Day #3 on the Isle of Man
Thankfully I have survived Mad Sunday here on the IoM.
Yes, it was as crazy as everybody had told me. I was told by many people not to venture onto the mountain in my rental Nissan race car because of all the crazies that would be out there on their machines. Yesterday the weather was so good, I could not resist the urge to go out and mix it with the bikies, so I threw caution to the wind and joined in the fun.
In the first photo you can see detective John (my very best new friend) & myself standing beside Joey Dunlop’s memorial at the top of the mountain which is at the base of Snaefell Mountain Course (Bungalow), the only mountain on the Island, which is part of the famous Isle of Man TT motorbike racing circuit.
Joey raced in the TT for many years and won it an amazing 26-times. His achievements include three hat-tricks at the Isle of Man TT meeting (1985, 1988 and 2000). Dunlop's name is amongst the most revered by fans of motorcycle racing.
This iconic statue, coupled to Dunlop's somewhat shy and unassuming persona, has led to him being seen as a true working class hero. Joey is the King of the mountain, he is no longer with us, he was killed in a racing accident in 2000 in Estonia.
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| John (my very best new friend) & myself standing beside the Joey Dunlop memorial at the top of the mountain. |
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| Later on in the afternoon we managed to enjoy some liquid refreshments at O’Donnelle’s Bar with some of the race fans back on the promenade in Douglas. (Check out the blue sky). |
There is an 82-year-old lady staying here at the Guesthouse (sharp as a tack). This is her 56th continual year of coming here to watch the TT races as a Race Marshal. She has decided this year to leave it to the younger ones to help with the running of the race.
Anyway, to cut a long story short she asked me yesterday over breakfast if I could drive her around the circuit on Tuesday morning in the Nissan race car.
I asked her where she sits to watch the races, to which she answers, oh! I have special privileges as to where I can sit. I sit in a small grandstand on the start/finish line where all the action is overlooking the pits. Of course my ears pricked up, so I suggested to her that maybe we could do a deal here, if I drive you around the track on Tuesday what are the chances of me joining you in that special stand on Monday to which she agreed.
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| On a non-race day the 37-mile long race track is packed with everyone wanting to experience the thrills of the course. Especially the mountain section. |
I have no idea what I have ahead of me today, she was also telling me over Brekko yesterday that she has seen Juan Fangio race, she has also met our Aussie motorcycle heroes Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan & Casey Stoner, so looks like I am in for a very interesting day.
The 1st race (Supersport TT 600) 4 laps kicks off at 1045 this morning, once that race is over the boys in their sidecars have a 2-lap practice session, then at 1415 the (Superstock TT 1,000) 4 laps.
Last night I went to see Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown at the Gaiety Theatre here in Douglas, he is a Pommie comedian, the theatre was packed to the rafters. Trust me this guy would have to be the dirtiest, raunchy, anti-PC person that I have ever seen, how he gets away with his performance in this day and age I will never know. (I loved it).
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| Roy 'Chubby' Brown an acid tongued anti-PC comic |
Tomorrow evening (Tuesday) at 7:30pm the Royal Air Force's Aerobatic Display Team, the Red Arrows, will be displaying their wares over Douglas Bay, can’t wait to see them perform.
Should get me in the mood for my WWII Spitfire flight over the English Channel coming up on Tuesday the 12th June.
Should get me in the mood for my WWII Spitfire flight over the English Channel coming up on Tuesday the 12th June.
Guess what! It is that time of day again. I need to prepare myself for breakfast.
To be continued tomorrow, Cheers for now.
KGW
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