Stafford Classic Bike Show

Went on the twice yearly pilgimage to Stafford today with my good friend Jack. It was forecast to rain so we took boots and coats, as it happened the forecasters were as accurate as ever and the sun was cracking the flags most of the day. For lovers of Motorcycles (especially old British Motorcycles) it is a great day out. Truthfully to do the show justice you need to be there for the full two days. We pottered around for approx five hours and saw a small portion of it all.

There is a great atmosphere, an amazing array of bikes to oggle over and an abundance of stalls selling new, second hand and downright tatty-rusty spares. There are also lots of food and drink caravans - We had a hot roast pork roll with stuffing and apple sauce! - Heaven.

I got almost emotional, there were two or three LE Velocettes on display and for Sale. I still sort of miss my little "Ellie" - See the play on words there - although there are two schools of thought here, some people loathe LEs and some idiots like me love them. The mainstream owners of the larger Velocettes won't even acknowledge their existence apart from to to blame them for the demise of the Company.

For the un-initiated, The LE was used by virtually every Police force in the country from around 1950 through to the early seventies. They were favoured by the police for the early equivalent of the panda car as they were very very quiet. The basic design was revolutionary. they are a flat twin (horizontally opposed) side valve engine which had water cooling and a shaft drive. Mk1 was 150cc with a hand gear change, Mk2 the capacity increase to 192cc still hand change, and the Mk3 was fitted with a foot gear change. Top speed was around 45mph with a following wind. Delightful little machines for pootling around town. Oh Yes the LE stood for Little Engine.

That's a picture of my little Ellie after I had resprayed her about four years ago - a lot of people still refer to them as 'Noddy Bikes'

Happy Birthday to Will Shakespeare

We should also wish a happy birthday to Wm Shakespeare.

His actual date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on April 26th 1564, - St George's day has been generally accepted as his birthday for many years. Of course he also died on April 23rd 1616 - requiescat in pace

As I have got my patriotic hat on, here is one of the more famous quotes, This is part of Gaunt's speech from Richard II act 2 Sc 1

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

Happy St. George's Day

Happy St George's Day to one and all, I hope nobody feels embarrassed about celebrating the Patron Saint, It doesn't make any one a nationalist or a racist, just proud to be English.

Very little is known about St. George’s life, but it is thought he was a high ranking officer in the Roman army who was killed in around AD 303.

It seems that the Emperor Diocletian had St. George tortured to make him deny his faith in Christ. However despite some of the most terrible torture even for that time, St George showed incredible courage and faith and was finally beheaded near Lydda in Palestine. His head was later taken to Rome where it was interred in the church dedicated to him.

King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England when he formed the Order of the Garter in St. George's name in 1350, and the cult of the Saint was further advanced by, King Henry V at the battle of Agincourt in northern France.

Shakespeare made sure that nobody would forget St. George, and has King Henry V finishing his pre-battle speech with the famous phrase,

‘Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!’

UNDERWEAR IS IMPORTANT!!
Always wear clean underwear in public, especially when working under yourvehicle... From the Northwest Florida Daily News comes this story of a Crestview couple who drove their car to Wal-Mart, only to have their car break down in the parking lot. The man told his wife to carry on with the shopping while he fixed the car. The wife returned later to see a small group of people near the car.
On closer inspection, she saw a pair of male legs protruding from under the chassis. Although the man was in shorts, his lack of underpants turned his private parts into glaringly public ones. Unable to stand the embarrassment, she dutifully stepped forward, quickly put her hand UP his shorts, and tucked everything back into place.

On regaining her feet, she looked across the Bonnet of the car and found herself staring at her husband who was standing idly by.

The mechanic, however, had to have three stitches in his forehead!

Grand-dads of the World Unite

A small boy was lost in a large shopping centre.
He approached a uniformed policeman and said, 'I've lost my grandpa!'
The cop asked, 'What's he like?'
The little boy hesitated for a moment and then replied...

'Well... my Granma says, rusty old motorcycles and women with big tits.'

Grane

I try and get out for a walk most mornings with Jay the autistic Spaniel. We usually walk around Calf Hey reservoir or on the hills around the area known as Grane. Some mornings a group of us meet up and walk together. At any time there can be Val, Stan, Chris, George and Harold (They are Chris's Dachshunds) We enjoy an average 3 or 4 mile walk, exchange jokes and recipes and generally put the world to rights. If the truth be known it's usually more like an episode of 'Last of the Summer Wine' However we have not, as yet, got to pushing Stan down a hill in a bath with wheels - There's time!

I had a solo walk this morning. The two photographs show the view from the hill to the North of the Reservoirs, looking over the disused Troy Quarry towards Thirteen Stone Hill. One was taken today the other was taken in mid February. I haven't bothered labelling which is which.

Basil's Run

First run of the season today and as mentioned previously, I went on the Fat-Boy. What a glorious day for it, we met up in Rawtenstall, rode out via Burnley, Gisburn on to the A59, stopped for a brew at Robin Hood's Lay-by, then on to Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales. After lunch returned via Burnsall, Bolton Abbey and stopped off for an Ice-cream in Skipton. Clear blue skies and some excellent company. The run is named after a deceased member of the VMCC East Lancs branch and all proceeds will be going to the Rossendale Hospice. What a gradely start to the season.

Had a very pleasant day today, most of the time entertaining Thomas in the garden. He is into everything but mainly watering plants. Like a fool I introduced him to the hose-pipe, naturally we both laughed a lot and finished up very wet. The picture was taken the morning after his second birthday party a few weeks ago. He's a bit young to have a hangover, personally I think he overdid the Jelly and Cake (I know I did) aren't parties fun!

AJS

I have been spending lots of time in the garden recently, when I should have been working on my poorly AJS. Had some problems last year with things breaking, so over the winter a good friend who we shall refer to by his initials - JB - has assisted me by replacing the main bearings whilst I have been checking out other things. I was due to buy a few essential parts this week but sadly the supplier I use - Andrew Engineering of Atherton - have been shut down for an extended Easter break. So completion is delayed.

This coming Sunday is the first run of the season of the East Lancashire Branch of the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club) Sadly I won't be able to ride the Beloved AJS so I will have to attend on My other two wheeled toy, The Harley Davidson Fat Boy. Don't feel too sorry for me for I love the Fat Boy as well.

Here is a picture of the AJS. It's a model 18 which means it is a 500cc Single cylinder. This one is registered as 1953 although there is a long and involved story behind that which unfortunately will never be fully told. I suspect sometime in the past the bike was cobbled together using bits of other bikes. It matters not the machine is a delight to ride.

It seems everyone in the world is currently writing a blog, so I thought I would have a go. With so many interests it just seems like a good idea, whether I prattle on about Motorbikes, Fly fishing, Gardening, My enjoyment of the English language (and clever usage thereof) or just to monitor the development of my wonderful Grandson Thomas. Who knows what this butterfly Brain of mine will flutter to next.....We shall see.