The Wheels on the Bus
You know the children's song “the wheels on the bus go round and round” ? – I can't help feeling that yesterday the wheels on my bus started to fall off one by one – and today that process has continued. I know the photo accompanying this post is of a bike (my bike), but I can't think of a good phrase involving a bicycle falling apart, other than the “Mary Mary” rhyme, where aspoke from her back wheel ends up somewhere unmentionable.
When I got home from work last night I discovered our youngest (who had been at a sleepover the night before) would be returning late in the evening, and her friend would be staying for a sleepover at our house. It's probably worth noting that the schools are on half-term.
It's funny how we use the term “sleepover”, because not much sleeping went on as far as I could tell. I fell asleep at about midnight, and there still seemed to be some sort of Lord of the Flies re-enactment going on across the hallway. Earlier in the evening they had all been pretending to be a pack of wolves, howling at each other, and eating food from bowls on the floor (I kid you not).
This morning I slid out of bed, and stumbled downstairs to discover the junk room (where I keep my bike helmet, backpack, and coat) had been taken over by young ladies. Both computers were on, both playing an endless succession of either cute animal, or epic fail videos. I grabbed my stuff, before heading off to the shower for some relative peace and quiet.
Half an hour later I stopped in the high street to buy something for lunch from the supermarket. After scanning the various items through an automated checkout, I wandered back into the street, and went to unlock my bike – or rather, I would have unlocked my bike if the keys for the lock were attached to my jeans. I knew exactly where my keys were. They were on the desk at home, surrounded by a gaggle of young girls watching epic fail videos on YouTube.
Half an hour later I re-appeared in the high street, wondering if my bike would still be where I had left it. I couldn't imagine that jobsworth supermarket staff would notice a bike chained to the front of their store for half an hour, and was thankfully proven right.
In the end I was only ten minutes late for work.
It's not the first time I have locked my bike with no key to unlock it. I've also managed to go grocery shopping with no wallet in the past. I'm wondering whatI'm going to manage to do next.