No particular reason for this picture, I just like it.
As Mark Twain is reported to have said, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” although, given how long it has been since I updated my blog, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. But it has been an extremely hectic time in the Hall household and I’m going to use that as my excuse.
And, when I say “household” I am using a little poetic licence. Since last I updated the site, the Hall household has shrunk dramatically. Firstly, on the 28th of May, amidst many emotional scenes, my wonderful daughter and her amazing husband and my three precious grandsons boarded a plane at Mascot and headed for the USA, San Diego, to be precise where they expect to live for at least the next twelve months. The less said about that the better in terms of how difficult it has been to get through it. Yes, there is the internet and Skype but it just isn’t the same. So, a sudden reduction in household numbers. Then, on the 1st of June it was back to Kingsford Smith again as my wife headed out for a month-long visit to Finland to catch up with her huge collection of relatives who live there. Impact upon household numbers? Not as great. Impact upon loneliness in the house? Dramatic. From 7 people to one person in 4 days. That’s not to say that I am completely bereft of company, however. The house still has two other occupants apart from me. They are my cat, Biggles and Natalie’s cat, Decaf, who we have inherited for the duration. Is Biggles impressed with having his turf invaded by another, VERY personable, feline? Um, no. Is he making any attempt to make the newcomer welcome? Um, same answer. Am I spending a deal of time refereeing arguments? Um, yes. I can tell you, despite losing 6 people, the house is still hopping!
But to other things. Our four wheel arrangements have undergone a big change, too, with Helena offering to help Nat out by buying her car which she had been unable to sell before leaving (2009 Ford Focus – red) It SHOULD be a terrific car, but it’s not. The seats feel like a housebrick that has been wrapped in a thin layer of material, the brakes are like a lightswitch (on or off) and the gear lever feels like it isn’t actually physically connected to the gear BOX. The whole thing has a cheap, plastic feel to it that makes it an altogether uninteresting place to be. Nevertheless, Helena LOVES it so that is all that matters. I have also updated the Calibra with a later model one with extremely low mileage (1996 model with only 47000kms) so I am still happy.
Just before she left, Natalie introduced Helena and I to a little software programme that enables a person with a smartphone to make telephone calls, send text and send photographs by way of wi-fi for free! It’s called Voxer and it is great. I am able to talk to Nat and her family and also Helena in Finland and it doesn’t cost me a cent. If you have a smartphone and you have friends O/S, you really should check it out.
The workshop next door to my mechanic’s one is a panel beating business. Tony, who works there, is a guy with whom I’ve had a few conversations while stooging around waiting for my car to be ready. Tony is old-skool. He doesn’t replace panels, he fixes them. and, in his workshop over the last couple of months has been this.
I’s a 1938 Buick straight eight saloon and its owner is one of those sorts of people who don’t believe in over-restoration. It’s been in at Tony’s to have some rust cut out of the boot floor and the boot lid. No “bang in a bit of filler here and she’ll be fine, mate” No, it has been repaired the old way with metal heated and flowed into the spaces where it is required and plates welded in to the bigger holes. It truly has been a revelation watching this thing be brought back from the state that it was in (that’s not to say the rest of the car was bad, not at all, this picture of the front of the car shows it as it was when it CAME to Tony’s shop). The owner is going to do a couple of shorter runs in the next month or so then is heading to PERTH in Western Australia for a club event, driving all the way.
Since we last spoke, racing has been fast and furious (literally). The Marquez machine rolled on at Mugello, lowering Rossi’s colours at his 300th race (though VR was far from disgraced with 3rd) and stamping his authority over a rejuvenated JL99. Six races so far this season, six poles and six wins. Can anybody stop him from winning back-to-back titles? Tom Sykes did the double at Donington Park to strengthen his claim for back-to-back titles as well. The WSBK circus is in Sepang this weekend where the Aprilias are looking very strong.
As well in racing the annual Isle of Man races have just wrapped up with the Dunlop boys keeping the famous name to the fore. Aussie sidecar team of the Beares came home a brilliant 12th in the second race for the three-wheelers. But, as usual, the meeting was clouded in tragedy with the death of a journeyman racer (aged 65 no less) and former BSS star, Karl Harris. This coming hard on the death of Simon Andrews at the NW200 again makes you wonder. Yes, I have heard the “Well, nobody MAKES them race.” argument and that is true. But nobody offers the level of prize money that the Island races offer either. Coming just a few days before the 33rd anniversary of Kenny Blake’s death there, I found it very difficult to raise any enthusiasm for the event at all.
Also in this too-long hiatus since my last post, the news has come in that Michelin have won the tender to be the sole tyre supplier for MotoGp from 2016 onwards. Time will tell whether the French company negotiates the minefield better than its Japanese counterparts have done. Informed opinion seems to be that they will.
Finally, on an historical note, yesterday, the 6th of June, marked the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy that saw the power of Nazism dealt a huge blow. A good day to remember what has gone before and to be grateful.
Till next time (and I promise it won’t be too long)