InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

Checked the website again to see what the travel arrangements are in place and with 9 days to go to the event, there is still nothing about the parking and shuttle up to the site. There is an update regarding the e-ticketing to the event and for some reason, the French Government has asked that the e-tickets are sent out again.   " Important Information – New E-tickets being issued As a result of new measures in place put in at the request of the Government of France, Veterans Affairs Canada is issuing new e-tickets to everyone registered to attend the commemorative ceremony. All e-tickets will be distributed by April 1, 2017. Further information about shuttles and parking will be provided in the coming days on the Veterans Affairs Canada website at Canada.ca/Vimy-100. For those who previously received an e-ticket, please replace it with this new e-ticket. Please bring a copy of your official e-ticket and government-issued photo identification, such as a passport, national photo I...

Maybe it is something that comes with getting older, correct me if I am wrong, that country music becomes more interesting?   Although it's always been there I have only toyed with the music of Willie Nelson etc.   Lately we have been toying with George Strait and Zac Brown.  Some really decent stuff. Both have massive back catalogues but we have started with recent productions.   And we come to The Shires. A duo from Beds and Herts. Two shire counties to the north of London. They may have got their name from that basis?   That two English singers can write music that is accepted in the US and the heartlands of country is amazing.   They are on in Folkestone at the Leas Cliff Hall at the end of April and we are going to be there.   Looking forward to it

This morning Reggie acted a little strangely and seemed "off colour ". Usually he doesn't need any urging to gulp down his breakfast but this morning he went upstairs and lay next to the bed. When Claire came to go to work he was very odd and wanted to sit on her lap. We were both worried he was ill but by lunchtime he was back to normal. Phew. And here he is this evening asking for a biscuit. Paw up. Something that dogs do and that it is self taught by the boy. Begging

It's less than two weeks to go. I have my ferry booked and even took up the P&O offer to have RAC cover just in case Pepé breaks down.  Like all insurances you might never need it but... So whilst I have a while before I need to pack the big lock and the panniers with stuff to wear whilst on foot at the ceremony, my thoughts turn to where to park. The monument  itself will be closed to the public, or at least private vehicles , with a shuttle bus service being laid on to take the public up there. As yet, there are no details in the website to say where the parking will be nor where the shuttle buses will run from. I assume as with the Somme 100 event last July the two will be about the same place. But where? The FAQ : Q 8: Will there be parking available onsite for the April 9 th   ceremony? Will there be accessible parking for those with mobility impairment? Will the site be wheelchair accessible? A 8:  There will be no vehicle access to the Vimy Memorial site f...

Today once we had had our breakfast we decided to have a run out to one of our favourite National Trust places, Sissinghurst. The gardens themselves aren't open to our four legged friends but there is plenty of other space to walk about and enjoy. At this time of the year many of the themed gardens are just awakening from winter but the daffodils and their narcissus cousins are in full bloom. Whilst Reggie and I walked outside, Claire went in to look around. In a year we perhaps go around four or maybe five times to see the changing gardens. The Oast Houses End wall Daffs The roof in the old stable area

Tried one of the new themes provided by Blogger. MISTAKE!  Not very nice looking and I lost a lot of my gadgets. Trying to put it back was quite easy so nothing lost in the end. Aaaaarrgghh.

A walk on the beach today with Reggie. Sunny and dry but very windy.

As we all get older, the bands we grew up with in the 70's and 80's are still coming out to play and there is always that last swansong tour that I'd like to be a part of.  I missed the boat with quite a few, the last big one being AC/DC last year. Although we did see Black Sabbath on the next to last tour, we missed the last tour but I wasn't as unhappy about that. So when I saw that Metallica were out on tour I was eager to get the dates.  October.... and after we get back from Florida. Then the ridiculous link to a link to a link online booking system before a ticket can be bought.  The even worse system that it decides where you will sit based on how much you want to pay, rather than letting you choose yourself where you want to park your butt. In the end most areas were sold out less than 25 minutes after booking opened. A box to tick to say you aren't a robot.... and we're in. All booked.  I last saw Metallica live in Brno at the BOBY FC...

Another ride out to raise money to send Kelly to the US for her lifesaving surgery. So far she is about half way there. Why operations and care can cost £1m I have no idea. It seems like madness. I suppose it is a way that doctors can be treated like gods and get the god like renumeration. 

Today would have been the Meldrews' March meeting but most of the regulars were away and I was down with a cold. So I didn't feel like a breakfast meeting. We took the dog for his walk and were back for lunch.  By 3pm I needed to get out and so it was. Firing up the engine I saw that the miles to empty on the clock was 12. I am sure it would have been more when I was last out. Obviously not. First stop was Tesco for petrol.  A ride up the A20 and past the Blue and White where I should have been some five hours earlier.  No waiting but annoying that "pay at the pump" wasn't working again. Always seems up the swanee when I am on the bike. Where next? I decided to head for the coast and then loop back home. So opted for the B2070 to Brenzett and then the A259 to Romney, then Lydd and onto the Dungeness Estate. I was too late for the railway cafe although there was a train in the station. Instead I tried to get a pic of the bike by the old lighthouse. The sun wasn...

I am going to have a quick solo day trip to Vimy Ridge for the Centenary of the Battle of Arras. All along the front the allies attacked entenched German positions on the high ground around Arras. Despite terrible losses the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge was a success. Many Canadians call this the battle that created their nation. A hundred years later we gather to pay our respects for the thousands of young men that came so far from home to fight and for many of them there is a corner of France forever theirs. Oh Canada. UPDATE: 10th April 2017 http://rocket3man.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/vimy-100-report.html  

There are several ceremonies taking place at the same time in Ypres and the area that formed the Passchendaele battlefield. The first is a special event at the Menin Gate in Ypres.  I have been before to see the pageantry and the Fire Brigade buglers at the Gate and it is a truly moving experience.   The second, is the ceremony at Tyne Cot British Cemetery  and Memorial . This is also a ticket only event. parking will be at the Zonnebeke Museum and that will be by ticket and then shuttle buses to Tyne Cot. Unusually for me I hadn't booked any accommodation and of course now that everyone has got the okay that they are getting tickets to the event, the whole thing has gone wild.  Simply taking a look at "Ypres" and the dates on booking.com sees that some places are what we say in England are "taking the piss" with massively inflated prices. But, I guess someone will be desperate and pay them. In the end I have booked a B&B  in Vlamertinge near Ypres on the r...

Hopefully by the time we emerge on French soil in May the hassles, scaremongering and downright hate will have ended. All this brought on by Brexit, the decision of the UK electorate to leave the European Union. By then the Netherlands may have elected a government that supports a similar decision. Anyway. The Tesco Clubcard vouchers have been spent and the total with Reggie has £186 for the car and us and the cost of checking his passport on the way back in. We are booked on a Saturday morning, not too early.  The drive to a hotel stop in Orléans is about 260 miles once we land.  So we have a lot of time to do it and avoid Paris. Eurotunnel return is the following Sunday leaving a Bank Holiday to recover the day after.

We have been many times to Ypres and the battlefields in the area to visit the sites and the cemeteries. Most usually I have led the trips under the guise of the Suzuki Owners Club and latterly the Meldrews. I applied for tickets as once again the interest will be high rather than the simple turn up and take part from previous years. The Centenary is a big deal. At this stage there is planning to do and a hotel to book. Sadly Reggie can't come with us on this trip and we will have to do it in the car.  Claire's hip is not right and it will be too much on the Rocket. I'll leave this post  with a link to a poem .

Planning has begun on the first run of the year. This trip will be to Vimy in Northern France.  This year is the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Arras, and in particular the Canadian assault on the enemy held ridge at Vimy to the north-west of the city. I have been several times before, lastly in 2014 and in 2015 I had a heart operation just days before it took place! I was unable to go last year even though it was a Saturday. This will be a Johnny No-Mates trip as we had originally planned to have it as a Meldrews event but when we found that Eurotunnel had no day tickets to sell as it is the week before Easter, we dropped it. The date is as always April 9th and this year it is a Sunday. http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/vimy-ridge/100-anniversary Report later. UPDATE 3rd April 2017: I saw on Facebook that one of the bike groups I joined a while back are having a day trip to France on the 9th to have a hoon around and lunch. So I got on the Euro...

After 8 years the iPod I won is still going. I still have to use the tedious iTunes to manage the music that is on it. Also after these years I have about 45gb used out of the 80gb capacity. The only problem is that it will no longer charge from the mains plug only when connected to a computer! The original post -  http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/ive-won-ipod.html

The Road to Gobblers Knob: From Chile to Alaska on a Motorbike by Geoff Hill My rating: 4 of 5 stars I bought this on the back of a previous bike trip that Geoff Hill written about a ride from India bringing tea home. A good pace and hardly comparable to any truck driving epic. The focus is on riding a motorcycle and the trials of the mode of transport. Humorous and simply a good tale.

"Thank you for joining the AirbagRevolution. You are more than 10 000 members and the movement is still increasing. A few days ago, based on the answers to the questionnaire, we proceeded to the selection of the 500 In&siders: the first users who will test the airbag vest. The choice was not easy (we would even say Cornelian) and we couldn't retain your profile. " Oh well.  Their loss.