Emberton, Bucks via Hanslope and Tingewick to Bladon, Oxon

We have done 51.6 miles today. for the record, these are the figures so far:

• Day 0 - 50.97 miles
• Day 1 - 62.63
• Day 2 - 33.6 (?)
• Day 3 - 49.44
• Day 4 - 50 (estimated; 39.91 recorded and some more while Gigi was asleep)
• Day 5 - 66.59
• Day 6 - 46.61
• Day 7 - 51.6

Approx total 412 miles in 8 days, average 51.5 miles per day.

Sadly when we visit schemes we often find no-one around. At Edinburgh Cottages on the Sandringham Estate, for example, there was no sign of the duke to greet us nor indeed anyone at all. So it goes. But today at Tingewick I think it was, a buzzard mewed overhead, then a raven flew over and a Green-veined White butterfly explored some buddleia flowers. Earlier we saw a heron and heard a bullfinch call and saw its white rump as it flew off and later a red kite soared overhead. So a better day, nature-wise.

I am in some trouble for not bringing a razor, to save weight. I now resemble one of my friends in the west of Ireland who tend to shave only once a week, usually on Saturday night so they are respectable for any partying and reasonably presentable still for church next morning. The beardling does not go very well with my hair which - because I wear a helmet - is divided by ridges and stands in three rows like a kind of nonconformist Mohican. A hairbrush is another thing I vetoed during the packing. In fact the packing was pretty disastrous. I brought two shirts for non-cycling wear. One is an aged safari shirt and the other turns ouit to lack a vital button and has worn through at the elbow. Today thereforee, in Buckingham, I saught out a charity shop and purchased a shirt to replace it while Harry negotiated for some more Voltarol as she is still prone to painful pangs from time to time. The first pharmacy declined to serve her after grilling her about other pills she takes for blood pressure.  Luckily there are three chemists in Buckingham and the second one came up trumps, asking no awkward questions. Her arm has almost subsided although it remains a strange shade of puce. Her knee is still bruised and stiff but again almost recovered.

the swiss army knife that Hastoe staff gave me when i left has come in very handy. the scissors and phillips srewdriver have both been employed more than once and I find it not only tells the time (in GMT) but aslo the temperature and stuff.

Tomorrow we have a scheduled thirty something miles, so we look forward to reaching Wiltshire in easy style.

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