¡InvictaMoto!

For some time Claire has wanted to update the garden to giveher more flower beds after we lost a lot with the decking. In the end we went for raised beds and the contractor came yesterday and some twelve hours later had finished. Now it needs all the re-planting of the plants that Claire had to dig up.   Part of the plan was to create a "dog" area and we need to ensure that we get Reggie to go there for his "reliefs". Looks nice at the moment....

Today we had a trip up to the farm by Brockhill Park and the school. As it was for the lambing we couldn't take Reggie. In the end we didn't see many lambs but we did see some of the pigs that they rear. The school has its own young farmers club. The pigs are quite fascinating when they aren't fast asleep and snoring loudly. The other reason was to see The Independent Baker. She is the daughter of one of Claire's friend's.  She make some marvellous cakes. Of course we had to try some slices of her cakes. Once eaten we set off home. We needed to take Reggie out whilst the weather was good. A slight mistake on my behalf and we arrived at Dymchurch for a walk on the beach at high tide! No beach visible. In the we had a long walk along the promenade. It was windy with Storm Katie and her 65mph winds due any moment.  The sea comes up to just below where the yellow line is painted on the edge.  The pano shows the sky colour as...

Deaf. Cockney rhyming slang. Not technically a cockney as I was born slightly West of Westminster Bridge. The view of the Houses of Parliament from St Thomas' must have been inspiring for my mum as I ruined her Christmas. Back to being mutton. No change in my right ear. Have to wait until April 4th when I go to the surgery again! 😖

Each year for our wedding anniversary we have been going away for the weekend or a week even. Sometimes to Spain to the timeshare and sometimes across the Channel to France. With Reggie in tow last year we had him inoculated against "la rage" or rabies as we call it in English, and he got his passport. We went across to France and Belgium and visited some family war graves on their centenary. This year we looked at holiday rentals (gites) in France and also in England. It's become apparent that France has more to offer and at more pocket friendly rental cost than at home! So I started looking seriously at cottages and mobile homes. Gradually moving northwards to remove the need for overnight hotels where Reggie is less happy. Finally settling on the north of France. Another consideration is that under the terms of the pet passport Reggie has to be wormed between 120 and 24 hours before he arrives back at the port to return to England. So before booking anything I went on ...

It is quite embarrassing but on this short ride I got the odometer to pass 2000 miles. At one time I was easily doing 2000 miles a month and now 9 months to do the same!! The ride this time was only to the Blue and White for the monthly Meldrews meeting, but it was so good to be out. Even if the weather wasn't the best. I did shift some of the 1916-2016 Centenary Poppy pins that I got from the Royal British Legion.  They go for a suggested donation of £2 each and I paid out £51 last month to the Legion.  Once everyone that asked for one or more has theirs I'll break even!

Yesterday was quite busy.  Firstly I had the monthly Meldrews MCC meeting at the Blue and White Cafe in Smeeth. Quite a decent turnout with six of us. I collected a few quid for the 1916-2016 Anniversary pins that I got off the Royal British Legion. In the afternoon we had a "Kent Big Weekend" trip to Grove Ferry and a boat trip. It didn't look very dog friendly and so I took Reggie out for a walk before we went out. " The Kent Big Weekend " has been running a few years and is an initiative to get people out to the attractions the county has to offer tourists. With 90 minutes between home and the boat, we should have had plenty of room.  I set the satnav, mistake, and then set off. It took us on a route I would never have thought of and then we hit a snag with roads closed due to a railway bridge needing repairs, In the end the 45 minute journey took 80. At least we did get the change to visit Patrixbourne 3 time and have a drive through two of the for...

After the relative success of the Peugeot Alloy Wheel Cleaner combined with the Autoglym  and IBM brush, I decided to invest in some professional cleaner from a car valeting suppliers.  For £16 plus £6 delivery, it would have been less but some absolute git made a bid with 12s left on the auction that lifted the price from £10.60 (!!), I have 25 litres or about 5 gallons of the stuff. It got good reviews as a spray-on, wash-off product used at car washes across the country. Spray on might pose a problem... So something like this looks the answer. On eBay for about a tenner. Will check out the hardware stores at the weekend.

Due to another appointment to look at my ear problem, I had to have another day leave/holiday/vacation.  It harsh but it seems such appointments aren't covered. So  after the doc's and a longer walk with Reggie, I  hauled Red Pepe out of the garage, tutted at the corroded wheels, and then had a ride to the Cliff Top Cafe in nearby Capel. It was freezing cold. I was in jeans and walking boots and my fingers got a little chilly. That said, it was great to be back on the bike even for just an hour. My ear didn't have any problems, and as I always wear earplugs, it was protected anyway.  The Shoei Qwest is also pretty quiet (and light!) anyway compared with some of the helmets I'd had in the past, but earplugs are still a must. Ironic that they will help protect my ears and I already have a perforated eardrum to protect!!!!! At the cafe,  as  I arrived, were two seniors on Harley's complete with sticky-out carbs with K&N style filters and loud exhausts....

As I right clicked on the E: drive on the laptop and selected "format", I had one of those little nervous moments. Spin the clock back a week. The quarterly email arrived advising me that my latest update was available. It took a couple of days before I hooked the TomTom up and installed the maps.  Once finished I tested that it worked. Everything seemed to be in working order except the problem I encounter very (too?) often. The ability to create ad-hoc routes through the Address tile on the plan route screen. I did the usual, deleted the application but this time it didn't work. I tried a few times and then logged a call. Then it was the weekend and apart from the email acknowledging the problem nothing came back. Wednesday came and the reply said to go to TomTom Home and delete all the contents off the computer. As I have the US mapping there I skipped that bullet point and went to the second. That's where we came in. Formatting the unit's 2gb memory.  I did it...

The antibiotic course has finished. Not a great improvement. With music on my phone playing on high I can hear a little through it but mostly distorted. Have another appointment on Monday to see what can be done and whether it's a wait and see job.

Had to re-post this.  This model has far more chrome than Red Pepe. Thank the god of motorcycling!

So back to the surgery to see the nurse practitioner who knows ENT stuff. Checks both ears. She is certain that there's no perforation just an enlarged drum caused by an infection. So now on a course of antibiotics and no bike riding until it clears up. Fingers still crossed.

Have to say disappointed with the finish on my 15 Roadster. Not really an all weather rider nowadays.  Wheels are corroded and look like shit and the chrome bits and bobs all surface rusted. Have always washed down after a salty road outing. The TEX I had before had its recall problems but the finish far more robust. Never had these problems so soon even on a modern Suzuki! It doesn't seem like the wheels are coated, just bare metal by th level of corrosion.  The surface rust blights the suspension caps and even the chrome cover for the rear brake master cylinder looks more like rust with some chrome. At least the engine finish looks good.

After a week of no hearing in my right ear I went to the surgery. Expecting to have my ears syringed or whatever they do, I was shocked to find I had a perforated eardrum. No loud noises. No insertions into ear. Just sitting in the office chatting about work. Apparently it can happen for a number of reasons and should cure itself. Have another appointment to take a look at it. Fingers crossed again.

This week had another email from Finnair to change the flight times. It's the third since Christmas. Firstly the outward flight was put back five minutes. Then a week later the inward flight was put back ten minutes. The latest is that the inward has changed again and is now five minutes earlier. So after all that we have settled on both flights now five minutes later than originally planned. At least it's not as bad as Air Canada changing a flight by 9 hours later!!

MAG welcomes GLA 'Easy Rider' Report on policy responses to motorcycling by Transport for London (TfL). The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has made significant contributions to a ground breaking investigation and report on TfL's approach to motorcycling and casualty reduction for Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) riders in the Capital. See GLA press release link:  http://is.gd/g2hUGb MAG Chair, Selina Lavender said: "This report has great potential to help TfL and policy makers in all UK urban areas improve the way that motorcycling and the interests and safety of bikers are treated. As Val Shawcross, GLA Transport Committee Chair rightly points out, motorcyclists have been overlooked in public discussion about road safety in recent years – but this report does a lot to reverse that trend. And, although we appreciate some of the things TfL have done recently, we also share the concerns raised by the GLA about the need for much more to be done." The report was ...

Hopefully not forever... Not permanently. I was sitting at my desk, all of us chatting when I couldn't hear anything in my right ear. A few deep swallows and a try to "blow" my ears had no result. I trotted off to the pharmacy and the pharmacist suggested it was merely wax building up and sold me some drops. Twice a day since. No change. I called the surgery today and have an appointment with the nurse on Monday morning to sort it out. Until then continue with the drops. All I have at the moment is a constant whooshing noise in the right. A bit like driving with the driver's window cracked open a little... Plus a little loss of balance. Other suggestions from colleagues range from shaving my beard off to warm olive oil.  My mums's old solution, literally, of soda  bicarbonate in warm water is frowned on. I remember my dad having my his ears syringed and leaving the surgery and not noticing anything different until a  bus went past and it was so loud he almost jump...