Get out on your bike

We love our bikes and we love London.   So if you too wish you could walk and cycle around more safely, then sign the  Love London, Go Dutch petition for safer cycling if you haven't done so already.  The petition aims to get the Mayoral candidates to pledge to make London more liveable by making our streets as safe for cycling as those in Holland.

You might also want to do something a little more active.  Click on the video above to see more about the Big Ride on 28th April for making cycling safer in London (and there's a Brompton bike to be won just by visiting the website).  You can make your way to the Big Ride from Hackney Town Hall at 10.30pm, or join Tower Hamlets Wheelers who will be meeting at Beaumont Square, near Stepney Green, at 9.45am.

We'll be getting out and doing a bit of cycling together ourselves during the summer (ahem!) so look out for info here about EEWI outings.  Just take a quick look here to see how cool you can look on a bike.  Love it.

hula-hooped

Just for the record, this is how good you can get if you practice lots. Yes, those blurs are two hoops on each of Marawa's arms going round in opposite directions.  And this is how you have to start your journey to hula-hoop amazingness...

A strong push on the hoop from the side, get it to swing round your belly button, move gently back and forth, use those abs, arms up, stand on one leg, add more hoops, swing a hoop round your arms above your head.  You get the picture?

Well done everyone who had a go - which was nearly everyone.  Carla and Vivien were absolute stars and even got a round of applause for their multiple hoop demos.

Meanwhile, there was some sedate knitting going on elsewhere.

Thanks to Marawa for inspiring us to swing to ever greater heights, to Janine from the London Cycling Campaign for speaking so enthusiatically about better cycling in London (more of which tomorrow), and to everybody else who made the evening such cracking good fun.

Don't forget coffee morning is next Wednesday 25th (moved from Friday) - details in post below. And don't forget that, rain or shine, we will be selling cakes at the St George's Day event at the Museum of Childhood this Saturday 21st.  Come and say hello. (Hopefully our abs will have recovered by then).

it's april so it must be...

Freezing cold, of course.  And time for Easter eggs, and chocolate bunnies and extra inches on the hips.  So to shake us all up a bit we're getting a visit from Marawa the Amazing* at our next evening meeting on 17th April to show us how to hula-hoop (Sarah - I hope this isn't too late for your bump!)  I can't even remember the last time I tried a hula hoop and I'm really looking forward to giving it a try. And don't worry, we'll find something a little more restful to do for those who would prefer to watch.  We'll be at our usual home - St Margaret's House, 21 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PL- 7.30pm for 8pm start.  Visitors are welcome - we just ask that you make a donation of £3 to cover expenses.   We'll provide tea and coffee, but do feel free to bring wine, cakes, nibbles to share.

We're trying something  different too for our coffee morning this month.  We'll be having a Cake Break for MS on Wednesday 25th April starting at 11am with our own pop-up tea room, hosted by me, at my wee house in Tredegar Terrace, E3 5AH.  Just look our for the bunting on the fence to find us.  Bakers especially welcome, with their homemade cakes to sell.

We'll also be selling cakes at the St George's day celebrations on 21st April at the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green from 11am - 4pm.  If you have not been before, it's a lovely fun day, with plenty of activities and entertainment for all the family.  We're just hoping that the weather warms up again by then.

Until then, have a Happy Easter.