As if a week’s worth of constant rain was not portentous enough, the omens got worse yesterday.  When I read the news, I thought I might just have to give up marketing, acquire a sandwich board, take to the streets and start preaching to passing folk about the “end times”.

Why? Well, Boris Johnson was miles ahead in the initial voting round for the next PM. His 114 votes compared to Hunt, 43 and Gove, 34 (I digress a moment - it can’t just be me that would love to know if the cocaine taking had a positive or negative affect on his score).

With such a healthy advantage, it means we all have to contemplate the prospect of Boris actually winning the top job.

He lied to us all about Brexit, then walked away from the job of making it happen. More recently, his views on getting Brexit through in time, challenged by his own party from a practical/legislative perspective. In my book, all that makes him a liability, but it seems that the Tories disagree. God help us was my initial response … but a general election might have to be our saviour instead.

Because, I am struggling to imagine a world with Trump, Putin and Johnson in charge – the unholy trinity completed and surely Armageddon marching closer.

Tut, tut!

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

In this motorcycling post, I’ll admit to being a fair-weather rider. It’s a term of abuse that more hardcore bikers apply to those that only want to ride in the sunshine, it’s like a north/south divide in the biker fraternity.

In my defence, I have ridden a significant number of miles in the pouring rain. Here are a few of the more notable instances; my first ever, post-CBT, solo ride saw me soaked through to the skin and shivering. I took my Mod 1 test in the pouring rain and then a few weeks later took my Mod 2 in a downpour Noah would have contemplated re-floating his ark for.

I do own wet weather riding gear (which keeps my body dry) but my leather gloves and boots will eventually let the water through. When I took my Mod 2, my gloves were so wet they dyed my hands black, and my boots were so wet that I had plastic bags on my feet inside them. The things took days to dry afterwards.

I’ll ride in the rain when I have to, but it’s not pleasurable and there comes a point where it’s just uncomfortable. And let’s face it, with reduced visibility and reduced road surface grip, it’s riskier – so why would you ride if you can drive a car instead? If you opt to ride, when you’ve completed your journey, your bike needs a jolly good clean or you risk it going rusty (Kawasaki doesn’t have the best reputation for the quality/micron thickness of its surface plating).

The admissions that precede this paragraph have been made because this Saturday saw the Daventry Motorcycle Festival take place and, to be frank, the weather was awful. I had planned to join the ride in, but decided against it at the last minute. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one that made that call.   

Regular readers will know that I am a staunch advocate of the festival (other event review links below); the rain affected the turnout more than I have ever seen it impacted before. In 2015 it rained, but that year’s attendance wasn’t anywhere near so low.

The ride in on Saturday saw only a handful of bikes arrive, there were so few that many of my fellow observers were left wondering if there was a problem and that the rest of the expected convoy had been held up.

For the organisers, it must have been the worst nightmare, all the arrangements were made weeks in advance, all the work had already been done, all the resources to manage a large-scale event were marshalled, the road closures were in place … and yet the number of machines on display was depressingly low.    

I didn’t take my bike and therefore accept some personal responsibility for the low show, I did however make the effort to go to the event and show some support to those that had invested so much time to make it happen.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed in 2020.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Midlife crisis? ... Sort of 

 Previous Daventry Motorcycle Festival articles
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012​

This weekend’s press saw the feverish coverage of Michael Gove’s cocaine taking exploits. Personally, I was amused by the two-decade old revelations, but really not that bothered. Part of me assumed that it was his competitors trying to scupper Gove’s PM aspirations, but another wondered if he was trying to make himself look a bit less dull by admitting to illegal activity. To be frank, who cares? Either way, I’d rather May stayed in power than see Gove start squatting in No.10 (though admittedly, his parties might be better).

Maybe Gove was going to be outed as a user/abuser and decided to take back control of his agenda. One thing is certain, there will be teachers everywhere delighted that they were right and that he has been publicly exposed as the arse they always knew he was.

Whilst Gove took drugs many years ago, someone else certainly appeared to be on something this weekend … and every bit as much of an arse. Sebastian Vettel’s petulance at losing the Canadian grand prix to Lewis Hamilton will go down in F1’s comedic history.

Vettel, under pressure from Hamilton, lost control of his car … again … and in trying to keep his lead, ran back on to the track from the grass and ran the risk of ramming Lewis into the wall. In doing so, Vettel earned himself a five second penalty and then he lost his temper … again.  

Vettel ranted on the radio, refused to park his car in Parc Ferme (PF), marched through the Mercedes garage, moved Hamilton’s PF number 1 marker, huffed and puffed in the post-race room, walked away from media interviews and at all times bitterly complained about the penalty.

The media furore was all focused on the penalty but, in reality, what caused the whole silly circus was Vettel making another unforced mistake. Another reality is this - he may be a four-time world champion, but he is not of Lewis’ quality.

Gove may have taken drugs in the past but Vettel behaved like he had popped something mind altering in Canada. What an idiot, I hope that he is as embarrassed as Gove has been when he reflects upon it later.

Blog Home
Blog library
Home

For the first time, I have been paying close attention to the Isle of Man TT. In the run up to, and since, acquiring my full motorcycle licence, I have been interested in watching or reading anything that helps me improve my skills, or learn more about the art of motorcycle riding.

As an activist learner, not normally disposed to too much “theory”, the desire to get into the books has been interesting for me to reflect on. My usual approach would be more “let me at it” than “let me think about it”.

In the preparation process for taking Mods 1&2, I read (among other things);

• The DVSA Guide to Riding: the essential skills
• Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook to Better Motorcycling and
• Twist of the Wrist 2 by Keith Code

The last of the reads above is very relevant to this post because it covers a lot about motorcycle racing, something that feels very much beyond my abilities. In watching the TT, I am fascinated by, and more than a little in awe of, the riders that can lean their bikes so low and consistently ride faster (a lot…) than I have ever ridden my Kawasaki at all. Overwhelming evidence that I still have so much to learn!

I am new to the two-wheel game but I haven’t yet encountered a road-based situation where I’d be prepared to ride my bike faster than I’d drive my car. In fact, around the bends and the country lanes, I ride my bike a lot slower than I’d drive the car.

With regards to leaning the bike over to the point of my knees being on the tarmac – I’d be too scared to even try. And then there’s shifting your weight to bring it upright again. I am certain I’d drop the bike and hurt myself. I guess I’ll need some specialist tuition at a track before I have a hope of getting it.  

Watching the TT competitors doing all this at breakneck speed and even keeping control of their machines as they have their front wheels off the ground, go completely airborne or negotiate their way around other riders, is truly impressive. 

The 37-mile course is exciting and visually interesting, but crammed full of dangers to the riders. I live in a village with roads not unlike some of those on the course and I can hardly comprehend navigating them at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The TT riders are brave beyond belief if you ask me - I have found myself nervous just looking.  I have watched some track racing on the television and whilst it has been interesting, it is dull in comparison to the road racing.  

The TT course is acknowledged as being dangerous and Daley Mathison died this year to add his name to the toll of previous deaths. I have read about the Dunlop family’s losses at the TT and it makes me wonder why so many racers take the risks – the TV commentators have stated that riders have to pretty much run flat out at all times to have any hope of winning. At the speeds, it really doesn’t take much going wrong to become a fatality.

But part of me gets the thrill, or at least I can relate to some elements of it.  Getting on two wheels has been the best thing I have done for myself in years. I didn’t do it for the wife, the kids or my parents … it was all just for me. I love riding even at sensible speeds on a sensible bike and I guess for those that are capable racers, there’s no better test of skill than the TT. It must be addictive and the danger part of the addiction.

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home 

I have been watching the drama “Chernobyl” on Sky Atlantic and it is so good that I thought I would promote the series on my website. Regular readers will know that nuclear power and nuclear weapons are subjects that bother me greatly and, over the years, there have been numerous posts on the topics – see some links below.

Telling the story of the 1986 nuclear power station explosion from the perspectives of those dealing with the aftermath, “Chernobyl” is terrifying, bleak, brutal and brilliant.

Whilst it is a dramatization, the writers and producers haven’t gone all “Marvel” in terms of the central characters (no superheroes or villains) they are instead portrayed as ordinary people with terrible decisions to make.

The cast list is decent and the actor performances, excellent.

The five-part story is an unrelenting, roller-coaster-ride of reaction to one challenge after another and tells of denial, misinformation, misunderstanding, Soviet political machinations and then the dawning realisation that the disaster had genuinely apocalyptic implications. Whilst the explosion of the power plant was catastrophic enough, it could have been so much worse without the selfless actions of so many people that surrendered, or seriously shortened, their lives to improve the outcomes for others.

At one point the viewer is shared the details of the significant threat of a thermonuclear explosion that if not addressed would cause devastation across swathes of Europe. The solution, 48 hours to drain some under reactor water tanks by hand. The personnel selected to do this surely dead men walking.

Another illustration, in episode four there is a scene where graphite from the reactor core is emitting so much radiation from the roof of the plant that it is burning-out the machines airlifted in to place to push it off. In the end the only option was to send up soldiers to face the danger. Soldiers on the roof faced their entire life’s normal allocation of radiation in 90 seconds.

For the Russians the handling of the disaster was akin to going to war; in order to win serious sacrifices were necessary and they just had to be faced head on.

The writers don’t try to sugar coat or hide any aspect of the pernicious horror of radiation exposure, but it’s not addressed in the way a horror movie might portray it. Instead of things causing you to jump or shriek, the pace is slow and mercilessly poignant and thought provoking. Examples include families watching the reactor fire unaware of the fallout blowing all around them, fireman putting out fires not being aware of the radiation that is effectively melting them in the way that a normal fire might melt plastic, family members cuddling poisoned relatives and receiving dangerous radiation doses themselves in the process etc.

Whilst the subject matter is miserable, the drama isn’t devoid of hope or positivity, there are elements of humour, evidence of deepening respect-based relationships, the quest for truth and the taking of responsibility whatever the cost.

The fear over here
I was 15 years old when the disaster took place, I remember being scared at the time about the radiation that was reaching/affecting the UK. I felt a sense of helplessness that there was nothing I could do to protect myself/my folks and a resignation almost that I might as well just get on with life. I still don’t really know just how much danger I/we were exposed to, though I am going to do some more research on that subject now. From memory, I think that the southern counties were less affected than Scotland, Northern Ireland or North Wales.

Coming back to the present, I thoroughly recommend this series. The story needed telling, it’s been told with respect to those who suffered but with a grittiness that makes it feel very real. You can’t watch this without having your brain engaged, and you won’t be able to watch without thinking about it afterwards.
​
Whilst the last season of Game of Thrones was a bit disappointing, Chernobyl gets a full five-star rating from me. 

Blog Home
Blog Library
Home

Related Posts

1. A Little Nuke Nonsense
2. Nukes and divine intervention…please
3. Chernobyl Mega Tomb Marvel
4. Top Gear does Chernobyl; I do mixed feelings 
5. Are we too scared of radiation?
6. Optimism bias, Sellafield, nuclear power and voting
7. Hinkley Point C, Sellafield, a very British deterrent and North Korea
8. Fukushima, your back yard and Newport Pagnell
9. Fukushima, the stuff of nightmares
10. Rest In Petrov
11. Stanislav Petrov 1, MAD 0
12. Rethink Trident Advertisement and Pandora's Promise
13. Daventry District Democracy and Defence
14. More nuclear nonsense
15. Nuclear power questions answered - well sort of
16. Nuclear Profligacy
17. Joining CND
18. Nuclear power Q&A and DECC Update
19. A Cumbrian earthquake - why a 2.1 score should still bother you
20. Post purchase satisfaction and Sellafield dissatisfaction