What goes around...

Well, a funny thing happened in the morning. Dr T called me at about 10 am to say a bike had appeared. Turns out a sweet neighbour who knew about my stolen bike was walking along the next street to ours and met a woman with a bike (not mine) with a sign saying 'free to a good home'. She asked him if he knew of anyone who needed a woman's bike and he said no...and then remembered that I needed a bike so he thanked the woman and brought it 'round to the People's Republic of Portobello.

Twenty five hours after I discovered that my bike had been stolen another bike was in our flat, waiting patiently for me.

As it turns out, it's a lovely bike, really sporty and too small a frame for me. If you know of someone who needs a bike (and is under 5'7"), it's free to a good home. It needs a little love, but it looks in pretty good shape. :-)

It doesn't bother me a bit that it's not the bike for me. That generosity of spirit, that sense of being helpful and neighbourly will stay with me for a very long time to come.

The day just got better. In the evening I went along to hear Dr T give a lecture about Media, Image and Power as part of a No More Page Three event put on by the local group at the University of Edinburgh. Dr T was followed by Lucy-Anne Holmes, the woman who started the No More Page Three campaign. It was fascinating to hear how someone with no campaigning experience set up a petition, blog and t shirt that so far has gathered something like 187,000 signatures. It was great to see so many university students taking the issue of the objectification of women in the media seriously and also conducting themselves with good humour (and delicious cakes).

This is one of the few photos I took today - Lucy-Anne Holmes with Dr T.

If you haven't already signed, here's your chance!