Our band, The Sugaree Band, are one of the bands who’ve been selected to play in the series of concerts put on by the town of Saint Junien here in the Haute Vienne. We are really excited about this. It’s been hard work to get this, but at last, we are in with the in crowd.

We had to submit our ‘Press Kit’ months back. We’ve had to fill in endless forms, form an association, register it, provide all sorts of information, who’s shirts we wear, what brand of beer we like!! 😉 But we’ve done it! Here’s the proof…8th August…that’s us —>>>

Saint Junien, 87, Comme un Effet de L’Art Scene….Concerts musique, chaque jeudi soir pendant l’été dans le centre ville.

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Last time I raced the Haute Vienne MTB departmental championships at St Leger La Montagne in 2008 I punctured on the last lap with 3kms to go. I was in the lead at the time and threw the win away by not being careful. This time it was different.

Here’s how it went – I haven’t raced recently, so I wasn’t gridded. That’s OK, I was just looking for a good ride. I got away OK, the pace was tough, I was middle of the field. On to the first climb, the rider in front of me snaps his chain. Meanwhile Pierre Chenaud (ASSJ) comes backwards with a puncture. This is a tough circuit for bike and body. Just riding round the practice lap had been hard enough, racing it was brutal.

I make a special effort to be kind to my bike, and ride smooth. Not running the chain across the cassette, staying loose over rocks and roots. At the end of the first lap I’m sitting in 2nd place, I have a couple of riders close behind me, and 1st place is nowhere to be seen.

I really want to get rid of the two behind me, so I work a little harder to snap the elastic. I get a gap. I start to catch a glimpse of the leading rider Pierre Barateau (Ambazac Sprinter Club). I’m gaining on him. I catch him on a short steep climb. He’s off his bike. I ask him if he has a problem. “Cramp!”, he tells me. Like I said, it’s a brutal circuit.

So, now I’m in the lead, with a lap to go, and no one close behind. All I have to do is keep it sensible. I ride hard, but with care. My chain is dry and complaining on some of the steeper climbs. I change to a lower gear and spin. The last climb, it’s very steep. Taking no chances I get off and run.

A quick look back. No one in sight. I take it easy down the last desent, and I’m home, winner of the Haute Vienne Departmental Championships for 2013 (over 50 vets)!

I’m pleased! This wasn’t expected. But let’s just put this into perspective. The recent creation of a new category for over 60 vets meant that some riders have changed category. The 40+, 50+, and 60+ vets all set off together, the same start. The 40+ had to do 4 laps, the 50+ and the 60+ had to do 3 laps. Now, combine the 50+, and the 60+ vets! There was just one rider who was faster than me. A whopping 8 minutes faster over the three laps!!! 1:39:27 vs 1:47:43 The true champion, the 66 year old Jean-Claude Sansonnet (Cyclo Racing Club Limousin). Chapeau Jean-Claude!

Not forgetting – Many thank’s to everyone at Saint-Léger-la-Montagne VTT Rando Club for putting on a great race. A superbly tough course! 🙂

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It’s been just over a year since we adopted our little Princess Maya! AKA – ‘The Little Cowbag Princess’, or Mable, or Mabes!, and she’s come a long way. She’s a real character who’s eager to please…herself!!! 🙂 She’s a thief of sausages, and a murderer of chickens! But we loves her!!!

When we first got her she was great with other dogs, and still is, but terrible with people. She’d do this fear aggression thing where she’d bark at people with her hackles up looking really aggressive, but always staying just out of reach. It’s not easy finding volunteer strangers so Carla would set off on a walk with Mabes, I’d dress in disguise, and ambush them! We spent ages trying all sorts of things. We’d take her out for a long walk so that she wasn’t so fresh, then take her where there’d be lots of people. We give her treats for stying calm when someone came nearby. Slowly she’s made progress, and she’s got to the point now where for the most part strangers are OK.

She’s has a number of doggie friends….

Here’s Lulu! She came to stay for a week. They had a great time. Synchronised behaviours with a couple of days. Good and bad. It was such fun having Lulu staying we toyed with the idea of two dogs!!!

Here’s Anetta! He pops around every once in a while. He’s a Berger Suisse also, but he has long fur.

Here’s Gotham! When these two get togther they go completely crazy. It’s not safe to be in the garden with these two! Gotham came to stay for a weekend recently. What a white knuckle ride that was! We were all exhausted by Sunday night. But we’d had a lot of fun.

We took Mabes to her first MTB race yesterday. She was great. Lots of strangers coming up to her, and she was kewl. Plus for the first time, we saw her engage in play with someone she’d only just met. We were so pleased with her. We wanted a dog that we could take anywhere, and she’s getting there.

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“How did the first Jazz Club meeting go?!”, I hear you ask! 🙂

Well, it went very well, better than I hoped! There were eleven musos who played at some point during the evening. Two drummers, two bassists, four guitarists, sax, harmonica, flute, keyboards and three singers. Some of them played more than one thing.

A couple of the songs fell on their face and sounded awful, but for the most part, considering most of us had never met, let alone played together, it was good. It wasn’t meant to be some kind of polished performance, it was meant to be for musicians to get together and have some fun, and that’s what they did. So when the end of Moondance went pear-shaped it didn’t matter, it was good, because every muso involved was grinning from ear to ear!

I was so pleased that it went well. I’d put quite a lot of work in, and in a way, I was glad to get the first one over and done. The enthusiasm was such that it’s now going to be a regular thing, on the last Thursday of each month. So without further ado, here’s the poster -> -> ->

So, that’s, Jazz and Blues at the Giac’s Bar in Saint Junien (87 – Haute Vienne) on 28th March.

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Paul, the masked rider, on a mission to help others!

Here’s a post from a friend of mine. Showing the kind of gutsy determination we all love! Go Paul! ……

“Sometimes, you have to drag yourself out the door, leaving behind a nice warm house and foregoing the 2nd cup of tea that you so badly want but deep down you know that you have to put the miles in, today was one of those days.

As I left the house it was pouting with rain with big brooding dark clouds in all directions, I was already thinking about the lovely hot cup of coffee I was going to enjoy on my return followed by a steaming hot shower.

After about 5 miles into my ride and to my amazement, the sun made a brief appearance, it was still raining but my mood was lifted and my cadence I creased as a result, another 5 miles in and the dark brooding clouds had all but disappeared and the morning almost became perfect for cycling.

I was on one of my normal 25 mile loops around the North Downs but decided to take a detour and go along some bridle paths and tracks that I have never ventured along, the winter sun lighting up some of the tree clad valleys was truly stunning and my ride went from being a reluctant one to exhilarating.

The tracks and bridleways were truly muddy as a result of the melting snow but this just added to the ride, I was feeling strong and could have gone on for many more miles.

Today’s ride brought home the stunning beauty of the Kentish Downs, those of us who live here are extremely lucky and I am so glad that I dragged my sorry arse out the door.”

Paul is cycling from Cape Wrath to Dover for Demelza Hospice Care for Children. Demelza Hospice Care for Children cares for life limited children and their families, offering respite breaks, end of life care and bereavement support.

You can help Paul by sponsoring him here – www.justgiving.com/Paul-Hamley.