Noah!

I like this site, Operation Noah, which I found today. No, I'm not into religious conversion. There's plenty of wisdom to be had but in matters of God I remain agnostic. I just like the comparisons between Noah's crisis and ours.

In The Vanishing Face of Gaia, James Lovelock refers to the future British Isles as a possible ''lifeboat'' for survivors and refugees of climate change. An ark is better: more purposeful and the outcome more hopeful.

And I liked Ann Pettifor's Thoughts for the Week (I was trying to remember the Ann who regularly did awful Thoughts for the Day on BBC Radio 4. Ann(e) Atkins - that's the fella! No. No comparison really).

And I want to find how to do one of these origami Arks. The art of Japanese paper folding has always been fascinating.

And I like the slogan; Faith-motivated, Science-informed, Hope-driven.

And they appear to be big on bicycles.

uphill, downhill

Bicycles and art seem to be going hand in glove at the moment, me having to cycle to this morning's art class owing to a lapsed MOT certificate. At the last moment I managed to fashion a backpack from two luggage straps, a heavy-duty supermarket bag, and a short length of rope given to me to practice sailing knots a long time ago, so I could take along my own drawing board. A rather Heath-Robinson construction but no one I passed gave it a second glance, so there.

The college is on another corner of town, if you imagine the town to be roughly an equilateral triangle, the middle of which is taken up by Cirencester Park. You can ride a horse through Ciren. Park and if you're one of the ''privileged'' classes, you may even drive your car through it but, for some unexplained reason, not a bicycle. So, the ride means going down into town and back up to the college. Going down, I was aware of being tail-gated by man on a racer who sped past at the earliest opportunity. Further along, going uphill, I managed to catch up despite my load, despite his nose on the handlebars and bum in the air, and overtook with relative ease. I never saw hide nor hair of him after that.

So, the question is; is it better to have a bike that gets you downhill faster or one that gets you uphill easier? I'll leave that philosophical conundrum with you.

antibarbarianism

Hot on the heels of Paxo's advice, I took to my bicycle to see Kate Lynch's touring Sheep exhibition at the New Brewery Arts. Okay, before you say it, that's the nearest thing we have to a gallery. Contemporary, you won't find anything Victorian though you might see something made with pre-Victorian technology such is the way of arty rural folk - rather like the subjects of Lynch's paintings and drawings. I like it like that; each in its proper place.

It was a fabulously warm morning, the air passed by with wonderful smells. The lemony scent of freshly sawn pine from a loft conversion, the heady perfume of a rose garden, and the incredibly nostalgic coconut-ice waft of a flowering gorse hedge. I chained the bike to a fire escape, there are no provisions for bicycles at the new gallery. A criminal oversight.

I really liked Lynch's charcoals. The oils were charming, they brought to mind Beryl Cook in the style of late Claude Monet, but that's the first time I've seen charcoals used with that style of figurative work. Big giants of people and beasts, wool and brawn. My favourite piece had no red dot but, alas, they were all (eek!) out of my price range.

There was a soundscape accompanying the exhibit but I couldn't hear it above the din of class 2K from Much Maisey-in-the-Leaze, (C of E) - I think it might have been switched off anyway. A shame: I love a bit of contrived ambiance. Still, good to watch the kiddliwinks scattered around the floor, rendering their paper with fluffy charcoal sheeps. Picasso's famous words came to mind.

love and hate

I hate the weather forecast. It's hopeless. It causes me to make the wrong decisions. It's supposed to rain today, it's art class this morning and I hesitated long enough to find myself on route in the car, looking at the road, looking at the sky, thinking it wasn't too bad, convincing myself it would rain come home time. But it didn't. And it still hasn't. I could have cycled after all, damn it!

But I love the new library. Despite it's hat-tip to modernity, it's seeming lack of book-shelves, and its confusing sections, for instance, IT manuals stacked below a sign which clearly says ''philosophy''. They've streamlined and automated much of the work of the librarians which means you don't have to queue. You can collect your requested books and log them out yourself, you can log them back in, and renew them too - I've just done this while the car sat on the double yellows (something I hate doing but all the short stay spaces were occupied and I wished I'd had my bike). Anyway, in and out in under five minutes. Love it!

ciren bicycle

I've just read that plans are afoot to make our town centre ''more pedestrian-friendly''. I think this will be a good thing. The area known as Market Place lends itself perfectly to a piazza style arrangement - or ''café culture'', as the paper puts it. The current arrangement of two two-lane roads separated by an island and taxi rank/car park isn't realising its potential, plus we have the grand church front as its centre-piece. I don't know how they'll arrange the traffic flow and I don't really care. How can it be worse than it already is? Most of the time I'll walk into town: it's not far, and quite pleasant.

Recently, I've dusted off the bike and intend using it more. It's quicker. It's even quicker than the car at certain times, and there's no parking charges. Not that I would ever pay parking charges: there's plenty of places to park free if you know where to look. But with a bike you don't have to bother with all that. However, I hope they do something better with the cycle routes in the grand scheme. We have them, here and there, but no one thought to join them up.

My front brakes squeal like a pig, and my rears hardly work at all; I fear the cable has stretched. My dérailleurs front and back are temperamental to say the least. I need bicycle repairman! Youtube, normally a good point of call, has so far not come up with the goods. Instead I got a YouTube copy, VideoJug, - tagline ''Life Explained. On Film.'', and three videos on bike care, none of which are particularly any good unless you happen to be an alien just arrived from planet Zogg, or somewhere else where they've never seen a bicycle, however, this one is worth watching for the funny bike-owning guy. I like the cut of his comic jib and don't know why I haven't seen him on telly.

Turning more hopefully to (fanfare of trumpet) How to Maintain your Mountain Bike for Peak Performance!, (that's more like it!) I was amazed to be shown how to wash my bike with soapy water and a stiff brush. Er...? Tell you what, here's that funny guy again in this video where his bike's half-inched, and half-inched some more. Pay careful attention! I'm always worried I'll get back to my bike and find it gone. Still, the walk home isn't far, and quite pleasant.