What are your jeans doing today?

[Dr_Heech]

@LazyS Many thanks for sharing all your Stay brave photos.

Edited December 3, 2024 by Dr_Heech

[mlwdp]

I’m in NC-Winston Salem on leave visiting family rn and dropped by this new store called Fancy Groceries.  It’s on Trade St. and they stock Tellason, Dehen, Wonder Looper, Rail Car, and more.  I bought a pair of socks (I’ll post the brand later).  The owner Max was cool and the store recently opened this year.  Told him about the board.
 

https://www.instagram.com/fancygroceries/?hl=en

Stop by when in NC!

I also dropped by Heff’s Burger Club and got the Fiona Apple burger on 4th St.

Later got an eggnog latte and oatmeal cream pie cookie at Camino bakery on 4th st.

https://www.instagram.com/heffsburgerclub/?hl=en

Edited December 23, 2024 by mlwdp

[Mr Black]

I moved away from London recently. Wife and I cashed in,  jacked in our jobs and moved down to the Kent coast. 

The kids joined us today for xmas so we gave them a short walking tour.

 

We're near a lot of military land. This is one of their shooting ranges. It's in pretty regular use but I've not heard any shots fired for the last few days

We have a miniature steam train that starts near us l, runs for about 13 miles and ends in a place called Dungeness which is unofficially Britains only desert and is beautifully bleak and desolate. It's shadowed by a nuclear power station that is being dismantled (we're heading there tomorrow so will take some pics).

We get to hear the whistle and see the steam from our house which is lovely to hear and see.

We find it much more exciting than our kids do.

 

 

Edited December 23, 2024 by Mr Black

[Maynard Friedman]

That looks good @mlwdp - both the shop and the food!

@Mr Black - nice one! Where in Kent are you? I assume that’s the Romney, Hythe and Dungeness railway.

[Mr Black]

3 minutes ago, Maynard Friedman said:

That looks good @mlwdp - both the shop and the food!

@Mr Black - nice one! Where in Kent are you? I assume that’s the Romney, Hughes and Dungeness railway.

We're in Hythe. 

And yeah, Romney , Hythe and dymchurch railway.

Not been on it yet. We'll save that for a warmer day.

Edited December 23, 2024 by Mr Black

[smoothsailor]

Cashed in, sounds good Martin. Enjoy.

must be Nice to live by the coast

[Mr Black]

3 hours ago, smoothsailor said:

Cashed in, sounds good Martin. Enjoy.

must be Nice to live by the coast

Yeah. It is. Very different vibe to London.

We can even see France from our balcony.

[Dr_Heech]

Nice move @Mr Black and hope your new surroundings suit you and your family well. Nice to have met you and to still have the two pairs of conners you hemmed for me as a reminder of our brief meeting(s).

Are you fully or semi retired now? 

[Mr Black]

Semi retired.

I'm in the process of setting up my workshop which I hope to have up and running in the next couple of weeks.

Once that's done I intend to get back to making things to try and sell (bags, leatherwork, try my hand at making a jacket or two), and be in a position to take on denim repairs and alterations.

Sadly I can't afford a 43200g so no chainstitching 🥺

[Josh'N'Roll]

Waiting for the “generous” one hour early release from work on Xmas eve. Only 6.5 hours to go!
 

On to the important stuff. These are the Warehouse 1001xx Aizumi Festival jeans that ace mod and all around good guy, @Broark, sold me last month. Details on the denim are scarce, but they have the Duck Digger arcs, an offset back belt loop, and are neppier than the Banner Denim. I’m stoked that Austin was willing to part with them. 

[Mr Black]

Today's adventures took us to the Romney marsh sound mirrors. These big and rather beautiful concrete structures were built in the inter-war years along the south coast. They were designed to act as an early warning system for approaching aircraft but were effectively made redundant by the introduction of Radar. The area is now a nature reserve. You can only get right up close to them on certain days. 

This wasn't one of those days 😀

 

Next up, a bit Further along the coast to Dungeness which is a strangely bleak place. There seem to be quite a few artists in residence living in various shacks. Many other dwellings look to be airb&b's

Derek Jarman famously lived there.

 

[julian-wolf]

Good lighting for a few photos on Sunday’s afternoon walk in the local park

[indigoeagle]

21 hours ago, Mr Black said:

Sadly I can't afford a 43200g so no chainstitching 🥺

What is the going rate?

[OutSider]

2 hours ago, indigoeagle said:

What is the going rate?

$5500 and up on eBay 

[smoothsailor]

We went thru a box of pictures, like you do with Christmas 

in Kopenhagen cut off Levi’s, white t shirt, leather chuck Taylor’s . Probably 1991 could be ‘92

 

and 1999 or 2000 to tight Levi’s 714 if I remember correctly, thrifted 70’s polyester polo shirt

 

 

[Double 0 Soul]

Rode around Derwent & Ladybower to burn off some xmas calories..

Millpond flat.. it's hard to see where the water ends

Iphone4 pano.. this is where The Dambusters practiced their run

..around t'other side

Shooting Lodge where one could arrange straightforward... straight forward shooting weekends

Check the sign on the gate

In my quest for better coffee, i got a Velo Canteen for xmas.. it fits in your bottle cage

Crossed over the Snake to Ladybower

Overflow

Looking back to the bridge i rode over earlier

Ate a Fudge from my selction box.. featuring JMC sweat

..and home

[smoothsailor]

Nice Neal, do you hammer on the pedals? Cause it’s nice to do

[julian-wolf]

Same park different day

Ladybugs going strong, mushrooms too

 

[MJF9]

Family break in Morocco
Menara gardens in the morning sunlight

Jemaa el-Fnaa square where almost anything goes - fruit shakes, snakes, monkeys, new teeth anyone?

Bahia Palace with it's greenery, riads and them tiles and floors

Edited December 27, 2024 by MJF9

[indigoeagle]

16 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

In my quest for better coffee, i got a Velo Canteen for xmas.. it fits in your bottle cage

 

 

Nice trip. Lovely pictures.

So, that cool bottle keeps your coffee hot.
But how do you make your coffee now?
 

[Double 0 Soul]

1 hour ago, indigoeagle said:

Nice trip. Lovely pictures.

So, that cool bottle keeps your coffee hot.
But how do you make your coffee now?
 

 

Yes, it's a double walled stainless flask which holds 400ml of coffee.. i made the coffee at 10am and it was still hot ...ish at 3pm when i finished my ride.

 

As i've mentioned before.. when i was in my late teens - early 20s, i started to suffer from really bad insomnia, to the point where.. if i woke up at 1.30am after 2hrs sleep, i would lay awake till 6am and be exhausted the next day.. so i started going to work when i woke up, even if this was 1am.. 

 

While trying to sort this shit out in my early 30s, i stopped drinking coffee for pleasure and just started using instant coffee as wake-up juice..  i ride to work at 6am, make a horrible coffee with 3 of 4 heaped teaspoons of instant in a pint mug.. browse the webz for an hour while i'm drinking it, make another and start some work.. after this second cup, i'll only drink water for the rest of the day.. which means i drink loads of water through the summer but not nearly enough through the winter because it makes me feel cold .. My insomnia has been under control for a good 15yrs now apart from the occasional flare up in times of stress but i still don't drink caffeine after 8am..

 

The house we stayed in Sicily had a Bialetti pot so i was using that which made my shitty instant taste a whole lot worse when we got back.. i tried to up my coffee game back then but my sense of repulsion towards the online coffee influencers was overwhelming (what a set of fucking wankers coffee peeps are) i couldn't bear it so went back to instant..

 

..anywho, family bought me a K6 Kingrinder for xmas along with that^ Velo Canteen and some swanky coffee from https://foundrycoffeeroasters.com/collections/coffee-beans .. i've had a low value parcel of bike bits waiting to be shipped from Zen for some time.. so i'v tagged a Kalita copper dripper onto it.. (they retail for £80 over here, it was £22 from Rakuten) with 200x Kalita filters for £7.19

 

They're still in Osaka but i'v been making coffee with an old french press this week.. i can't imagine i'll go back to instant after christmas so when the pourover biz arrives, i'll probably take the french press to work..

 

Next step will be drinking coffee again after 8am.. as any insomnia sufferer will know, it's not the caffeine keeping you awake, it's your brain telling you that you can't sleep because you've stepped out of the parameters you set for yourself..

Edited December 27, 2024 by Double 0 Soul

[oomslokop]

18 hours ago, MJF9 said:

Family break in Morocco
Jemaa el-Fnaa square where almost anything goes - fruit shakes, snakes, monkeys, new teeth anyone?

cheeky monkeys were eyeing yr many vest pockets!

[MJF9]

Haha yeah... I only went over to 'rescue' my wife and daughter as they were first to be monkey climbing frames... before I knew it, I had two new best friends and a lighter wallet

[Maynard Friedman]

On 12/24/2024 at 5:46 PM, Mr Black said:

Next up, a bit Further along the coast to Dungeness which is a strangely bleak place. There seem to be quite a few artists in residence living in various shacks. Many other dwellings look to be airb&b's

Derek Jarman famously lived there.

Hi Martin, yesterday I watched Celebrity Escape to the Country (yeah, I know!) and Anita Rani was looking to move from Hackney to coastal Kent or East Sussex. The final property (the ‘mystery house’) she was shown was a former scout hut on the beach in Dungeness that had been transformed in part to look like an early 20th century train carriage inside. It looks like that white building with the blue door in your photo. £875k

[Double 0 Soul]

I don't think those type of tv programms are real maynard.. folks who sign up get a free holiday, folks who's houses are showcased get paid.

Erm.. we need more time to decide before we make such a big decission...ect

Tune in next week when Gino De' Campo looks at 3 properties in Italy

[Maynard Friedman]

I don’t necessarily think the ‘celebrities’ want to buy the properties either (although it’s the first time I’ve ever watched it). My point was about the coincidence of the house being on TV and in Mr Black’s post. The rest was purely for context.

[Double 0 Soul]

Context you say?

[Maynard Friedman]

Yes, that’s the only reason I was aware of the house as it was on a TV programme.

[Mr Black]

5 hours ago, Maynard Friedman said:

Hi Martin, yesterday I watched Celebrity Escape to the Country (yeah, I know!) and Anita Rani was looking to move from Hackney to coastal Kent or East Sussex. The final property (the ‘mystery house’) she was shown was a former scout hut on the beach in Dungeness that had been transformed in part to look like an early 19th century train carriage inside. It looks like that white building with the blue door in your photo. £875k

How much?£?£? (Spits out tea)

I watched a 'walking with Jim Moir' programme the other day after being tipped off that he visited the sound mirrors.

 

@doubleO- your pictures are lovely.

[MJF9]

Day trip from Marrakech to Casablanca
Marrakech train station

Casablanca station - Gare de Casa Voyageurs

Hasan II mosque on the Casa seafront

Rick's Cafe for lunch, inspired by the film

An impromptu performance by a diner - some professional musician fella who apparently plays New Orleans

Accompanied by thai straw Well Dressed Head

Edited December 29, 2024 by MJF9