Does a pair of unicycles make a bi-cycle? (Okay, silly joke.)
Here’s M’s latest toy – a new unicycle, a so-called muni, or mountain uni. (I love the jargon!) It’s an early birthday present. Note the flat area on the frame, above the wheel – it’s meant to allow the rider to rest a foot (or two) while riding. The wheel is more robust, the seat more moulded and padded and with an additional ‘bit’ for holding on to when jumps and other hair-raising stunts are attempted. I think the next purchase should be a helmet, gloves, and shin protectors…
Both M’s unicycles are from Reg’s shop right here in Perth.
M’s really enjoying unicycling. He can now hop straight on, and generally rides around as easily as most people would ride a bicycle.
While M’s been enjoying more physical activities, I have been experiencing the joys of discovering a new author and have been happily reading the works of Peter Temple.
Peter Temple’s works have been available for some years now, and I can’t think why I haven’t been aware of these books. Still, the benefit of being slow means that when you finally catch up there is a tantalising backlist of titles to enjoy.
These are novels in one of my favourite genres, crime fiction, and part of what makes them so enjoyable for me is the author’s grasp of the Australian idiom. And the settings, whether chilly Melbourne, or windswept country New South Wales are so well-evoked, so easy to picture. Even if his Jack Irish character is disdainful of librarians: “It’s nice that there’s a special occupation for the anal retentive. It’s called librarianship.” (in Bad Debts, 1996, p.74)
The only other time I’ve had this much enjoyment with an author was when I discovered Henning Mankell.
5 Comments
Oh, i may be sticking my nose in one of these Peter Temples when i ‘m next in town, if you don’t mind? (Assuming they are yours and not from a library.) I love crime fiction, but have been not been reading much of late, and i’d not heard of Peter Temple before; i don’t think i’ve read much Aussie-based CF!
Please, M, will you unicycle for me when i’m there? I have yet to see you on the unicyc. Last time i was visiting you were taking a break.
Last time I was suffering from learners injuries from which I am well and truly overnow. Now I have normal riders injuries 😉 hehe
Always happy to demonstrate uni and juggling skills 🙂 Hopefully I’ll have my 5 ball juggling down when you come over next as well!
Ohhh, I want a Nimbus now!
I haven’t really rode since I was in a youth circus when I was a teenager (Circus Freefall in Bridgetown).
I’ve heard of Reg Bolton too!
I’ve got clubs and balls to juggle, but I’ve wanted a unicycle for a while now… the prices aren’t as bad as I expected…. Still, it’ll be a while before I can justify getting one (seeing as it’ll just be for fun, and there’ll probably be long periods where I won’t use it…)
Thanks for that link anyway, now I know it exists, and it was fun reading about Reg Bolton and the Suitcase Circus.
As a youth circus, we used to train twice a week, and do shows at local schools, festivals, old folks homes, daycare centres. We went to circus shows together(including Bizircus, we even stayed the night in there building once in Freo), and even did a show at some tourist convention at the passenger terminal in Freo. It was a great time of my life, especially because my best friend was in it too (she now works as a science presenter for Scitech!)
Anyway, sorry for blabbing, you just brought back some good memories!! 😀
Simone
CW how long does it take you to finish one of those novels in the picture? – Just wondering..
Hi Cherry, of course you can borrow my books when you’re here! 🙂 I’m quite looking forward to it – not that long to go!
Howdy Simone 🙂 How cool! You’re the only other person I’ve “met” online who unicycles (speaking completely vicariously, of course, as I don’t unicycle myself)!
Israd, it depends. When I’m on holidays I can finish a good book in a couple of sittings (eg I start on Monday morning and finish on Tuesday morning). By “good” here I mean something that manages to grab my attention and keeps me turning pages. Other good books can take longer but only because I take more time over them and reread passages that are interesting or well-written. When I’m not on holidays a book that would take a couple of sittings might take a week or so, because I have less time to read. (And if I’m reading a book in Chinese it will take months…)