"Two Sheds"

I've got into a good rhythm with the bike, going to and from work on the moor road. Brilliant light again this morning, when this shot was taken en route. It's good to capture these scenes which are so familiar to me. I must have cycled past these sheds hundreds of times.

I'm not pushing too hard at the moment, content to cycle within myself, just building up the miles - which means that my mind is free to wander. I've been getting home in the evenings with little recollection at all of the ride home! I sometimes use this time to plan what I'm going to write about in my journal but lately I've been either too tired or had too little time to express myself in the way I've wanted.

This morning, after taking this shot, I was thinking about a title and the name of Arthur Jackson popped into my head. I wonder how many people will instantly get that reference? Probably quite a few of you. If not, take a look here. I was thrown right back into the time of my childhood, watching Monty Python with my Dad. It's impossible to describe to my kids just how funny those TV shows were when they first aired. I can remember counting down the days and hours each week, and when the show was finally over I can still recall the visceral disappointment, knowing that there was then a whole week to wait before the next episode. And you were never entirely sure when each show was actually over. There always remained the hope that after the credits they'd cut back to the show for a few more precious minutes. Every one seemed priceless. If the show ended in a conventional way I felt robbed!

I can recall a time when both my Dad and I were rolling about on the floor in complete and uncontrollable hysterics. It was groundbreaking in a way that I doubt any comedy show can ever be again. I feel immensely privileged to have lived through what was a kind of revolution, and at an age when I was so impressionable. I can barely recall anything from my working day yesterday yet I can remember every detail of these sketches. Will any show ever have such an impact again? Quite possibly not. That kind of novelty is now almost impossible to create. True novelty becomes a scarcer and scarcer commodity with each passing year. Have we passed a cultural cusp where times will never be as exciting again?