Bit of an update....

Bikes are a nice Black Triumph, for sale on Ebay in Swindon, and a green Military Indian Bullet, also on Ebay. Julie hates the Bullet, and the Triumph is already too expensive!


......loosely based on an email I sent to my brother....

Anyway, it seems that every evening these days is busy, either with something to do with radio (meetings, minutes to type or interviews to edit), or watching telly (did you see James May's life size toy Spitfire, it was great!.Also watching By Any Means 2 with Charlie Boorman).

We are still trying to save the radio, the licence from OFCOM may or may not be given to us, and the equipment is still owned by Wiltshire County Council, or at least we think most of it is. Financially the local Town Councils have helped us with money, so we are OK there. But the 'phone lines have gone (not paid the bills) and we are not streaming (no internet) and it is frustrating!

Did do an absolutely cracking disco for the kids at the last Bluez n Zuzz, they all wore fancy dress, there were over a hundred of them, Dan played all the music and I did all the chat, best one in years!

At home we have decided to re-decorate, including getting new furniture and carpets. The suite is 17 years old, and the carpets have not been changed since we moved in 11years ago. So a few Saturdays ago we went to Hedge End, and spent all day in furniture stores, finally buying a three seater and two seater leather sofa, on what we used to call HP! (no interest over two years blah blah).

Since then we have had four carpet quotes, and that's not been straightforward to sort out, and we cannot decide on colour for the walls. We know which piece of Ikea furniture we want, but that's the last thing to get done. Lot's of painting before then!

Bike's OK, not much chance to do anything with it, get's used as transport when it is not raining! Hope to go to camping with other Super Tenere Forum members next year in Wales.

Kids OK, Dan's stuck unemployed with no benefits until he's eighteen, he's going to another Army experience week next week, but his next chance to do proper selection is next March. Tried quite a few job applications, including an interview with Argos, but all say no, or nothing at all!

Tash is ok, I think! She went to Cuba for a week with her new-ish boyfriend, and I think she is struggling to settle back to her routine.

Julie and her mum are going to the NEC for the weekend by coach to a craft show, which I paid for, including a night in a hotel in Birmingham. That same week is Castledown Radio's 3rd birthday, so we are doing live radio all Saturday. and Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, and I have an hours special to record. And Dan will be going to parade with his Army Cadets.

Car's are OK, ish. Mine's got 113K on it now, did the front brakes (disks and pads, 37.00 pounds from EBAY, fitted in an hour), back tyres need doing, and rust is getting worse by the minute. Julie's MG is ok, so far. Will be a year in December since we bought it!

Work's crap, really quiet, and scary. Been doing OK in our division but this month has dropped. The NC2 division is well behind target. Went to France last week for two days and back again next week for two days (just co-incidence), and maybe two days in Greece in November. Just trying to sell stuff!

That's about me caught up.

Link for S10 ally boxes (excellent!)..

http://rtw.xtz660.googlepages.com/alluboxes

Great video of a classic bike...

Love the way he is dressed in the correct style. From Bill Little's Open Day, 2009.

www.classicbikesuk.com

Lovely motorcycle on Ebay US

Couldn't resist putting these pics on my blog, description from Ebay US as follows:


Currently at 1,186 US dollars, reserve not met. If only..........

"FOR SALE on eBay in Las Vegas, Nev. Bullet 500 single in frame of 1955 Indian twin (actually a better frame than used in newer U.S. Bullets ). Upgraded to 12 volts. Beautiful and reliable".

INDIAN TOMAHAWK APACHE ROYAL ENFIELD 500 TWIN BULLET RED
Vehicle Description

Up for your grabs is one of my favorite bikes; a 1955 INDIAN TOMAHAWK 500. I just finished rebuilding it; but loss of storage space forces sale of this beauty. In case you did not know, Royal Enfields were sold in the USA as Indians from 1955 to 1960 after the demise of the original Indian company in 1953. Almost all major RE models were present in form or the other. Google “re-indian” for more info. The bikes badged as Royal Enfields was introduced in the USA after the Indian company was bought by AMC motorcycles of London from 1959. These late 50s bikes are collected both by Indian and Royal Enfield enthusiasts.

Indian has again started making motorcycles as of 2009. Google “Indian motorcycle” for more info.

This bike left the factory as a 500 twin on Dec 12,1955. Even though this is a 1955 (for which I have confirmation from the RE owner’s club in England) it already has the 1956 to 1970 open-loop frame that is stronger and lighter that the pre-1955 Enfield frame. The 500 Twin engine was notorious for throwing a rod early in its life and this example was no exception. This one sat in a barn somewhere in Arizona along with a few other Indians since the early 60s. The previous owner bought it in an estate sale along with a few BSAs. I bought it with the intention of creating a good rider. However, after hearing about the feeble 500 Twin engine from many experts, I gave up the idea of installing one in this bike. A suitable low mileage Enfield 500 Bullet engine and gearbox was sourced and installed with a few improvements. The frame is sandblasted, primed and painted.

The paint is as close as you can get to “Indian Red” and Vintage reproduction decals look much better that the original. Almost all alloy parts are cleaned up and polished. I built this to ride and not for show and so sensible modifications are made throughout. The wiring harness is custom made and electrics are upgraded to 12V with modern rectifier/ regulator. Tires have very low mileage on them. The headlight casquette appears original and I just have it professionally re polished. The forks and wheels are again newer items since the originals were destroyed beyond recovery. Other pattern parts used include brand new instruments, switches and controls. Most fasteners are polished or replaced with stainless steel fasteners.

Overall, you have an extremely light, ridable and collectible Indian that will only go up in value. Most states have no taxes for a bike this old and it is eligible for a “classic’ license plate. The Bullet engine will run reliably for years and comes without the cost of maintaining a classic. It is also California Legal in case you are wondering.

Well today I took the day off, doc's at 10.20, and the blood test and ECG were all OK, slightly high cholesterol, need to cut down on biscuits and cake! Fitted new disk's and pad's to the front of the Focus, easy to do, they seem a bit hot at the moment, hope they don't warp, like the Mondeo one's did!

Apart from that, quiet, off to Andover to drop Dan at Argos for a group interview, we are going to hang around until he is done. Not sure what to do this weekend, maybe start on the decorating!

Bye for now........

Don't know why.....

...I haven't been updating my blog very much, I guess I have gone off the idea? There has certainly been a lot going on to talk about. Let's see if I can catch up....

Had a couple of bouts of bad headaches (migraine?) that ended up with me being sick, never had them before. Both times I have been really tired (post IBC and post Baz's 25th wedding anniversary party, when we got in after 2am). So I went to the doc's, then back for ECG and blood test, results tomorrow. Probably nothing wrong, but it is good to find out, I guess.

Been a bit of a roller-coaster on the radio front, since TDT went bust. The license and equipment went to the administrators, who were going to give it to us, then they wanted money for it, then some money was offered which turned out to be a loan, then a much smaller figure was offered which, as far as I know, has been accepted. The license will transfer to Castledown Radio Ltd, and the equipment will go to Wellington Academy, who will give it to us to do as we see fit.

So, I am chairman of the Castledown Radio Volunteers Group, and I have Mike Giles as the chairman of the fundraising committee, and Simon Davies as the chairman of the profile-raising committee. So far we have promised donations by the Tidworth Chamber of Commerce and the Tidworth Town Council, Ludgershall Town Council have been asked and are yet to reply, the fire service, police and Sarsen are all on-board.

November 4th is the anniversary of our FM launch and on November 7th we are going to do as much live radio as possible. And I am putting together a Remembrance Sunday programme for the 8th. Also planning a meeting for next Monday and looking at a funding bid to OFCOM. Meanwhile we have to write to OFCOM and prove that we deserve our FM license and that we will stick to our guiding principles. Not much, really!

Home's OK, we want to decorate and get new carpets and furniture, not sure where to start! Julie and Tash have painted some colour samples on the wall, need to lift the old marble floor slabs and sort the bumpy wall where the fire was. I have suggested that we get rid of the big glass cabinet so we can get started on the decorating. Once that's gone we will have to replace it!

Tash went to Cuba for a holiday with Dean, enjoyed herself as far as I know. She is I think finding it hard to settle down again, Dean has gone back to University, comes home everyday though. At the moment Tash is away Friday, Sat and Sun nights. Dan's at home, no job yet, army on hold, Argos interview this Friday, fingers crossed. Julies OK, off to NEC with her mum by coach on the 7-8th November, to a craft show.

Why the picture at the beginning of the blog? It's where I went lunchtime on my bike for a ride and a think, it's the cemetery in Longparish, a few miles from where I work, up over the Andover Downs. And very nice (and quiet!) it was as well. When I came to leave I managed to provoke the back wheel of the bike into a little slide, just a tweak. It's greasy with all the rain we have had and dead leaves and stuff, but at least it is sunny today, if a bit chilly.

So there you have it.


That will do for now, back soon.

Hill Climb Havoc!