Rainbow Ride

My neighbour asked if I could collect her prescription, so I decided to go on my bike. I haven't ridden it since Jess was born. It is a 5 mile round trip from Cornerstones to the Theatre Street Surgery. I rode along the country road that links our village to the town - so I passed fields, then up over the level crossing and into Dereham.

I was very conscious of how beautiful everything was looking - despite the heat, there was plenty of lush greenery - and once into the town itself, people had kept their gardens well watered.

So many different flowers- both wild and cultivated; cornflowers, poppies, dandelions, columbine, thistles and more edging the fields- and in the gardens buddleia, begonias, marigolds, roses, hollyhocks etc. It was a real rainbow ride.

I took lots of photos of the glorious colours. The top left picture is the old RSPCA water trough - a relic of the days when horses and riders came in to the market. Nowadays it is well maintained and full of flowers. It is opposite the War Memorial, situated on a traffic island at the end of the Market Place. One end of the area now has a bed of yellow and orange marigolds.

As I stopped to take these pictures, a lady asked "are you photographing the flowers or the restaurant?" I said the flowers- and that I thought the restaurant was looking rather sad "I remember when it was called The Cabin" I said "I worked there one summer, when I was at the High School". It turned out she had been 3 years ahead of me there.

We stood for a few minutes talking about our teachers and classmates - and although we did not recognise each other now, we'd had friends in common, half a century ago.

I started the ride home. I stopped at the crossing, to take a closer look at something which had been puzzling me when we drove past in the car recently,

I think it is a piece of guerilla artwork - it looks like rainbow stripes woven in teeshirt yarn through green garden netting.

No idea what it's for. Is it Pride thing? Or [more likely] one of the "Thankyou NHS" rainbow flags. Either way, it is rather tangled up in the railway wire fencing now.

I enjoyed my little ride- but was quite hot when I got home. If this heat continues, I shall try and cycle as early as I can. I'll leave the midday sun to the mad dogs and Englishmen!