Different Measures Of Time.

Watches are optional...

Any Saturday that we are at home, we know when it's time to make lunch. The noon gun or rather noon siren is at times ear splitting and at others a welcome reminder to down tools. But that is only Saturdays.

The church bells do ring at certain repetitive times but, I have yet to work that schedule out. Sadly, if they ring for a long time during the day ( not on the hour ), it is a message to tell all about a villager who has died.

The Bobster has bought himself a second hand moped and uses it with youthful elan to motor to work. Did I mention that he leaves at 5.45 most mornings? When he nods me goodbye, forget about a wave goodbye as he needs both hands to crank it up, the serene morning calm is pierced by the freshly awakened engine trying to listen to Bob's full throttle demand.

At the wine festival last Saturday, we ran into a neighbour of ours and she told me:

" You know, since Bob's got that moped, I don't need my alarm clock anymore! "
...my first thought was that it might be a veiled complaint, but no, she followed it up with:

" By the way, my husband wants to fix up the moped we've got in the shed and start to drive with Bob around the village. "

So, Bob's the trendsetter among his friends and we might see a whole lot of guys reliving youthful memories with a moped. Unlike the bigger bikes, a moped makes a dangerous wheelie null and void.

Pop a wheelie is slang for driving your motorbike on one wheel only. Bob told me that his brother is an ace at it, which might be the reason he wants to hide his moped when said brother comes to visit!

The future moped gang clad in shorts, t-shirt and helmet leisurely cruising about the village, laughing and enjoying themselves. Sounds quite fun, doesn't it? Honestly, I am feeling a twinge of envy and might consider joining the moped gang...

P/s: On Monday Bob got stung by a bee and took the car to work on Tuesday...yet another neighbour asked me whether Bob was ill. When I asked her why she thought that, she replied:

" I was waiting to hear Bob drive past before getting up, but I never heard his moped and finally got up at six anyway "

Village life, I love it...

Biggi