Bedouin dream

I’m a young boy. About 10 years old. Dressed in dirty white clothes. I’m not British. Moroccan, perhaps. I have friends.
A circus or fair or market. White tent fabric snaps and flaps in the breeze. Many tents. A bustling place.
There’s a fat boss man. Black suit, greased-back hair, moustache. He doesn’t like us.
There are boxes full of silver cutlery for an event. Tables laid out. Pale blue cotton cloth covers the knives but we can see them beneath.
Shiny. Carving on the handles.
We know they’re valuable. Want to steal them.
We cause a diversion. I take one of the boxes and stroll away.
When they realise some of the knives have gone I duck into another tent. There’s a counter. Men standing. Waiting to buy something.
The boss man shouts and points. Overweight middle-aged police in grey uniforms come looking for us.
Not the kind of police you want to annoy.
I hide in the tent. A man looks down and sees me holding the box of knives.

Macride 2010 – charity ride for Macmillan Cancer Support

On 12th September 2010 I’ll be taking part in the 25-mile route of Macride 2010 to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Given that I only started riding a couple of months ago and that the furthest I’ve ridden so far in a day is 16 miles, I think the 25-mile jaunt represents a reasonable but achievable challenge at this stage.

Obviously I’m looking to raise as much money as possible. If you can spare any amount in sponsorship, however small, you can either contact me directly at msketchley@mac.com or visit the Macride website and click the “Sponsor a Rider” link at the top of the page. On the next page, click the picture of the cyclist, click Sponsor a Rider again, then put my name in the Rider Name box, the amount you wish to donate in the Quantity box, then click Add.

I’ll post more information and updates in due course.