start and finish with a pub lunch too. Date somewhere between the Richard Ellis Memorial and the first of the Winter Series.

Soupy couldn't find the above info on the miniature screen on his mobile phone, it had drifted down the thread so brought back to the top for those of us with short attention span......
And don't forget the curry this Wednesday as a practice.

[Tomsk]

^ And as with all our MEMWNS/yacf/ACME events: ALL WELCOME 

[Oscar's dad]

Absolutely!

[tippers_kiwi]

I'm still committed to being shut in a dark room with loud music watching uber energetic young people compete in the sport of cheerleading. I love my kids but it's pretty close to what I might consider mental torture....There is also the small matter of Mrs Tippers birthday the following day (a big one) which I have, as usual, prepared for reasonably badly!

[psyclist]

1) My birthday bash in Maldon, Saturday 8th December - breakfast at the 'spoons from 09:00 [Rose and Crown - there's a small beer garden to the RH side for bike parking], followed by Christmas Beer Tasting at the Mighty Oak Brewery, from [11:00-15:00] and lunch afterwards at the Blue Boar, probably. All welcome.

I checked the Blue Boar website, and under the Food section I found the following:

Due to unseen and unfortunate circumstances, we have now closed our kitchen for lunch and dinner. We hope to have our kitchen open again in the near future and can still offer buffets for parties and events.

Perhaps their website is just out of date, but I thought that I should flag this. Roughly what time is lunch planned for in the schedule?

[jiberjaber]

1) My birthday bash in Maldon, Saturday 8th December - breakfast at the 'spoons from 09:00 [Rose and Crown - there's a small beer garden to the RH side for bike parking], followed by Christmas Beer Tasting at the Mighty Oak Brewery, from [11:00-15:00] and lunch afterwards at the Blue Boar, probably. All welcome.

I checked the Blue Boar website, and under the Food section I found the following:

Due to unseen and unfortunate circumstances, we have now closed our kitchen for lunch and dinner. We hope to have our kitchen open again in the near future and can still offer buffets for parties and events.

Perhaps their website is just out of date, but I thought that I should flag this. Roughly what time is lunch planned for in the schedule?

Sounds like an option to ride to Chequers at Goldhanger via the sea wall !    (ah - I've just realised I've only got my fixed usable for the next few weeks!  )

[BFC]

1) My birthday bash in Maldon, Saturday 8th December - breakfast at the 'spoons from 09:00 [Rose and Crown - there's a small beer garden to the RH side for bike parking], followed by Christmas Beer Tasting at the Mighty Oak Brewery, from [11:00-15:00] and lunch afterwards at the Blue Boar, probably. All welcome.

I checked the Blue Boar website, and under the Food section I found the following:

Due to unseen and unfortunate circumstances, we have now closed our kitchen for lunch and dinner. We hope to have our kitchen open again in the near future and can still offer buffets for parties and events.

Perhaps their website is just out of date, but I thought that I should flag this. Roughly what time is lunch planned for in the schedule?

Sounds like an option to ride to Chequers at Goldhanger via the sea wall !    (ah - I've just realised I've only got my fixed usable for the next few weeks!  )

Whats the problem?   There aren't any hills on the sea wall.
Expect plenty of "walkers" emptying their dogs on a weekend though.

[jiberjaber]

1) My birthday bash in Maldon, Saturday 8th December - breakfast at the 'spoons from 09:00 [Rose and Crown - there's a small beer garden to the RH side for bike parking], followed by Christmas Beer Tasting at the Mighty Oak Brewery, from [11:00-15:00] and lunch afterwards at the Blue Boar, probably. All welcome.

I checked the Blue Boar website, and under the Food section I found the following:

Due to unseen and unfortunate circumstances, we have now closed our kitchen for lunch and dinner. We hope to have our kitchen open again in the near future and can still offer buffets for parties and events.

Perhaps their website is just out of date, but I thought that I should flag this. Roughly what time is lunch planned for in the schedule?

Sounds like an option to ride to Chequers at Goldhanger via the sea wall !    (ah - I've just realised I've only got my fixed usable for the next few weeks!  )

Whats the problem?   There aren't any hills on the sea wall.
Expect plenty of "walkers" emptying their dogs on a weekend though.

It was more a terrain in general concern rather than hills...

[Tomsk]

Blue Boar is definitely out; phoned them today.

How about 'The Jolly Sailor' down by the Hythe? The Queens Head over the road seems to be our usual Maldon waterside pub, if not at the Blue Boar/Carpenters Arms up the top of the town. Standard pub food, ploughmans, rolls, salads, fish and chips, pies etc plus an upmarket gastro-menu.

[Oscar's dad]

Blue Boar is definitely out; phoned them today.

How about 'The Jolly Sailor' down by the Hythe? The Queens Head over the road seems to be our usual Maldon waterside pub, if not at the Blue Boar/Carpenters Arms up the top of the town. Standard pub food, ploughmans, rolls, salads, fish and chips, pies etc plus an upmarket gastro-menu.

All the above works for us (*)

(*) I am hoping to be accompanied by The Current Mrs R and Victoria Pendalton both of whom may not fancy a ride along the seawall to Goldhanger.  However, hold that thought for another time as it sounds like fun.

[huggy]

There's also the Barge Tea Room on the quay for something a little different.