August 2026

 

August 2026

 

The first weekend is Wey Valley Advanced  Motorcyclists Observed Sunday. This Sunday I use the Kawasaki. I discovered a fuelling problem on the Buell and will need to get it looked at before doing any miles. This Sunday was a pleasant day to ride on. A bit cooler than the blisteringly hot weather we have had. T he Buell gets too hot to ride in these conditions in traffic. I need to be doing fifty not to get burned with the heat from the exhaust. A week later I visited Snobs to have the mapping checked and  took it away to check the changes. I will need to do more miles to see the difference.

 

It was much better. I spent several days writing and posting Coast to Coast in time to go on holiday again with the grandchildren in Spain. There were three birthday’s while were away Gita, Ena and Ivy. There was allot of celebrations and special things done in Barcelona with a big breakfast at “Billy Brunch” and a visit to the Planetarium. I was impressed by the way it was laid out and by how a rain forest is portrayed. There was a visit to the Sagrada area for many street displays that happen each year with the best display getting recognition and a prize. We saw a portrayal of Harry Potter, a battle scene from Lord of the Rings and the life of a fly.

In a few days the family took the afternoon ferry to Mallorca and  hired a car to get us to a remote villa. The ferry took nearly four and a half hours and we only just got to the hire place   in time before it closed at eight in the evening. Gita chose to drive following  Isaac and  Ivy. Mallorca is not that big an island but it took nearly an hour to get to the villa. It was at the other side of the island to the ferry port and airport of Palma.

 The quietest  place you could retreat to and I spent lots of time reading  beside the pool. There were numerous visits to local beaches and a visit to the town of Palenca with its’ church on a hill and three hundred and sixty-five steps to get to it and an Indian restaurant just off the square to have lunch in between rain storms. Having returned to the villa  and finding Youtube available we watched our video of 2025. It is a comedy by Nisha Kalita commenting on how the tourists are ripped off  by traders. Gita and I played the unsuspecting tourists with a happy ending.

Last day Isaac and Ivy with the grandchildren went to the port for the return ferry to Barcelona and we went to Palma after vacating the villa. We spent the whole day visiting the historic features in the old town before eating  in a new style restaurant, Organic, just around the corner from the car park. After dropping the hire car off at the airport our flight was delayed by an hour making it nearly midnight before taking a taxi home.

Bank Holiday weekend was the Assam Day event held each year by the UAAUK charity. This year Gita was invited to dance and went to Nottingham  and Eastwood Hall in the Burton. It was a very wet drive and there were delays all the way making the one hundred and thirty miles a four hour marathon. Gita was first to dance on the Saturday and did a new composition from  her mentors, Dipjyoti and Depankur put to a song sung by Zuben Garg. Sunday was even better with her performing a classical Sattriya dance before a very special performance  of the story of Rama’s wedding. It is a classical story because his wife is kidnapped on the day of the wedding and the performance follows  his quest to find her and bring her home. This is a very special play from Indian history and is the first time presented in the UK. All organised by Madhurima. An exceptional lady with amateur cast from  members of the Assam Association. It is something worth seeing.

We had a very social weekend talking to old friends who, after reading my article in the Assam Association magazine could not believe I had  ridden a bike in Arunachal on such an arduous journey. The journey home in the Burton took just as long with just as many delays on the Monday but it was in sunshine nearly all the way and a tail wind to help us on our way.