Western Front sketches: 2 – The Christmas Truce sculpture, Messines

Western Front sketches: 2 – The Christmas Truce sculpture, Messines

In the main square of the small town of Messines, on the high ground of a ridge that saw the prelude to the infamous Battle of Passchendaele, stands a sculpture of two officers, one British and one German, with a football. This is Andy Edwards’ Christmas Truce memorial, a poignant reminder of a moment in December 1914 when the humanity of ordinary men on both sides of the conflict was spontaneously shared, only to be suppressed in the bloody campaigns reasserted in the days that followed.

Rebellion Way: exploring the legacy of mediaeval white gold – Part B (Days 4 to 6)

Rebellion Way: exploring the legacy of mediaeval white gold – Part B (Days 4 to 6)

My story of a 6 day/5 night tour of Cycling UK’s excellent Rebellion Way, a 400 km bike-packing route around Norfolk, ridden in the beautiful weather of early September 2023. The ride, around two-thirds of which is on roads and one-third on bridleways, runs through beautiful landscapes and is packed with fascinating historic sites. This blog (in two parts) is written from the perspective of older cyclists (like me! – aged 68); we are inevitably slower, but also have priorities that may differ from younger and/or other riders who may be more focused on completing the route quickly.