James Colman

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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

Today marks 5 years since @jacquelineboor and I got together. Today, we went on a day out with Berry the Labrador to visit Nunney Castle for the first time.

Nunney Castle was built in 1373. It originally was surrounded by a curtain wall on three sides and a brook on a fourth side. Although the brook still flows, all that remains now is the main shell-keep. However, this is surrounded by a water filled moat and the castle is now accessed via a small foot bridge. The castle was damaged during the Civil War, and the conical roofs of the four corner towers no longer remain. But what is still there is some great architecture, in a beautiful setting.

Berry was very well behaved off the lead, and even took part in a photo shoot with my new iPhone 8 Plus. Portrait mode was made for such a pretty dog. 😍

Blue sky, green grass and tranquil water made a great setting for such a small castle. Very romantic, well worth a visit.

jamescolman.org original blog nunney castle labrador berry

On Saturday I raced in the Brompton World Championship Final 2017. Entries are selected via a ballot, and up to 600 racers take part. The race consists of 8 laps around a 1.34mile track in St. James’ Park, London. The rules are: you ride a Brompton - and you don’t wear lycra. Even though the weather was typically British-summer, the hospitality area atmosphere during the warm up was great. Plenty of beer, coffee and gin to get everyone in the mood for good time.

The race ended with no accidents (amazing, considering the race conditions), and I completed 9.38 miles (7 laps) in 29:34. Came 168th out of 423 riders. It was so much fun, I can’t wait to do it again. Fingers crossed I get a spot in next years race! And if I do I will a) where a funkier suit and b) aim to beat my ranking and time from this year.

jamescolman.org original blog Brompton mybrompton beryl berylthebrompton bwc2017 madeforracing

Today, @jacquelineboor and I visited Stoney Littleton Long Barrow in Somerset.

Stoney Littleton was one of the first monuments protected under the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, and is “one of the country’s finest accessible examples of a Neolithic chambered tomb”. It reminded me of the tombs we saw on our trip to Orkney, because of how intact it remains and the ability to crawl inside and see the chambers. 

There were a couple of highlights for me. First is the huge ammonite impression in an upright on the left of the main entrance. I can’t help but ponder what the Neolithic people 5,500 years ago thought this was. Could they comprehend it was the remains of an extinct animal? Did they think it was a natural anomaly in the stone? Or something more mystical? We will never know.

The other highlight was the setting. The weather was fantastic, and to reach the monument you needed to cross a small wooden footbridge over the Wellow Brook. In this weather, the green of the trees, the grass, and water plants through the crystal-clear water just made everything “pop”. It looked amazing.

jamescolman.org blog original prehistoric neolithic stoney littleton long barrow