Visit to Whitewebbs Transport Museum October 23

 

Bit of a long title this time, because I do repeated visits to museums and is a reminder for me when I last went. I paid a visit to the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum in September the previous visit was October 2020. Covid has filled the time and much has changed there. Similarly Whitewebbs has moved on. Although I am a supporter of this Museum my health has been such that it was September of 22 was my last visit driving the Burton. This time I was on the Buell. I spent many hours there togged in my bike gear. Boil in a bag is the best description. It was a warm day. 

George and Chris

Over the intervening time the display has undergone a complete rethink assisted by having a new hoist that enables moving the displays between floors. The members of the Motorcycle Volunteers are Chris, George (in picture) and John who, between them have driven the changes and there is more to come. There is a Holden there from 1896. It is a four cylinder with direct crank drive to the rear wheel. The small rear wheel is to reduce the speed achievable. Chris is following up the history behind this motorcycle.

 It is interesting that Hildebrand and Wolfmuller had similar ideas of how to get pistons to make a rotational movement at the same time. Did they ever talk to each other? No idea is born in a vacuum. The mechanism used was the same as on steam engines. Also at that time the ignition systems were primitive even the famous Bosch magneto of later years started life capable only of 200 rpm.

The collection of Rex Judd motorcycles is worth a visit. The Douglas motorcycles of the twenties are of historical note with 1923 being a record year of over 180 records being broken on Douglas motorcycles Rex Judd and Cyril Pullin sharing the honours at Brooklands for the fastest laps at over 105mph with Cyril taking the prize.

 That is fast enough when  you have modern suspension and a strong braced frame but on, what basically was, a bicycle frame with a rigid rear end and at, in places, quite a rough surface was a fete of strength, stamina and sheer determination to hang on to a bucking animal at such speeds. I doff my hat to these guys.

More sedately the collection of British motorcycles has some old favourites like the Ariel Arrow, the Pixie, BSA C12, Enfield Bullet, an Ambassador and a touch of Italy with a Rumi scooter and to finish off in the corner a couple Velocette LEs with Policeman surveying the display. Tucked in there is some Russian hardware a Jupiter 350cc two stroke twin. I once thought about buying one of these but ended up with a Ural instead. A good place to talk about bikes of yesteryear. Open Tuesday and Sundays with allot more to see than bikes.

The Male Menopause

 

The Male Menopause.

This is the transcript of the talk I gave in the meeting Menopause Matters in Wokingham.

I’m not sure am the right person to be talking today. The NHS list of

 Symptoms include:

Mood swings

Loss of muscle

Fat redistribution

General lack of enthusiasm and energy

Difficulty sleeping

Poor concentration and short term memory

Why am I not the right person?

Well I need to tell you something about me. I am a retired scientist having worked in the NHS for nearly forty years. During that time I have been a work place Union rep, campaigned to save a hospital from closure, merged two hospital, brought in new technology and working practices. I ride a motorcycle and riding to work nearly every day has kept me sane and focused requiring 360 degree awareness to stay alive.

 Apparently people who ride motorcycles live longer. I am an advanced motorcyclist and a member if the IAM to improve my survival skills. I am really a petrol head and enjoy bikes and cars with numerous excursions to the Continent for holidays before and after retirement. In 2019 I did a group trip to India with 9 guys who mostly in their mid thirties. The trip covered the seven highest motorable passes in the Ladahk region the highest being 18,300 feet. I thought I needed some training for that altitude so over 4 months I began running every day and was able to run a mile in about ten or eleven minutes. To build up my lung capacity. I survived the altitude and the motorcycling in India as you can see but it was also an inspiration for my young friends whose fathers’ were sitting back watching the world go by. 

There is life beyond retirement. I still do regular exercise but not the running I used to, mainly to maintain a level of fitness and flexibility. Motorcycling can be quite physical. I have to keep my mind active and I write regular postings in my blog talking about motorcycles, cars and travel. I restore motor cycles and I am restoring an old car at present. I have built two kit cars one we took to Croatia in 2019 ( Burton)and the other ( El Cid) we did a circuit of Spain in 2022.

 As a scientist I enjoy the challenge of taking something from an idea to a finished article. I need that to get out of bed in the morning. In 2004 I did an Endurance Rally around Morocco ( El Cid) and came nineteenth out of thirty-three entered. Such was the competition from Ford Mustangs  and 1930’s Bentleys.

Now my wife is, as I call her, a “Master Chef” creating freshly cooked meals for me each day, a delight for my taste buds. Our Assamese friends don’t  know why I am not the size of a house.

The male menopause to me is a state of mind. If you think you can’t do it you won’t. Getting old is an excuse to give up trying. Use it or lose it. Be positive.

I any house hold hormones rage at certain times and I have been with a family where mother was menopausal on one side and a pubescent daughter on the other. There was a war zone between. Not good for domestic harmony. My decision was to take cover and wait for a truce. Is that a start of a male menopause. To sit back and let life overtake you? 

I leave you with this thought that perhaps I am still not the best person to talk about the male menopause. Or is it just getting old by another name. If you don’t lay down and roll over perhaps you are able to slow the aging process down a little.

 

Symptoms

 

Symptoms.

My catalogue of symptoms seems never ending. Each day something different. Today I have Blocked Eustachian tubes, like you have water in your ears. I am always a little sinuses but it is more than usual along with this I have a mental fog that makes my thinking vague and speech lazy. I am having a conversation and I can’t string a sentence together or remember words. Reading is hard work as my concentration is not there.  All I can cope with is watching tele. Fortunately it is MotoGP and World Superbikes. I feel I should be doing something with my day but I have only a morning’s worth of energy not enough to work through the day. I have bits to do on the car but keep putting it off. I have become a manjana guy. I was never like this. Now I also have sensitive teeth. Hot, cold and bite, I can now feel my filings when I am chewing. This has not been recent. I feel sensitive from top to toe including joints, neck, shoulder and hips.

 

The origins of my ailments begin after my first Covid vaccine. There are irritating symptoms like when you are trying to swallow and it catches your breath and sets off a fit of coughing or your swallow reflex stalls and you take in air making you swallow a painful lump. Gas is caught in your stomach and causes an acid belch and heartburn. My gastric system feels slow and I am not getting the nutrition from what I eat as I should. My poo can now take up to three days before completing  the cycle with uncomfortable gas putting pressure on my prostate generating a painful sore feeling not unlike the effects of a Vindaloo consumed the night before. What have I contracted after catching Covid last year?

I have recently been on a half board resort holiday to Greece where I had the opportunity to eat unlimited food. This included bacon and egg for breakfast each morning and a three course meal each evening. Soup, salad, main course of meat and two veg sometimes a dessert and a beer to wash it down.  My poo then became a regular daily event and predictable. Regressing when I returned home. I don’t think I could afford to continue to eat that much food. The consequences of eating so much was to induce an episode of gout in my right wrist which has been painful and incapacitating. Sunshine and sea has been a good medicine. My sinuses have improved. My binocular vision has stabilised with my vision no longer with both eyes not working together, It is an effect of the eyes not working together but catching up if you move quickly taking time to focus. Not unlike having a hangover but I have not been drinking. This has put me off driving because I could not have a quick look and it did upset my balance. I have had to watch where I put my step especially going down stairs. I did see some improvements away in the sun with my vision stabilising and balance improving with my ability to step over things with confidence.

I feel like my gut is the centre of my problems. My wellbeing improves with the health of my gut. I still feel toxic, lacking energy not only to focus my mind but stimulate my body to do things. I still have problems reading, seeing but not understanding and have to concentrate quite hard to understand the written word.

In August just prior to Registers day I was prescribed Omeprazole for the heartburn and indigestion. It seemed to be not doing allot for my heartburn but may have been why I was so unwell for the British Motor Show the following week.  The dose was increased and within twenty-four hours there was a distinct effect. I had severe gut pain my balance was not good and my energy levels had gone. I could hardly climb the stairs and I had gone quiet. All I could do was watch tele. I stopped taking Omeprazole and the gut pain stopped the other effects have taken more than two weeks to disappear. This is a debilitating drug for me and did nothing to help my digestive problems. I can now read and understand, what was affecting my sinuses has gone although I am not sure if this is related, I can balance with confidence and I have energy and my swallowing and catching breath situation is getting better. Was it the drug the trigger for the beginning of my improvement or my holiday in Greece with plenty of sunshine and good food and some beer to make me feel better?

I'm still not A one, I get easily side tracked. Doing one thing and for no reason other than it came to mind I start doing something else until I remember what I was supposed to be doing so far I have had no disasters but close calls when cooking. A few things have been burnt but not the house yet. This goes along with the brain fog I mentioned earlier. My recent visit to the Nehru Centre for Dementia Day with Gita performing a Sattriya dance and reading a Poem made me very proud of her. It was very thought provoking and an exceptional day.

Norfolk 2023

 

Norfolk 2023

and the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum

I have been up to the Broads at the end of September for a break away with my brothers Barry and Adrian. A boys week sailing and fishing. I enjoy the trips out in the boat under sail or even by outboard when the sailing gets tough. I don’t do so well fishing so this is when a visit to the local Motorcycle Museum comes in. I drove up to Martham in the Burton having to pay ULEZ as it is not yet a Historical Vehicle and again on the return journey. I feel aggrieved that I have to pay when other larger engined thirsty vehicles do not and yet they cause more pollution in a day than my car does in a year of driving. Norfolk had beautiful weather this year, lots of sun and light winds so I managed a number of short videos reflecting the peace and tranquillity of gliding, sometimes not so quietly, along the waterways of the broads. We found a new pub to visit for the evenings The Nelsons Head that does a number of traditional beers and ales but the food is something else. The ham egg and chips had almost half a pig on the plate with two very thick slices of ham. The beers are guest ales and one night there were more than five available and change regularly, almost daily. It was a beer festival each visit.

On a fishing day I went off to the Museum at North Walsham to revisit some old friends. Not surprisingly the prices have increased since my last visit in 2021. I was in the El Cid then, the Burton provided some interest as it does everywhere and was the topic of conversation. The Museum has changed a bit with displays being more organised and also with new machines coming in to keep the displays fresh and some of the older ones being sold on. It is a dynamic Museum. My interest is still with the bikes But I did hear some disturbing information that post Covid the old British Bike market has become less active. Prices are falling with bikes that commanded prices of £6000 to £7000 have now reduced to £4000 to £5000. I am not surprised as those who bought them at the higher prices have become old or passed away and those left have already bought  memories of their youth. The next generation have a different era of motorcycles to reminisce over. This Museum reflects this with Fizzies and Maxi Puchs, Honda’s, Suzuki’s and Kawasaki’s. One of the guy’s there has a rotary Norton as his daily ride. It is a living Museum and hopefully I’ll be back next year for another visit.