InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

This morning was a visit to Specsavers.  It's over a year since I last went where I ended up with computer glasses that might fit in Elton John's collection. I wasn't intending buying glasses but simply wanted my scheduled eye test. The optician did all the checks and decided that my cataract was getting thicker  It affects my right eye and makes it difficult to focus and get my prescription right. She said we should fill in the form and she would refer me to the health authorities. To be honest at the moment it doesn't affect my day to day vision at all, a little blurry on occasions.  With Covid around it could be years before I get seen. 

A freezing cold day. Add into that a strong wind that negated any skillful execution of the ball and it was made to be a game against the elements rather than the other team. Wingate chose to play with the wind in the first half and Invicta needed to keep the ball down as it held up dramatically when pumped up in the air. Once ends changed Folkestone managed the weather better and were 3-0 up in 65 minutes.  Wingate were given a lifeline when they got a penalty. A low ball crossed into the box and an arm struck. Hardly intentional or even avoidable, but penalty. Invicta extended the lead before the final whistle and ended with a second 4-1 of the week against the same opposition. Back to winning ways.

I saw an offer on these and decided as they were half price I'd get a pair ready for next summer when Covid-19 will be all gone and we can ride where we like, when we like. They arrived today. I ordered the XXL size as my hands measured 9.75ins and they are a tight fit. I don't like loose fitting gloves anyway as they tend to stretch a little in use. And now into the cupboard until next year!

Another weekend and another "staycation" drive out. This time to Standen House, another National Trust managed property. This one is special as the finest example of the William Morris' Arts and Crafts movement at the end of the 19th century. The house is as it would have been with the dining room restored to "as is" from from the 1920's. It took a while to get there with the route TomTom decided on. Only 71 miles but it took nearly an hour and a half. Only the ground floor is open as the upstairs isn't wide enough to allow social distancing. As with any property trying to stay open during the pandemic and aftermath, public safety is a top priority. Entry is by pre-booked ticket (booked online) with limited numbers and timed entry. There was a small queue to get into the house itself, controlled by a traffic light system and a one way route around the ground floor. William Morris Arts & Crafts Wallpaper William Morris Arts & Crafts Wallpaper As w...

Dare to dream? "Please note that your refund in the queue now and you shall receive your funds in account with in next 02 weeks. Once again apologies for delay as the number of refunds and cancellation are very high therefore it is taking longer than expected." Two weeks eh?

Ticket bought for the game on Saturday afternoon.  Still under Covid-19 regulations and that means a maximum of 600 in the ground.  The three games I have been to so far have been very well managed. The last game only managed 408 through the gate.  In really nasty blustery wet weather many more wanted to be out the weather and under cover. At Folkestone there are only two covered stands. So this Saturday it will be the FA Cup preliminary round and a good chance for Invicta to move into the next round. Chatham Town are a couple of levels on the English pyramid lower than Invicta.

Since Summer 2016 I have had one of these tags fitted in the car.   What does it do? It's not quite magic!  But it does mean that as you approach one of the toll barriers on a French motorway you no longer have to stop and queue, and then fiddle for change or a credit card.  Simply slow down and approach the barrier and wait for the "beep" or the light to go green and the barrier to go up.   Of course it's not free. There is an annual charge for having it and then there are the tolls you incur as you drive around. I have used it more often in the car, however I have tried it a few times on the bike. I was sceptical how it would know the difference between a car, charged at one tariff, and a motorcycle, charged at a much lower one. On asking, they said it would know. Approach the barrier slowly as you would in a car and the barrier goes up. They suggest that you login to your account later and check that it got it right!  That doesn't actually fill me w...

After my internet trawls on comparison sites I dropped Carole Nash, who currently insure the Rocket, an email to see what they say. Currently my policy includes only the Rocket and it is amendable to have more than one bike. So when the Kettle returns from Dr Phil then I can insure it on the current policy.  After all I can only ride one at once.

Going through a drawer I came across a slide in an envelope.  Half a lifetime or more ago! Corfu - Summer 1982 I think he might be somewhere inside me but a miracle for him to get out.

COVID-19 Motorcycle Riding Guidelines reviewed for  compliance with the ‘Rule of Six’. Review keeps the guidelines up to date with evolving legislation In light of the new ‘Rule of Six’ regulations, the Coalition of Motorcycling Organisations (CMO) has reviewed its COVID-19 Riding Guidelines.  Only minor amendments were necessary to ensure that the  guidelines meet not only the moral goal of staying safe, but also remain within legislation and the spirit and intended outcomes of the law. The Coalition has removed references to groups of 30, and now refers to groups of six in alignment with the new restrictions.  Richard Gladman (IAM) and Roger Bibbings (VMCC) have checked the changes to legislation  and advice issued by the Government over this recent period of announcements, and the Coalition is happy that the revised edition is fully compliant with the letter and intent of all laws and guidelines. Commenting on behalf of Coalition members, Mario Costa-Sa, Chai...

Maybe as there is very little travel on this blog nowadays and even less to do with motorcycling it is time to think of a new name? I suppose had I kept everything in one place then we might have got away with it and had one huge repository for the stuff I churn out. Motorcycling stuff is added to blogs specifically for each bike.  This started in 2013 when I sold the BMW and bought the Explorer. Dora had (and still has) her own blogspot.  That continued when I swapped her for the Rocket III. I do however still share stuff from the Motorcycle Action Group here. As an "activist" I share their press releases as the audience here may well be different to that MAG reaches on their own social media and web pages. Travel not on a motorcycle also has its own repository, like the above it is are linked on the right of the screen, along with my brothers blogs. ----------------------> So what name to re-badge this blog with? Let's see who is actually reading this!...

I bought this last week. Not because I like the idea of vacumming the house, but because it's one of the jobs I do about the house. I was getting increasingly frustrated with the Dyson.  Too heavy to do the stairs. A filter system using a little finger-bandage that clogs up every other time it is used rendering it a suck-free cleaner. So with some vouchers from my long service award at work still to use before the end of the year I used some to get this from Argos. So far very impressed.  It has enough power to clean everywhere and the battery on the lowest setting lasts about 30 to 40 minutes.  With the power booster on it drops to about 15. It comes with three tools and the pet hair scraper one is excellent and revealing that the alleged pet hair removing Dyson is once again lacking. Time of course will tell on how good this is but if it lives up to the reviews on Argos's site then we'll be happy.

After what seems a lifetime but maybe a little less, the toaster finally gave up.  Dead as the dodo of ages past.  It has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. It was a dead toaster. Enter stage left, £250 worth of vouchers presented to me after 23 years long service with my current employer.  It should have been 20 years but getting management to move more quickly than a creeping glacier was nigh on impossible. So £50 went to buy this fine example of toaster.  So far we have had it three weeks and used it a few times. It works. It toasts bread and currently that is an improvement on the dead one. So far it was done what it says and depending on the dampness/freshness of the bread the browning controls needs careful attention. Time will tell.

I have signed up to do the Poppy Run to raise money  for the British  Legion Poppy Appeal. I won't be running. I will however be walking. I will try and walk in excess of 100 miles between October 1st and November 10th 2020. I will use the Huawei Health app to keep a record of the distances. There is a weekly and monthly tally based on calendar months. I will keep everyone appraised. Please sponsor me .  If everyone that knows me pledges a quid then I will easily meet my goal. https://tinyurl.com/y53pu7p9  

The government have made even more changes to what we can and what we can't do during  the Covid-19 pandemic but it seems at the moment that we can still go to football matches as long as we are socially distanced. The big clubs in the Premier League (EPL) and and English Football League (EFL) - the top 4 in the pyramid - are still closed to having fans in their grounds.  Last weekend some EFL clubs did a pilot scheme to see if it would be okay to re-admit the paying public.  The curiosity is that the cleverly  named National League (the old Conference!) have a foot in both camps and can have  supporters attending..... but only as a pilot despite being non-league! Last weekend Invicta hosted Worthing and the entry was restricted to 600.  I think the official  numbers were something like 518 in the end.  I like to sit down for games, on a seat, not on the terracing and when I got there at about half an hour before kick off there was plenty of roo...

If only this had popped up earlier in the year!  A chance to save 40% on the Kindle books that I have been buying to see me through the long days of Pandemic Lockdown. " Because you follow Lee Child,  receive a 40%  credit on each of these select Kindle books up to a maximum benefit of £6 per book. Your credits have been automatically applied to your account. Any unused credits will expire  10 days  after it was applied to your account." Used it to save a tenner.....

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has accepted an invitation from the Department for Transport (DfT) to join the Road Safety Delivery Group (RSDG).  Officials offered the invitation at a meeting between MAG and the DfT. MAG has secured meetings with the DfT as a result of concerns regarding an apparent lack of consideration for motorcyclists.  Following discussions across the series of meetings, officials suggested MAG's inclusion in the RSDG. The RSDG provides a forum for key road safety stakeholders to share knowledge and experience.  The Group aims to reduce the numbers of people that are killed or injured on British roads. Pauline Reeves, Deputy Director, Road User Licensing, Insurance and Safety, wrote in the invitation letter: 'As a leading road safety stakeholder and representative of one of the vulnerable road user groups we believe that you will provide a valuable contribution to RSDG.' MAG Chair, Selina Lavender commented: 'I am delighted that the DfT recognis...

Amazing! This is a Mickey Mouse cup that in an effort to lose fans they have allowed Premier League and Championship U21 teams to take part. Ideally it should be for the L1 & L2 clubs to at least have the chance of a sniff of a Wembley final and some silverware in their cabinets.  Instead, they managed to alienate most of the support and had these Academy and U21 sides in it. Oldham finally found the net.

Worth Dying For by Lee Child My rating: 4 of 5 stars Reacher the one man army. Escapism. And another wrong righted. View all my reviews

Rebuilt by Barry Wilkes. He has even refitted the little black plastic cover on the choke lever!!! 😁

Second match of the season for both clubs. Again no spectators allowed in the stadiums and so we are watching on TV instead. 1-1 at half time. Lacazette for Arsenal and Antonio for them on the stroke of half time.  In the second half it looked increasingly like West Ham would win it as they took control. But Arsenal had to dig deep. Nketiah on for Lacazette was on hand to stay inside and score after being setup by Ceballos. A lot of the "phew factor" for Arsenal fans.

Glad I didn't go. Glad the football is played behind closed doors. After last week losing at home to Leyton Orient this was even worse.  In US parlance Latics are 0-2 for the season. Luckily Southend United and Grimsby Town are even worse and are below them in the table. Although they might have played better teams and lost... So far two games played. No goals scored and 4 conceded. Relegation form from the start.

First game of the season in the Isthmian Premier League. Good start by Invicta and a chance well saved in the first minute.  The game pretty even from then with Invicta actually having the better chances and the ball in the net, but the flag was up. Then on 43 minutes Worthing with what was arguably their first dangerous ball took the lead to go in 1-0 at half time. Second half was much the same. Worthing went 2-0 up from a corner. There seemed to be a crowd around the goalkeeper but unlike big league football the referee did nothing and the goal was awarded. Invicta continued to attack and pulled one back. Worthing players disputed every tackle and every whistle blown. And time wasting should have seen a lot of extra time added but the referee let them off. So a ref assisted 2-1 to Worthing.   Probably over the 90 minutes Worthing edged it. http://www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk/news/3198

61 Hours by Lee Child My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another good read. I had guessed "who was coming" but it was still a surprise in the end. After so much build up I though the denouement was a bit quick. I haven't read any other reviews as I find it a bit tedious. Lee Child and Reacher are what they are, pulp fiction and a good read. I don't need the psychobabble or pseudo-intellectual cobblers to decide whether i will or will not read a book. :) View all my reviews

A chance to advance into the 3rd Round and play a Premier League side, but another step too far for Oldham. Another tie against a fellow League 2 struggler from last season and ... Another 1-0 defeat. The euphoria of the 3-0 first round win evaporating with every game. Won't be long before the "fold the club" clowns are out on social media.

The Arsenal starting the new season away at Craven Cottage against newly promoted Fulham. Fulham relegated down to the Championship back in May 2019 and back via the play off final after only one season in the second tier. Things looked pretty even for a while until a little scramble in the Fulham penalty area led to the ball popping out to Lacazette.   The keeper stopped a point blank prod shot from Willian before Lacazette scored the first goal of the new season in England. Second half goals from debutant Gabriel from a corner and then a superb third goal. Playing out from the back, the ball one touch and flipping about, Willian, also a debutant, long cross field ball to Aubameyang, who cut in front the left before firing a shot into the top corner of the goal. Class. A good start to the season at last.   

After the pre-season we had at Oldham, hopes were high that after that and the beating last week of Carlisle that I would transfer to the league. Sadly it didn't and another 89th minute goal saw Leyton Orient win today. https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/2020/september/12092020-leyton-orient-match-report/

Milton under Wychwood for John's funeral

Today we are at Scotney Castle. When you can't go anywhere as there is still Covid-19 everywhere or if you go you quarantine for 14 days when you return, staycation is the only option. For us. Stay at home and venture out to places for day trips. Staycation has extended now to mean staying in your own country not just at home. The castle is about an hour's drive from home and we had booked entry time of 1130. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scotney-castle

Finally we got around to building the second one. Same MO. Build in back garden. Carry complete to front garden. Fill with top soil. From the lessons learned on the last one I bought an electric screwdriver.  When we drilled into the 2x2 upright we drilled deeper to give the wood screw more chance of getting in. Oddly it still took about the same time to build. This time we used 15 25 litre top soil bags and a 40 litre bag of soil enhancer. Still bloody heavy.

Refurbished by Phil with the kits I included in the box of buts. Looking really good after repainting.

"What a great weekend, thank you!" Despite current concerns over Coronavirus and appalling August weather,   last weekend saw the Yorkshire Pudding Rally go ahead without incident. The Yorkshire Pudding Rally, held at Escrick Estate near Selby,  traditionally takes place on the first weekend in August but, due to  Covid-19 restrictions, which have decimated this year’s biking calendar,  the event had to be rescheduled to August Bank Holiday weekend. Before organisers could confirm the new dates, they worked closely with  all relevant authorities to ensure that they had a plan to make sure  riders would have a rally to attend this summer. Authorities satisfied and risk assessments inspected with a fine-tooth  comb, the weather then did its best to scupper proceedings! Weather  reports predicted the lowest August Bank Holiday temperatures on record,  and throughout build-up and rider arrival, there was heavy rain and  strong winds. Over a ...

With the league starting late and it already international week (FFS) the lower leagues are playing in the Carabao Cup. Drawn at home against Carlisle United, also a League Two side. The naysayers and w*nkers that always whinge were saying we'd lose. Hopefully they are picking themselves off the floor. We won 3-0. A week off from "fold the club" tweets. By all accounts the new manager, Harry Kewell, has assembled a mostly loan squad for the season, and this year we have decent loans to go with the lads coming through.

With social distancing only 300 allowed in and we were well spaced out. On paper Invicta should beat Ashford simply by merit of their league levels. In the end it was pretty even although Invicta wasted several excellent chances to go ahead. They scored first and then on 24 minutes the referee showed the red card to Ashford's #5.  But rather than spoiling the game immediately Ashford scored to go in 1-1 at half time. In the second half the difference in class and numbers began to show and Invicta ran out 6-1 winners. A good afternoon for a fiver.

Speaks for itself.

L ocal MAG representatives deliver results in Rye, as proposals to close   Strand Quay to motorcycles have been dismissed. Strand Quay is a well-established gathering place for motorcycle riders  enjoying the local roads around Rye and visiting the Sussex town.  Steve   Mallett, MAG’s South East Regional Representative, engaged the town   council and residents with the aim of ensuring that the views of   legitimate riders were represented in discussions. Easing of lockdown restrictions has seen bikers getting out and  re-discovering their passion for riding.  But meanwhile, in many places,   new complaints about noise and speeding have increased, and this now   familiar pattern has been emerging in Rye.  The overwhelming majority of   motorcyclists ride legally and responsibly, but unfortunately a minority   choose to act in a way that leads to complaints. MAG points out that noise and speeding are not only an issue with...

When we took the Kettle to Phil's I was expecting to lay out a fair chunk of cash to get it back on the road as a runner.  I wasn't expecting it to be a show winner as I didn't have the budget for "better then new" shiny. But as we chatted in his air conditioned workshop it became clear that engine out, fix, back in wasn't going to cut the mustard. As well as the obvious jobs like the throttle grip and cables, the front master cylinder and calipers to rebuild, I supplied the part for these, there were other jobs. You will have seen them from photos in previous posts from myself and photos that Phil has supplied in the course of the strip down. Why do one wheel when you can do both?  The exhausts rusted to buggery?   Then jobs that I hadn't thought of - the clocks could do with a refurb..... The strip down has revealed even more problems and another list of parts. I have ordered them all! At least between then MasterCard and PayPal make it so easy to spend ...

Not looking too bad from this distance!  A blog I started ages ago (actually in 2015 and renamed!) and then let fall by the wayside. A bit like the bike itself. Since last year I have dusted it off and have begun to update it as and when things happen.  Everything is now coming this and fast and posts are almost every day.   Keep an eye on it and see how between my wallet and Dr Phil's skills, the bike is coming together. https://projectkettlerenaissance.blogspot.com/

A late edition to the parts list. Airbox seals. The marvel of Paypal and MasterCard. So easy to spend money.  All I have to do now is work and earn it! 

It was August 1992. I was about to start work at the gymnázium in Zastávka. It was my last big ride for the year. Once working I would have early starts and finish too late on weekdays to get away. My partner Audrey had come with me. She was on her GSX750ES.  We decided to have a ride into Slovakia. Looking through the international youth hostel guide book we saw there was one up a dead end valley in Jasná. We were staying in the youth building near the school. I locked the trailer inside and we set off early. On the map it was about 250 miles. The Kettle uses far more petrol than the GSX!  I should have filled up before we left Brno. The plan was basically to head east. Stop for a fill up in Trenčín and then head across to Martin and then to Jasná  By the time we got to Trenčín I was running on fumes. Usually in those days, as there was a shortage of private vehicles, there was a corresponding shortage of fuel stops, but usually they were pretty well signposted. Not in T...

The Mars Moto was held not by Martians but by the Moto clubs forned for/by employees of the Mars company - best known for the chocolate bar of the same name. Also Galaxy and Milky Way.... My mate Tony was coming from UK and brought a pillion with him. I was still living in Zastávka in the Czech Republic with Kettle as my main transport. As Austria was considered too expensive they had the accommodation across the border in Sopron in Hungary. Ať this time Hungary hadn't joined the EU so there was a hard border - one where passports had to be shown. It was the same getting out of the Czech border at Mikulov. As I didn't work for Mars I had to pretend I had done, not that anyone even asked, and share a room with Tony and his mate. I got the put-u-up bed. Friday evening we had coaches into Austria for a BBQ. It was strange to share the BBQ site with lots of Austrian border police looking for illegals climbing the border fences. . On the way one of the guys on our bus sang The Marse...