"No Limit" - George Formby

I first saw this film on my first ever visit to the Isle of Man in 1979.

It was showing to packed houses at the Villa Marina all week. 

Amazing for a film starring one of music halls most famous acts - George Formby.

Famous for some very risqué songs accompanied by a ukelele. Never crude. Never uttered a foul word. Just open to interpretation by the viewer/listener.

Now that we have the DVD player working through the digital TV we ought to be able to watch.

Failing that. We can watch on the laptop. In fact I'll take it to work to.orrow to see if it will play on my work (read junk) Lenovo.

I bought this copy as it was specially remastered for the centenary TT in 2007 when Claire and I last went over for the TT.

Codeine?

I have seen many reports that codeine is addictive.

I take it whenever I get an IBS flare up. Usually I am relieved within a few hours but this week I have found that it was less effective. 

Maybe after twenty plus years of irregular usage that I am becoming too used to it, therefore it's effectiveness is reduced?

One for the medical experts I guess.

MAG News - Motorcycle Theft

The Motorcycle Action Group has publicly condemned what it sees as a complete lack of leadership, understanding and vision by senior figures responsible for dealing with the epidemic of motorcycle and scooter theft.  MAG has vowed to hold the government, senior police chiefs, and the judiciary to account for the deplorably weak response to this national issue.  Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, has asked "Why is it that criminal gangs can demonstrate a better level of vision, organisation and adaptability than those whose job it is to protect us as law-abiding citizens?"

The national disgrace that is the ever-escalating lawless nature of this country has affected many areas of society.  The motorcycling community is one that has been hit hard and yet it would seem is one that does not deserve the protection of the state.  Few can have escaped seeing the news reports if not being directly affected by the lawless behaviour of gangs of criminals on stolen motorcycles and scooters.  In London the very highly publicised attacks on members of the public and celebrities alike, with violence regularly featured, fill the newspapers.  Less well reported nationally are the criminal gangs of anti-social riders that terrorise communities, placing people at risk of serious injury as they mount pavements and practice stunt riding on the public highways on a daily basis.

Colin said "Behind all this criminality is the epidemic of motorcycle theft that fuels and enables the behaviour.  As I heard one wise police officer comment; 'these people are not the type who go out to their local dealership to buy, register, tax and insure a motorcycle.'  We are not likely to be rubbing shoulders with them at a local charity run unless they are there to steal our bikes.

"Despite all the spin and Home Office Roundtable initiatives that claim to be dealing with the issue and even to having it all under control, the main point raised by the motorcycling community has still not been heard.  The decision-makers have never ridden a bike and focus purely on the outrageous behaviour towards what they see as 'normal' people."MAG has a very simple solution to all the criminality: deal with the theft of motorcycles.  Moped gangs would be reduced to being just gangs if they cannot source machines; anti-social riders can only be antisocial kids on foot if they are not riding bikes.  Take away the new tool of their trade and they suddenly become less capable of breaking the law and far easier to apprehend.

Colin Brown went on to say: "The police are constantly asking for partnership-working due to the pressures on their resources, yet despite repeated offers they generally don't want to work with us.  We engaged with the Home Office Roundtable process but, again, despite repeated offers we were not actively engaged in any of the task and finish groups.  The only people at the table with first-hand knowledge of the real face of motorcycle theft and the realities of what victims are suffering were excluded from the process.  This has resulted in our view in a massive tick-box exercise that has not come close to tackling the problem."

At the end of 2017 MAG attempted to collate details on the national picture, to understand the true face of the crime across the country. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were sent to every police force in the UK.  A simple question was asked: how many motorcycles have been stolen each year over the last 3 years?  Shockingly 34% of police forces failed to give any response to the request, despite the fact that they have a legal obligation to do so.  Three of the responding forces said that they did not record motorcycle thefts separately from other vehicle types, and could not therefore say how many had been stolen.

Colin Brown says "We are repeating this exercise with all UK police forces, asking how many motorcycles were stolen in 2017, how many were recovered, and how many criminals were charged with theft of a motorcycle.  If we do not receive responses we will be referring those forces to the Ombudsman.  We are also asking all local authorities how many secure motorcycle parking bays they provide, what their spending has been on secure parking infrastructure and what their budget is for 2018.  From this data we will identify areas where there needs to be closer scrutiny, and we will then examine the response to the issue and planned action in that location.  We will demand that independent advisory groups are set up to hold the senior officers and local authorities accountable.  We will make our findings public and, where necessary, lobby local PCC's and MP's until action is taken. "The time for platitudes, spin and box-ticking is at an end.  We demand meaningful action and we demand it now."

Nice Walk in Lympne

With Claire volunteering to help run The Guide Dogs for the Blind stall at Lympne School, Reggie and I had a walk around the village.

Lympne has a Castle and down the road is the Port Lympne wildlife and conservation park. It also has a church built in the 12th Century AD or 1300 to 1399. 

History actually goes further back here.  The Romans landed earlier near Sandwich where there is a huge Roman fort at what is now called Richborough.  They arrived here at Portus Lemanis a little later. Very little is left of their structures.

As Britain is struggling through a heatwave I had to choose a route where Reggie wouldn't get overheated or get his paws burned.

We left Claire at the school and I was able to park the car on the main road outside in the shade. Even so the temp gauge on the dashboard was showing 28°C.

We crossed the road and headed towards the castle under the shade of the trees. It took a while to reach first the church and then the castle as Reggie is a sniffer dog. He's also a widdler.

I always carry a bottle of water and a dog bowl with me as well as poo-bags and treats.

At the church we walked through the cemetery to the back to check out the view.

You'd never guess that the church was at least 600 years old.

Once we had enjoyed the view we had a drink, or Reggie did, and then had a walk around the church yard to give us a chance to see some of the graves. Many are very old and overgrown.

Whilst I am a snapper there was a pro photographer at large with her DSLR taking some artistic pix.

From here we walked around the village. The castle was closed as they had an event. It's a popular spot for weddings etc.

We returned to the car. It was very hot and I messaged Claire to say I was taking Reggie home. Our walking day was over.

posted from Bloggeroid

World Cup - England - Round of 16

After navigating the third of the group games against one of the favourites to win this year's competition, and losing, to Belgium with a vastly changed team, we faced Colombia.

Luckily, by losing 1-0 to belgium England assured themselves in the "easier" side of the draw that would mean avoiding the more dangerous and difficult sides such as Brazil and France, and of course Belgium again!

Of course the meme writers were out in force....

Colombia. were they the force to be reckoned with?  After numerous penalties across the championship for WWE tactics in the penalty area, England went ahead after... you guessed it. Harry Kane wrestled to the ground right in front of the referee.

Despite great provocation for the most part England players behaved well.  No matter how dirty the opponents.  Even resorting to a head butt under the chin from one of their players to Henderson.

In the end it looked as though England would scrape through then with seconds to go, Colombia made it 1-1  from a corner.  Maybe they were thinking of what happened to one of their team in 1994. The shooting of Escobar.

The extra tme period dragged on and both side didn't take the opportunities.  England seemed to gain in strength and then the whistle. Penalties!

England haven't won a penalty shoot-out for, well ever, in a major competition.  The last player to save a penalty for England in a world cup game was Arsenal's David Seaman - twenty years ago.

In the end it was going well. Ospina saved Henderson's poor penalty. Colombia ahead.  The next Colombian crashed his attempt against the bar..... Trippier scored his.... 3-3 with just one each to take before sudden death.... Pickford in the England goal matched Seaman. The whole of England erupted. You could here the cheering across the town.

It was down to another Spurs player, Dier, to win it for England.... Bang. History made. England finally win a shoot-out.

Dier penalty

As usual the England haters, and that covers all the inhabitants of the cold and wet place called Scotland, were out in force moaning that fans were out on the streets celebrating. W@nkers.

Typical reverse racism.  If Russians and Brazilians do it, it kind of okay....Exuberant supporters loving their country....but if we do it. Moan after fucking moan. What I think are known as the Liberal Left that hate anything English despite actually being English were commenting on social media. Depsite the diversity (which they love) was evident in the England squad.....

 What next?  Sweden on Saturday in the last 8 game at 3pm.

World Cup - England

After a less than glorious first game against Tunisia where England won 2-1 despite being subject to WWE grappling and tackling, hopes were higher playing the lowest ranked team in the group.

God alone knows how Panama are ranked 55th in the world. It's out of 205....

The WWE tackling continued at corners and free kicks but at least the Egyptian referee was wise and gave the penalties.

England led 5-0 at half term. Could have been more.

The second half less glorious though. A 6th after 76 minutes and then they were a little slack and let Panama score their first ever goal in their first ever finals.

Belgium await on Thursday evening.

posted from Bloggeroid

MAG News - ‘Billboards Outside City Hall’ secure a meeting with the Mayor

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is looking forward to a meeting with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to discuss questions regarding environmental fairness, crime and road safety regarding motorcyclists in the city.The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has thanked Greater London Authority Assembly Member Keith Prince AM for securing a landmark meeting with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, to discuss motorcycle safety, environmental charging and crime issues. Bikers held up signs outside London's City Hall on Thursday 21st June with words echoing the film 'Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.' 

The billboards said:

'70+ DEAD BIKERS'

'AND STILL NO INVESTMENT?'

'HOW COME, MAYOR KHAN?'

Tim Fawthrop, the Motorcycle Action Group's London Representative, says: 'compared to cyclists, four times more bikers died on London's highways in 2016   with 9 cycling fatalities versus 36 fatally injured motorcyclists. But, while the authorities invest £154 million per year on cycling, there's almost nothing being invested to make roads safer for riders. They've even narrowed the lanes to prevent or deter 'filtering' between lines of stationary traffic by riders - though this is a perfectly legal riding activity, reducing congestion and pollution for everyone by keeping motorbikes out of queues.

'On top of this, they threaten us with new charges on older bikes which, by TfL's own figures, produce almost no pollution at all, and are essential transport for the least wealthy who depend on them to get to low-paid jobs, maybe including at City Hall to clean the Mayor's bins. So we're truly grateful to Keith Prince for getting a meeting for the riding community with the Mayor - and we thank Sadiq Khan for agreeing.'

Keith Prince highlighted the issues facing riders in his contributions at Mayor's Question Time. Afterwards he said, 'I've now spoken with the Mayor and his staff and this meeting will go ahead. We just need to approach it with logic and evidence and seek to ensure the Mayor can see the benefits of a positive approach towards riding. I think he'll do that if we ourselves show a cooperative attitude.'

MAG News - The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) backs bikes for Clean Air Day

MAG has used Clean Air Day as a good opportunity to underline the fact that a shift from cars to motorbikes will help clean up Britain's air,  and is calling on all those who own motorbikes or scooters to ride to work  on two wheels to help reduce pollution.

MAG's Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Lembit Öpik, says: 'all the evidence shows the more motorbikes there are, the less pollution there is. Bikes also reduce 'secondary' pollution because there is less congestion for cars to sit in. It's a virtuous circle proved time and again by science.

'Really, two wheels are common sense. Bikes are smaller, lighter and generally more economical than cars. Since clean air is something everyone should support, everyone should also support motorbikes and scooters. So, go on, get your bike out and help reduce emissions. It's the simplest way to make your commute cleaner – as well as a lot more enjoyable than sitting in stationary traffic pumping out exhaust fumes.'

MAG is working actively with other groups to ensure that the full benefit of a shift away from higher-polluting vehicles to more frugal motorbikes is included in the country's transport plans. The organisation welcomes cooperation with those environmental groups who share our ambition to clean up the atmosphere in our towns and cities - rather than just charging those users who can afford it to pollute.

Contact MAG at 01926 844 064 or central-office@mag-uk.org

MAG News - Off-road racing and riding could be banned

Off-road racing and riding could be banned unless YOU act

The Motorcycle Action Group has backed the Motor Cycle Industry Association's attack on a European Commission edict that could end motorcycle sport. MAG is urgently appealing to riders across the UK to contact their Member of Parliament and help prevent the effective banning of competitive, off-road riding of all kinds in the United Kingdom.

'The threat comes from a European Union Directive,' explains MAG's Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Lembit Öpik. 'It would require all mechanically propelled vehicles to get full third-party motor insurance to cover injury, damage and loss, on public and private roads or land. By changing what's called the 'Motor Insurance Directive'

(MID), it could end competitive riding in the UK and EU.'

The extreme threat arises from a single legal case regarding liability (known as the 'Vnuk' Judgment). Its consequences would be disastrous because insurance firms would find it economically impossible to insure competitive off-road riding activities, given the realities of damage to machines, collisions and all the elements which are the essence of competitive racing. This could more or less wipe out these sorts of events. The MCIA estimates that this could terminate activities involving over 1.7 million spectators and 55,000 riders annually, at over 4000 off-road and track events. This latest move stems from a broken commitment by the EU to resolve this issue. British Government officials have stated they oppose this unjustified measure.

Tony Campbell, CEO of the MCIA said: "In the UK alone, motorcycle sport is estimated to be worth £1 billion, which rises to around £11 billion across all forms of UK motor sports. We strongly support UK Government efforts, but our message is clear – whatever the outcome of these new proposals Government must take action in order to avoid the catastrophic damage that will be inflicted on Motorsport across the board if this ruling turns into law – even if this means defying Brussels."

Lembit adds: 'The UK Government has actively supported efforts to remove this threat to off-road riding and racing. Please contact your MP, asking them to write to Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, to ensure the UK Government will honour its pledge to ignore this draconian and virtually pointless directive from the EU Commission.'

Contact MAG at 01926 844 064 or central-office@mag-uk.org

MAG News - MAG encourages all bikers to ride to work.

I'd love to.

But.

My daily commute was and still is a 150 mile return journey. I did it everyday on my GS except in snow and ice. I continued until 2014 on Döra the Explörer.

I gave up as it was very tiring and post heart attack simply too dangerous.

However, for more local riders it's okay.

Paul

---------- Forwarded message ---------

News from the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG)

The third week of June is national Ride to Work week, which is run by the Motorcycle Industry Association and calls on all riders to try commuting to work on their bikes.  MAG's Director of Campaigns Political Engagement, Colin Brown, is encouraging leisure riders to grasp the opportunity and support the initiative to #CommuteHappy.

The reality in the UK is that many riders reserve their riding for days off work.  Motorcycling is a fun, fulfilling hobby, but many riders then miss out on the benefits that their hobby could bring to their daily commute.  You are likely to significantly reduce your journey time, save money, and arrive far less stressed than your non-riding colleagues.

Perhaps more importantly, by riding your motorcycle to work you will be helping to reduce congestion for all road users and playing a significant role in reducing air pollution.  Studies show that a 10% modal shift from single occupancy cars to powered two wheelers will yield a 40% reduction in congestion for all road users and a 6% reduction in overall emissions.  These are benefits that all road users reap from us extending our passion and hobby into a regular transport option.

Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, comments "There are many reasons why motorcycles are not the first choice for some of us when it comes to commuting.  Ride to Work Week gives us an opportunity to explore those barriers and see how we can help to make motorcycling a natural choice for more people.  Whether it be concerns over safety, security, convenience, or anything else, give it some thought and let us know the issues that put you off.  We all love riding our bikes, so let's do more of it and save the planet at the same time!"

If you can only make it onto your bike for one day during the week, make it Thursday.  Colin points out: "Thursday 21st June is also Clean Air Day.  A typical 125cc commuter bike emits virtually no emissions, and the reduction in congestion will also help reduce secondary pollution from other vehicles on the road.  Riding to work on a scooter or motorcycle will greatly reduce your exposure to particulate matter in comparison with taking the tube in London.   If you want to go clean, get on your motorbike and #CommuteHappy"

MAG will be running polls and asking for feedback throughout the week on social media, and asks all riders and potential riders to let us know their thoughts, and to share their experiences and ideas for ways to encourage more road users to switch to powered two wheelers.

Find out more about the MCIA campaign at:  http://www.ridetoworkweek.co.uk/

Let us know your opinions and ideas at: https://www.facebook.com/motorcycleactiongroup/