Life in the middle

Bike winner...

...will be announced Friday 30th August at 2.17pm (GMT). So plenty of time for those late entries.

Bike, no money required, just a kind heart.

This is my old bike. I bought a new one last year, so I don't use this one anymore. But it's not a bad bike, nothing special, but it gets the job done. Since I got my new bike this one has become redundent, it just sits down the side of the house, doing nothing. But that's no good, it needs its wheels turning and its pedals pushed, and a bit of tender loving care.

Now I could flog it on ebay, they go for between £50-£100 there. But instead I thought I might have a little contest, and try and do something a little more interesting, and maybe do a little good.

So, anyone can apply for my bike. There is no charge, you can just have it; there's just one condition. You have to say what 'good' thing you'll do in return - a favour for someone else. I don't know what, surprise me, you don't have to save the world (although that would be nice), or give a bike away, just a nice thing for someone else. And that's it - leave a comment on this post, saying what your favour or good turn is, and I'll decide who gets the bike.

Good evening.

That explains it.

Thank you very much, Miss South Carolina.

I'm on fire.

Rubbish I know, but I can't help but like it.

(Click on it and flames rip through it, go on do it.)

Burn baby burn!

The idiot in me.

I hate carrying umbrellas. It's hard not to stab people with them on the tube, and they are a pain to lean on anything - they just keep falling over. But I also don't like getting wet, especially when I'm on my way to work, or a meeting, and my hair is looking nice and everything. So I bite the bullet and carry an umbrella if it's looking gloomy. However, what inevitably happens is that I carry the umbrella to work, the gloominess recedes, and I end up leaving the umbrella at work. Now I have four umbrellas at work, none at home, and my hair looks awful.

Out with the old.

I've had a shirt purge. That's them above. Mostly pink, but quite diverse in terms of design - some stripes, some solid colour, and some check. They've served me well for the most part. There when I needed to look smart, say for a job interview, a wedding, an appearance in court, that kind of thing. But now they are too worn out for me; so it's off to the charity shop.

I hope whoever buys them feels as smart as I did in them. Despite what the haters say, pink is a good colour, it's bright and happy (just like me), and as Aerosmith so wonderfully put it "...it's not even a question".

Meet Geoff.

This is Geoff. Geoff Leonard. He's a creative at the agency where I work. He's worked there about three and a half years now. He's old and a bit set in his ways - good on big TV briefs, and traditional propositional areas, but less good on digital ideas and all that funky new stuff. But that's okay, we still need people like Geoff. He's fun to have around the office - very sociable and always up for a trip the park. If I was to criticise him, I'd point out the less than ideal toilet habits, and the way he greets clients (I've never seen him shake hands). But do you know what - that's what makes Geoff unique, so I don't mind.

When I asked him if he wanted to be on the blog, he said he would, but only if he could recreate the opening  scene from his first ad, which was for road safety. So that's what he is doing in the picture, pretending to be a child crossing the road, safely.

Nice one Geoff.

Probable relief.

I looked out and what did I see?

Brian Blessed staring back at me.

Hello Brian.

Nice beard.

Park life.

I do like a bit of lunchtime park action. Slipping away to chew on something while lounging on the grass. Stretching out, breathing deeply, and taking some sun on the face. Good things happen. Lunch gets longer. Beer tastes colder. London gets quieter. Conversation gets longer, more interesting, but never stressed. Sunbathers eek out every last drop of sunlight as dogs sniff away at the day. You can watch the middleness and ordinariness of life, all around you, ticking over, up and down, over and out. Then the merry-go-round starts again.

It's on these small days that life tastes best.