Bike gear at Lidl and Aldi

I see that Lidl (in the UK) have got some bike stuff from tomorrow.

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And Aldi have some from next Sunday, 10th March.

 

Link

 

I've bought some bike things from both shops in the past. Some of their stuff is good and well worth the price, whilst some is not worth considering. Caveat emptor, as my old Latin teacher would say!

Mystery bike

How long until Stuart guesses this one correctly?

Friday bike

This week's 'Mystery bike' was correctly identified as a Marman Twin, built by a company owned by Zeppo Marx.

Herbert 'Zeppo' Marx was the youngest of the Marx Brothers, and after making five films with his brothers, left acting to concentrate on being a theatrical agent.

Top to bottom: Chico, Harpo, Groucho and Zeppo

However, he was also an inventor/engineer/tinkerer, and after a chance meeting with an aircraft company executive who mentioned the lack of manufacturing workshops, set up the Marman Company in 1941. They are most famous for the Marman Clamp used to hold items inside aircraft, including the WWII atom bombs.

The Marman Twin used a flat twin engine from an unmanned aircraft (an early 'drone') fitted into a Schwinn bicycle frame. It was marketed as a rival to the popular 'Whizzer' and had the advantage of a proper clutch (the Whizzer disengaged the drive belt).

The Marman design was later sold to Jack & Heintz who sold the bike under their name.

Cool car

And I thought my Volvo was quite big!

Sculpture corner

Below is a video of Barry Gibb and family members unveiling a sculpture and walkway in memory of the Bee Gees, in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia - the town where they signed their first contract in 1959. I really like how the sculpture doesn't depict them as the superstars they became, rather as teenagers starting out on their career.

Another tick on the list, but another thing back on it

I got another thing ticked off the list of plans for this year - I went to Club Noir's 'Valentine's in Paris' night.

I'd been feeling a bit unwell all week, coughing and sneezing with a bad cold, and on Friday night had gone to my local pub with some friends. I was feeling so bad that I had to leave after an hour, and when I got up on Saturday I felt terrible. I got through the day by taking 'Extra Strength' cold remedies, and slept for a few hours in the late afternoon/early evening. I still didn't feel very good by the evening, but got ready and headed out to Club Noir.
It was a really good night with a really entertaining show.

Only usable picture of the show - my tiny camera's not really up it!

A lot of the people there really make an effort dressing up for the night, and a took a couple of photos in the bar (the more 'extremely' dressed people hang around in the area where you can't take pictures.)

 Yes, that's a man dressed as 'Alice' accompanies by 'White Rabbit'. The girl on the left is wearing white PVC underwear and is with a man in a kilt and no shirt. These are the more conservatively dressed audience members!

Mostly 'sensible' people here, but you can see a man dressed as Napoleon!

It was a really good night out, but as the cold remedy was wearing off, I started to feel very cold and shivery, so decided to head home. It was a shame that I was so unwell as I was enjoying myself.
There should be more pictures soon on Club Noir's gallery.  (They usually post them a few days after an event).

Now for the bad news. I mentioned a while ago that I'd got a new job testing electrical equipment for a local authority. I was employed by an agency who had said that the job was for three months, with the possibility of extending it to six. A couple of weeks into the job I was told that it wouldn't be extended, then on Friday I was told that it was finishing this coming Friday. This means that unless the agency has any more work for me, or I get something else, I'll be unemployed again by the end of the week. I'm going to phone the agency tomorrow to see if they have any more work, and I had an interview for a different job last week so perhaps something will come of that.
Look on the positive side, being unemployed means I can get more work done on the bikes!

Mystery bike

This week's Mystery bike was suggested by Pat Brennan.

OK folks, what is it, and what is its Marxist connection?

Continuing a previous topic, note that it has a fishtail exhaust.