Merry Christmas

Hi Folks
Merry Christmas to you all.
Hope to see you at next years events, for a chat and advise.

Pete

and a happy ... and safe New Year to all in the Bantam fraternity.
Cheers,
Alan

Happy new year to all,l hope you have had a good time, are well and so are your loved ones.

Sickly nostalgia -- AGAIN!

Boxing Day 1968, I took Icarus-1;    all of 12 brake horse power -- [(according to our engine-tuner who had calculated that from my previous Brand´s Hatch developement-practice-notes....)] at 8,400 rpm to have  a practice session at Brands.

It was bitterly `Brass Monkey´ -- clang-clang -- cold so I was all alone for first morning session and my right hand was so cold I had difficulty operating the front brake which was fairly useless anyway. I ran out of road twice up at Druids. Coming round Clearways, for about the eleventh time, I saw on the top row of the rather weak and wobbly  looking grandstand (on the Clearways exit)  a girl, with huge upper mummeries  in a mini-skirt  which could only be described as a Wide-Waist-Belt. I was trying to figure out why she was able to stand there like that in the bitter cold with her centre of gravity too far forward, and above the centre of boyancy, when I realized I was bumping about on the grass and next moment sliding on my ear ... -- well it would have been ear had I not been wearing the manadatory crash helmet, of course.  
  I couldn´t get Icarus-1 to start and free-wheeled into the Pits to have old Flat-Cap (he of the permanently wet, brown home-rolled ciggy...) ask what the trouble was. I told about seeing a `female flasher´ on the stand and he sniffed my breath. He then said I ought to go and lie down for a bit and then partake of coffee before the afternoon session. I suppose he could have chucked me out but after a good warm-up by his coke fire and several cups of coffee I got back out there among the late-comers....

  He was right, of course, Xmas had been a big-pig-in time and by the afternoon things were quite different. The wooden stand at Clearways exit looked quite steady... and several big road hacks provided something more like fun than just riding against myself....

 They were Good Old Days (GOD´s times)  when one could go with one´s Dad to a 1st Div football match on Xmas Day morning (complete with a bottle of scotch and a bag of walnuts) knowing some crazy nut was NOT going to punch your head for no good reason -- or blow up your parked motor -- and could go to Brands for motorcycle practice on Boxing Day knowing that even though the "official" looked a bit nondescript he did take notice of what was going on and did care....

  I wonder if there really was a female-flasher there -- or was it halcuniation brought on by the cold?

  And  I wonder what its like in Blighty at Xmas time these days?

Here, in Germany, its like being in a morgue -- the only bit of excitement is being on a walk and seeing a wild pig, or a fox with rabies chasing someone....  
 
  I wish good fortune, for 2014,  on all Bantam racers  -- remember:   "Good Luck is good preparation combining with fortunate circumstances... "  

   Cheers!

    JayBee....