New Haven Neil

Well, 65 miles later, no oil leaks, reluctant to doom it by saying any more!

Walk had, chores chored, and I can't put the test ride off any longer! Weather appything shows 15c, it's 22 currently in the back garden. I wonder where it gets its information from? Now, where to risk going for a brew...hmmm.

Mornid. Hay fever turned up to 11. Andy, although the old XL did spend some of its life with high mudguards and knobbly tyres, it was very much only a green-laner, using it in a trial would result in it going through rather than over a section, bulldozer stylee! It's a heavy old beast, note knee-sized dent in the tank...... Surprisingly for a Jap it has a lot of flywheel effect, its no revver despite its 4 valve head, so wasn't bad at all on muddy trails, it went everywhere a pal on a serious DR350 went. Today will see it ridden around the village then further afield if nothing falls off or leaks out. After domestic duties of course, there is a list.

Ah, I need to bring Puppers up to speed with the arrangements chez NHN/MrsNHN regarding motorbikes. The one in the photo is mi ne, the other 4 are hers, although I have sort of adopted the BMW currently. We met through bikes, almost 40 years ago, Debs worked in a Suzuki and then a Honda dealer for years when a young 'un, so any new bikes in the fleet are OK....there are only two rules: no 2 strokes, no Harleys. And as for posing value - my next door but one neighbour has an MV and a Paton. Now that's cool. Life on Fraggle Rock is very pro-bikey, that and the lifestyle are why we live here.

Evening orl. Sunny now on Fraggle Rock. I can't recommend travel to Heysham from stations to the south of the UK via Douglas - rather expensive and time consuming! Also the pronunciation of Heysham causes issues - even amongst Hesyhamites..... Hay-sham or He-sham? I had a pal that lived there, and the locals use both. The Big News is I have finally mastered that bl**dy bike engine, at the third time of rebuilding. The firm that did the rebore simply made a dogs of it, now I have it apart and measured up. I eventually managed to find used but good parts to rebuild it again, with new but genuine piston rings, and all is now well, the smokescreen is banished.

Morning, I have sole control of my life today. A miserable 15c and overcast, really not an inspiring day. At least it is dry. Not sure yet what to do, but that bike engine is looking at me with a glint in its evil eye. I'll beat it yet....

Its not open yet - it is the most stupid thing I have ever seen. Road markings not in compliance to the highway code. They did another thing like this last year, a crossing where a cycle lane crosses a road, marked it in pink and white celtic symbols - a cyclist took it as a zebra crossing and was killed as a car didn't stop - they didn't have to, it's not a crossing just a marking.....no offence committed.

Just......yeah. Ramsey.

It would go right through him.....

Its not just me then. Sometime it amazes me how I still manage not to have a clue what Mrs NHN is on about, after almost 40 years together and married 37. However, today was sunny and warm, the forecast was torrential rain. Archery went well, Mrs H got a PB and was 2 points short of the win, to an archer who shoots at world levels. Result. We had an early lunch first sitting on Santon station, like so.....

Morning. Oh. Bloomin weekends, Mrs NHN in charge..... The forecast today was torrential rain, so it has been really nice and sunny all day! Archery round today was good though, Mrs NHN with a personal best, and second, missing a win by only 2 points. The course is very difficult now, with undergrowth partially obscuring several targets so a real test of the 'intuitive' archery that makes field archery so different from target. We had lunch beforehand on Santon station, one of those kettly things passing by. Most pleasant.

Evening. Mrs NHN in charge of my life today. But it turned out OK as we met John (the other Mr Trackshack) and partner for lunch, via the MER, then went oop the mountain on the SMR and it wasn't foggy! Well a touch of mist, but not bad. You can technically see our house in this shot..... Then the ride back to Ramsey was on Car 16, my favourite on the MER. Andrew Scarffe who is a prolific author on MER matters was driving and he had the old girl growling along at a fine rate. Not bad at all. (That's not Andrew BTW, it's the Guard turning the trolley around).

Evening all. @Winslow Boy sorry to hear of your loss, there are many folk on here who are pet lovers as can be seen in the posts above, we're all together on that - pets are in the heart of families. RIP Ziggy. Bike club was pleasant, the new cafe we tried out was OK but not stunning for the money. New 'boy' enjoyed his day, and to please Puppers one of the guys came on an old Norton Dominator 500, that didn't even break down. Had a nice ride in the sun after brunch though, then spent an hour in the garage, and yessss rebuilt that engine, having found what was affecting the camchain run - misplaced tensioner in the crankcase as suspected, easily sorted after removing the cylinder head (again) and moving it with a long pointy pokey thing and a very bright torch. Bit of a gynae job, but it's done, cam timing sorted (again) and just needs the points setting and carb putting on for an attempt at starting it (again). Then we'll see if it disappears in a cloud of smoke (again) or is finally returned to health. (Not again).

Morning from a dry, breezy rock. Bike club day, yay! New cafe to test munch, iD would like their pies, really nice and made on the premises, but having a full menu is a new move for them. Full Manx Breakfast trials later. Supportive thoughts to Chris and Eric/Robert, and anyone else in need of a shoulder or a brew. Take care out there.

Puppers, a pal in my Kollege days had one of those Welsh bikes - Benelli - same as that one but red. It went very well, but the crank only lasted 10k miles. Now, the Morini 3 1/2 behind it....yum. Always wanted one, couldn't afford one. Now I can afford one, I can't fold myself on to one to ride it. Pah! As for the XL, something not right in the rebuild today, can't get the cam sprocket on as the chain is too tight - suspect one tensioner blade isn't seated correctly - head off AGAIN then. #sigh# At least I didn't build the rest of the head/cambox up. This bl**dy bike has fought me for 30 years....there's always, but always something up with it. I didn't build it but bought it of someone else who had rebuilt it, there's a lesson there. Never had another bike like it (we've had about 40), total Christine job.

There are many more strang names, places and people on Fraggle Rock, Stu! Of course only visitors call it by its full name, to us it is simply 'The Creg'. Dave, I have an LP with the Murray Walker commentary and soundtrack of that race!....Somewhere.....

The evening is most pleasant, bodes well for the bike club tomorrow. We have a new neighbour, who is joining us for the first time, he has Italian bikes, so it'll probably break down. I'm OK having blood taken, provided I don't watch. I have had rather large needles inserted in a couple of places where it proper hurt, to coin a phrase, and have no wish to have it repeated, unfortunately it will be. I would have thought medicine would have advanced to stage by now where they didn't have to make things hurt quite so much.

21c and sunny now - lush! Yes, great news that Dave's dad is improving so much. I was thinking about Chris's comment about driving in the dark at 10pm - it isn't dark up here at 10 pm at this time of year! OK, washer is calling for attention (one stroke of the bell?) then I have honey-do jobs, then just maybe re-assembling that bike engine - again. 3rd time lucky.

Morning, from a breezy (but not windy) sunny rock. Thankfully I can reflect on my time in HR in the NHS and here in Social Services positively, and left both with a good reputation. I admit that when I took early retirement here from the Youth Justice Team, the combined masses of the police and civil service HR (I was jointly employed) were somewhat less efficient, despite one person really going out on a limb to make it all happen. They only had three months notice after all....#sigh# Knowing a little of what happened to Jamie behind the scenes, I would have gone for the slurry tanker job!

There are two 'bends like that' on Fraggle Rock, took me years to learn to enter them more slowly! Conversely, there is a bend on the TT course that looks tight but is just a kink on entry then opens to a fast left - where us locals leave the visitors who think they're fast in the dust, come TT week....

You must have the patience of a saint. I don't know whether to sympathise or cheer for you, John. I accept things have changed radically in the time since I last worked in HR (as an HR adviser then year as acting manager in Social Services HR here) 18 years ago, but it's obviously not the job it was!

@tetsudofan great to see your railway still developing, Keith! Some nice oily steam locos would improve it though....LOL I recall earlier threats about me cleaning all the track afterwards, puts me off a bit!

HR should administrate recruitment of staff, but the final shortlisting and decision should be the manager of the department/team they are to work within, and maybe their boss, and an independent for senior roles. HR should be present at the interview to ensure all candidates are dealt with fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner, checking qualifications etc, but NOT be part of the final decision making process. Recruitment 101. It appears a lot of HR folk have got much too big for their boots. No wonder folk have such a crepe time with them at work nowadays.

My wife, on my 50th birthday 'train-treat' tour of Switzerland, (eek 12 years ago) didn't like these locos at all, and named them 'Wine Gums' due to the shape. Seems fair to me.

Indeed I was 'old school HR', or perhaps I would prefer 'proper HR'. It was a while ago to be fair, and in the NHS which does take, or did in the Trust I worked for back then, HR seriously and properly. Result was a pretty well run Trust, with few disciplinary issues. A clue was in job titles - 'HR Advisor', there to advise managers on employment law and issues pertaining to. This modern world 'Killer HR' really serves to unsettle the whole process of employees working efficiently as far as I can see. As I no longer pay to keep the letters after my name from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development I once earned, I don't get the monthly comic 'People Management' from them (once parodied - rightfully - on 'Have I Got News') to keep up to date on modern practice. Thankfully, by the sounds of it!