Am I a Leatherhead?

When I was at university I met a chap called Mike 'Jobey' Johnson, whose main claim to fame was that he'd played drums in a band, some of the members of which went on to play with The Housemartins. It was Mike who told me that Norman 'Fatboy Slim' Cook's real name is Quentin - a fact that tickles me to this day. The other thing that sticks in my mind about Mike, who came from Guildford, is he swore blind that the practice of sniffing the recently-vacated bicycle saddles of young ladies (and presumably old ones too, although I suspect their saddles are a little safer) is called Dorking. I wondered at the time if the practitioners of this dubious activity were called Leatherheads, but he wasn't sure.

The reason I raise this is that I seem to be offering a second image of a well-used Brooks bicycle saddle within a few days as my photograph of the day, and I'm wondering if this makes me some sort of dubious fetishist. I'll try to resist their photogenic charms from now on - although it won't be easy because dammit they're so easy on the eye!

Old-school perch

I saw this magnificent saddle at lunchtime today on a handyman's bike leaning against a railing on Holland Road. It looks like his arse has been shaping it for years - I love the little paintspots.

As the proud owner of no fewer than four bicycle saddles, all of which are skinny and very light, I can't really relate to the Brooks springy armchair experience, although I imagine once you've gone through the pain of breaking one in you'd never want to change it - and you wouldn't have to very often because they last forever. But I can't help wondering why anyone's prepared to go through that slow, expensive and painful process when there are cheaper alternatives that are comfortable straight out of the box, don't go all soggy when it rains, and look just as nice on your bike if you ask me.

Actually, I think I do understand it - there's something appealing about the idea of a beautifully-crafted old fashioned perch that's been gently persuaded over weeks of painful use to mould itself to your backside. But that's where it stops for me - at the idea stage. They do look nice though don't they?