Your name is Lobby Ludd and I claim....

[DoctorDee]

Earlier this week I was attempting some serious mental arithmetic.

The focus of my cranial gymnastics being the rapidly spiraling cost of what started out as a front cycle guard remount.

I could , of course, simply pull out the invoice file, (I do keep them all), fire up the old calculator and 2 minutes later.....I'd be depressed.

Instead, I decided to rename the Robin Hood 2B previously known as "Gladys". 

Those of you, of a certain age, may remember a fictional character made popular  by the Daily Mirror...."Lobby Ludd"

He was created  to promote the sale of newspapers during the traditional "Wakes Week" holidays....

"Lobby Ludd" would frequent one of the bigger sea side resorts..... He would select a holidaymaker, send in a description of same to the paper.

The Mirror would then publish it...... If you believed you were it, then you made a claim for the prize with the following phrase..

My name is "your name" and I claim my five pounds.

Your probably wondering what this has to do with the cost of gold plated front cycle wing mounts....precisely nothing.

However, a Fiver was quite a lot of money in 1957. Which would explain why my Father and Uncle kept banging on about "Lobby Ludd" the whole week we were all on holiday together that year.

To summarise, £5.00.00 in 1957 is worth @ £127.00 in 2019...... It has increased in value 25 times.

This is approximately the size the costs have swollen on my little front cycle wing remount project....

Henceforth, "Gladys" my 2B, will change sex and be known as "Lobby Ludd".

This will serve as a reminder that every time I start a little project on him. It's probably going to cost me 25 times more that  expected.