More damned rain

Saturday 22nd December saw the completion of the sale of my Deauville. The surprise was not that it sold but that when I went to the shed to reveal a cleaned and waxed, shiny example of the breed what I found was a dripping wet example. The shed roof was leaking and badly.

So when Sunday morning dawned bright, clear, breezy and dry I was off like a shot down to B&Q for a couple of rolls of roofing felt and some tacks to hold it down. What followed was a race against time and mother nature as I laid down 2 layers of felt, one running up and down, north to south and the other across from east to west, each dutifully overlapping to make further ingress of water more difficult and less likely.

And that has worked nicely. However, a foray into said shed today revealed that while that piece of DIY has had the desired effect, the south side of the shed which gets the worst of any blast that is going as it faces the prevailing winds - well that is now letting in water in a way that is just not conducive with protecting the contents from the elements. So it appears that further DIY is called for, but it'll not get done while this rain persists.

Damn and blast!

Goodbye 2012

Yet another year is ticked off and like those that preceded it the year had its high points and its low points but few exceptionally notable points. Somehow we have all managed to retain full time employment which means that we have been able to buy those things we have wanted, socialise with our friends and take the holidays that enticed us to places we'd not visited before. We have managed to save for the future and clear most of the debt that we had taken on in previous years.

Both our boys - now young men - have been fortunate in their career choices. Mark survived the purchase of BMI and secured a job within British Airways which saw him having to fly out to Tokyo as part of a small team consulting with Japan Airways on a collaboration piece. Andy was rewarded for his decision to take up an apprenticeship with Rolls Royce in Derby by being selected for a role in the Maintenance Division which he absolutely loves, and being recognised as a craftsman without having to complete the full 3 year term of the apprenticeship.

But 2012 has definitely been the year where Suzie and I have given up ever larger chunks of our time to others. Getting away on holiday together has really been the only time when we have had time to ourselves and while we have continued to function well as a team we need more time for us.

So what for 2013? Well it starts with father's cremation service on 2nd January, and with that out of the way John and I will have to cover off the legalities that are his stipulated by his Last Will & Testament as British law dictates. After that there is the on-going caring for mother but 2013 will be a year where we do more for us and less for others. My Deauville has been sold and I will be buying a newer motorbike to fill that gap in my life (not sure what it will be right now). Suzie will be 50 in March and we will be marking that with a trip (with friends) to China. Mark plans to buy his first house with his girlfriend while Andy's girlfriend starts the 2013 by collecting a Mini she has put a deposit onto replace her failing Ka.

So we have plans, they represent a change in direction, and we can say Goodbye 2012 as we welcome in 2013. Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2013 brings new light and more than a glimmer of hope into your lives.

End of journey

This morning I had an early phone call to advise me that my father had passed away peacefully at 04:55. The day has been spent ringing round to family advising them of the final release of father from the grips of multiple sclerosis. His body was taken to surgery at the QMC to meet his request that his body be used for medical research into MS. He is now laid at rest in the funeral director's parlour. Death certificate has been procured and will be registered tomorrow. His room at the home has been cleared ready for the next resident. Utility companies have been contacted. Ditto banks. Cremation service date/time agreed and booked for 13:00 2/1/13. Phone calls made advising family. And the wonders of probate start on Friday.

Stuff

Because the focus has been on father, I haven't had much time to post updates on other things that have come and gone over the last month, so here is a brief run down.

I visited the Motorcycle Live event at the NEC in Birmingham, taking a Thursday off work and meeting up with some friends off the DeauvilleUK forum. A great day out that allowed me to get away from the pressures of life and just be me. Found and bought a new helmet which Suzie is going to give me as a Christmas present. And some winter gloves. Loved the 2013 Aprilia Caponord - it looks brill but doesn't have shaft drive that is so important in the adventure bike market so it won't out sell the BMW R1200GS or Triumph Explorer. The old version didn't sell well outside Italy and this could go the same way.

Mark has made a business flight to Tokyo for British Airways - time will tell if he has to go again. Meantime his car has failed it's MoT so that now needs sorting. Nothing serious but a pain right on Christmas - more expense.

Andy has now taken possession (shared with some mates) of a lock-up from which he can start working on his project car and do the servicing of family members cars.

Suzie is very busy at work and has been told that her job is not at risk of redundancy - others have not been so lucky. He little car continues to do well. She and I spent a weekend with Mark & Eleanor at their place near Staines, visiting Oxford Street in London and the Winter Fair in Hyde Park in a packed 2 day visit. Good to see them doing so well for themselves and obviously comfortable in their relationship.

Meantime, I have sold the VW Passat and now have a Volvo S40 1.8 in metallic black (the trip to Staines was it's first long trip). I love it, nice little car. Why did I sell the Passat? Simply because my employer has changed the expenses policy and now any journey over 100 miles (return) has to be done using a hire car, so the Passat would continue to cost me in repayments on the loan and depreciation while earning no income. Solution - sell Passat, clear loan, buy a smaller car with the money left over. Why a Volvo? Because of all the cars I checked out it was the nicest on the day.

And I have put the Honda Deauville up for sale - it is time for a change as I have had it for over 7 years. At the moment the primary candidate for replacing it is a 2004 Aprilia Caponord I have located for sale in West Sussex, but I have to sell the Deauville first....

The cycle of life

It's not good , but, that's life. Dad is going down hill and it looks very much as if he is coming to the end of his journey through Multiple Sclerosis. From diagnosis we were told the best he could expect was 30 years assuming that it ran it's course and wasn't accelerated in any way. And that is where he's at.

Recently he has had a trip into A&E because of a chest problem, but was sent back to the nursing home after a few days. Since then he has been moved onto liquid medication because his mouth is constantly sore and painful, making the tablet form hard to take. These last few days he has been on liquid foods as well, and liquid food supplements but he is starting to refuse to take them because he doesn't like the taste.

Visiting him is painful. Much of the time he no longer recognises us when we visit. Rarely acknowledges that we are there and his talking is stinted and muted, a whisper at best and rarely coherent.

And it is affecting us all. Andy was especially close to his granddad and he is taking it the hardest. Mother has had no other man in her life since she was 16. He is still (and always will be) my father. But he is not the man we all know/knew and love/loved. A shadow of his former self it is pitying to see him just lying there in his bed. We try and ensure that classical music is playing for as much of the time as possible, he has always enjoyed it and we have to assume he still does.

The nursing home are doing as much as they can with their limited resources to make him comfortable. Some of the young staff are going out of their way to give him their time. He started his time there as such a happy, forever smiling, person and they have watched his condition deteriorate. It affects them too. He is not their father or relative but they feel for him and us.

Then somebody has to tell the rest of the family - give them an update on how father is and what is / is not happening. So that'll be me then. Last night I phoned his younger brother and elder sister (but not his eldest sister, as she is away with the birds too). Let me just say that I have had nicer calls to make. I try and stay detatched, realistic and matter of fact about it (it helps me to cope) but it isn't easy - he is my dad.

None of us know how long our time will be here on earth. We still don't know how long Arthur will be with us. But what we do know is that his time is drawing to a closure. His journey is ending. He will be missed.

But life goes on....

Young Drivers

Young drivers are in the news again, see BBC News where a load of figures are spouted and bandied about as if this is new news. It is not new news, and never has been. The young have only ever learnt how lethal a car is as a killing machine by pushing the limits too far. But it the government that is at fault, not the young drivers.

Why?

Because all the government insists on is that non-drivers have to pass a driving assessment called The Driving Test. This is monitored by the Driving Standards Agency, a government quango set up to monitor and enforce driving standards. The result is that driving schools only teach non-drivers how to pass the driving test. They are not taught how to drive. It is assumed that they will learn that once they have passed the driving test and are allowed out on the road.

And that is the problem, or part of it.

There are now driving theory and hazard awareness components to the test that have to be passed before the non-driver can become a driver. But none of these, nor the "training" that ensures they pass the test itself, actually teach anybody how to drive. Awareness or surroundings, reacting in a correct and safe manner to what is perceived, handling the vehicle in a "situation" should not be learnt on the road AFTER passing the basic driving test. That is all it is, enforcement of a basic minimum standard and IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH for today's highly congested roads.

To become a motorcycle "driver" (i.e. rider) you have to undertake Compulsory Basic Training (CBT). This is followed by training and the equivalent to the car driving test, and then a progression through various sizes of motorcycle engine size and power outputs - effectively a motorcycle rider has to "earn" his/her stripes. So why is it different for car drivers?

Restricting young drivers to who they can take as passengers, or, how many simply is unenforceable. There are not enough policemen (or women) employed to make that work as an option. But making them start with a 2 seater car under 800cc before moving to a 4 seater car of up to 1100cc, then a 4/5 seater of up to 1500cc before allowing them to drive a car with an engine larger that 1500cc, with re-tests at each engine break - now that will result in the sort of results the government is looking for.

How can I be so sure? Because the statistics for motorcycle accidents and fatalities prove that it is an approach that has already worked. But, as there are so many more non-drivers that want to become drivers and who ARE voters then it won't happen because it will be seen as an election loser.

PCC Voting

So the voting is over, the votes have been counted and now the post mortem begins....

The voting process is reported as having cost £100m but only 15% of those eligible actually bothered to vote (for the record, yes I did and so did my wife).

Why did I vote? Simply because I cannot be shot down when I comment on the result for abstaining from the process.

Why did most people not vote? My view is a number of factors came together...

1. We (the British public) do not need another layer of bureaucracy put in place during a time of austerity which will deliver no additional benefit but will incur significant additional cost.

2. The level of additional cost will not be limited to paying a salary to the new commissioners, they will require administrative staff, and a whole shed load of facilities (office space with furniture, computing power, communications, and that's just for starters) and none of this will be cheap. When people are struggling to pay household bills and the government wants to reduce it's borrowing, why are we as tax payers being lumbered with this expense?

3. The choice of candidates - to say it was poor was an understatement. Most people received no communication about the candidates standing in their area. We got hold of a leaflet that was worthless.

4. If policing in the UK now needs Commissionaires then they should be appropriately qualified AND experienced AND politically independent - not as we saw on the balot papers, members of the UK political parties.

In my mind there was more wrong with what has been done and the way it was done than there was that was right with it, for example:

At a local level: Our local Polling Station is in a sports hall, and there are 3 stations in the one room. Each of these for local elections is normally 1 presiding officer and 1 poll clerk, sometimes 2. That in itself is over staffing based on normal the normal turn-out of voters (around 30% - 35%). Yet for this vote each Presiding Officer had 3 clerks for a turn-out of less than 10%.

Across the Country: Communication was so poor it bordered on abysmal. This was a classic example of politicians creating "jobs for the boys" and barely bothering to tell the public at large who was being put forward, why and what they were bringing to the table.

And the result: A damp squib. Even the press and media couldn't work up any enthusiasm for the biggest political non-event overseen and delivered by David Cameron's coalitian government. 15% average turn-out by British voters meant more cast their vote with their feet than did with the pen.

Many more correspondents considered more worthy than I will be picking the bones over this and already it has been announced that there will be an official enquiry into the whole thing. One thing is certain - the boys that got the jobs will keep them far longer than we will have any use for them.

Choose My PCC

This week, on Thursday, we are expected to elect a Commissioner to advise the local police constabulary on policy and policing priorities.

Last week we received one of their standard flyer communications to the public. Now I have to ask, what hope is there, and what faith can we have in the ability of the PCC when the job of putting together a simple leaflet cannot be successfully accomplished. The item I received through my letterbox is a waste of rate payers money - an obvious photo copy, somebody had done the photo copying double sided but had alternately flipped the copy along short and long edges, meaning that when put together it didn't read from start to finish but every which way.

Now one can suggest that somebody should check communications to the public, but once elected we cannot in any way check the work that the PCC (or the police) are doing.

This election is pointless and simply adds another layer of cost and bureaucracy to the policing in this country. And it is not as if these appointments will reduce the jobless in the country because these people already have paid jobs, so now they will have 2, with an even higher standard of living. It doesn't seem right on any level.

My Fitness Pal

Right now it seems as if every man and his dog is on a diet, and our family is no exception. As we now all have either i-phones or Galaxy S2 android phones it seems sensible to go about loosing weight in an organised manner. To this end we are all using an app called My Fitness Pal, and I have to say that it is working. I have been using it for some 8 or 9 weeks and over that period I have lost a stone in weight. Mark has lost more than that and Suzie about half that (but then she weighed less to start with). Even Andy has lost a few pounds but he has moved into a new role at Rolls ROyce in Derby where he works and that should see him burn off the pounds a bit quicker than when he was an apprentice.

So although there are times when it is a bit clunky I have to say that My Fitness Pal appears to be working for us.

Aprilia Mana GT

After discovering that the Benelli Tre-K was a dead end I had a think about what I want as a Deauville replacement. It has to fill both commuter and tourer roles; not be too heavy; be capable of carrying a full set of hard luggage; have under seat and/or cubby hole storage; be something just that little bit different.

Having looked briefly at the Aprilia Shiver GT at John Carr's I decided to check it out.  That lead me to the Aprilia Mana GT - suitably styled for both the commute and the tour it had the advantage of having a clutchless gearbox that also had multi-mode functionality and both paddle and foot change.  Guess what?  Aprilia have dropped it from their range.

So the search goes on...

Benelli UK

On the 5th October I celebrated 7 years of ownership of my Honda Deauville. Bought in 2005 it was a 2001 bike with just one previous owner and having had only 3,249 miles pass under it's wheels. In my ownership it has covered a further 43,000 plus miles - mostly trouble free. It's evolution over this period has been well documented on my web site.  It is a fact that I have never owned any motorbike for more than 3 years so although I am now considering replacing it, I am in no hurry.  And I am being very specific about my requirements.

It is a simple fact that motorcyclists are an emotive lot and most machines are bought with the heart and not the head.  But when you own a bike for as long as I've owned mine it becomes very difficult to not have high expectations of its replacement.  

As part of my selection process I spent some time looking at the Benelli Tre-K 899.  I followed through on a few adverts in BikeTrader, eBay and MCN Classifieds - they all led me to a group of companies that include KJM Superbikes, Wigan Superbikes, Preston Superbikes and Robinsons of Rochdale.  In the conversations I had it appears that they are tied into the UK Importer as they are all part of the same group of 10 - 12 companies.  Yet between them they had only 1 Tre-K 899 and nobody knew where it was or how I could get a test ride.

However, Using the Benelli UK web site I found that a local dealer, John Carr of Alfreton is a "Benelli dealer" so on Saturday I took a ride up there to talk to the nice young man in sales.  Turns out that they have a Tornado (super sport bike) in the window now reduced to £6,999 along with a couple of scooters which are all gathering dust.  There's no support from Benelli UK who won't release bikes on sale or return and they have yet to sell a Benelli machine.  So we talked about a used Aprilia Shiver GT they had in the showroom.

Over the weekend I managed to find the Benelli.com web site and it appears that the Tre-K has ceased production from some time in 2010 and was a run-out model in 2011.  Since being taken over by it's new Chinese owners it appears that they are more interested in setting up an Asian network under the Benelli name to re-badge and sell off cheaply made scooters and small capacity motorcycles.

So if anyone out there in UK land is thinking of purchasing a Benelli, be warned, you could find yourself with absolutely no manufacturer back-up.  Shame, I'd liked to have at least had a ride on a Tre-K 899.

British politics

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and, when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.  The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

And it’s always been that way! Won't change overnight and you'll just get a headache if you keep on banging it against that wall. The only way to change politics is from within, but once you get in you look back to find you got corrupted on the way in. The road to retirement for all politicians is littered with the bones of good intentions that rotted away on the way through and came to nothing.

Lake Como - 30-Sept

Another early start - it seems that this break has been full of early starts - but today it is because we have a plane to catch back to the UK.  Arrangements have been made for us to breakfast ahead of the normal 07:00 - 10:00 slot as our transfer is due to arrive, load and then depart at 07:15.  This is the slowest we have been driven since we arrived with the driver appearing very "timid".  Milan's Bergamo airport is not that busy so we saunter through the Duty Free shopping and I pick-up a litre bottle of whiskey.  Through to departure gate, a brief wait for boarding and we are homeward bound.  After a bumpy flight through turbulence across France we arrive at EMA just after 11:00, collect our hold baggage, board the shuttle bus, bid our farewells to Carole and Giuseppe and drive home.

Break over - time to get the laundry done and back to work tomorrow.  But what a super break it has been!   

Lake Como - 29-Sept

It's Saturday morning and we know that tomorrow we have another early start for our return to the UK, so today is lie-in day.  We get down to breakfast just after 9:00.  Outside it is grey and gently raining.  We'd thought about spending the day at the lido, just chilling out but with the sun not making an appearance we decide to get a bus down to Como.  It had been described as industrialised and not really worth a visit, but we want to see it for ourselves.  Bus tickets are purchased from a local shop just up the side road beside the hotel (service bus drivers apparently can't/won't take cash) and queue briefly.  Shortly after boarding the driver is cut up by a car lady driver and that turns this ride into a very memorable one.  That bus went faster along that route, which was narrow and winding, faster than I would have done it on a motorbike and as a consequence we arrive in Como 10 minutes ahead of schedule.  It wasn't dangerous driving but it was fast.

After a chat with some of the other hotel residents about the white knuckle ride we set off for a walk around Como to see what it has to offer.  Somebody had mentioned it was market day so finding the market became our first goal.  We found the fruit and veg market so Giuseppe asked a local lady if that was it and was told that the clothes market was 2 blocks away, so we headed in the directions given.  Easily found it was a street market with several hundred stalls, mainly clothes, shoes, bags and leather goods, nick-nacks, small electrical items and a few specialist things like herbal remedies.  It had started to rain / drizzle so the protection offered by the stalls' awnings was appreciated.  Sue had been suffering with shoulder pain and the damp air was making it worse so we headed out of the market to a pharmacy I'd spotted as we'd been walking around the market.  The pills recommended needed to be taken after food and as it was now nearly 13:00 and the rain was now heavier we dived into a Pizzeria.  What a find and how lucky were we?  Chilled beer and wine, a good selection of pizzas and pasta and friendly service - we were in no hurry and made the most of it after the anodyne fayre on offer at the hotel.  On leaving we stumbled across the boutique centre of Como and the girls were in 7th heaven.  Generally wending our way back in the general direction back towards the lakeside and bus terminus we came across a group of pretty girls and smart dressed men promoting the Tesler electric sports car, made in California it retails for 105,000 euros and apparently they have sold 30 in Italy so there must be some money about somewhere.

The return trip on the service bus was more sedate than the outbound trip, the bus being absolutely packed, every seat filled and all standing room utilised.  At the hotel we rested for an hour before taking dinner and then went for a stroll back down the road towards Como for about half/three quarters of a mile, finding a bar with music playing and sounding lively - just a shame we found it on our last night.
  

Lake Como - 28-Sept

Friday was an early start, down to breakfast at 07:00 and onto the coach at 07:45.  We were on the first of 3 coaches and glad it worked out that way as it turned out we had the best driver / tour guide combination, 2 old boys with years of experience and loads of personal insights.  As the day progressed and we compared notes with those on the other coaches it became obvious that our early start efforts had been rewarded.  The coach took us off up through Menaggio and continued on up along the lakeside and across the top, over the 2 rivers that feed into the lake from the top and up to Poschiavo where we left the coaches to get refreshments in a local cafe bar, then explore the town before boarding the Bernina Express for a slow and winding ride to meet up with the coaches again at Pontresina then driving to St Moritz.  

St Moritz... where do I start.  I remember seeing it on the TV as a kid, watching coverage of skiing and winter (snow) sports.  Films (like James Bond Goldfinger) with shots of this exotic place where the great and the good with never ending bank balances holidayed.  I never dreamt I'd ever get there, but here I am, walking up the main street past designer brand shops, boutiques and expensive looking buildings.  St Moritz of today is not the same as the one from that 1964 Bond film and is the worse for it.  Now it is a glamorous concrete jungle.  Gone are the chocolate box picture Swiss chalets, now relegated to the outskirts of the town, both up above on the higher ground and lower down, below, around the lake that in winter sees horses racing on the frozen lake surface.  But as I stood there taking photographs (snap shots really) that mattered little - I was in St Moritz, with Suzie, Carole and Giuseppe.  We walked into a swish cafe, through the restaurant and into their rather posh bathroom, complete with piped bird songs.  Then we took a road down to the western end of the town's lake, sitting on public benches to eat pack lunches we'd had the hotel make up for us.  Then a stroll back along the lakeside path back to the railway / bus station to the pick-up by the coaches for the drive back to our hotel at Cadenabbia.

The route back was different to the outbound route, no train but loads of hairpin bends - 18 in one section alone.  This route saw us travel through what I regard as much more typically Alpine Swiss countryside, all greenery, Swiss chalets and farms with livestock with the ever present mountains in the background cloaked in trees and topped with snow.  The crossing from Italy to Switzerland had been a non-event marked only by some rather chunky buildings but on the return journey it was even more of a non-event, and the coach swept down and back into Italy.  We picked up the lakeside road between the 2 rivers at the top of Lake Como and retrace our route with one variance, this time the coach took all the tunnels that bypass many of the local towns and villages that we had driven through on the way up the lake.

We get back to yet another indifferent buffet meal at the hotel and end the day with a walk up the road at the back of the hotel, to find very little of interest so we turned in for the day.
   

Lake Como - 27-Sept

Sue and I go down to breakfast for 08:30 as agreed with Carol the previous evening. Even after taking our time we are still finished and they haven't shown up so we go back to our room and ring them. They are still in bed having not had an alarm call that they'd booked the evening before. So they skip breakfast, we pay for the next day's excursion to St Moritz, collect our packed lunches and we get to the ticket office just up the road from the hotel as the ferry comes in, so we are still on the schedule agreed the night before.

Bellagio is lovely so we take a wander, wander some more, eat our pack on park benches next to the town's church before wandering some more. The alleyways are steep, narrow and cobbled. The town is very photogenic and just about everybody is friendly with the time to chat. We wend our way back to the ferry stop and get a boat to Varenna. This is like Menaggio yesterday and Bellagio earlier so we wander some more. The cameras are busy clucking away and we are constantly chatting, often with other tourists and locals (it helps that Giuseppe is Italian and that Carol is Italian fluent). 

We have a round of drinks at a cafe bar around 13:30 and the explore further up the alleys away from the immediate lakeside, and it is fabulous. Again we almost naturally end up at the ferry stop and bask in the sunshine but a breeze is starting to get up and the temperature is dropping (it is September after all) and we are in t-shirts and summer clothing with no jackets or warmer clothing. We decide to catch the ferry back via Belagio to the hotel. It has warmed up again and so we get some drinks and head up to the sun terrace on the roof where it is sheltered from the breeze, a really nice place to be.  

After dinner we are back onto the ferry to Bellagio seeking some night life local action.  We walk all around and the only activity is leaving the church and in the few bars on the lakeside near to the jetties where the ferries pull up.  They are so quiet, but we have a couple of drinks and then head back to the ferry and our hotel.
   

Lake Como - 26-Sept

Up at 03:45, leave the house at 04:15, we meet up with Carol & Giuseppe in Departures at EMA at 05:00, check in and proceed through to Departures for a breakfast before boarding our flight to Milan.  Suzie reads while us 3 sleep. 

Transfer is by a very comfortable minibus to the Hotel Grand Britannia Excelsior at Cadenabbia on the shores of Lake Como. We check in, have lunch, then go for a walk. We end up in Menaggio and wander round exploring. After an ice cream cornet in the square and cola/lager in the Hotel du Lac we dodge a shower and catch the shuttle "train" back to the hotel.  After a nap we go down for a drink in the bar followed by dinner.

Earlier we'd seen bags indicating a large number of departures but as we go down to and come out of dinner reception has a massive queue.  And the rain has blown in, hard and heavy. So we sit around chatting and drinking, take a walk to their lido and back (during a short lull in the rain) as there is nothing happening there.  But sitting in the bar down in the basement is just unbearably hot so we find a spot off reception with some vacant armchairs to relax in for a chat before tuning in for the night at the end of a long day in which we have flown, driven and walked miles.
   

Ridiculous

Monday, a 05:30 alarm call, leaving home at 06:00, a short journey to pick up a work colleague from his home in Draycott to drive to Reading.  A morning in the office before we leave to attend a meeting on the client site just over an hour away before returning to Reading and a night in a hotel.  Tuesday morning we breakfast, go to work and then drive back to Derby.  And that is becoming a the pattern, with additional days at Reading thrown into the mix which see me using the train on a daily commute basis. Over 400 miles a week behind the wheel of the car and a day or two in the local office means that by the time the weekend arrives I sleep heavily and well.

Now don't get me wrong, I know I am fortunate to have a job,but, and it is a big but, in this age with the technology available to us there should be no need to do this number of miles in either the car or on the train. Voice conference, video conference and file sharing should mean that the work that I do can be done from anywhere, including local office or from home.  But every client believes that their data is more sensitive than anybody else's, that face to face is the only way to do meetings, and the sales people allow these conditions to be written into the contract and our bosses always want to see us in the office having a "bums on seats" attitude believing that if bums are on seats then work is being done and results achieved. Just how delusional and out of touch they are. Almost Dickensian.  Attitudes like these mean we end up doing inordinate mileage which is totally ridiculous.

Dieting

Now don't ask me how but all I know is that I've been roped into dieting simply because the rest of the family have decided to diet.  Of course these days there has to be an app involved, in this case My Fitness Pal on android is the chosen tool for monitoring calorific consumption and burn. Weigh in last Sunday was overseen by Mark to ensure no cheating and I tipped the scales at 214 pounds.  This morning, one week on, the same scales say 211.4 pounds, so weight has been lost.  And I have to say that I've not made many adjustments to my daily intake to come in just under my calorific allowance.  Suzie has lost 2 pounds in weight (I'll not give her weight) so she too is suitably encouraged to keep going.

Having spent a week using My Fitness Pal I have to say that I find it useful but a bit clunky.  It doesn't appear to be intelligent enough to store something you ate for breakfast as something you might also consume as another meal, so you are constantly searching for stuff when you should be able to reselect from the pre-consumed list, which you can do if you previously consumed it for that meal (i.e. toast for breakfast).  Usefully it comes with a bar code reader so searching is simplified to some extent, but then you have to be aware of the portion sizes.  As a basic guide it is useful but it isn't a "super accurate" tool.

Savour the moment

This past weekend was just one of those moments one has to savour and remember.  Mark and Eleanor came up from Staines to spend a few days with us, arriving here with us Friday afternoon in time for us to change and ready for a night out together with us, Andy and Emma.  Using my mum's MPV I drove us to Nottingham, stopping off at The Priory for a meal before going on to the Capital FM Area and the Michael McIntyre show.

Saturday we found time for a mini BBQ among the household chores, weekly shop, gardening and everything else that has to be done at the weekends simply because the week is so full of the demands of work and making sure that the "old people" are cared for and OK.  Sunday we managed a proper family BBQ and found time to make the weekend one with a family bias, and all the better for being so.  All in all it was a weekend to savour.  OK, so I didn't get to ride the motorbike, visit a bike shop to get new gloves and helmet needed for the coming winter riding, or a myriad of things I would have liked to have done. But hey, what a substitute, well worth the "sacrifice".

Weekends

Weekends.  Some go to plan, some don't but often the best are spontaneous - as this one has been.  After a hectic week at work when the sun was shining bright and the skies were largely cloudless, neatly timed to co-incide with kids going back to school after the summer break.  All we'd planned was Mark and Eleanor coming home from Staines to be with us for a family trip to see Michael McIntyre in the Capita FM Area in Nottingham on Friday night.

Eveything went well and with time in hand we had a meal at The Priory on the way into Nottingham.  The show was McIntyre at his best and I had the benefit of bumping into an ex-colleague from my FIS days, Colin and his better half.

I kick started Saturday with a grilled breakfast to get everyone going.  Sue went off to do the weekly ASDA shop while I did some of the household chores.  Mark and I visited my dad and took him out in a wheelchair for a trip round the block to get him out of his room for a while.  He was very tired when we got back even though we were only out for about 40 minutes.  We also managed to fit a small BBQ into the day somewhere, and Mark and I a visit to see my mother.

Today I spent some time in front of the box watching the Italian FI from Monza and the British Superbikes from just down the road at Donington, and the closing ceremony of the Paralympics is on as I type this up.  We have also had a BBQ today and I spent about 3 hours getting tar/stone chips and bugs off Sue's car, giving it a wash and polish.

So a full and enjoyable weekend, which preludes another busy week where I'll be staying away from home Monday night, not out of choice but work dictates (sometimes).

Worlds apart on the same train

I have recently lambasted train travel simply because I don't see the benefits over using the car other than for specific trips like getting from Folkstone to Calais.

But today I did one of my round trips to Reading, and the short Birmingham to Derby leg of the return trip was made in conversation with a lady who boarded in what can only be described as an harassed state, having experienced delays and missed connections on a return trip from delivering her son to her ex-husband. 

This lady was returning to her home in Sheffield virtually penniless, but looking forward to starting a new job - her first with pay above the minimum rate laid down by the government. Good news but tinged with the knowledge that her husband of one year cannot join her in the UK under changes that came into force on 9th July. So she finds herself having to save to afford the flights out to visit him at his home in Jamaica. 

Sue and I have holidayed in Jamaica and she has lived there over the years so we had something in common and chatted freely, but in reality our lives are worlds apart. However, her lively chat and openness made that short journey a gem that will be remembered and I wish her every success in her new job and hope she finds a solution to the issues that confront her in her private life.

Politicians - more perks

Politicians continue to find more ways of sticking the taxes we pay into their pockets. The latest ruse is to "learn a foreign language". Now when I was preparing for my trip to France in June 2011 I looked at courses available locally, with the price typically working out at around £120. However, due to the pressures on my time I decided on a CD/DVD learning based learning that set me back the grand sum of £18 off eBay (2 courses, one £10 and the other £8). OK, not everyone uses eBay. Not everyone gets on with electronic learning. But our fabulous politicians have claimed sums varying from circa £600 up to £1600 to learn languages including French, Italian and Mandarin.

Now if I have to fund my own learning, and you have to fund your own learning why the hell do we have to fund over paid politicians learning?

A "Dummies" guide to Banking

A "Dummies" guide to what went wrong in Banking. (Acknowledgements to the unknown author, this is not my work but is truly worthy of further publication)....

Helga is the proprietor of a bar. She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows her customers to drink now, but pay later.

Helga keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby effectively granting her customers' loans). Word soon gets around about Helga's "drink now, pay later" marketing strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Helga's bar. Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in town.

By providing her customer's freedom from immediate payment demands Helga gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer - the most consumed beverages. Consequently, Helga's gross sales volumes and paper profits increase massively.

A young and dynamic Manager at the local bank recognizes that these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and increases Helga's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the unemployed alcoholics as collateral. He is rewarded with a six figure bonus.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions by transforming these customer loans into DRINKBONDS. These "securities" are then bundled and traded on international securities markets.

Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold to them as "AA Secured Bonds" are really debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, the bond prices continuously climb and the securities soon become the hottest-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.

The traders all receive a six figure bonus.

One day, even though the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Helga's bar. He so informs Helga.

Helga then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons but, being unemployed alcoholics, they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Since Helga cannot fulfil her loan obligations she is forced into bankruptcy. The bar closes and Helga's 11 employees lose their jobs.

Overnight, DRINKBOND prices drop by 90%. The collapsed bond asset value destroys the bank's liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans, thus freezing credit and economic activity in the community.

The suppliers of Helga's bar had granted her generous payment extensions and had invested their firms' pension funds in the BOND securities. They find they are now faced with having to write off her bad debt and with losing over 90% of the presumed value of the bonds. Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family business that had endured for three generations; her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 150 workers.

Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multi-billion dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.

They all receive a six figure bonus.

The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who've never been in Helga's bar.

Now do you understand?

Using the train - 5

Now it is no secret that I'm not a fan of modern train travel. Yes, I prefer to take the Euro Tunnel train crossing as it is so much simpler and less time consuming than the ferry (and I'm not the world's best sailor). But for most long distance trips I would rather drive.

So it will come as no surprise that the events of last week have left me feeling even less disposed towards using the train.  The "new aircraft style" seats fitted to the modern high speed trains are the most uncomfortable items I have ever had the misfortune to park my backside on.  Cross Country Trains who run the service between Derby and Reading have the distinction of providing seats so uncomfortable that after last Wednesday's trip to Reading I ended up taking 2 days off work with severe pains in my hips and lower back.  My pain was so strong that it took me nearly 20 minutes to get from the bath to our bed on Wednesday night (a distance of 15 - 20 feet).  Sue was so concerned that she took me to see our GP before she went to work on Thursday morning.  I should have been on another day visit to work in the Reading office but instead I found myself laid out on the lounge floor for a good few hours (as advised by GP).

Today I returned to work.  It was an uncomfortable day but I got through it and excused myself from 2 of the 3 days I was expected to be down Reading way this week.  Thursday will be a site visit which I will drive as the train route involves at least 2 changes and I know my car is comfortable and that I can tailor the fit of the seat to suit my comfort level. 

Tonight I am more comfortable than at any time through the day.  I am resisting the temptation to consume pain killers and focusing on my posture.  If I can maintain this improvement I should be OK for Thursday.  I've an appointment for a massage tomorrow night after work which should help further.  Fingers crossed.

My camera lives

While the Nokia died in France my brand new Fujifilm F550EXR camera, specially purchased for the Normandy beaches trip, has survived. On returning home I removed the SD card and battery, left the compartment open, put the camera in the airing cupboard and abandoned it for 4 days. On fetching it out and reloading it the camera happily booted up into life and I quickly set about testing it.

How relieved am I? There is no evidence of moisture in the back of the screen (which was visible when I put it in there to dry out). Everything is as it should be, results are perfect and I'm a happy bunny. Rock on!

Nokia is dead, long live Galaxy S2

Saturday 21st was a busy and expensive day. First off I had to be "dad's taxi" to Andy as he's newly acquired BMW 3 series is on a SORN, and with him going off on holiday it will have to wait until he gets back to be tax for the road. I had to call in on mum to sort a few things out for her, then pick Andy up again, only to get a puncture on the way back home - so it's a quick turn about to go get that fixed.

Next up was a trip into town. My Nokia 5800 is dead (see my Normandy beaches posts) and both of our mobiles are out of contract. First we call in on T-Mobile where Adam is happy to spend time with us explaining the various tariffs and phones, but we are heading for Virgin (our current provider) and take our leave. Orange is next but the staff are too busy discussing last night's partying to pay us any attention. O2 is packed out so we cross to Virgin where we are greeted and minimal effort and interest is put into addressing our interest, so I ask for the PAC numbers for our phones so that we can move them. We are given a phone and told which buttons to push for the IVR service. After holding for 10 minutes I get through and get 2 PAC numbers. Sue wants to go to clothes shop so I head back into O2 (it's still packed) then Vodafone where I ask a female advisor about the tariffs on the S2 - £32 (pcm) is openly advertised but their best one is £36 (pcm). I say her logic is screwed up and that T-Mobile only want £26 for the same package that she wants £36 (pcm) for so she suggests I go to back to T-Mobile, and I don't need telling twice.

Sue finds me hanging around outside Vodafone and we walk back to pick up with Adam. We both sign up for The Full Monty 36 at £26 (pcm) and walk out with a black (me) and white (Sue) Galaxy S2 each. Now, ten days on we are both happy with our phones and the package offered - that has fixed our mobile phone expenditure for the next 2 years.

But the day isn't done as Andy wants to visit the local car breakers yard. We are only half a mile from home when a car going the opposite way flicks up a stone and I get a chip on the screen. After scouring the yard for the bits Andy needs with mixed success we return home and I ring my insurer, then Autoglass and an appointment is made for me to drop the car off at their office on Pride Park on Tuesday. That costs me £75 excess as the chip developed into a crack between Saturday and Tuesday. Bugger!

Normandy Beaches - summary

Was it worth it?  Yes, despite the rain.

Low points - the heavy rain at Ypres as we went out for a meal and then on to the Menin Gate for the last post, and, getting bitten to pieces in the night at B&B Hotels on the outskirts of Amiens.

High points - the accommodation at the Hortensia in Ypres and several sections of riding, mainly associated with dry roads and glimpses of the sun. 

Main disappointment was the standard of food which was basically "chips with everything" and everything was some sort of meat or fish.

I set out wanting to see for myself the D-Day site and how it is being presented to "today's generations". Well, there is information overload. Facts and figures are included in every display, in every automated presentation, in every guided tour. It is impossible to appreciate the extent of "fortress Europe" that the Nazis built until you see the bunkers and gun emplacements in person. Then you see how the bombardment by allied ships ripped into some of those bunkers and hear how some of the Hitler youth manning those positions simply gave up and surrendered - I can't say that I would not have done the same.

So would I do it again - no.  I don't need to.  I've been there, done that, ticked that box.  Now I have to come up with the next "must do" ride.  Tour the Alps?  Ride to the Nord Kapp?  Who knows?

Day8 - Saturday

Breakfast finished, bikes fully loaded and gear donned (including an extra "waterproof layer in the form of walker leggings) we bid our hosts farewell and set off on one of 2 routes Steve has prepared. Loaded in the sat navs we have a "Toll" and "non-Toll" route to Calais and we have selected the non-Toll route which is marginally longer but significantly slower estimated at 5.5 hours. We are expecting to run into heavy rain near Rouen and we are not disappointed, just north of Rouen it is almost heavy enough to have us pondering the scenic route but on reaching the decision point we decide to stick with it and a few miles later we ride out into dry but overcast conditions. So that was 25 miles of heavy rain and then the rest of the ride to Calais is drying out time.

Calais has always been kind to us but the new high security approach being adopted in preparation for the Olympics means that it takes us 35 minutes to get from initial queuing to boarding. Unusually we and the other bikers present are shown on first ahead of the cars. There are 2 BMW R1200GS ahead of us, 2 Harleys, a Ducati ST and a Goldwing trike behind us.

Our arrival at Folkestone is marked by a clap of thunder. We leave the shelter of the carriage and head to the Fuel station just a few hundred yards from the train, but that is enough to get us externally drenched. We fill the bikes and as I pull forward I say a brief goodbye to Steve and gun the Deauville off and away - I've made my mind up, I'm going to do this leg as quickly as possible. I catch up and pass the 2 Harleys as they chug along in the slow lane, then the trike and just before the M25 I pass the 2 BMWs. They catch me up as I wait at the toll for the Dartford crossing but once allowed through the barrier I don'r see them again. Emerging out of the tunnel the rain has gone and I start drying out, but by Toddington services I need a break and take 15 minutes off the bike. When I get back on there are still miles of "average speed cameras" to restrict my progress but once past Milton Keynes I return to high speed cruise mode which is maintained until I go onto reserve just north of Leicester Forest East. This means I have to reduce the cruising revs by 500 if I am to get home on the one tank of juice - I'd intended to fill up at ASDA and that's what I do. Two miles later I'm home, its 17:50, just 30 minutes after the Chunnel crossing we were supposed to take.

Total mileage Day8 = 457 miles.

Total trip mileage = 1,259 miles.

Day7 - Friday

The forecast for the day was for no improvement over those earlier in the week, some channels saying that Friday was to be the wettest we would experience. On that basis we had planned to spend the day locally in Arromanches visiting the 3 museums in the town and having a lazy time ahead of the long ride home that would be Saturday. Well it just goes to prove that weather forecasters know nothing and are about as useful as a chocolate tea pot when it comes to their predictions. We had the driest day of our visit with just a couple of very light showers. We first visited the museum owned and run by Hans (our B&B host) with the elder of his 2 sons. It is a very intimate museum dedicated to WW2 veterans that Hans and his family have met and befriended over the years, with many personal stories, memorabilia, artifacts and accounts of their D-Day landings and their march to Paris and beyond. One of the displayed articles is a very rare American D-Day parachute as these were a single use item which was discarded and then frequently collected and cut up by French peasants to make under garments, night clothes and shirts.

Walking to the main square the "tourist train" (another dressed up tractor with dressed up carriages) was ready to leave so we jumped on boarded and got off at the first stop, the German emplacement on the top of the cliffs to the east of the town where there is a another museum with a 360 degree projector. While waiting for that main show we watched news reel footage taken and shown at the time of the encounter and in the post-war era as propaganda for folks back in England. Again there are static displays to wander around.

Last on the list was the main museum on the side of the square where large displays show off hand made models that recreate scenes from D-Day 6-June through to August 1944. There are mannequin displays, personal accounts and all sorts of stuff from the landing including guns, a mine and replica landing craft. While we were there we watched a "slide show" style presentation of the events of D-Day with a school party who were there doing the same Normandy Beaches type trip that we were doing - I can't however imagine that they got as wet as us riding around in their grand coach. Indeed, we were pleasantly surprised just how many school trips we encountered (along with those of veterans and their families) of all nationalities. This museum was laying on these shows with commentary in a number of languages with showing to suit the nationalities of the coach load in the museum at the time.

All 3 museums visited are worth their admission charge but you wouldn't get a coach load into Hans's museum, it's not that size nor aimed at that sort of audience. Veterans and family parties would best appreciate it and anybody researching that era would be well advised to give it a look, especially if Hans is on the desk and has time to regale all the personal stories that have yet to be written down for others to appreciate.

With the museums visited we walked out to one of the sections of the Mulberry harbour that has been pushed closer to the shore by coastal storms. Following the end of WW2 much of the steel used in the harbour constructions was reclaimed, along with all the ships that were sunk to provide a breakwater and safe haven for unloading materials needed to support the war effort. Those that remain today are mostly units that were damaged and with high concrete content that made recovery uneconomic. The tide was out so we walked out to the one nearest to the Arromanche beach to have a gander and take some snaps, and get caught in yet another short, sharp shower. We retreated to The Normandie, a hotel & restaurant that we'd discovered did excellent cups of "English" tea along with assorted snacks or a la carte menus.

We then retreated to the B&B for a few hours to start packing and loading stuff onto the bikes before venturing out to dine at 6 Juni for our last evening meal out in France. In spite of what had been forecast this had turned out to be the driest day of the trip even though we hadn't benefited from it by riding the bikes.

Total mileage Day7 = 0 miles.

Day6 - Thursday

It rained all last night. It was still raining when we awoke this morning, and after breakfast. So it was a good job that we had planned that today would be a day off the bikes. Instead we walked the few hundred metres to the beach front and bought ourselves a small umbrella at 7 euros each in the hope of some protection from the incessant rain. The plan was to catch the local service bus from outside the post office (a short walk away) to Bayeux and to visit the sites there, including the Notre Dame cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry.

So we did just that, arriving in Bayeux around 11:15 we walked to the Tourist Information Office, boarded the shuttle “train” (a dressed up tractor towing some equally dressed up carriages) and took the ride to the American War Museum were we watched a documentary film and shuffled round the exhibits before leaving for the nearby memorial and cemetery to the British dead of WW2. We then walked back to Notre Dame and around it before finding a café for lunch at around 13:30. We were now close to the TIO so we boarded the shuttle again and rode to the Bayeux Tapestry, jumping of at a convenient stop sign as pre-arranged with the driver. We joined the crowd seeking shelter from the rain, meandering round the tapestry before a quick walk to the bus stop for the return trip, getting back to the B&B around 16:15. As the weather is set to continue raining through the night and into tomorrow we ate in a local hotel bar and turned in for an early night.

Total mileage Day6 = 0 miles.

Day5 - Wednesday

The morning started promising, but then while we had breakfast it turned and by the time we left our accommodation it was raining steadily, getting heavier and at about 20 miles out we considered turning back but gladly we didn't and the ride down to Le Mont de Saint Michel was really enjoyable with a good mix of roads including some dual carriageway. However, with just a kilometre left to reaching our destination the heavens opened and we got drenched. I don't know what it is about motorcycle clothing but no mater how waterproof it say it is, or, how much you pay for it, it ALWAYS leaks at some point. My Dainese trousers are pukka Gore-Tex and they still leak. I think the problem is that the material is breathable AND waterproof, but not at the same time. The legs do not give me any issues, it is always the arse, my bum gets wet. At the start of the ride we did 25 - 30 miles in steady, heavy rain and not a leak anywhere, but that short sharp downpour got through the front of my jacket and gave me a damp belly and my arse got wet.

No sooner had we arrived at Le Mont de Saint Michel than the sun came back out and the wind got up, so after walking to the shuttle bus and crossing to the mount, we were almost dried out. Walking the mount and around the abbey worked up a sweat which got blown away on the way back to the new retail area where we snacked in a supermarket snack bar before returning to the bikes. We had decided to make a diversion into Saint-Lo on our return trip because we had heard how so much had happened there after the D-Day landings so naturally we expected there to be something there of interest. Nope. Not a thing. We stopped at the Tourist Information Office and enquired. Saint-Lo has moved on and WW2 is behind it, which I believe is probably a good thing for them but today, not for us. No matter, we rode on getting back and our bikes in the garage just before the rain briefly returned.

So what of Le Mont de Saint Michel? It is very impressive. Considering it is in the middle of an estuary surrounded by marshes and sandy / boggy ground it is an engineering marvel. Several thousand tons of stone imported and crafted into a walled fortress with ramparts, houses, paved / cobbled streets, steps all the way up into the abbey, and the vaulted ceilings, multiple levels, grand halls, towers and everything all built before the age of mechanisation. Their only mechanical assistance a huge wheel in which men would walk to wind up or down a winch to bring materials into the abbey. One hall has two magnificent fireplaces side by side with a single enormous chimney breast behind which are two equally massive chimneys - each one would have consumed a 10 - 15 foot long tree trunk on a regular basis and that would have had to be brought on horse drawn cart from miles away and then winched up into the abbey.

So all considered it was a worthwhile and enjoyable trip which would have been better if we'd had less rain to contend with.

Total mileage Day5 = 150 miles.

Day4 - Tuesday

The Fawlty Towers farce continues....

Breakfast at 08:00 as requested. A bottle of orange juice, some fresh bread, a couple of croissants, some butter, cheese and jam / marmalade with pot of tea. For 6 euros a head. We were expecting toast (they don't have a toaster) with eggs and bacon to set us up. But we had some juice, a cuppa, some bread, butter and marmalade. Hmmm...

Never mind, at least the bikes were still in the garage and it wasn't raining although showers were (again) forecast. We'd been lucky on the ride down from Amiens with only a couple of short / sharp showers so the prospect of a fully dry day brightened our spirits as we set off for the various war grave / battle / monuments sites. As usual, routes loaded into sat navs are followed, but crucially I'd had to search out a fuel station which meant that my unit had done a route recalculation. This we learnt when we found ourselves on a farm track - unpaved road with muddy puddles and grass growing down the centre of the single track "road". We emerged the other end and resorted to using Steve's with the original route and keeping our eye's open for a fuel station, which we duly found.

The American War Graves site was our 3rd stop of the day and it is very impressive. Superb roadway leading to it, landscaped parking areas, new reception area (completed just 5 years ago) with underground "bunker" for displays and then a free guided tour that took an hour and filled our heads with WW2 knowledge (mainly of the dead) - all after the rigorous "airport style" security check at the entrance to reception. Just who do they think will want to blow up the dead? Anyway, from there we had no problems with the sat navs, both of which behaved themselves and stuck to the original planned route. We rode on all sorts of roads, from the afore mentioned track to dual carriageway "motorway standard" roads and with so many stops I lost count. Everywhere we stop we find people just want to chat. English, Canadian, American, Irish, Belgian, Dutch and even the French (who just love the fact I attempt to converse with them in French) are all so friendly, and other bikers too. In fact, it is only the people in their motorhomes that don't seem to mix and join in, keeping their own company or that of other like minded motorhome people.

We closed today with a meal in another establishment in Arromanches where I had fish and chips and Steve had steak and chips, both of us having profiteroles with chocolate and cream for desert. We then went and did a little exploring before turning in for the night.

Total mileage Day4 = 90 miles.

Day3 - Monday

Yesterday it struck us just how quite small town rural Belgium and France is on a Sunday. Well today was Monday and it was still pretty quiet. After a continental breakfast we packed the bikes and hit the road, except the sat navs weren't ready to play ball so we went around the houses on a little detour until they settled down and agreed on a route for us to follow, only it wasn't the route we'd loaded (again) as they had both recalculated us onto a peage (toll road) so we went on and dived off at the first exit, paid our 1.60 euros and reloaded the routes. With everything sorted we got back on our original route, wending our way down to the coast, through Deauville and onto the D614 to Arromanches les Bains. Simply because I ride a Deauville I have always wanted to visit the place so we stopped briefly to take some photos before riding on. Now I've been there and seen it I can summarise (and as I said to Steve) Deauville says "money" but it doesn't say "welcome". In that aspect it is very disappointing.

Arrival at Arromanches saw us tired after a long day in the saddle. We'd stopped at a little place at lunchtime for a "burger & chips" snack but the volume of camper vans / motorhomes / RVs on the road had really slowed progress and tried our patience. So when we turned up and found that the garage and wifi we'd insisted upon when booking were not available in the accommodation allocated to us we made it clear that we were far from happy. Additionally there was no radio or TV so we couldn't even check the weather forecast. We must have got the message across because Hans took us back to their first property (family home) and cleared out the garage to make room for the bikes and put us into rooms there. Not perfect but an improvement on the original situation.

After unpacking our stuff and having a shower, refreshed we walked down to The Bistro for a meal. Keeping things short - it took nearly 1.5 hours for them to prepare our meal except it wasn't, it was somebody else's, so we had another wait while they prepared what we had ordered. Others were walking out because the waiting staff were taking too long to take orders or food was taking too long to arrive. We didn't have a desert deciding to turn in for the night instead.

Total mileage Day3 = 186 miles.

Day2 - Sunday

We were up, bikes loaded and ready waiting for breakfast for 08:00 as agreed the previous night, starting promptly we were spoilt for choice and ate our fill. Also as arranged they had made up packed lunches for us (for a small and reasonable charge) which enabled us to be on our way just before 09:00. We managed about 3 kilometres before the heavens opened and dumped a serious amount of rain on us. In the main our gear withstood the onslaught except the "waterproof" pockets on my jacket, one of which part filled with water putting my mobile phone out of action and affecting (to a lesser degree) my newly purchased Fujifilm camera - which now appears to have dried out with no ill affects - only time will tell. But my Nokia is dead.

The ride from Ypres to Amiens managed to get progressively drier after the aforementioned wet start so that we called at the variously planned war graves and memorial sites to read the accounts that lead to their creation and remember the fallen and those that died for our freedom. We ended up a bit "war graved out" (like overdosed) but that is what we came to do. The riding is (weather aside) quite remarkable with long straight roads and curving twisty roads in almost equal measure. Road surfaces are generally very good or excellent with only occasional poorly maintained sections (which are frequently better than those in the UK). As much as possible we are avoiding Le Peage (toll roads) and motorways but the Garmin sat navs have a mind of their own and despite us having loaded identical routes prepared and downloaded by Steve, we still end up with them giving different turning instructions and routes to selected sites. They remind me of shopping trolleys.

The accommodation in Amiens was at a B'n'B Hotels place close to the Premiere Classe that I used last year. Having checked in we went for a walk to find somewhere to eat and finally selected a Chinese restaurant where we had an excellent 3 course buffet meal and drinks for a very reasonable 50 Euros (including tip). However I have to add that it is very strange being a Brit, conversing with a Chinese in French as well as my command of French will allow, but everyone had a laugh and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Less can be said of the night sleep where I was rigorously attacked by "bed bugs" or some such alien force because I had a disturbed night being bitten and today I've had to burst a number of the bites as a release from their constant bother, but that's for day 3.

Total mileage Day2 = 111 miles.

Day1 - Saturday

Bike packed and loaded final checks showed the odometer reading 44,500.0 miles so calculating the overall trip distance is going to be easy at any stage in the journey. It's 06:30 and I've already said goodbye to Suzie as she'd an early start for a day trip to Blackpool. The forecast for her day is sunny and dry, but mine is sunshine and showers. Well it is starting off OK, the sun is shining in an almost clear sky and it's time to be on my way so I thumb the starter button, snick the bike into gear and I'm off. The trip down to J10 of the M20 is uneventful and barely memorable other than for the propensity of "average speed cameras" - the south of England seems to have a love affair with them.

I roll up to the Tesco superstore at J10 where Steve and I had arranged to meet and he's already there. I've done 196 miles. We have a bacon sarnie and a mug of tea/coffee before departing for the Channel tunnel just 8 miles up the road, arriving to find that there is a delay of half an hour due to problems earlier in the day. That means we face a wait of nearly 2 hours having arrived hoping to hop on an earlier departure, but the staff are having none of that as they try to clear the backlog.

Arriving in France we set of for Ypres, which should have been via Dunkirk but both of our sat navs have other ideas and so that gets dropped from the itinerary, so Ypres it is and as we head inland the rain starts. We locate the Hortensia B'n'B but we are way early so head off to The Sanctuary and Hill 62, before returning and checking in. The rain is getting heavier but we decide to walk into the centre to eat and see the Last Post at the Menin Gate. We are soaked through when we walk into Le Trompet but we wait just minutes to be guided to a table next to a couple from Devon who are tucking into stew that looks so good we both order it. Fabulous, as was the desert.

The rain eased while we ate but returns with a vengence just as we are about to leave, but if we are to see the Last Post then there's nothing for it, so we get a damp again. We have missed much of the ceremony as we arrive at 19:50, but there is a big crowd and can't see anything from the back, but we don't need to, the Last Post is the Last Post wherever you are. This one is obviously very moving for some of those present as I spot quite a few tear filled eyes. With it done we walk up and onto the ramparts and walk back to the Hortensia B'n'B. It's still tipping it down and we are both knackered so even though it's not yet 21:00 we go to our rooms and hit the sack. Minutes later I am out for the count, it's been a long day.

Heavy rain wakes me a few times through the night but sleep soon returns. Here's hoping it blows itself out before we depart, but right now there's a breakfast to be consumed - and we are spoilt for choice.

Total mileage Day1 = 265 miles.

R12000GS v Explorer v Crosstourer - Update

I bought the magazine last month to find that the video article had made it into print. So, as I'm long overdue a change of bike, I visited a local dealer with a R1200GS in the showroom. Ever helpful the salesman pulled it out and I attempted to get on it. Hmmm.... Well I eventually managed to climb onboard but it is not an exercise I'd like to repeat on a daily basis. The riders seat was in the lowest position and once on the thing I could just get both feet down, allbeit on tippy toes. But getting on in my normal manner was out of the question. No way could I throw my leg over the pillion seat to mount the thing, the pillion seat is a good 4 inches (old money) higher that the rider seat and I'm just a 29" leg. What a shocker? At last year's NEC Motorbike show I got on and off a "low seat model" with no trouble at all.

So I think I'll try a Yamaha 1200 Super Tenere sometime, see if that's any better fit and easier to mount. If it's good enough for Nick Sanders to ride 35,000 miles in a single trip it will easily cope with my more moderate demands. That'll be sometime over the winter (maybe) as I intend to sell the Passat and get a smaller, cheaper car releasing some cash to spend on a replacement for the Deauville.

Damned rain

Rain, rain and more damned rain. Not what I'd ordered for the Normandy beaches trip but hey ho, you takes what you gets and you get on down to it.  Considering the number of wet days we have had over the last few months today was only the second wet ride to work on the motorbike.  Most of my gear seems to do what it said on the label - "waterproof" - but the Gore-Tex trousers still seem to allow my bum to get moist.  So much so that in the morning I think I'll pull on some over-trousers just to ensure I arrive in France nice and dry.

Yesterday I finally managed to get the bike-to-bike ear pieces in my helmet so that I was comfortable.  Left ear piece went straight in, no trouble, but the right ear speaker kept pinching my ear.  I ended up cutting out a sliver of polystyrene liner and now all is well.

Tonight I just have to fill the tank, pack my clothes and toiletries, and put the sat nav in its mount.  Excited?  Yup!  Nervous?  Yup again!

Normandy beaches

It is getting closer.  Departure for this motorbike trip in the company of my mate Steve is early Saturday morning.  Paperwork is all done.  Bike is as prepared as I can get it without stripping it down and rebuilding it (that will have to wait until this coming winter).  Euros have been purchased.  Sterling to be withdrawn tonight.  Bags to pack tomorrow night.  Then load up and go, planning to leave around 06:30 Saturday.

Should meet up with Steve before Euro Tunnel, then once across in France we will be heading for Ypres, then Amiens, before heading to our main base in Arromanches-les-Bains.  I just hope we get some good sunny weather for riding in.

Settling down

Last week I took the car to Reading and after work I visited Mark & Eleanor at their new home together in Egham.  Their place is a lovely ground floor maisonette on the outskirts of Egham leaving Eleanor with a driving commute to her work while Mark walks to Stains bus station to get the shuttle bur into his work at Heathrow.  Eleanor gets up early to beat the traffic and Mark has a lie in until she's done and gone.  He then gets home about 3/4 hour after her so the evening meal is usually almost done cooking (except Mondays when she shops and he cooks).  Seems to me that they have life sorted.

Now, if only I can get Suzie trained....

Using the train - 4

Tuesday was another round trip to Reading on the train.  The previous week I used my car, leaving home at 06:15 just as I do when using the train I was signing in at 08:50 and was free to leave when I liked (fitting around my workload) whereas this week the train arrived in Reading at 09:11 and I signed in at 09:25, leaving at 17:10 to arrive at Derby station at 20:04 (2 minutes ahead of schedule).

So not only do I not enjoy using the train the overall journey times are longer (door to door) and cheaper overall to both me and my employer.

Goal line technology (GLT)

The media is making a fuss about last night's Eruo match between England and Ukraine and the goal that John Terry 'cleared' and which was not given but would have leveld the scores at 1:1.

The FIA president has now said that GLT has to be implemented - something he has always been against when England were demanding it's implementation. But now that England have benefited from it having not been deployed he's changed his mind. How biased against England is he?

The important fact that is being ignored is that the Ukrainian player received the ball while off side so that shot should never have been made and therefore the goal should not have been legally allowed. Trouble is, that isn't as sensational as the non-goal that "should have been" and UK media love sensational!

I'm an analyst

I often get asked "what do you do (for a living)?" so I thought I'd blog it...

I didn't set out to be an analyst but an analyst I am. Like many others I wear whichever hat fits at the time. Data, database, systems, reporting and business analyst - been there, done that. I prefer the interaction and cross discipline of business analysis and the greater involvement it brings with the end users, but at the end of the day it is all about BPI (Business Process Improvement). I count myself fortunate to find myself in a role where I am paid to be nosy, ask awkward questions, prod and probe for answers and frequently given free range to determine what the real issue is that the business want addressed and the best solution to that issue.

I didn’t set out to be an analyst, just sort of fell into it. Fed up with having to deliver solutions to clients that developers had slaved over only to find that it was all based on poor initial analysis and a total lack of understanding of the business need I started doing the analysis and (sometimes) the build myself. I didn’t, and still haven’t, aligned myself with any one specific methodology for analysis or presentation but use whatever best fits the situation I find myself in. Accuracy and clarity with a total lack of ambiguity are the goal and the target audience is (i) the end user – to get their buy-in to the solution, (ii) the techies – so that they understand what they have to deliver, and (iii) the boss – commonly called the stakeholder, as he is signing off the cheque and needs to understand what he is paying for. Thorough, accurate analysis effectively documented in a way that the message flows from start to end and reads like a novel (without being the length of one) normally gets signed off because those three recipient groups can identify the content that is relevant to them and understand the part of the message that is aimed at them in their roles.

So I’m a hybrid. Some days are more stereo typed than others. Some are more interesting than others and some are more enjoyable. For me it’s a nice way to earn the money that pays the bills.

Back to normal

Getting home around 03:00 Friday morning meant that we effectively had a 3 day weekend to get everything sorted. Later that morning Andy went off for a long weekend at Centre Parks with Emma and some of his friends leaving Sue and I as Derby & Joan. And with Mark now moved out the house was very quiet. Laundry, housework and gardening was the order of the day across the weekend along with Sue visiting her dad in hospital and me seeing Angie & John who were up to visit Mum & Dad because it was Father’s Day on Sunday. Because of Sue’s dad Phil going into hospital we missed the wedding ceremony for Jim and Heidi on Saturday but we managed to get along to their evening reception to wish them well as they start married life together.

With all this going on it seems that everything has quickly returned to normal and Marmaris is now memories and photographs.

Marmaris

After visiting Olu Deniz in Turkey last September Sue and I liked it so much that we have just returned from a 10 day stay in Marmaris. It is a lovely location, the weather was good and hot, reaching 40 degrees centigrade on 3 days. The Grand Azur hotel food and facilities were excellent even if the room wasn’t in the quietest of locations. With an exchange rate or around 2.75 TL to the GBP prices were reasonable (especially if one haggled) so a little retail therapy was undertaken. From the hotel we could walk east into Marmaris town centre and harbour area or west to Icmeler which has a large and lively open air market on Wednesdays. If we didn’t feel like walking both ways then we would catch a Dolmus for 2 TL per person into Marmaris or 2.5 TL to Icmeler. Why we British don’t adopt a similar transport system I’ll never know – it works is probably the answer.

This is my first ever “lounge in the sun” holiday. Yes, we’ve holidayed in the sun before but I usually leave Sue on the sun bed an go exploring. This time I just chilled out on a sun bed beside her. I didn’t take enough reading material, everything read from cover to cover by the end of the 5th day. There were plenty of bars to choose from prices were cheaper in the bars that were not attached to a hotel chain (as one would expect). The harbour area and Icmeler were both very pretty and picturesque but walking in the heat of the day is not recommended. Marmaris also has a lovely quaint bizarre but we got fed up with being plagued to “visit my shop”, “be my friend” and “cheaper than ASDA/Primark” – they just won’t let you browse the way we do in the UK.

What a contrast though – 10 dry days in the sun and temperatures constantly above 30 degrees centigrade returning in the early hours of Friday morning to driving rain and 9 degrees, to be told it had rained daily while we were away.

Using the train - 3

Yesterday was another round trip from Derby to Reading on the train. Again I caught the 06:48 for the outbound trip and as we approached Birmingham New Street we slowed and when release we passed a slow moving goods train which appeared to be heading towards Leamington Spa which is on our route to Reading. Sure enough, after leaving Birmingham we were delayed (again) until we cleared Leamington Spa, only to fall foul of track maintenance near Didcot. OK, we were only a few minutes late into Reading but with all the technology available these delays just should not happen.

At first the return trip on the 16:40 appeared to be a reverse of the outbound trip, but after clearing Didcot the train sped up and arrived outside Birmingham New Street a little early so we sat outside the station until our expected time. But (as is usual) there was a change of crew which resulted in our departure being nearly 10 minutes late. Most of that was made up by the time we neared Derby but we were "officially" 3 minutes late according to the "Train Manager".

I used the "quiet" carriage for both trips having pre-booked a window seat so that I could watch the English countryside pass by. Except that the "window" seat for the return trip had no window, just bodywork/structure - so I move to another unreserved seat. And that's the difference between me using my car or taking the train. In the car I am guaranteed a window seat and a forward view, I know all/any passengers I take in the car with me, we hold conversations and they in return do not intrude into my "personal space". Total journey time (assuming no traffic delays) is roughly the same at 3 hours door to door with no stops at places en route to pick up other travellers, many of them being hot a sweaty with questionable habits and standards of hygene.

Let the train take the strain...? In my experience it is the train that creates the strain.

R12000GS v Explorer v Crosstourer

At the moment the motorcycling press is full of comparisons between these 3 bikes, with all of them being very polite and typically PC about each of the bikes. If your memory is as long as mine then it is not long ago that the BMW R1150GS was being criticised for being heavy and overweight. Yet now Honda and Triumph have entered the fray with these offering, both being significantly heavier than both the R12000GS and R1200GS Adventure and it hardly gets a mention.

Anyway, yesterday while searching YouTube I came across a couple of videos focused on these 3 motorbikes which make interesting viewing. EricBusa comments are backed up and based on his ownership of a 30th Anniversary R1200GS but he is fair in this short video summary. What is more surprising is this second video which RiDE Magazine have posted which better illustrates the story alluded to by EricBusa. Just watch and be amazed at how badly the Honda handles the poorer road surfaces. Both videos conclude that person preference will dictate whether you’d favour a R1200GS over an Explorer and both are extolled as “best of breed” but why anybody would buy a Crosstourer on this showing is beyond me, especially taking the premium price into consideration.

The question I have is this... Why have the motorcycling press (virtually dominated by Morton Press in the UK) not shared this important failing in the performance of the Crosstourer with us in any one of their many magazines? Especially RiDE magazine who appear to be happy to post it on-line (while not making it easy to find)?

What a scorcher!

For what has been forecast as a short 7 – 10 day period summer sun visited the UK last week, building up to the weekend when we had temperatures of 25 – 27 degrees C. So a busy Saturday included the usual pile of ironing, the weekly ASDA shop, mowing the back lawn (thanks Mark for that), having new tyres fitted to the front of Sue’s car, a pub lunch at the Blue Jay with Sue’s Uncle Alan & Aunty Barbara followed by relaxing in the garden with drinks wrapped up with a visit from Angie and John who were up from Colchester visiting Mum & Dad.

Sunday starts with yet more ironing (ended with loads still left to do) and Andy asking if he could have mates round for the Monaco F1 and a BBQ. So that’s what we did. A day spent socialising, me cooking the meat while Sue did the jacket spuds and salad. At day’s end everyone agreed they had had a good time and most evidenced the time they had spent in the sun with some sunburn despite all efforts with the sun screen from factors 20 – 50.

Momentous

Last Wednesday (16th May) was a momentous day for my father. While I was away from home for work my eldest son Andrew took his grandmother to visited his granddad in the nursing home and they got staff to put him in his wheelchair, not used since he became a resident on 1st October last year. He then proceeded to take Dad out for a “walk” around the local area using roadside paths and public access paths in the Racecourse / cricket ground area, passing the Virgin sports centre. All of these are new to father since he became housebound due to his advancing MS some years ago. This was only possible because of the break in the weather making it warm enough for dad to go out and when I saw him at the weekend he was very emotional and grateful for what Andrew had done.

With a similar break in the weather this week it looks like that event will be repeated today and (again) I will miss it. Hopefully I will have an opportunity this weekend when Angie and John are up in Derby stopping over with mother.

Using the train – 2

Decided to catch the earlier 06:48 from Derby to Reading today having reserved a seat in the “quiet coach”. The earlier start definitely made a difference as there were far fewer travellers and I benefitted by not having anybody using the seat next to me.

Out of Derby my seat was backward facing but on leaving Birmingham New Street I found myself forward facing. As the train trundled out onto the line to Leamington Spa I caught that traditionally evocative sight of the front of the train from my seat near the rear of the train, and that’s what set me thinking. Train travel is no longer an event, there’s no sense of occasion and hardly any sense of speed which to me is very sad because the speed is immense. I felt the acceleration that meant we were released from meanderings through suburban Birmingham and now on the main line – and with that I dosed off and completely missed Leamington Spa and Banbury, waking as the train slowed for Oxford.

The run down from Oxford to Reading underlined just how green and pleasant this country is but it is also drearily flat unlike Derbyshire. Repeated announcements informed us that there was no catering service due to staff shortages and that Malcolm was our “Train Manager” (a fancy name for ticket collector while “Catering Manager” is the dude pushing the refreshments trolley) while I stared out the window searching for items of interest. Along one stretch there was a “ditch” which I worked out was a deserted canal but with trees growing from its base it has obviously been long deserted. At another point I observed 2 fields of blue-ish hue which I surmised to be either bluebells or heather/lavender.

And then it hit me. Rail travel has evolved along the same lines as driving a car. The object is to make as rapid progress as possible from journey start to destination with as little interaction as possible with the environment one is passing through. When I’m riding and I spot things/places of interest I stop and investigate and I can remember when we did the same when driving, but that happens much less these days. No longer is the journey an event (or part of one). Travel today is only about “getting there” and to many (most?) people the fact that the mode of travel is boring is irrelevant because they have no interest in the journey itself or the environment through which they are passing. Is that progress, or, is it just a reflection of public values in these modern times?

Using the train – 1

I have just started an assignment that requires me to be in Reading. After some "negotiation" with my employer I have agreed to do 2 days each week, back to back with an overnight stay. Some will ask "So? What's the big deal?" The big deal is that I am officially my mother's carer and the primary contact for Dad's nursing home in the event of an emergency - which is difficult to respond to (other than by taking a phone call) if I'm working 3 hours away AND dependant on the train.

So don't use the train you'll say. OK, but then company policy dictates that I should use a hire car when I have a perfectly good 2 litre VW Passat sat at home on the drive AND a motorbike in the garage. If I use the motorbike then I'd have to leave it overnight in the firm's car park as the firm's preferred hotel has no parking facilities (Mercure George Hotel).

So I'm on the train... For the first time in years I'm using public transport as the government would want us to. Booking tickets ahead of journey time to get whatever discount is available. Getting my son Andy to drop me off and collect me so that my car doesn't incur parking charges (£12.50 per day at Derby). Walking from Reading station to the office is no hardship and probably quicker than getting a taxi. So what is my beef?

My beef is this. I pre-booked table seats with power so I could use my laptop during the journey, and on taking up my seat I find that there are 3 of us at a table for 4 but just 2 power outlets and neither of them work. Ah well, I didn't want to start work early anyway, but my fellow travellers are mightily peeved and go in search of power while I simply decide to waste my journey time looking at the passing world. Except there's a problem doing that. Having had a forward facing seat leaving Derby I find that for the majority of the journey (Birmingham to Reading) the train is "in reverse" and I'm facing backwards which means that the world has passed me by before I get to see a glimpse of it.

I then waste (sorry, spend) 2 days in an office atending meetings and preparing as required for the project ahead before returning to Reading station for the reverse journey, literally. I'm in my seat and the train is going backwards so that yet again I get a reverse view of the English countryside, to Birningham New Street where I find I'm forward facing for the final leg into Derby. No problem there then, except for a few points.
1. I caught an early train for the return trip so no reserved seat, no table seat so no laptop use.
2. The seat next to me seems to be part of a game of musical chairs (yes, I know it is public transport but this wouildn't happen if I was DRIVING MY CAR). One occupant had headphones on so loud that people in the seats ahead and behind can hear his (neandertal) choice in "music" which accompanies his constant snorting and coughing (accompanied by that of the traveller in the seat behind me). Two others are female but seem to be of the opinion that the male of the species (i.e. me) is a thing of abhorance if their body language is anything to go by.
3. Of the 4 occupants only the one from Birmingham to Derby participated in any conversation which would have been a normal feature if I was driving.

So I have completed my first (or many) stints in Reading and find that I have little option but to let the train take the strain but what others swear by I find myself swearing at. The trains fail to live up to expectations and I'm robbed of the opportunity to benefit from using my own transport.