Today is a very important day. This morning my wonderful wife completed her 30th and last, radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer. It’s been a tough month. The prospect of going to the hospital every day and having to lie still while being bombarded by a noisy machine is not a pleasant one. I do have to say that the staff at the cancer ward at Wollongong Hospital are just wonderful and do their very best to make the treatment as bearable as possible, but it’s still a pretty unpleasant experience.
Like the tough little cookie that she is, my wife bore it with her usual calm patience and now we have to just wait a couple more weeks until the effects of the radiotherapy have worn off and all should be well. I am so proud of her for how she has endured this trial, coming on top of my accident, the loss of her mother and brother within the space of two months and other serious health issues that she has had to face.
In motorcycling this morning, an interesting auction is taking place soon.
Psst, hey, bud, wanna buy a Ducati GP11 ??
Quite what one would do with this thing apart from show it in a museum, I don’t know. I note that there are some specific T&C attached to the bike to which the new owner must agree before the sale is finalised. Anybody want the best track day bike that money can buy???
In other news, Marc Marquez has completed his first riding assignment since surgery on his eyes to correct his double vision. While the press release and the statement from the rider both are couched in very positive terms, the subtext still seems quite disturbing, to me at least. It is to be hoped that Marc hasn’t suffered a permanent disability as a result of the Sepang accident because it will surely rob Grand Prix racing of its next big star.
The Shadowfax rebuild is moving into top gear with now less than two weeks till the projected unveiling. All parties concerned are still confident of completion and I know that Dave, in particular, will be doing everything in his power to make sure that it happens. Fingers and other appendages are now well and truly crossed.
On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club’s annual Rally and Display at Warilla Bowling Club, just down the road from me. As usual, the car park was filled with tasty and desirable offerings from all the Japanese manufacturers. However, as with last year’s show, I was disappointed to see that many of the old bikes were grossly OVER-restored to the extent that they totally failed to represent what these wonderful machines looked like in their hey-day. Very disappointing for, while it is great to see them being appreciated and preserved, I can’t help thinking that some of the magic is lost. Anyway, here’s my album of photos from the day.
jeffb says
Wishing Helena well for many great years to come, Phil. Was that one treatment for every year of your marriage, Phill?? Seriously, an unpleasant business I hope you can both put behind you now.
I may not get up to B.S. weekend- however, I am definately looking forward to seeing this restoration. When will you start the new project?? (Don’t wait as long as you did to start this one!) Jeff
Phil Hall says
yep, it’s all onwards and upwards from here, mate. Thanks to you and Bernadette for your support, too. New project? I think I’ll recover from this one for a while first, mate. And, no, I won’t leave it quite so long before starting. After the Sheene the bike will be in pride of place in my garage so you’re welcome to come around and look any time. 🙂