A beautiful pink hat!

Sunday saw a return for me to an old haunt, the
Ally Pally motorcycle show, that's Alexandra Palace to those of you happier not to use the slang (and less than elegant) nickname the place seems to have acquired.

We arrived reasonably early, the ride up was positively pleasant in the morning sunshine and the queue for entry was at a bearable length. It has long fascinated me why we apparently so happily pay £12 a head to attend something that in reality is little more than a place to spend further money on the thousand upon thousand of 'goodies' available for those with a preference for two wheels....but pay it we do, Ally Pally is one of the 'must do's' in any bikers calendar.

That said I think that we can probably live without it too many more times in our lives, the novelty kinda wears thin and over the years it has become much more of a money making venture for the retailers than it has a 'show' of the bikes themselves.

There were of course some things of interest, not least (and those of you who were regulars here when I had time and the facility to constantly change my template will recall my passion for pink) the 'advent' of pink into the biking world, well the world of women bikers at least, the guys among you may not feel quite so keen!

Yup, there before my very eyes was the perfect pink bike and a perfect pink bike built for it's woman rider/racer, so it wasn't just a pretty face, it was quite able to hit 0-60 in a decent period of time!

Sadly when I was on it it was firmly attached to a paddock stand and not tarmac!



...and there was better to come:

Yours truly has been riding of late 'sporting' a helmet that is rather too old to be of optimum protection should things take
an 'unfortunate' turn at some point, and we part company with the bike. My passion for pink (and my boredom with continually being mistaken for a very small boy when I'm in leathers and a lid!) was fulfilled yesterday however when I was treated to a very special present, something I have long coveted....a pink lid! A flowery, pink lid! :o)) To be more specific a Shoei Raid 2 Vogue T7

I just love it, no more boring black, no more being called 'sonny' etc. etc.....for no matter how unfeminine leathers might be no one can mistake that this is a beautiful, very girly pink hat! :o)

You just know...

...things are not good when you wake, bleary eyed and desperate for caffeine in a hotel room on a Sunday morning, only to find the kettle is defunkt.

You know things are a whole lot worse when you drag yourself to the restaurant in valliant search of the afforementioned caffeine, only to be met by the barman cheerfully greeting you with the words...... "Blimey, you look rough this morning!!!!"

Ack!

Good stuff!

Maybe it's just me.... but this shop sign we saw in Prague really amused me!

What a star!

Harking back to part of a tale I recounted earlier in the week, there is more to tell, a tale of service beyond the call of duty and of proof that there are still some good guys out there!

You may (or may not) recall in my 'Prague...at last' post the small matter of myself and Fletch arriving for our flight at Gatwick only to discover it departed from Heathrow.....well what happened next was pretty amazing for this day and age and kinda renewed my/our faith in human nature.

We had parked in the long stay car park, which for those of you who aren't familiar with Heathrow is bloody miles a fair distance from the terminal and one has to utilise the services of a shuttle bus to be ferried too and fro. This is no mean feat if one is in a hurry, timetables don't exist and the bus to the terminal you need is never the one that arrives in a hurry.

So...having been informed we had turned up at the wrong airport and in the full knowledge that we had to make it to the right one via the dreaded, and usually gridlocked M25, we dashed out of the place and to the designated bus stop. As it happened we had a fair amount of time to spare but none the less were aware that the motorway could soon change that situation.

Our shuttle bus arrived, it was empty save for the driver and as we boarded we laughingly told him of our plight. Now, rather than grumble or 'harumph' as the average bus driver has a habit of doing all too often, this one grinned widely, laughed heartily and then (and this is the really amazing bit) radioed into his control to inform them that he had two fools passengers onboard who were at the wrong airport and as a consequence he wouldn't be stopping at any stops enroute to the long stay car park!! With that he put his foot down and laughing and joking took us directly and swiftly (no stopping, no bus stops and no more passengers) back to the car....wishing us good luck in making it to Heathrow in time as we disembarked!

What a guy! What a star! He was a real pleasure to meet, way more helpful (and without prompting) than the norm and a happy reminder that there are still the good guys out there! :o)

Snow!

We got snow!!!! :o)

Waking at 5am this morning was far more of a pleasure than usual when I peered out of the curtains into the darkness and saw...white-ness!

A good inch of snow had fallen overnight, that may not be very much to some of you over the pond but here in Blighty it's pretty reasonable for recent years.


As a consequence of the early hour I got to do something I have until now never managed....I made the very first footprints (save for a fox that had preceded me) and the very first tyre tracks in the pristine new covering. I always wanted to do that!

From there on in things went downhill. The van from hell had of course to be driven in this, a prospect I was not looking forward to greatly knowing as I do that I have to bald rear tyres. As I had anticipated maneuvering this heap of cr*p on the slippery surface became somewhat a battle of wills and a large proportion of my time was spent sliding sideways or going precisely nowhere!


As in all things though there was an up-side. By the time I had completed my round my temper was considerably 'frayed' which resulted in my having the courage to tell my boss, in no uncertain terms, what I thought of the situation. After some 'discussion' he began to see it my way (ok he didn't but I think it likely he knows there aren't many fools like me out there who will tolerate it even short term if I take a hike) and agreed to replace the tyres, fix the lights (most don't work) and repair the severely dented wing! Yayyyyy.

Now....let's just wait and see if he's as good as his word...I won't be holding my breath though.

*The images were taken on my phone during my fight with the van from hell so forgive the quality please!

Prague....at last!

So....the first few days of our holiday having been spent in Cambridge it was off to Prague in the Czech Republic on Wednesday for a few days.


This had not been as simple an operation as one might like to have imagined. Paris had been the originally intended destination but on discovering Eurostar had almost doubled their prices in the space of a few days, and determined not to be ripped off, an alternative 'city experience' was sought and late on Tuesday night, Expedia having nearly exasperated 'him' booking the trip, finally Prague was decided upon and booked.


Things were still not to be quite straightforward. Having made last minute arrangements we set off for Gatwick and our flight. We should have heard the warning bells ring when the automatic check-in 'thingy' appeared to have no record of us, but assuming (as one does) that it was the fault of the computer, we made our way to the desk. One look at the operators face was all we needed to impress upon us that something was wrong....and indeed it was. Our flight was from Heathrow! Oops!

We had needed to change the outbound flight at the last minute on the previous evening and had assumed (ok wrongly) that the new flight would still depart from the same airport. Um....lesson....never assume anything!

Thankfully we had arrived in plenty of time and luckily the M25 was clear as we made a mad-ish dash for LHR...I think if I am correct we did it in less than 30 minutes! Yup...Fletch can certainly drive, though it isn't always an experience for the faint of heart! ;o)

.....and finally we were checked in, boarded and airborne,

only to discover two hours later we had to remain 'parked' on the Prague runway for over an hour, courtesy of a bomb scare in the terminal. This did not look an overly promising start to our break, but things from there on in thankfully improved dramatically!

Our hotel was amazing, if you like 'modern and funky' which I do, (I can't tell you what the red 'thing' is in the image of the hotel foyer but there were a number of them dotted around and they were fab and fluffy) and was situated just off Wenceslas Square,
perfect for a few days meandering around the city...which is just what we did, wandered to our hearts content enjoying the beautiful architecture and scenery.

I'm not sure quite what I had expected Prague to be like but the reality was far and above anything I had imagined. This was perhaps a good time of year to visit, there were no hordes of tourists and none of the much warned of 'hen and stag nights' to contend with...though with beer at a pound a pint one can see why it attracts those in search of some 'pre-nuptial' party fun!




The architecture is stunning, the castle and churches adorned with incredible spires and gilding, gargoyles seemingly by the hundred hanging from every corner and masonry so intricate in places it's hard to imagine how it was ever completed!

Oh....and this is one very clean city!

There were of course other pleasures to be had, Prague is a cosmopolitan city with restaurants from most major cuisines, heaven for those among us who 'do food'....the inclusion of very good wine at very reasonable prices is a also a bonus and not one to be overlooked!


We were lucky, for whilst the UK suffered quite extreme storms while we were away we had only one night of wind and rain which provided us with a suitable opportunity to sample the hotel's noodle restaurant and celebrate Fletch's birthday without having to 'stagger' back in any kind of inebriated state!


All too quickly Saturday came and along with it our return flight back to Heathrow. I could happily have filled another few days 'investigating', I loved the place and I had the most fantastic time. The language might have been a little 'challenging' but aside from that it was perfect.... cigarettes were £1.50 (or less) a pack and there was even a Marks and Spencer! ;o)

(All images clickable)

I know....

....I know, I've been a very bad blogger recently, barely any posts and then when I promise I'll catch up, I do no such thing!

What can I say? I just don't seem to be able to stay awake long enough the last few days to do anything but the essentials....someone, please tell me it's possible to have jet lag 48 hours after a two hour flight! Ok....perhaps I'm pushing my luck somewhat there! ;o)

I will though, I really will get to blog our trip to Prague soon but in the meantime..... will a couple of pictures suffice in getting me off the proverbial hook temporarily?



(Clickable)

Ugh....

...back to the white van today. :o(

I'll catch up here properly as soon as I've caught my breath and unpacked but for now I'm just trying to aclimatise myself to being out of bed so early again!

Where are we?

By the miracle (not) of modern technology and a very odd keyboard I have finally managed to post something from a place far from home. The 'miracle' however doesnt seem to allow me to transfer a photo from either my camera or phone so for the purpose of this post the image is stolen from the web.

So.....where are we?




Answer can be found HERE......along with an amusing tale!

Oh, and a very happy birthday Fletch........ how drunk??? :o)

Friday at last!!

It's taken forever to get to Friday this week and it hasn't been one of my best but now hopefully things will change, because as of this evening I am on holiday for a week. :o)

I'm not sure where I will be or what I will be doing and little more do I care but I have my bag packed, my passport firmly clutched in my hand and I'll be in excellent company. I care not where I end up, whatever there will be no white van, no customers and no 5am alarm calls for a whole week.... Heaven!

My chances for posting may be slim for a few days, but I will if I can..... and if I can't, then I wish you all a good week and I'll catch you when I get back.

I'm outta here...... with a big silly holiday grin on my face! :o)

Contrary cat!

Tilly. who had staunchly avoided all contact with the new bed her 'grandmother' treated her too a few months back....seems to have suddenly changed her opinion of the offending item....and is now to be found loitering in it at every opportunity!

Hell fire...

....and damnation!

Is it still really only Wednesday?....where on earth is Friday?

The answer

So...the answer to the 'What's this then' post of a few days back is that it's a picture of my feet 'walking on air' in the Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth harbour.


Very few of you out there will realise quite what a feat this was for me and that's a whole other story but suffice to say I don't 'do' heights and moreover if I have to entertain anything above sea level I certainly don't 'do' looking down. What I do 'do' is that whole being sick, feeling dizzy and finding my feet strangely glued to the spot, completely motionless malarky!

So on new years ever I was treated to a trip up Portsmouths Spinnaker tower which stands 170 meters high. I have no idea how that compares with other structures but believe me, from the top it was damn high and the fact that the winds were high that day and the whole thing was tangibly moving and swaying made the height only more apparent!


Once up there I loved it, the views, even on a dull day were amazing but then the 'glass floor' was pointed out to me. You know the things...a thousand feet up and you are 'invited' to walk across a glass floor.

Ok, not in a million years would I have imagined I would attempt it but then over the last few months neither would I have envisaged flying, touching a spider or facing any of the other demons I have, so why not I thought. I know the psychology of this stuff, I'll give it a go. F**k! :o/

Attempt one was less than impressive and involved a very hot (Hmmm..maybe leathers wasn't the best choice of clothing) gemmak standing on the corner rooted to the spot unable to move. Attempt two was marginally better as I shuffled pathetically along the edge holding tightly to an outstretched and supporting hand.....attempt three I mustered all my 'I know the thought process in this' knowledge and walked the full length along the center! It wasn't perfect, I couldn't look down except when I was stationery but hell, for me it was quite an achievement.


Really, a few years back I wouldn't have contemplated it at all....who knows, maybe next stop a bungee jump. Ok, ok, maybe not!...but then again.....

*Thank you to my 'supporting hand'.

(Apologies for the image quality...they were taken on my phone)

Cats behaving stupidly!

Utterly, completely, ridiculously stupid...so much so it's impossible not to laugh...well I did anyway!

What am I talking about? THIS.

Happy weekend! :o)


Cheers JW.

What's this then?

Anyone like to hazzard a guess at what this picture is all about?



No prizes other than the satisfaction of being right..... the answer will follow in a day or two :o)

More Tilliness!

You might notice that the Christmas poinsettia is looking a little 'sparse' and that the Christmas cards are in little piles as opposed to the usual way of dispaly.....I don't think it takes a massively high I.Q. to work out why?!!!



In a household where cats aren't the favoured companion 'Madam' doesn't do herself any favours at times! What is it they say......'never work with children or animals'?!

Ugh!

Ohhhh...

....well that was easy, Blogger won't let me move to the new version, apparently my blog is too big!

Pffttt....are they saying I 'talk' too much or is it some disparaging remark....should I be asking if 'my bum looks big in this'??


Shhhh Fletch! ;o)

Anything could happen!

Well it seems that it's only a matter of time before Blogger force us all to move to the new (but apparently now out of beta) Google Blogger so rather than have it all fall apart on me unexpectedly, and given that I keep being asked how it works and I don't have a clue, I have decided I had better take the proverbial bull by the horns and go for it while I still have a choice.

So that's precisely what I'm about to do. The whole darn thing will likely disintegrate and I don't have the time or facility to rectify it right, now so if this little patch in the blogosphere looks decidedly odd for a few days you'll know why....here goes, anything could happen and probably will......