I'm going to my memory palace

 I don't like that phrase. I didn't hear "memory palace" until I'd already been doing memory stuff for quite a while, so it doesn't sound authentic to me. That's perhaps what you get for only reading two chapters of one memory book instead of immersing yourself in the literature. But nowadays apparently Sherlock Holmes talks on TV about going into his memory palace, in a very unrealistic way. Pah. He should stick to detective stuff and cocaine.

But I just say 'journeys', and I'm going to create some new journeys for the first time in many, many years! I want some specially reserved for this mind-reading magic act, and don't want to cannibalise my existing ones. They need to be permanently engraved with long-term memory things, you see. It will be fun - I've discovered many new places since I last prepared journeys! Redditch and the surrounding areas are about to be immortalised in my brain!

Fat bottomed girls, they'll be riding today

It's been sunny and warm all through this bank holiday weekend! Well, it's pouring with rain right now, but that's okay because it's Monday night. So I've been cycling around all weekend - I have the idea that it does more good than harm to my knees, which is probably wrong, but it's fun anyway. Saturday I had a good long bike in two easy stages... 

Runkeeper is still a great app. This is just the free version, too, not something you have to pay actual money for! It's useful for seeing just how big the hills are along the way, if I want to plan to avoid them next time. There are flatter ways to get to Stratford...

The cycle route to Bromsgrove is fun, taking you really through the middle of nowhere...

And going to Barnt Green is basically uphill all the way. That's the problem with going anywhere towards Birmingham from Redditch - it's a great journey once you get past the hilly bits, but starting out is always bumpy.

Memory League May

 The World Ranking system in Memory League is quite badly flawed, I've always complained. Having achieved a high ranking, you can keep it almost indefinitely just by signing up to every tournament, even if you lose every game.

Well, I did say "almost indefinitely", because having failed to get through the first round of qualifying for the Pan American Open, I'm now going to sink below that 22nd place I've been undeservedly hanging onto for so long, and bottom out at a level more suitable to my performance in recent years.

So I'm resolving to work on it - play more games, start winning more often! Get my consistency back to the level it used to be! Anyone want to give me a game some time? Or many times? I want to play a lot, right now!