As the “Tally Ho s”of the long riders faded away following Tony east out of town, Capt Morgan surveyed the remaining 20 yellow coated faithful and pondered how many would be going with Treasurer Trott on the middle run and then wondered where the hell Steve was – the penny dropped – he was commencing elsewhere ! As we formed up in the car park, the questions started : “Will there be mud and off piste?” “How far to coffee?” “Can I take my top off?” “Will there be gates?” “How Hi is a chinaman?” – the leader lashed them into silence and we headed across the large roundabout and into the old RAF station now a building site but with some remarkable views back to St Andrews and Uxbridge. We paused at the Battle of Britain site – a new centre has been built, mainly for those who cannot physically descend the steps and for interpretation to school parties etc – replicas of a Spitfire and a Hurricane have been placed by the old bunker and the whole site would be worth a visit – by appointment. On past Court Park, a fearsome road gang tarmacing with red hot burners, Mellow Lane lived up to its name, Paddocks Farm, Balmoral Road, over the A312, Yeading Brook and Grand Union Canal, here the Leader nearly lost it but Cull and Cates managed to pull us back on course through Dormer’s Well – a difficult right turn on the Greenford Rd took us by rising lanes into Brent Valley Golf Club – the morning coffee stop.
Celebratory cheers soon turned to howls of derision when the first comers learned that the coffee machine had packed up; at least they had hot tea – suddenly it was announced that the hot water boiler was also now kaput and some of the peloton lost it declaring the black spot ! Various venues were proposed before Rose & Tony steadied the ship by suggesting we had cold drinks – mutiny just averted. The heavy binoculars to study the spectacular view were not needed since the low mist obliterated all but the nearest golfers. On through Drayton Green, St Stephens church ( where Tony could have given us a nobby lecture if only someone had asked ) through the wonderfully wide and leafy streets of Ealing, not for nothing once known as “The Queen of the Suburbs” to Pitshanger Park – the path north past the 12c St Marys now a classical music venue ( too many and no room to stop for the leader’s nobby lecture on the Maiden’s Tomb or Admirals Carter & Collison ) over the A40 and through Perivale dangerously onto the bike & footpath up and over Horsenden Hill – we halted at the Ballot Box to regroup and look for the Middles – not yet there . North through suburbia into Northolt and the Greenwood Hotel on Whitton Ave – the scene of Terry Grey’s wedding reception 58 years ago – this was the first time he had ever been back so we organised a quick chorus of Mendelsohn's Wedding March to greet him as he came in but unfortunately he had gone off with Ian to find the church and his bride’s old home at no 453 so by the time he appeared we were all busy ordering cheap pints of bitter to accompany even cheaper meals – all of which turned up so quickly that we had time for another.

Rested and replete but with some riders now taking their future destiny into their own hands, the main group headed through Sarf ‘Arrra to Rayners Lane and then south by Roxbourne Park ( complaints that the model railway was not working ! “a leader’s lot is not an ‘appy one” to paraphrase G&S ) John Woodford’s puncture enabled some of the riders with a local upbringing to reminisce about “who pulled who” outside the Clay Pigeon as was ( now an “Injan” ) We then followed the Yeading Brook mainly to Ruislip Gardens – more dispersals – the rump continued along the RAF Northolt perimeter fence through Ickenham Marshes, with a stop to watch the model helicopter club – to Austen’s Lane and home ( or the Fox & Geese) – good fun with a good bunch of Loiterers.
Stuart