¡InvictaMoto!

Another chance to see Arsenal play against lower league opposition in Blackpool of  League One. After two home games that I have missed because I was at home with Claire after her hip op, it's nice to be able to get to a game. Even one in the Carabao Cup where the Arsenal team will be made up of mostly the second string players.  Although last night the U21 side went away to League Two Cheltenham and got their arses roundly kicked,  So a lesson to be learned. This week it has turned cold although as "Two Jumpers" Devall I expect it to not be too bad. I do have a coat in case it rains! See what tonight brings. Result. What should have been a formality became the usual nervous breakdown inducing Arsenal display.  Down to ten men after the referee gave Guendouzi two yellow cards, the first a little harsh as his first tackle. But at 2-0 it should have been plain sailing but Blackpool sensed that with an extra man they could do seething and t...

One book to go. I set a target of 25 books to be read this year.  At the time of writing I am at 24/25 and about 35% through the last book to achieve the goal. Most of my reading is done on the train and on holiday/vacation when having some quiet time. I very rarely read at home!  I know I should instead of watching TV.  But. Recently I have started checking the free or low price books on Amazon Kindle.  I have picked up quite a few "series" that way and the free book does entice you to carry o n if you like it. The latest is Lindsay Buroker's "Dragon Blood" series. The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3 by Lindsay Buroker My rating: 4 of 5 stars Three books in one. Magic and Errol Flynn swash and buckle in one set... Patterns in the Dark by Lindsay Buroker My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another dangerous mission into enemy territory to find out why the enemy is getting stronger. I don't want to say too much without spoiling it for r...

Bully-off or tip-off for you that aren't football aware! To find out more about why some dumbos like me will be shaving smooth and then starting a mo on Thursday, check out the link:   https://uk.movember.com/ To donate some moeny to my attempt, then of course you are very welcome.  Movember is an international fund raisong charity and so whatever currency you want to use, they will accept. I kicked off my account with £5. That's 10% of my target.  I'm sure that some of you can afford a quid, or a euro or a buck, for what is a good cause. Of course, other currencies are available. You donate here:   https://mobro.co/invicta-grow-the-mo

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has published a report this week detailing the national picture on powered two wheeler (PTW) access to bus lanes.  The report demonstrates an inconsistent and patchwork approach to access that inevitably leads to confusion, mistakes and, ultimately, increased risk for riders. Motorcyclists first saw access to bus lanes being granted in the mid 1990's following pressure from MAG and other riders' rights groups demanding the safety benefit of being allowed access.  National blanket permission, however, has never been an option due to the fact that the decision to allow or deny access is taken by local transport authorities.  Startling revelations, however, show that there is inconsistency even between sections of bus lanes in single authorities, as campaigners fight for access to be granted one bus lane at a time. In London, the Easy Rider Report produced by...

With the centenary of the end of WW1 coming very soon. I thought I'd post this little snippet from the KSLI Regimental Museum in Shrewsbury. It's filled in a few details of what little we know about William. "William died 99 years ago. He landed in France with the 2nd Battalion on 21-12-14, at some point moved to the 1st Batt., wounded with the 1st Batt. about 6th or 7th Jan 1916 while in trenches in La Brique left sector. I do not know when he joined the 7th Batt." As far as I know La Brique is on the Ypres Salient. I'll have to check the maps and the KSLI Regimental history book. P.S. It's 102 years now. Update 29/10/2018 This is from the KSLI website.  The 2nd Battalion arrival date at le Havre tallies with the above note from the museum's curator. https://www.shropshireregimentalmuseum.co.uk/regimental-history/shropshire-light-infantry/the-kings-shropshire-light-infantry-1914-1918/ As for being wounded whil...

A bit late for me as I had a new one fitted on the rear in the summer. I will need a front though soon enough. https://www.avontyres.com/en-gb/news/d/!/503/avon-tyres-launches-new-cobra If the suggested increased performance and longevity are true then it will be a hit with Rocket owners. posted from Bloggeroid

Not the whole collection as I have a load but these are for 14-18 events and the Poppy Appeal. After scanning with them face down on the scanner glass I see the Non-Attendance rally pins are upside down. I can't find 2017! Had another go! And these are some official ones done for football clubs to sell.  I only need two. Finally found the 2017 Non-Attendance pin. posted from Bloggeroid

Why does the Royal British Legion sell poppies around the end of October? Here's a clue. https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/how-we-remember/the-story-of-the-poppy/ First two of the year.  Despite having a selection of pins and brooches, I do like to buy a paper poppy each year for the donation and I like to have one! posted from  Bloggeroid

Signed up again for the rally. It's a bit far this year so I am glad I am not going.  Hopefully, some of you that read my blog will also not want to attend and will pay the waiver or donation.  The money raised goes to the Poppy Appeal. Click here to sign up. Clangers information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clangers And there own website -  http://clangers.com/ posted from Bloggeroid

This was written by my good friend Ivan Benda. I first met him through his love for Suzuki motorcycles when I joined the Suzuki Owners Club in 1978. At first it was exchanging letters as Czechoslovakia was still under Communist rule. I first met him in 1986 when my partner, Audrey, and I went to the FIM Rally in Hungary. We travelled through Czech and Slovakia to get to Budapest. We stayed with him in his flat in Bohunice and then he took us to a spa resort nearer the border with Slovakia. Obviously in those days there wasn't a real border. I went to the Czech Invader Rally a few times and over the years we have been many times. In 1992/93 I went to work at the grammar school in Zastávka near Brno. Ivan was a good friend and helped me settle in. And so to his email and picture: " I am sure you are informed my homeland celebrates 100 anniversary of foundation just now ( Oct 28th ), so I am sending you a critical picture of "Crying Thomas Garrigue Masaryk th...

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Hurrah! The first proper paper qualification since I passed my degree course and became Paul Devall Bsc. Hons.

On 16th October 2018 Bath & North East Somerset Council launched a six-week consultation on proposals to charge drivers of higher-emission vehicles, including cars, £9 per day to drive within Bath city centre.  In the wake of MAG’s victory in Birmingham, the Bath & North East Somerset Council is proposing, from the outset, to exempt all  motorcycles and mopeds from the scheme. Commenting on the proposals, Councillor Bob Goodman, cabinet member for development and neighbourhoods, said: “Like many councils up and down the country we have to address NO2 levels which are harmful to people’s  health, and we’re being told by the Government do to that in the shortest possible time.” Councillor Mark Shelford, Cabinet member for Transport & Environment, added: “The council has looked carefully at other options, such as not charging higher emission cars, but technical analysis shows this would not be guaranteed to sufficiently reduce NO2 in the time available...

The dates have been confirmed for the entire BSB (British SuperBikes) season for 2019 and the Assen round in on the 20th-22nd September, a week earlier than in 2018. This is to fit in another round at Donington Park before the final at Brands Hatch I had a look at hotels and the one we stayed in this year (see  https://devalltravel.blogspot.com/search?q=NL18+-+Assen ) wasn't on booking.com  but one a mile or so down the road was. So I have booked three nights at the Wapen van Vries hotel. For Claire and me it will be some €60 cheaper but a single room for Neill will be about the same as this year. I'm posting this on this blog (this early) as I am hoping that after Claire's successful total hip replacement last week (October 13th) that she will be fully fighting fit to go on the bike. I expect that bike to be Pepe! I am also considering a different route.  Instead of the tunnel I might see about the longer ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland.  It depends on pri...

I joined the club a few weeks after I bought Pepe not because I like clubs, but because they are a pretty valuable source of information when you need some advice, and also they do have a social side. So far I have not been to any social events but they have been useful when I have had a problem and there are so many people that can help.  And have. It is a shame that the South-East and Kent in particular has pretty much of a dead social scene.  After many years in the SOC, I am not putting my head above the parapet.  Never again.  I want to be a follower not a leader. posted from Bloggeroid

It's been very warm for the time of year. So riding Pepé was good, but out with Reggie along the canal is its equal. Loads of autumn colours. Sadly the GPS on the phone shows each location to be miles from its actual place!!

OMG! It's a month since I last got out on Pepé. So as expected with some damp days and nights the battery needed a jolt from the dbPower unit. It's a nice sunny morning so I got the Triumph Steve McQueen jacket out. It's definitely a three season jacket. I always remove the zip-in liners as they tend to be sweat inducing quilted nylon. Another reason is that despite the body being XXL, the arms are still S or even M. Narrow tubes that my old man's arms find a tight fit. If you are a gym bunny and have muscles that bulge like The Rock, then look elsewhere. The jacket has metal zips and snap fasteners. I do love that. It's short enough not to touch the tank with the bottom snapper. It also has two zippered vents along the collar bone and a huge zipped vent across the shoulders. Not that they were needed today. There are plenty of pockets. Two snap fastened ones on the chest, left and right, a zippered pocket on the left chest to. Two lower pockets, both zipped.  Th...

The war memorial in Hythe is undergoing a makeover. Not the small cenotaph itself but the pavement around the front. Currently there are small garden borders that are kept well stocked by the council's gardeners. The pavement area was looking in need of renovation. So it's being done. A resin pavement with a huge poppy motif in the centre. Work in progress for a grand opening on November 4th. The week before Armistice Day and the parade. posted from Bloggeroid

Marvellous what Neff have come up with!! Starts working as soon as the door is opened. posted from Bloggeroid

Hurrah. After waiting for year since she had the referral she was finally admitted to hospital early on Saturday morning and later that day they operated and she has a spanking new metal and ceramic hip joint.  It is a wonder of the National Health Service that gives us the chance to have "free" medical treatment.    I put free in quotes as of course it is not free.  Those of us that work pay directly from our wages/salaries into "National Insurance". This funds our pensions when we retire from work and also pays for the NHS.   It's not a perfect system, but it works pretty well.  It sometimes creaks under the pressure of numbers at certain times of the year but manages to keep going. There are so many that like to criticise and try to bring it down, but at the end of the day the NHS is a fantastic service. A credit to this country and everyone that works in it. I'm sure there are countries across the world that would love to h...

I had an email from Aer Lingus.  They have re-timed the outward flight to Miami from Dublin.  It is now an hour later. It shouldn't affect the car hire or the overnight hotel by very much.

We enjoyed our weekend away so much, even with the traffic difficulties, that I have made a booking at another local hotel for the same race weekend in 2019. This one, Wapen van Vries ,  is actually almost opposite the pizza place we went to this year in Vries.  It's maybe five minutes further along from the motorway than this year's place.   It's all free cancellation and no prepayment so we can cancel if need be. It's also some €60 cheaper for us, although I don't think Neill will save much, if he comes. Hopefully after her operation in October 2018,  Claire will be back on the bike and not in the pain she was the last time and we can make a more sedate holiday out of the trip.

MOVEMBER!!!! Getting nearer by the day. If all my Facebook "friends" and visitors to my blog pledged a quid, a dollar, a euro or whatever your currency is that equates to £1 sterling, then I'd make a good sum for the charity. DONATE PLEASE

To give it a full title on Amazon's page:   FD-MOTO Yellow Security Scooter Motorbike Motorcycle Handlebar Throttle Grip Lock Anti-theft Brake Level Lock Luckily, I was gifted it.  It didn't  seem to work for the donor and so he gave it to me.  Complete with half destroyed bubble packaging. It seems like a good idea to protect the bike for a short time.  It fits over the throttle grip and applies the front brake. Allegedly this will stop the bike being pushed away and it can't be ridden . Obviously the professional thief will come equipped and chop the brake lines and push it away or simply, with the aid of scum mates, lift and  put in in a van. But it might deter the half-witted thief that happens past where you are parked. Except. It doesn't fit the Rocket either.  If I pull the brake lever in as far as I can go it still won't fit.  Looks like it will be gifted again.....

The final two exhibitions of the poppies are currently available it the Imperial War Museum in London and at the newer version of the IWM  in Salford Quays, Manchester,  not far from the Lowry Theatre and the BBC. As we live in the south-east of England, Claire and I will be making the trip up to London’s big city to take a look at them before they are removed the week after Armistice Day.  This weekend seems as good as any and there is no football to interrupt the weekend. It’s what they term the “interlull” when club football at the upper levels takes a back seat and it’s all international matches. The link ( https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/poppies-weeping-window ) will tell you all that you need to know.  It’s a few years since we last went up there. As we are on the train, I applied for a Senior Railcard. It’s get over-60’s money off the rail fares and works out at about a third. Of course, you can’t travel on peak services!! Shame as that would sa...

After the journey up we decided not to hang about too long on the way home in case the traffic was as bad and we would be endanger of missing the train home. So we were up and ready to leave before 9am.  Neill was still there as we left and Claire and he had set Google to we could see where we were on the road.  it wasn't working that well when we left though. Rather than risk getting to Antwerp and once again getting stuck in heavy or non-moving traffic, I decided fill the Insignai's tank with cheaper diesel. On Sunday it was €1.379 a litre, by Monday it has leapt up by 4 centts. Still cheap enough. When I later entered the figures into Fuelly  we had managed 46.26mpg despite sitting in traffic for hours on Friday. I had high hopes then for this tank as long as the traffic wasn't as horrendous. Claire kept checking google maps and it showed Neill still at the hotel.  Despite warnings from TomTom of heavy traffic it was only near Hoogeveen where the A28 leaves itself...

Sunday, Bloody Sunday. Up early, for a Sunday anyway.  Breakfast in the hotel and then all three of us in the car to the circuit. Neill's Beemer locked up alongside the hotel for the whole weekend. Cars went in the same entrance as the day before. This time the stewards directed us into the parking square (dykes on three sides!!) much nearer to the entrance than Saturday! A shorter walk. There were only a few bikes on the tarmac section. We went through to the uncovered stand nearer the chicane than the day before but although the view was good, we couldn't see the big screen that faces the main grandstand.  So we moved.  We couldn't get as far along as before but that was okay. We had missed the BSB warm-up but were in tome for all the undercard... the same as the day before with the Talent Cup, ADAS KTM's and the Ducati Tri-Options.   On Saturday we had heard some cheering and chanting but didn't realise it was for Keith "Bugsy" Jaggard , a cult figure i...

From the line I sent an email to Eurotunnel customer services to complain about the lack of information and the long wait to get home.  I didn't expect a reply for a few days. On September 28th they emailed. "I am sorry to learn of the difficulties you experienced whilst travelling with our service on the 15th September . From the information you have provided, I regret that I have not been able to locate a ticket booked in your name. In order for us to respond in more detail could you please provide us with the booking reference number of the journey concerned." They couldn't find my name on their booking system for that day? If I was called Smith, then maybe I could accept that..... but I have a rather rare surname - Devall. Once home from Assen I made a screenshot of my booking reference and sent it to them. Result. They replied this morning to offer me a £33 credit note. That's what I paid for this trip, so not quite a staggering refund, but better than nothin...

Once we had got into the circuit and gone through the tunnel into the paddock area we had to decide where to sit to watch the undercard races and the qualifying for the main BSB event. In the end we had a walk around the paddock where the teams are situated.  The sidecars proved a draw as they are easy to chat to without going on the pit lane walk where the BSB teams hide out. We sat in the grandstand almost by the start and finish line.  The undercard had races on both days and the British Talent Cup on Honda 250's proved to be some good racing along with the ADAC Cup (KTM) and the Ducati TriOptions Cup  were pretty entertaining. BSB qualifying was a little disappointing for us with Suzuki concession tickets as both riders, Bradley Ray and Richard Cooper, failed to qualify from the first session and were way down the grid for Sunday in 17th and 15th spot. I had the Nikon with me but the standard lends was very limiting, plus my finger/eye coordination lacked something!...

West Midlands MAG develop vital lines of communication with West Midlands Police. With the ever present issue of motorcycle theft and related crime in the region, West Midlands MAG is pleased to announce that it is developing a formal communications channel between West Midlands Police and the local motorcycling community. Superintendent Rich Youds has stepped forward to act as the single point of contact between the biking community and the police.  Colin Brown, Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, said "This is an important step in the right direction for combatting motorcycle theft in the West Midlands.  There is much that we, MAG, and the wider biking community in the area are doing to try to work in partnership with the force, but these small projects need some structure and co-ordination to yield the best results.  It is vital that we have a single route for communications.  This will not be a day-to-day replacement for 101 or reportin...

Up and out early enough to get a few hours seeing what Assen town has to offer the tourist before goung to the track for the undercard races and then BSB qualifying. But first a couple of pics near the hotel. I took the Nikon with standard lens and for track action it was a little too short in the lens.  The market in Assen has wonderful flowers and even arrangements. I took a few photos... We bought some food for lunch at the track as well. Claire bought some chrysanthemums for €2. And there was cheese..... and loads of it. Everything has changed at the track,  or at least access has. Easier to get in but car parking a fair way from the entrance!! Our team didn't fair well and both Bradley Ray and Richard Cooper failed the qualify from Q3. Took some pix. More to follow when I get to a computer as the phone app is terrible.