Manhattan today is wet and dreary so the perfect time to settle down and once again attack the book proposal. I’ve just re-read the two paragraphs below about the day we bought my bicycle on ebay in preparation for the trip. Anyway, I thought I’d share them with you as it was such a happy time and despite the rain today, it’s made me smile …. I hope you’re smiling too.
“So, sitting in the sunshine outside a sleepy pub in Suffolk with my parents-in-law, husband and several pints of beer, my other half gleefully took it upon himself the task of bidding for the bicycle. Loving a challenge he rolled up his sleeves with gusto and, with a grin for his audience, he somewhat importantly pushed his lop-sided glasses further up his nose with one finger. Then, licking his lips, he rolled his head from side to side as if in anticipation of six rounds with Mike Tyson. In truth I think he was having a moment of fancying himself on the trading floor of a city bank. Any moment now he’d be shrieking, “Buy! Buy! Sell! Sell!” Michael Douglas and Wall Street have clearly left their mark on him.
With the ease and serenity of someone who is unfazed by the adrenaline rush of an auction, he laughed his way through the excruciating process of the last hour of bidding. I sat beside him wringing my hands in anguish, squealing rather a lot and as the seconds counted down, leapt around crossing and uncrossing my legs as though about to wet myself, which was in fact a distinct possibility. Thankfully however, we won the bid as, when the clock hit the last five seconds he put in a final cheeky bid. One hundred and one pounds! He grinned with victory and punched the air, beer spilling onto the table. It mattered not, for my heavenly husband had beaten Mike Tyson, outplayed today’s gold market and made a sweet million. I had a bicycle. He was a happy man. His parents were uproariously giggly and a tad tiddly and disappeared to fetch some celebratory drinks; meanwhile, I was utterly exhausted and needed a lie-down, but five minutes later made-do with a large glass of red. Shopping with my husband has never been a tranquil experience.”
Katie x
💗
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Thanks!
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You write so beautifully, Katie. I’m so glad you got your bike!
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Many thanks … Dear Claude, my bike, was an absolute star and in a whole month of cycling and he never had any punctures!
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Great name for a bike!
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Ha! It was a Claud Butler very unglamorous bike, so I stole the name but added an ‘e’ to make him feel more at home in France 🇫🇷 !
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Such a lovely and fun read!! I hope the bike brought a lot enjoyment!
Blessings! ♥♥
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Oh thank you! Yes, I had the best adventure of my life for that month away. 💕💕
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You cant beat a good auction, sounds like it was a lot of fun.
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It was great … well I say that with hindsight of course! Thanks for reading. Katie
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And that was the start of quite an adventure…
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Oh yes it was … 😊
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lol you’ve captured the excitement of the moment well … I just clicked and paid a hundred 🙂
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Ha! Thanks for reading … You don’t think I’m just a little highly strung maybe?! 😉
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not at all 🙂
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I’m sorry Katie, but I read this and had to lie down. It brought back…. to call the nightmare a ‘memory’ rather underplays the subcutaneous bruising involved, the hippocampoid scarring will likely never fade. I’m man I’m pleased for you but there are some auctions you should never win…
https://geofflepard.com/2019/03/27/disasters-of-an-olympian-kind/
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That was heaven!! How do you do it? “I had already been informally self-defibrillating off a uplighter I’d yanked out of the wall for the last ten minutes.” Your writing is outstanding sir. Hats seriously off. Whilst I read this I was feeling every emotion for your in your utter torment. Perfection …. I’m glad however that all was well in the end or you could have had some explaining to do on the home front.
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Thank you most kindly. They say time is a great healer and I suppose in the sense of doing time for a crime that might be true
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I think perhaps no more bidding for you or I …
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Money, family, bicycles, drama, and alcohol… This excerpt has a lot going for it. Thanks for sharing how you and Claude met. Though i don’t know that brand and if that’s a good deal? When I win my bike Sophie it was also exciting but less of a shared moment. Anyway, i look forward to more.
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I have absolutely no idea if it was a good deal … truth is, I realise now that I’m really rather shallow for despite all my research on weights and suitability for road bikes vs hybrid vs mountain bikes, I saw the pictures of Claude and all the research in the world mattered not! I was in love with a pretty little pale blue and silver bicycle! Practicality is probably not my forte …
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Well, one must have a hint of color! (The Birdcage) Practical, schmactical! People say my bike Sophie is pretty (named after her being sea foam, mostly), and I reply “Yes, pretty like me!” Also, WP doesn’t save likes well. I don’t know why it reverts sometimes after I’ve clicked the star. Do you know?
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I don’t know why it reverts … I also don’t know why when I’ve commented in my usual long-winded narrative to someone’s post, it says ‘reply not sent’. That is soooo annoying! I like the name Sophie… it IS pretty!
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💝
My site.(Expo.World)
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From humble, well-won beginnings, a saga begins!
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Awww yes … you’re so right!
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