Moved on to the downtube shifters, which are a bit of a mess. The clamp is Huret-Sachs, the shifters Shimano SY20, a very early index shifter that I dimly recall asking the bike shop to fit for me. YouTube told me that the clamp probably had to be re-tapped to accomodate the larger Shimano bolts. Anyway ...

Restoration of the old Raleigh is starting to pick up a bit of speed. I had to pay money to get the stem and bottom bracket removed by a professional with a blow torch and an angle grinder, but the frame is now ready to be rubbed down and touched up (Oo-er, Missus!) There have also been a couple of interesting discoveries.

It was "the most boring, uneventful adventure in the entire history of geocaching". But it was mine to bag. No point saying more than that.

See those beans? They are “iron-rich”. Why the “scare quotes”? Lots of reasons, some trivial, some much less so.

It was a good month, although an early spell of good weather rather lulled me into thinking that spring had sprung, only for April to go out like a lion.