Desk Mascots. And an important old bike.

When I first joined blip, people were putting up their mascots.
As I have had a couple of days indoors with a bug, I was hard pushed for a good blip, then I remembered the mascots on a corner of my crowded desk.

I started to think of a snappy caption. But as ever, the clutter tells a story. So I am sorry, it is not very snappy.

The little bear has been with me for years. The carved snake charmer was left to me by a dear aunt. I think she bought him in Kenya.
The brass globe is the base of a weighted candle holder, which used to hang over my grandmother's piano. She had a wonderful singing voice.
There is a page from my sketchbook, of a not very good watercolour.

And then there is the bike.
Standing by the monument opposite the gates of Dunsany Castle, where I lived for a few years.
It had been bought for me for £10 when I was in my 20's.
I used to ride it round the lanes with my Walkman on, playing Beethoven's Eroica Symphony mostly.
There were huge woods there, you could pause the bike by a vast puddle in the road and see the trees and sky reflected in the muddy water. It was a beautiful way to start the day. I would ride the girls to school, then go off with my music for half an hour or so. And some days we would all do it again in the afternoon, but in the direction of the shop on the hill.

I must have taken that photo after such a morning. They were wonderful days.