2022Gazette ArticlesRides

The Mystery of the Cast Iron Post!

T’was a dark and stormy Sunday night, as the gale force winds and rain of Storm Franklin, lashed the country lanes and bridleways of Croydon. It was then that the cry for help went out to the Anerley Chatterati. And so began the tale of The Mystery of the Cast Iron Post!

I was awakened from my fireside slumber as my PC pinged 3 times, with messages from Tom Tom Moody, Jo Rifaat and Denise. And these were the messages that set us off upon the trail of the Cast Iron Post

After Storm Franklin abated and the sun came out for the Tuesday Ride, with my fellow searchers. we set off to discover if the Ballards Farm Road oddity was unique, a commonality of Victorian country life, or something from outer space!

But low and behold, what did we soon discover! A total of five identical objects including these!

Not only have they grown from 12 to 32 inches – but they have multiplied, just like the Triffids!

Exhilarated, we set off again to see what other oddities we could discover, only to find our route completely blocked by the aftermath of Storm Franklin – a huge fallen tree!

But we persevered and following the magnetic field force, we came to a place with strange wild beasties. Not a white elephant but a white gorilla hiding in the bushes!

But there were more of them, not human, had they arrived with the Triffids?

Terrified we mounted our bikes and sped off in a trance, to awaken, God only knows where, but completely lost in an enchanted forest!

And then I awoke from falling off the chair, with Tom Tom having a giggle, and a sharp prod in the ribs from a smiling Denise, saying: “Come on Des – a glass too many last night, don’t fall asleep again on the way home!”

No Triffids, no white beasties, no enchanted forest, just a ride to the Blue Cafe at Leatherhead, but what a story to tell!

Des