Briefly fabulous

30% was off to spend some time with her friend, Jules.

It was another frosty morning, so I was quite happy to spend my time indoors "to keep the dogs company."*

I brought in some jars and a bucket of honey** from the store room.  I need to bottle another batch of honey, and it will be far easier to process if it is brought in to the warmth of the house overnight.

Around midday my new helmet arrived and I'll admit to a touch of anticipation as I removed it from its packaging.  Arai helmets are beautifully made and I have never had another helmet that fitted as well as this new Quantic model.

After a trial fitting I took off the lid, and gave it a good looking over.  Everything seemed beautiful until I looked inside. A section of the helmet lining just didn't look right.  The lining is black, plush and beautifully fitted to the inside of the helmet. However the section of the lining over the crown of my head looked dreadful. It was poorly fitted, and seemed to be peeling away from the inner polystyrene.  It looked incredibly jarring when compared to the quality of the rest of the helmet.

I gave the supplier a call, and they seemed to be quite understanding. They don't have another in the same size and colour, so an eBay return has been initiated.

As it says in the title, the new lid was "briefly fabulous," but I have been left feeling a little disappointed.

I've already mentioned that the weather was icy, so I decided to light a fire this afternoon ... a bonfire.  The metal crate in the orchard has sat for most of the summer, filled with a large pile of combustibles.  I have conscientiously avoiding lighting it until the weather cooled, and there was no chance of the crop of wheat in the adjacent field being ignited.

I had a splendid time warming myself by the fire, and then heading back to find another piece of rubbish to add to the inferno.  30% was mildly miffed when she returned and realised that she had missed out on the fun.

I probably need to make amends in some way, as my dear wife had kindly returned with twenty litres of 99 RON storage fuel for the Honda ... we won't be able to afford food for the rest of the month!

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* 30% does get quite concerned about the dogs having company.  In my experience, as soon as she heads off down the lane, they retreat to their favourite positions and sleep. They will occasionally wake to bark at passing dogs, but spend 99% of their time snoring. I'm sure they see "company" as "disturbance."

** The last of the May '25 harvest