The Nick Baker Report

This blog has been largely dormant since I started posting my pics to Flickr, so enjoy a sampling of posts from this week in history.

Bush's Bicycle Bash (2005)

The Mirror
July 8, 2005, Friday

SECTION: 2 Star Edition; NEWS; Pg. 35

LENGTH: 206 words

HEADLINE: I SHOULD ACT MY AGE;
SHAME OF BUSH AFTER CRASHING BIKE INTO COP

BYLINE: BY OONAGH BLACKMAN

HIGHLIGHT:
SCARS'N'STRIPS: The President's bandaged fingers; HARD RIDE: Mr Bush

BODY:
PRANG-PRONE George Bush said it was time he grew up after cycling into a policeman - on his 59th birthday.

The US president's latest mishap came on his mountain bike outside the G8 venue.

Mr Bush, left with cuts to an arm and hand, showed off grazed fingers to reporters and grinned: "It goes to show I should act my age."

The officer had a check-up and returned to duty at the Gleneagles Hotel after Wednesday's accident.

Mr Bush compared his slip to US Tour de France competitor David Zabriskie who crashed in the final moments of Tuesday's stage, but admitted "he's a better rider".

The president blamed a rigorous work-out and damp conditions as he appeared at a press call with Tony Blair.

He said: "When you ride a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise you are not riding hard. The pavement was slick and the bike came off underneath me."

His concern, he said, was for the Strathclyde officer adding: "I talked to him. He is doing fine."

In May last year, Mr Bush crashed his bike on his ranch. In 2002, he famously fainted and toppled off his sofa in the White House when he choked on a pretzel and in June 2003, he fell off a scooter at his estate in Maine.

o.blackman@ mirror.co.uk

July 9, 2005 @ 1:37 am [2 comments] [link]

teany (2005)

TeanyI went to teany yesterday for lunch and their iced tea and vegetarian sandwiches are delicious!

The funniest part of my visit, however, was watching the people. The restaurant was filled with bald guys in black and single women. Their slogan should be, "Come for the food and tea, stay for the Moby wannabes and groupies."

I have to admit that I was hoping for a Moby sighting myself. Of course, maybe one of those bald guys in black was Moby, and I just didn't recognize him. How sad would that be?

July 7, 2005 @ 11:41 am [4 comments] [link]