Shibden Walk

Andrea has gone to Olympia to see the Horse show. Leaving Jack, Finlay and me to fend for our selves! I knew if I didn't do anything with the kids there would be trouble on Andreas' return. The weather was cold and dry today so I dragged the kids for a walk down Shibden.

Walking down Shibden Head Lane heading down into Hangingroyd we were soon off tarmac and on paths that I've walked on all my life. The kids are already well familiar with the valley and we played a game where I give them 'Mini Missions', they score points on completion. Climbing Trees - 10 Points. Getting across the Beck without getting wet - 20 Points. It kept them entertained!

Shibden

Heading down we were soon at the 'Cross Becks'. When I was Jack and Finlays age a huge old ash tree grew on the bank above the stream, it blew down probably 20 years ago and still lays their, slowly rotting, it's grand past now only memories. There is a Geocache here and the kids soon found it, confirming that it's still where it should be. The dog ran around, smelling rabbits and foxes, it was in the undergrowth on it's own private adventure. I stood and considered everything in front of me, it's a special place for me, I have a strong connection with the 'Cross Becks'. This was my childhood playground.....

Jack and Finlay

We moved on heading towards the 'Big Wall', normally I'd stay in the bottom of the valley and walk towards the bridge, but today we headed out of the bottom and along the top edge of the steep valley. Lots for the kids to do up here, several trees preset themselves as playgrounds, within seconds both kids were climbing, testing their bottle for height, their dexterity the only other limit!

The sun was now low in the sky and the light was streaming through the trees, ideal opportunity to take a few pictures. It was getting colder now so we headed out of the valley and onto Green Lane, walked back up the lane and trudged home.

It's great taking the kids to the places I spent so much of my childhood. They just get on with it and do all the things I used to do. All good.

Saltaire - David Hockney

It felt like December today! It's the first time this year we've seen snow. We needed to do something with the kids, so off we set to Saltaire, thought we'd have a look at the David Hockney gallery. The kids did well and walked around the exhibits, talking and engaging with what they were looking at.

I like the paintings from around 1997 and 1998 they include - Saltaire Painting (1997) - The Road To York through Sledmere (1997) - Yorkshire landscape (1997) and - Garrowby Hill (1998). It's the bright colours, consistency of line widths and balance that draws my eye! It's also kind of weird looking at the Garrowby and Sledmere paintings, I've blasted up these roads on my motorbike many times, so there is a connection to these paintings with a strong emotional context. (Riding a bike is not like driving a car!)

Look - Don't Touch.

The kids liked some of the photo collages, this sort of thing can be done much easier now a days, but when they were originally done it was quite a new idea. Photosynth on the iPhone is a great tool for doing this kind of thing.

This brings me onto 'The Twenty-Five Big Trees Between Bridlington School and Morrison’s Supermarket on Bessingby Road, in the Semi-Egyptian Style - 2010' (quite a name!!) photographs that were on display, a collage on quite a big scale. There are 3 separate photo collages of the same stand of trees, one represents Autumn, the next Winter and the final one Summer (What happened to spring?)

When standing well back from the images everything looks normal, up close the joins in the photographs become more visible, it's a really clever effect and unless you look closely you'd miss the fragmentation altogether.

There isn't much balance between the seasons, Winter and Autumn scenes both have bare trees with no or very few leafs, snow makes the winter scene different. Summer also appears on what looks like a late summer day. On two of the three pictures there is quite basic mask over the bottom of the photos, probably hiding something or maybe the photos don't extend to the bottom! So I'm not sure what I should think about it....

I did enjoy the iPhone pictures, you can see the development from naive through to accomplished pictures, it just shows what can be done when you've a top notch artist.

My All time favourite is A Walk around the Hotel Coutyard, Acatlan - 1985. I remember coming to Saltaire back in the early 1990's and seeing several different workings of this. There was what I remember a big version at one end of the gallery. It felt like you were sat in the shade looking out into the sunlit courtyard. Sadly there isn't any of this on display at Saltaire at the moment.

After we'd been around everything we headed to the Victoria Hall ,for a look around the crafts fair, lots of interesting bits and pieces.

Titus Salt was quite a guy when you look around, we live in Queensbury and Fosters spent a fortune in our village, but Salts legacy is even more impressive.

Andrea - Abbey Dash 2011

Busy Finish Line

Andrea is taking running more seriously, going to the Halifax Harriers each week and training in a more professional way. She was hoping to improve her personnel best for a 10K run. Unusually for Andrea she'd been ill for a couple of day , Andrea is never poorly, and usually battles through it, but this time she'd had time off work!

With all this background there was some uncertainty about how things might go. We set off very early, 7.15am on a Sunday!! Leeds was very busy, in all about 6500 runners were taking part. We made our way up to the Headrow and watched the warm up. The kids were quite funny, they were all dressed up in winter coats, but did the warm up just for fun.

The race started at 9:30am and once everyone had cleared the start line things quietened off for a while....

The winner did the race in under 30 minutes! Andrea had to beat a time of 54 minutes. We stood anxiously waiting and thankfully she easily beat her best coming in at 51 minutes and 11 seconds. She was well chuffed and had to go out with her mates for a celebration drink in the afternoon.

Good Job Andrea!

The Damned - O2 Leeds



The Damned - Poor Quality

35th Anniversary tour was an opportunity not to miss. We've seen The Damned several times over the years and this felt like a chance to relive times past!I remember the old days over in Bradford, seeing the band at Rio's behind the Uni. The last time we went was quite funny, all the old punks appear to have matured into middle age, the car park was full of BMW's and Audi's, inside the gig everyone had bald heads and 'middle age spread' which resulted in their bellies popping out of their old leather jackets. (No chance of doing the zip up!).


Andrea had to miss the gig, she'd been sick for a couple of day, not like Andrea.

The show started with a ridiculously (as usual) dressed Captain Sensible setting the scene, in his usual silly way.

'Neat Neat Neat' started the ball rolling as they ripped through 'Damned Damned Damned'. The other Obvious track was 'New Rose', but the band made a good fist of the rest of the album. I went for a 'jump about' at the front, everyone smiling but bouncing off each other like crazy, good fun!

Dave Vanian - Poor Quality

A short break and then they set off through 'The Black Album', again everything was pretty tight. The whole band seemed to be full of life and appeared to be enjoying the atmosphere of an appreciative audience.

A couple of encores, finishing with 'Smash It Up'. A great night. The band stuck to the older stuff and didn't do any of the later material, no Eloise or Phantasmagoria tracks, for some people this might have been a disappointment, but there's always a next time......

Remembrance Sunday Parade

We all got dressed up, pinned our poppies onto our coats and walked onto the scout hut for 10:30am. Queensbury was very busy, much of the community, all ages were out paying their respect. The main road was closed by the police and the parade marched to the cenotaph. Lots of local groups were marching, headed by the Scout Band. Crowds lined the main road, Jack and Finlay looked smart in their uniforms. Finlay has a very definite 'stomping' march, Jack calmly walked along.

Queensbury Cenotaph

At the cenotaph the local dignitaries were assembled, a PA system enabled everyone to hear the service. I would estimate that there was over 600 people paying their respect. The last post was played on trumpet by a band member and everyone fell silent.....

One of my relatives died in the 1st World War. Edgar Moore was only 19, died on 16th March 1918 near Ypres in Belgium. He's buried in the Aeroplane Cemetery, Ypres, far from home. His name is on the cenotaph. It was a an emotional few minutes, considering the sacrifice and tragedy that war brings. Once the speeches had been made, wreaths laid the parade moved onto the Holy Trinity Church for the remembrance service.

The church was pretty full and for an hour we sat and paid our respects. Everyone then marched back through Queensbury.

It was a pretty emotional day, I was surprised how many people, both young and old turned out on a foggy, drizzly November day to remember. Today it felt like the community had come together and united... More of this please.

Jack - Back on His Mini Moto

Go Jack Go!!

Jack decided he wanted to ride his Mini Moto for the first time in months. My day out at Donington last week must have made him think he was missing out on something. The field was pretty wet underfoot and Jack had to be pretty careful. He judged the conditions perfectly and didn't fall off once. (Unlike me!) Mud was flying everywhere, he made a track and was soon getting faster, it kept him occupied for ages.

I had a go on my brothers enduro bike and fell off in the mud on my third lap, more fool me!! Most amusing for the kids.

The main thing was Jack enjoyed himself and was enthusiastic about riding.

Donington - No Limits Track Day

Booked myself into the intermediate group, the weather looked to be picking up by Friday so I thought it might be my last opportunity this year to have a day out on the NC30.

Coppice

Early start to get down to Donington by 7:30am for sign in and riders meeting. Although the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky the track was very wet. The first two sessions were wet, everyone was being very careful and not taking any risks.

In the third session a dry line started to appear and with it some grip. As speeds increased so did the incidents, I think most of the dry sessions were red flagged! By the fourth session the track was pretty dry and I was starting to ride faster.

Melbourne

All afternoon the weather stayed fine and I got more and more confident. Getting Redgate right and keeping low on the bike heading through Hollywood, dropping down the hill through Craner Curves is a great feeling. The Old Hairpin is a faster bend than it's name suggests. Starkeys is very fast and I had to be careful at Schwantz Curve, making sure I could get rid of speed for Macleans.

Goddards

I enjoyed the up hill blind entry to Coppice, although unsighted I was quickly confident about hitting this fast. Some of the blind places at Oulton Park are more difficult to get right. I enjoyed exiting Coppice onto the straight. Braking for the Esses was a challenge, and I never got the left, right flick perfect, this is somewhere that I need to work on for next time.

I was comfortable with Melburne, but I didn't feel confident at Goddards, another area that I need to work on.

I had a great day and continued to improve on the bike. The first few sessions were a disappointment, but as the day improved the poor start was soon forgotten. I didn't touch any suspension setting today, leaving the bike as it was the last time out at Oulton, to be honest everything felt pretty good so why mess around! I was struggling at the slower left handers so I need to think about this for next time.

Flamingo Land Camping

Finlay by the Dragon Coaster

Half term holiday for the kids and a last chance to set off in the van before the poor weather! We arrived on Friday night, in the dark. Once in the camping ground we drove near to a water tap to fill our water tank, only to get stuck in a bog. I filled up the tank, but we couldn't move. Andrea wasn't too happy, but we were sort of on a camping pitch.

Frog Hopper - Say No More!

Saturday dawned, and the weather looked hopeful, some cloud but blue sky and sunshine. We soon got help to drag the van out of the mud and parked on hard standing.

We spent the day in the Theme Park, both Jack and Finlay enjoyed the smaller Roller Coasters - Dragon Coaster and Runaway Train

The Cycle Monorail

 Finlay found the swinging boat something he really liked, it was the biggest ride he was allowed to ride on, and he enjoyed the 'danger'!

Jack was initially a bit worried about the rides he can now go on, but managed to go on the Wild Mouse. Once he got a little more confident he soon graduated to the Corkscrew and then went on Mumbo Jumbo.

Andrea and me enjoyed the Kumali roller coaster, leaving the kids like a couple of orphans while we queued!

When the park quietened down we went up to the Coach House for a drink. The kids loved the Pirate ship and the Tree house play area.

Up close and scary.

On Sunday we spent more time at the Zoo, the Tiger area is pretty good for watching the tigers strut around showing off.

We ended up getting wet through on the Lost River Ride.Had a pizza for tea and then spent a couple of hours in the arcade playing on the 2p shove machines.

Finlay - Look no hands.

Monday morning and we had a last look around, everyone went on the rides they enjoyed best. After lunch we set off home, stopping at Eden Camp on the way, Andrea and me enjoyed it but the kids were't interested and got board.

This will probably be the last time we go camping this year. Cleaned up the van when we got home and put the cover over it to keep the muck and weather off it.

Finlay The Beaver

Finlay The Beaver

Tonight Finlay was invested into the 18th Queensbury Beaver Scouts. He's been going for a couple of months. Straight away he loved it. I think for Finlay it feels like when he first started pre-school, play based activities. I wish he concentrated as hard at school!

It was a big deal for him to get his necker and woggle. Jack has been in Cubs since earlier this year and Finlay wanted to do all the cool things that Jack has been doing.

So each week he enthusiastically gets involved with all the activities and comes home with lots of excited stories of what he's been up to. I hope he's always this easy to please.

Jacks Birthday - Snowtubing

Jack, Adam and Ethan

Jack wanted to do something different for his Birthday, he's been to many parties at Laser Zone, 10 Pin Bowling or Roller Skating at the YMCA, he ended up deciding to go 'Snowtubing' at the Halifax Ski and Snowboard Centre.


Basically he invited some of his mates to have a go on the Ski Slope, instead of having to learn how to balance on either Skis or a snowboard they 'sledge' down  the slopes using inflatables!

Finlay

The weather way pretty poor, low clouds and rain, however the kids didn't mind. The first 15 minutes were spent on the learner slope, and everyone got used the routine. It was then time to go on the big slope, all the kids really enjoyed the faster ride. The instructors were really good with everyone, and sending them spinning, or in twos or threes to keep them entertained.

Soon it was time to go back inside and have a typical party tea, Chips beans and Chicken Nuggets. Ice cream to finish and then time for home.

Gargrave Camping



Gargrave

The weather had been good all week, so we set off on Friday with hope of a busy outdoor weekend. We'd arrived on Friday at tea time and we're soon camped up, we went for a walk on the Canal and relaxed in the warm evening sunshine.


Jack and Finlay on the Canal

Saturday morning and we decided to ride the bikes down to Skipton, along the canal. It's about 4 and a half miles and we were soon making good progress. On the way we stopped for a rest and threw bread for a swan who soon came right over to us and pecked the kids feet!

In Skipton we walked around, the good weather had brought out hundreds of people and the town was busy, we walked around the shops and went into the Museum at the Town Hall. Kids conned us into getting them toys, nothing new here!!

We did 4 Geocaches on the canal while travelling back to the camp site, Jack and Finlay are dab hands at knowing what a hidden Geocache looks like, so we had no trouble finding them.

In the evening we walked to to the Anchor Pub and had a meal, everything was taking ages to arrive, even ordering a drink look time, lots of people we're grumbling at the poor service. The kids didn't notice however, they  were playing outside and running around keeping busy.

The evening news announced that it had been the hottest October day every recorded.

Stepping Stones

Sunday morning brought some rain, me and the kids helped several boats through the lock behind the camp site, we went down into the village and had a walk by the river with the dog, using the stepping stones to ford the river kept the kids entertained, they also climbed a couple of trees, typical little kids.

We'd had a great weekend and got away from the weekly grind, the weather was brilliant for this time of year, so a great result.

Canal Bike Ride From Copley to Mytholmroyd

Copley - Mytholmroyd

The weather was poor in the morning, but we'd decided that whatever happened we were going for a bike ride. As the day went on the weather improved, so we needn't have worried.

This ride is just over 11 miles in total, you've got to retrace your tracks on the canal, but everything looks different on the way back!!

It's a good ride for kids with no road sense, as you're off road and beside the canal for the whole route.

Set off from Copley close to the Cricket ground. Usually you can park right next to the Canal, so the kids aren't let lose with traffic!

Turn left onto the canal and head towards Sowerby Bridge, the first part of the route in well paved, so it's easy going.

After a couple of miles you'll get to Sowerby Bridge, this is a good place for a drink, or a break. There is usually quite allot going on in this busy town.

You can get across the Canal by the Lock to reach The Moorings pub and restaurant.

Continue another hundred yards and you'll get the the main road. You'll have to dismount, cross the road via the crossing. Head up the hill behind the Wharf Pub. The canal is under your feet at this point!

Look left once past the pub and you'll see the canal behind the market place.

From now on just keep pedaling, the track can be a little muddy from here, so if it's been raining prepare to get splashed.

Once in Mytholmroyd you can have a look around, the only place open on Sunday was the Sainsbury's Local store, Pop and crisps of the kids!

The return journey is all down hill, well all the locks are downhill!

We did the full route in 2 and a half hours.

Mr Finlay Rides Again

Zoom Zoom!

Managed to get Finlay onto his Minimoto today! It's been a while, I got him started last year but he doesn't like the noise and all the commotion. When you're 6 years old just turning the throttle is hard work.

To be fair once he got going he really enjoyed it. After about an hour he still didn't want to call it a day, but we'd ran out of Petrol.

I would have loved to have a bike when I was a little kid, but there was no Chance of Mum and Dad getting me something like that. I think the longer I had to wait to get a bike the more I wanted one, and that left an impression on me.

Oulton Park - No Limits Track Day

Set off at 6:00am and the weather was terrible! As we got nearer to Chester the weather improved, and by the time we arrived everything had dramatically improved.

Knickerbrook.

Had a great day, first time at Oulton so took it easy to start with. The NC30 was great as always and I soon found my feet.
Last time out at Cadwell I didn't have a clue about the suspension setup, so I left it well alone. Today I started playing around a bit more. I made some changes to the front suspension, increasing the amount of rebound, this started to give me better feel.

Got down to 2min 10secs by the end of the day. Tyres look like they are working really hard, big blobs of rubber running off the edge of the tyres. I do need to think about my riding style a bit more, started to get the foot pegs down going through the chicanes.

Old Hall

The day went off without a hitch for me, however there was several incidents, with red flags and delayed sessions.

The faster bends are a bit scary, I need to get my head around Island bend, anything faster than 80mph and I'm a bit wiery. I spend too much time on the road where I'm not cornering that fast, and my timing just isn't there.

Clay Hill is blind and fast, but on the 400 I could go through flat out, just being carefull to keep left and not letting the bike drift over to the right edge.

Some people believe that the second chicane has spoilt Knickerbrook, but I really enjoyed throwing the bike through these sections. I would have probably been much more careful through the original layout.

Druids

Cascades was interesting, the front started pushing on the exist which didn't fill me with confidence. I need to look for a better line to help with this.

Druids was another place where the front causes concerns, however this was due to the camber changing and the front going light! A better line through this double apex right hander needs considering.

There is allot to take in for a first time out. Many bends are blind or unsighted, best to enjoy my day, think about it later and come back again for another go at improving things!

So for next time I need to think about the faster bends, look for braking markers and be braver. Consider my line through Cascades and Druids..... and have fun!!!

Pateley Bridge Camping

Jumping Jack.

Just got back from a great weekend away in the Yorkshire Dales. We stopped at the Riverside Camp Site in Pateley Bridge. The site is adjacent to the river Nidd and being next to the park is perfect for the kids. It's only 5 minutes walk from the town center, so it's a great base for the van.

Kids like the BMX track that can be accessed via a bridge over the river, there's also a Geocache close by so the kids had a couple of reasons to stop watching the DVD player!

On Saturday we had a walk south along the Nidd, we got as far as Low Laithe, had a drink at Ye Olde Oak Inn, did a second Geocache at the road side and walked back up the other side of the river to Pateley Bridge. The kids were kept busy with some conker trees on the riverbank. There was also a heard of friendly cows that came over to have a good look at us. The walk was easy going and the kids didn't complain once!

Saturday night we booked a table at Olley's Restorante & Pizzeria. Everyone made the kids welcome and the meal was fabulous.

The kids played in the park for a good while after tea and we made our way back for a cosy evening with wine and beer!

Sunday morning and time to head home, stopped at Morrisons in Skiption for some lunch in the cafe.

Reflecting on my weekend I can't help but notice what a nice place Pateley Bridge is. We live in a much bigger place, with thousands more rate payers, but the kids have a crap park that no one keeping an eye on, consequently it's always being vandalised. There isn't anything for teenage kids to do at all, certainly no BMX track!

Cadwell Park - No Limits Track Day




Old Hairpin

Set off for Cadwell on Sunday afternoon, we planned to spend the evening at the track and be ready for a full day out on track. Staying at Cadwell is straight forward, pull up pay £10 per person and use the facilities....

Monday morning, signing on and getting noise tested ready for the first session. It now dawned on me that I had never actually ridden the NC30, I had no idea what to expect. At least I knew Cadwell Park, back in the early 90's I'd proddy raced a Yam 250 LC and Cadwell was one of the tracks that New Era and Auto 66 used to frequent!


First session in the Novice group taught me that there many ways to describe 'Novice'. Some riders are being very careful, others are pretty scary to follow, best I use my own judgment and leave tonnes of space! Taking it very easy I soon got the hang of the speed again and heading towards lunch time was was back in the groove!

Hall Bends

By mid afternoon the weather was deteriorating, and halfway through the 6th session it started to rain, I ran round carefully, and at the end of the session called it a day. No point in going out in the wet, I'm not trying to prove anything, just there for enjoyment! Best time for the day was 2min 3sec, how do the top guys get around the track in under 1min 30secs?

So what do I make of Cadwell in 2011, I'm not sure about the chicane, it's tidgy! more to do with slowing you down than enjoying a cool set of corners.

First time out on bike, and 20 years since I rode at these sort of speeds meant I was being careful. I used to hate Mansfield, but it doesn't seem so bad now. On the LC I hated how much the front pushed, but the NC30 gave me tonnes of confidence.

Barn

I always liked the gooseneck, so I quickly got back into the swing of the tightening right hander and the flick left down the hill.

I'll need to have a think about Charlies, more speed going into the bend, but care on the way out due to front pushing.

Coppice is scary. More thought needed here. I should be able to hit this much faster, but for now I'm happy enough with the buzz of going fast....

I really enjoyed Barn and was on the gas early. The Little 400 goes a treat through the bends and is quite surprising down the straights. I had a great day, no accidents and started to learn about going fast again, after some 20 years off!!

Hope I'll get a couple more days on the little VFR before the end of the year.....