not ntc 2010-07

Some five years ago ex-US airman and ex-Framlingham resident Chris Gray first contacted us and has since become a chum on the bulletin board.  Chris served in Viet Nam and back in July his baby brother Andy, who has served in Iraq, was deployed to south west Asia as a Command Master Chief in the naval reserve.  Stay safe Andy, those girls need their daddy.

Wednesday and Big Al the Light Monkey (that's his mum herwithabrainetc hovering) graduated from Nottingham Uni.  Bruce Welch of The Shadows (or was it The Beatles?) was sufficiently desperate to be on ntc that he crashed the snap, and again and again ... sad.  The official Big Al graduation pic.

The three weeks of le Tour de France start tomorrow.  Certainly at some point Brit and sprinter Mark Cavendish will at least wear the green jersey and who knows what Brad Wiggins can do.

Adam Wolley is in Botswana and the only cash dispenser for several 100 miles won't cough up.

Framlingham Australia may be a lot smaller than Framlingham Suffolk but 18 year old Tanaya Harradine-Atkinson has been selected for a national netball team.

Crikey, missing Stradbroke teenager Rachel Fisk has turned up in Aberdeen!

Adam Wolley is having his stitches out in Zambia.

Adam Wolley's final stitch count is 38.

Saxtead boy and Earl Soham Vic barman Adam Wolley is cycling from London to Capetown to support the Malaria Consortium.  In Rwanda he now has more than 20 stitches in his face and mouth after going through a car's rear windscreen.

Jenny in Earl Soham has pointed out that Adam Wolley from Saxtead is doing a bit of a bike ride to support the Malaria Consortium ... as a matter of fact a bike ride from a large town near Chelmsford to Cape Town ... and on his own ... and he's got as far as Kenya.

As is the way the signs for the Chelmsford Riverside Centre come and go but we did find it and inside an encouragingly good turn out of all ages and all abilities for the Triple Sword Roller Girls.  The gentle voiced ... more at roller derby

In Stonham Aspel last month police recovered more than 300 items stolen from the Leiston, Ipswich, Stratford St Mary and Essex areas over the past couple of years.  They include furniture, paintings, ornaments, silverware, jewellery, framed film posters, a folding bicycle, several old style gramophones, a CB radio and more.  To help identify the stolen goods there is the hotline 01986 835319 and they will be available to view by appointment early next month.

Things we learnt travelling on the A12 and A3 this weekend include:

1.   The toilets in the refurbished BP garage on the southbound A12 near Witham are already a tip.
2.   The toilets in the Starbucks near Guildford aren't a tip but the floor is pretty soggy.
3.   By a pedestrian crossing on the giant roundabout at the junction of the M25 and the A3 there's a newly built mounting block.

If your care to schlep down the A14 next month you can see the eternally young and adopted Ipswich boy Geno Washington in a Cambridge tent.

You still need a dog licence in Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Here's the Crab and Winkle's Andrew Stannard singing at last year's Norfolk?! Show the song The Singing Postman Allan Smethurst would have written Now Yer Atta Smoke Outsoide.

Feel a bit wussy pointing out last week the few inches of water near Blaxhall whilst in Batesville, Arkansas north of Mazda they had this ... nice to see that Arkies get their priorities right though.

♫Elvis isn't dead, cos I heard him on the radio♫ Scouting For Girls are at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in April for by today's standards a not excessive fourteen quid, well they are only a three piece.  Is it us but more than a hint of Supertramp?

What with Balamory and Lazy Town we would have thought Bob The Builder is a bit passé but he's going out on the road this summer with a suitably environmental message about teamwork.  With tickets at a mere £15.00-£21.50 you can see him at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in the middle of June.

Excused des' dinners because of the Tour de France

Hopefully nobody turned up.  Virtual luncher Clive, who is domiciled in northern France, popped down the road and saw it pass.  It's one of the nice things about Le Tour, given enough time it comes to you ... and last I heard David Millar had worn the white jersey both by right and default AND won a stage!  (first excused  subsequent lunch  previous lunch)