¡InvictaMoto!

I have several of these apps and none come up with the same results.......

My last game before we fly away on holiday.  Whilst we are away I will miss just one home game and that is the Europa League match-up with Napoli. Photo taken on new Honor 9 Lite Update. Won 2-0 to move into third place in the league, above Tottingham and Manchester United.  Still need to keep winning games and hoping they drop points.

Looks like I will miss this one again.  The changes to our flights back from the US mean that I can't get up there.  A PITA but that's something to accept. I should be able to get to the Dover Classic Bike day on May 12th though. The Meldrews go there in any case and the local R3 boys will have a meet and greet there.  Two birds with one stone. Update - Easter Sunday Jetlag. After 33 hours awake I was dead to the world until after 11am. So. No Ace Day for me.

Another blog from my brother Neill -   https://ndtea.blogspot.com/ I'll add it to my "Devall Blogs" link ------------------------->

With everything sorted all we can hope for is good health (!) and of course the usual rate checking to get the most number of the mighty US dollars for our weakened pound sterling. Currently the tourist rate is shave under $1.29 and I have ordered around £250 worth. Collect Saturday. The dollars are usually nice and new when I get them.  I immediately fold them into my foreign currency wallet and that newness is gone. We generally use the Halifax Bank Clarity credit card when we are away as it is one of the few UK MasterCard offering from the banks that has no added charges for using it outside the UK.  These can mount up. We have used it before in the US and last year in Norway and France. My day to day MasterCard from Tesco Bank earns points for using it and any purchase at their stores.  The points are useful as you can spend them to "buy" things, like ferry and Eurotunnel crossings. But they charge a transaction charge plus a commission (currently 2.5%)  every ti...

The phone arrived on Friday about 4pm.  Reggie as usual greeted the postman with his usual furore and loud barking.  Once in the house he managed to grab the box and puncture two holes in it. Luckily the Honor box with phone and accessories was undamaged.    Once home I opened the box and the phone looks good. From looking at it you would never place it in the budget category. it is blue but not a vivid as it looked on the computer screen. It came with 56% charge and so I hooked it up and began to set it up. The nano SIM and Micro SD card from the S5 fitted in very easily and we were off.  All the screens are Huewei labelled. It took about 15 minutes to set up and then it asked me to install some software on the old phone to copy apps and data across.  That took about 20 minutes. The S5 was turned off and joined my collection of worthless old phones in a drawer. I have an iPhone 3S in there too....Perfect condition. As f...

Another Sunday and another Meldrews Sunday breakfast. This time we were meeting further north to give the more northerly members a shorter ride. So it was the turn of Gibson's Farm Shop.  It's only about twenty miles for me. The countryside through Sene Valley and Elham Valley is rolling downs dotted with sheep and vineyards on the south facing slopes  The downs here are chalk just like the famous Champagne hills to the south in France. Sadly the sun brings out all kinds of pests. The biggest is cyclistese lycracladious.  They can be found either individually or most commonly in large groups. And it is these that annoy everyone, whether in a car or riding a motorcycle. The arrogance level is through the roof. It's almost impossible to measure but it is evident as soon as you close on them. That aside. The weather was warm and sunny and with us now officially in Spring riding is so much better. Breakfast and chat over it was time to get back home. Almost the same route bac...

I have been looking at places to go when we are in Orlando and Weston.  Neither of us are great theme park lovers so Orlando might not be the greatest choice for us to vacation! But, there are other things. We go for the R&R and the weather.  Early April at home will be showery and maybe around 12°C and the projected temps are 27°C in Florida.  Unlike last time when we went in the wake of the hurricanes and it was wert a lot of the time. I have been busy looking at non-theme park things to do and mapping them in MyRouteApp.  I have the US maps as well as Europe in the TomTom and that will go with me as hand luggage. So far I have a few botanical gardens and of course Gatorland mapped and primed.  Once there we can se what else we want to see/do. From Weston we have some old favourites to check out plus a trip to the Keys for an overnight.  Hotels are arm and leg expensive but we have one with good reviews in Marathon.  Only 15 days from now we will...

Whilst I have gone back to using the Galaxy S5 for a week or so I have also been looking at reviews for budget smartphones.  All I use the phone for is internet browsing (news. football scores etc), info on places to visit and what's there, the usual stuff, plus Google maps, Social Media and of course Blogger!   With the S6 being sealed and playing up again with charging and the sudden loss of battery - how many phones with no apps running go from 85% to 0% in a few hours - and the battery inaccessible, I went back to the old (worthless!) S5.   It is a revelation after the S6.  Much slower to charge, quite slow to open apps but a positive side is that it has a memory enhancing micro SD card slot.  Standing in Starbuck's waiting for the app to open is embarrassing when everyone is held up behind or you are blocking one till waiting for the payment page to open!!!   Yes, I know. First world problems! I googled for the top rated...

This Saturday, 23rd March 2019, MAG Chair, Selina Lavender, is holding an open house event in a bid to attract new MAG Reps. If you live in the East of England, this is your opportunity to visit the Chair for a cuppa and find out more. Selina's throwing open the doors of her home near March, Cambridgeshire from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm… and the kettle will be on. Selina says 'We are always open to enquiries from members who are interested in becoming Reps, whether at a local or regional level. This event is a way of allowing people to find out more in a friendly, informal setting. At present in the East, we are short of Regional Reps and Local meetings so I thought we'd give something different a try. ' If you wish to attend please text Selina on 07870 792227 for her address, and include your name. Reps are an important part of MAG's communication chain. They hold regular meetings, and feed information from members into the National Committee ...

The knock-on effect of us arriving nearly two hours later into UK means that we have a problem collecting the dog from the kennel.  Reggie does like his holiday away at Wyncot Kennels but they close at 5pm and we don't land at Heathrow until 3.05pm.   With the passport controls and customs, getting the car and driving 100 miles home we have no chance of collecting him before 5pm! They are closed Sunday/Monday as it is Easter and so we will have to leave him there an extra two days. It will cost an extra £30 or so, but the problem is getting time off work on Tuesday.  So we have "reached out" to Mark the Dog Walker to see if he can collect him for us before 5pm and drop him home. It might cost us but I'd rather have Reggie home. Fingers crossed. Update 20/03/19 All sorted. Mark to collect him for us. posted from Bloggeroid

It seems so long ago since I had an update and so I sent Messenger note across to Elsemade to see where I am in the queue. I am now 19th instead of 33rd. Hopefully it will be ready before summer in time for Claire to get some miles on it before we head off the France in August. Update 9th April Upto 8th.

The Motorcycle Action Group is asking bikers to help the road safety team at RoSPA by completing a survey as part of on-going research to  evaluate its videos giving advice on group motorcycle rides. RoSPA recently published a series of video clips for those who are not so experienced at organising a group ride. The videos offer advice to  help riders ensure maximum safety and enjoyment – while avoiding common pitfalls. The video clips feature Kevin Bryan, a motorcycle trainer with more than 28 years’ experience, who shares his knowledge of organising group rides. He covers planning, staying safe while group riding and other motorists’ behaviour. Lembit Öpik, Director of Communications & Public Affairs for MAG, says, ‘these videos are interesting in their own right. You’ll enjoy them. And  what’s really important here is that more experienced riders can help make the videos even better by sharing feedback on the cont...

Tomorrow evening. Arsenal return to the Europa League after the superb win against Manchester United on Sunday.   After last week's game where we lost 3-1 to Rennes in France, we need to play as well as we did on Sunday against the Mancs to overcome that defeat. Technically, we only need to win 2-0 for the away goal rule to apply and we go through. It will hardly be setting the world alight and there are quite a few "big beasts" left in it to meet in future rounds. Let's see how tomorrow pans out. UPDATE 15/04/2019 The Rennes supporters arrived in large numbers and with as many flares as they copuld smuggle into the ground.  This is illegal here so I guess they have capacious arseholes to stuff them up.

Plugged the unit in to do some tidying up of routes etc and it asked to do an upgrade.  It has the Europe mapping on the unit itself and the USA on the additional micro-USB card. Over two hours to download and install. I hope BT can maintain an internet connection for that long. It's something they never have managed before. So once the two hours was up, I checked and it had the little upgrade to do for people's own updates. I must work out how to make changes to maps like this as I often come across speed limits that are wrong, not just temporary but where the local council has changed them. Around this part of Kent it is an epidemic. Once that was over I checked the routes by clicking on My Routes on the unit. None.  Not one. Whaaat? A moment of panic and a few choice words and I did the IT Crowd favourite of re-booting.  Et voila! My Routes are all there including the pre-loaded European routes of interest that came with the unit. I wanted to m...

A popular question at the moment - " How will Brexit affect my holiday to Europe ?" The answer is in fact "No one knows".  There is so much conjecture.  Given that British holidaymakers spend some ridiculous amount of Euros in (fellow) EU countries every year, it does seem amazing that both sides can't agree that we carry on as usual.  Whether we are EU members or not, both sets of economies rely on temporary movement being easy for tourism to flourish. I saw that in Spain alone they expect around 19 million UK visitors a year. I guess all the 19 million spend a few euros on food and drink as well as the hotels/campsites the 19 million stay in? So it doesn't make sense to make it difficult for people to move.... But hey.  This is vested interest Governments at work.

So that's it.  Twenty-three days to go.  The car-hire fully paid up now after a few hiccups with the automatic (or not!) collection from Rentalcars. What's next?  I have a love hate relationship with Walmart.  But, they do have decent Fruit of the Loom underwear that we can't get over here in the UK. And other stuff by Wrangler that is also unobtanium here. So packing?  We always over pack.  Maybe this year take less and bring less home unused.

Everyone loves a pie. Thanks to my brother, Neill, for taking a pic of these in a shop....

Train problems. High winds. Travel problems. Many of us would have taken a draw before the game given our weaknesses against United. Even when United are at their worst we manage to lose. Not today. Some luck ridden but Leno in goal made saves that usually is what De Gea does for United to save them in so many games. A Xhaka shot swirled past De Gea for 1-0 and then Fred pushed over Lacazette and Aubameyang scored from the penalty. Unusual for us to get one against United. 2-0

Today was fitting day. After a few days of unseasonably warm and dry weather, it turned a little damp and colder. Luckily it stayed dry and with Claire bringing the tyre in the car I took the motorway route. Amazingly, the amount of mud around the new junction wors  on the M20 and the road down to Kingsnorth covered a once clean under carriage.  Once fitted I had a ride back. Luckily Pepé didn't need the dbPower to start at Laguna as he did first thing in the morning.  With "miles to empty" showing 23 miles I decided to drip into Tesco just up the road.  The fuel station was packed with three or four cars queuing for each row of pumps. I rode through and off to the M20 home. With the gauge telling me in about three miles that the 23 had become 0 I decided to fill up. I went along the coast to Seabrook and filled up. Nought to empty meant I could only get a fraction over 17 litres into the 24 litre tank. The first fill up since October! And a pissy 36 mpg. Lovely. The...

https://invictamoto.blogspot.com/2019/03/triumph-owners-mcc-east-kent.html

A year ago this week was the inaugural meeting of the East Kent branch of the Triumph Owners.  I went and was the only person on a bike. It was freezing by the time I arrived and even colder when I left a short time later.  The turnout was very good considering the weather. It was also the last time I went!  Meetings are quarterly!   So I went the month after and was there with a load of bikers but not the TOMCC. Doh!  It starts a little early for me and so often by the time I get home, from work,  it is way too late to bother getting the bike out and going up there.  Go by car? Wash your mouth out. The Drum PH hosts another bike club on a Tuesday and that is of the vintage variety. So tonight,. March 5th, is the first official club night of the year and hopefully I can make it.  The guys running it have put in a lot of effort and there is a proper committee and each meeting has an agenda of topics to dis...

Going back through some holiday photos from trips to the US and Florida I came across this photo. I love this statue. It's in Sarasota by the harbour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconditional_Surrender_(sculpture)

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has asked London authorities to allow time with bikers to prevent an angry, administratively nightmarish chaos over ULEZ charges for motorcycles. MAG met with former Chair of the Transport Committee on the Greater London Authority, Keith Prince AM, at London’s City Hall to seek a postponement for motorcycles from the ULEZ pollution charges for older motorbikes. This was supplemented by a formal letter to the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, requesting the postponement.   Reasons identified for the postponement of the charges include: •      The Mayor and TfL haven’t yet grasped issues relating to the introduction of the ULEZ charge for older bikes. This means eleventh-hour panic could lead to ill-considered, knee jerk decisions from bikers and also from policy makers. •      Postponing ULEZ on motorcycles has a tiny impact on emissions. By TfL’s own figures fewer than 4,000 bikes will be non-compliant with...

Yesterday we had a run up to London by train to see the Colombian Orchids at Kew Gardens. It was a fine day and with rain forecast in the vanguard of Storm Freya we took waterproofs. In addition I gave the 1100D an outing. A 2 for 1 offer meant we got in a little cheaper. The queue for the Princess of Wales conservatory was over an hour and the orchids were superb. And on Flickr.

This year will my 8th in 10 years. I missed 2015 as I had a heart attack and 2016 as it clashed with the centenary of the Battle of the Somme Remembrance Memorial  and we were in France.

Reports were flying around parts of the press and social media yesterday of a new EU ruling meaning on-board restricting computers will be fitted to all new motorcycles to stop them speeding.  The reports were not accurate. We immediately contacted our friends at the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA), the European riders' rights organisation.  FEMA General Secretary, Dolf Willigers, confirmed that he had seen a number of reports in the British press that were "just not right". Dolf went on to explain: "The parliamentary committee on Internal Market and Consumer Affairs (IMCO) has adopted a revised version of the General Safety Regulation. The scope of the regulation are M and N category vehicles, not L-category vehicles (motorcycles are category L3e vehicles). The draft regulation talks of an assistance system that cannot be turned off, but the IMCO adapted report states that the driver can always switch the sys...