I hadn't realised that ants ate rental bikes, but the eviudence is right there.
The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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9:42am on Friday, 19th June, 2026:
Weird
Someone left a rental bike on a tree outside the local shop.
I hadn't realised that ants ate rental bikes, but the eviudence is right there.
8:54am on Thursday, 18th June, 2026:
Weird
Two adjacent houses in our village:
I expect the neighbours are on good terms when there isn't a World Cup going on.
8:17am on Wednesday, 17th June, 2026:
Weird
From the front page of yesterday's East Anglian Daily Times:
Branded, brandished, they mean the same thing, right?
The front page....
9:44am on Tuesday, 16th June, 2026:
Weird
Hey! Someone has placed something on this piano!
They've placed a notice on it. Notices are still a thing!
8:39am on Monday, 15th June, 2026:
Anecdote
In the battle of the estate-agent boards, John Alexander beat Fenn Wright by a knockout.
8:39am on Sunday, 14th June, 2026:
Anecdote
It was our grandson's first birthday party yesterday, and the party was held at our place. This decision had nothing to do with the fact that the lift to my daughter's flat is out of order.
We bought a barbecue especially for the occasion. We'll probably use it again in 3 or 4 months' time, or however long it takes to clean the grille.
Not everyone wanted burgers, so I manfully stepped up and ate three of them, plus a hot dog, plus some fruit salad, plus a slice of this cake made by my daughter's husband's aunt:
I should maybe have cut a smaller slice than I did. It was twice the size of the ones that teashops charge £4.50 for.
As a consequence of this I was absolutely stuffed, and so ate nothing else for the rest of the day unless you count chocolate as food.
8:22am on Saturday, 13th June, 2026:
Miscellaneous
Here's Mickey Duck and Donald Mouse.
I've always wanted to do that, and finally got around to doing it.
8:59am on Friday, 12th June, 2026:
Weird
The walls of Buickingham Palace have lengths of rope in them.
From what I can gather, they're called "weep wicks", and are used to draw moisture out from the wall to stop it from suffering damage. They also deter insects somehow.
Personally, I think they were there when the wall was constructed and the builders had to build around them.
8:32am on Thursday, 11th June, 2026:
Weird
I saw this in Poznan last year.
I wouldn't have thought that four strips of blue tape would have kept him penned-in, but he was still there the next day.
8:22am on Wednesday, 10th June, 2026:
Weird
I don't know whom this is a statue of, but he'd be great at Basketball.
8:12am on Tuesday, 9th June, 2026:
Weird
This lion on the Bishop of Hereford's stole looks as if he doesn't want to be there.
8:21am on Monday, 8th June, 2026:
Weird
I saw this old ambulance when we visited Bletchley Park last month:
I'm not in the habit of photographing old ambulances, but I did like the actual bell it has at the front to instruct people to get out of the way.
8:47am on Sunday, 7th June, 2026:
Weird
The name of this street in Villefranch-sur-Mer is Rue Obscure in French and Carriera Scura in Niçard. It translates into English as "Dark Street".
They shouldn't be allowed to put lights up in it, then.
8:46am on Saturday, 6th June, 2026:
Weird
I haven't bought Football Manager 2026 because it hasn't been patched enough to work yet. There never was a Football Manager 2025, because they didn't have enough time to put in all the bugs. I've therefore still been playing Football Manager 2024.
I don't use real players in my games, I use computer-generated ones. This adds a bit of variety, and stops me from ranting when the game doesn't think that real players are as good as I think they are. It doesn't just generate players, though, it generates the backroom staff, too. Here's one of the ones it came up with:
There was a character in the Just William books I read as a child whose name was Jamieson Jamieson (or something similar). I always thought this was amusing.
It's nice to discover that I find Craig Craig equally amusing.
8:08am on Friday, 5th June, 2026:
Weird
Seen in Hereford Cathedral:
"Can I interest you in a headless dog?"
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Copyright © 2026 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).