Rallies

Old and new this time. Jean-Francois Helias traced a contemporary report from the 1979 Red Nose Rally, written down before he forgot about it by Trevor Keane, whose photos of an early Big End rally we have already snaffled off the interweb.

This year, Hans Mondorf continued his attendance at the Pilgrims Rally along with fellow countrymen. More delicious English breakfasts were consumed, but that is by no means the sole purpose of their visits.

Our Scandinavian correspondent, Jurkka, who keeps us informed of events in that sphere, sent a photo report of his visit to the Županja rally in Croatia. A journey well rewarded.

Cleaning up rally badges for alphabetic pages saw us add 18 C Rally Badges, 7 to F Rally Badges, 6 to N Rally Badges, 7 to P Rally Badges 12 to S Rally Badges, and 5 more to V Rally Badges. Not a big total, but they all need to be inserted in (approximately) the correct place on their page.

As autumn arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, the peak of the rally year recedes into memory. There are only a handful of events that we know about for the next few weeks. Hans Veenendaal still adds rallies due before Christmas, but his work is now concentrated on collecting rallies for 2027.

Hans has already added over 200 events for next year to his Rally Listing, while there is a score yet to settle before this year is out.

Cloth Badges

Aaagh! The bane of my life! Why did I ever agree to add Cloth Badges to the website? Despite selecting another 90 to add, the backlog from Francois collection continues to grow faster than I can keep pace.

I shall continue my Sisyphean task as long as Thanatos remains enchained.

Blog

If you thought these News Updates were the most tangled ramblings, you clearly haven't seen my Blog. Apart from regular grumbles, gripes, and mysterious references to techie shenanigans, it often features my opinion on subjects I know sod-all about.

Take consolation in the fact that you are not alone in suffering my hubris. I also blog on the Active Together website. I've taken the liberty of linking those incoherent circumlocutions from my already digressive prolixity.

Herein ends a prime example.

Virtual Club Night

There we were, swanking about how easy and simple it is to connect our Virtual Club Night through Jitsi, and what happens? We are now limited to 90 minutes per session, and no logging back on at the end of that time. Another good piece of enshittification.

Our next Virtual Club Night is on Wednesday, 21 October, starting at 8pm (still BST) and the plug is pulled at 9.30pm. Don't be late joining us, and be assured, we will not dribble on eternally.

Embers

There are five Thursdays in October, and with two more yet to come, we are already close to 1000 miles. That is despite a curtailed ride last week, the reasons for which we will not dwell upon. Short, photo reports are in our October journal.

Our remaining Thursday rides this month are scheduled for 22nd and 29th, from Shepshed and Lutterworth respectively. We are keeping a wary eye on the weather.

Looking forward to November already, we have local rides with a preview of past endeavours to encourage you to join us. Skip over the pictures of us puffing up hills. Look at the feasts we enjoy when we reach the pub!

Festive Lunch

This year's festive lunch will be a return to Glen Parva Manor on Tuesday 15th December from 12.30pm. It is an annual opportunity to join with friends and fellow past members, to recount our ancient and more recent adventures, and to share our plans for the coming year.

If you can join us, let me know as soon as you can, together with your choice from their festive menu. If you cannot find something to your taste there, they will also accept orders from their standard menu, just let me know.

Two elderly nuns were visiting the US for a conference. They were walking down the street when they saw a vendor with a big sign that said, "The best hot dogs in New York."

"Sister, look what that man is selling!"

"Ah yes, I have heard about those. Very popular here."

"Is it really made out of dogs? That's horrible!"

"Now sister, 'do not judge, or you too will be judged.' People around the world have different customs that we find strange. And they feel the same way about ours."

"I'm sorry; I guess you are right. But still... eating a dog..."

"I tell you what. I think we should embrace the local culture. We should try some."

They went to the vendor and ordered two 'with all the fixings' as it said on the menu. They walked to a nearby park to have their lunches.

"I still can't believe I am doing this..."

"We must start getting into more modern things. And just think about the story we'll get to tell back home!"

As the first nun got her meal unwrapped and took a good look at it, her face went bright red. Quietly she asked her friend: "Which part of the dog did you get?"