Good morning everyone.
Super smooth ferry crossing and disembarked fairly quickly at 8:15 local time. Topped up with motion lotion at Morlaix, then enjoyed a 90 mile sprint to Dinan for a late breakfast/early lunch.
Off to Caen next and an appointment.
I hear that highway a callin’, oh feel the breeze!
Dookes
Good evening everyone.
A very quick post to say that we are on board our ferry and about to head off towards the restaurant.
The sun shone on us for the short trip into Plymouth and we have enjoyed a wonderful sunset. .
Now if you don’t mind, I’m starving!
Bon soirée, a bientôt!
Dookes
Thank you for all the feedback from my last post on the subject of the next road trip. A couple of questions keep cropping up about how I have found out so much about my two Grandfathers’ Army service, so I thought that I had better explain.
First up is Grandfather William; here I had a bit of a head start and it is he that I have found out most about. Obviously first hand family history is always a good starting point and I was very fortunate that my late Grandmother told me so much about him. In William’s case though, I also came into possession of a very interesting book that was written just after WW1 detailing all the actions and movements of his combat unit during the Great War period. The book was written by one of the Officers of the 94th Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery and was distributed to all the unit’s survivors after the conflict.
It draws upon the war diaries of the unit and gives details of locations, action, targets and sadly the casualties, that the 94th Battery experienced. Alongside the book is a map that accurately shows exactly where the unit was during the whole of its time in France, the details of this map can be accurately plotted on modern maps and looking at Google Earth, amazingly some of the gun locations can still be seen! Guns such this 9.2 inch howitzer, seen here in action on the Somme; note that it took four men to lift the shell, no ear defenders in sight either!
The next bit of good fortune was to be able to obtain William’s Army Service record from the National Records Office. This was a real stroke of luck as unfortunately nearly three-quarters of the historic artillery records were destroyed by Nazi bombing during World war Two. William’s survived, just, because they show signs of burning around the edges! Putting the information from these two sources together I was able to build a pretty good picture of William’s service history, from signing up in 1915 to discharge in 1919. The detail was sufficient that I have been able to virtually say where he was on any specific day and what he may have been involved in. He joined the Army on the 11th December 1915, was posted for training on 8th April 1916 and by July 1916 he was involved in the Battle of The Somme, which all seems amazingly rushed! During the summer of 1917 he was wounded during an artillery duel near Nieuport, but soon returned to frontline service until evacuated back to England in April 1918. He was posted back to mainland Europe and served in the Army of Occupation during 1919. Sadly, in the case of Grandfather Charles we know a lot less. It has been a tad more difficult to find out much beyond the sparse accounts we have from what he told family members. Like many veterans of war he didn’t talk an awful lot about his experiences. Unfortunately his service and unit records were amongst those destroyed by Goering’s bomber boys in WW2. From his medals and medal record card we know that he served with 188 Battery, Royal Field Artillery. Here we see men of the RFA trying to manoeuvre one of their 13 pounder guns in the bottomless mud of France.
There are some pretty useful general records of where 188 Battery saw action, but nothing like as much detail as the RGA book. I know that after the Battle of The Somme his unit was later involved in that other WW1 slaughter at Passchendaele, the Battle of Ypres, in 1917. Was one view into hell not enough? 
So that’s it for now, I do hope that you find this small snapshot of family history interesting. Like I said previously, just two ordinary soldiers who survived the worse conflict in history. Heroes? Well certainly not in their own eyes, but to me they stand with their comrades among the greatest heroes in history. Their fight with the enemy was not personal, indeed they shared a common lot and sadly many would share a common fate. Yet they did what was asked of them, they lived, fought and died for each other and just some, the lucky ones, came home again. Heroes? Undoubtedly!
“I’d heard fool-heroes brag of where they’d been,
With stories of the glories that they’d seen.
But you, good simple soldier, seasoned well
In woods and posts and crater-lines of hell,
And still you whisper of the war, and find
Sour jokes for all those horrors left behind.” Siegfried Sassoon
Catch you all soon. Dookes
PS If anyone is interested, the book I referred to is:
“Siege Battery 94 During the World War 1914-1918” by Major Charles Berkley Lowe. It has now been published now in paperback by The Naval and Military Press in association with the Royal Artillery Museum ; ISBN 1-845740-88-2
The beautiful early spring weather is still with us here in Cornwall, which is great for catching up on all those outdoor jobs that I’ve been unable to do in the winter rains. The trouble is that I really want, no, need, to get out and enjoy it on Harley! Today though, I managed to combine both…so totally guilt free!
I think that I have said before that Dookes H.Q. is about 300 years old and as such makes quite a few demands maintenance wise. The current project is to sort out a fifty foot length of French drain where the old terracotta pipes have collapsed and need to be replaced. Having spent the first part of the morning on preparation work I realised that I needed to get an extra pipe connector….better get Harley out!
Earlier this week Harley was in the Plymouth Harley Davidson dealership for her annual service and when I was getting her ready, just to make life a bit easier for the technicians, I took off both the panniers and the Touring Screen. Without the screen I think that she looks as sexy as hell!
So when I popped out for the connector I left the screen off, just to look cool!
It only took a few miles before I realised how much difference that piece of plexiglass makes! Boy, did the wind give me a battering once we got over sixty miles per hour. The round trip was only fifty miles, but by the time I got home I was feeling like I’d been doing a hundred press ups, such was the pummelling that my upper body got! The screen went straight back on! After her service Harley felt crisp and responsive, as always a joy to ride, just a tad sweeter for a bit of T.L.C.!
Lovely light across Bodmin Moor, what a great place to live!
Now it’s time to sit down in front of the T.V. and watch the last of this year’s Six Nations Rugby, the drains can wait until tomorrow!
No wrong, no right.
I’m gonna tell you there’s no black and no white.
Catch you all soon,
Dookes
“As I wandered by the way, bare winter suddenly was changed to Spring”.
So wrote the great romantic poet, Percy Shelley.
The weather this weekend in the South West of England has certainly lived up to the words of the great man. After months of storms, gales and relentless rain, finally, the sun has shone upon us!
So it was only polite to get Harley out on the road and go enjoy this taste of better days ahead. The trees remain bare and the fields still a little jaded from winter, but daffodils and primroses are colouring the hedgerows, whilst snowdrops fleck the woods. The sky was a bright cheerful blue as Harley and I first hit the almost deserted A30 and headed East towards the Dartmoor town of Okehampton. From there we turned North onto the A386 as far as Great Torrington before heading South West to Holsworthy and Launceston.
Crossing the River Torridge at Orford Mill. This is Tarka the Otter county.
The B3227 road from Torrrington to Stibb Cross was great fun, only six and a half miles but just the thing to really get stuck into the bendy bits and the bonus was no traffic at all, Harley and I loved it!
Near Dutson we crossed the River Tamar back into Cornwall and just for a change used the old bridge, which dates from 1505. It’s not just France that has interesting bridges! I couldn’t resist stopping to grab a photo. This side Cornwall, the other side England!
The good news is that the Jet Stream is moving north and high pressure is set over the country for at least the next week = more dry weather! Happy Harley Days ahead!
Yes I’m back in black!
Dookes
Next up, a service for Harley, prior to visiting Northern France. Watch this blog.
Gool Piran Lowen!
Or if you like in English, Happy St Piran’s Day!
That first bit is in the Celtic language of Cornwall.
It’s is a pretty special day here as not only is there brilliant sunshine, if a bit frosty this morning, but it is the day when Cornwall celebrates one of its Saints and all that is Cornish! Yep you’ve guessed, it usually involves consumption of large amounts of local food and drink! As Mrs Dookes is Cornish, I wonder what she is sorting for supper?
So who was Saint Piran? Well legend has it that he came from Ireland and arrived on the shores of Cornwall having crossed the Irish Sea riding on a millstone! History shows that he was an Abbot in who worked in Cornwall during the 6th Century. Legend also has it that he was involved in the early extraction of the metallic element Tin from local ores; history also shows that tin was extracted in Cornwall long before St Piran arrived! Piran is recognised as the patron saint of tin miners the world over and one of the three adopted Saints of Cornwall; St Michael and St Petroc are also in that select club. Nonetheless, the influence of Piran on both Cornwall and Cornish life has, over the centuries, been immeasurable.
All over Cornwall the flag of Piran is being flown, it reputedly represents liquid tin flowing over the smelters charcoal. It’s pretty cool, but not as good as a Red Dragon!
So I wish you all well for today and remember the old saying; that anywhere in the world where there is a hole in the ground, there is probably a Cornishman at the bottom of it!
Gotta get out on my Harley. Only four weeks until the next road trip!
Hwyl fawr!
Dookes
Hello everyone, I wish you all the very Celtic best for St David’s Day. This is the day when the Welsh in exile all over the world remember the Land of My Fathers, eat leeks, Welsh Cakes and generally feel sorry for everyone who isn’t Welsh or of Welsh decent!
St David was Welsh bishop during the 6th century; he was later recognised as a Saint and was adopted as the patron saint of Wales. Importantly David was a native of Wales, a relatively large amount of information is known about his life and he is buried in St David’s Cathedral in West Wales. His flag is a gold cross on a black background and can often be seen flying alongside the Red Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch in Wales.
This morning in Cornwall UK is rather nice, well at least it’s not raining! I hope to get out for a ride on Harley, but first I have to deal with a backlog of outdoor jobs at Dookes H.Q., so who knows. Oh yes, and I’ve got to prepare Mrs Dookes a St David’s Day dinner….it will have leeks in it!
Gotta dash and run the flag up! Have a great St David’s Day.
Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad.
Hwyl Fawr!
Dookes.
Ok, I know, it was weeks ago that I promised details of this year’s trips and I am sorry to have been so slow in getting something on the blog! I have not been dragging my heals on purpose, but some of the plotting has taken a tad longer than I expected.
The present plan is for two trips this season; first up in April is a bit of a pilgrimage to Northern France to visit the battlefields of the Somme. The mission will also take in the Normandy Beaches of D-Day fame, bear in mind that 2014 marks 100 years since the start of World War One and 70 years since D-Day. There are personal reasons why I have to do this trip and some very specific places that I need to experience, all will be revealed in the future, so please tag along. On this mission, for a change, Harley and I will be accompanied by my oldest pal, Vifferman, and his two wheeled Honda thingy. 
This is the area of the Somme where we are heading too. There are some very famous and indeed infamous place names on this section of map, go Google and you’ll see what I mean. Acknowledgement to Michelin Maps for use of the map as well. The medals belonged to my Maternal Grandfather and are (l-r) the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, again more details to come.
Later, in June, Harley and I are off on another solo adventure through Spain, Andorra, France and Italy…just pleasure this time you’ll be pleased to know…isn’t it always eh?
Changing the subject a bit. As many of you know I am a member of the Harley Owners Group, HOG for short. Each year HOG issues all members with a year patch, so we can sew it on our jackets like boy scouts! This year the patch is supposed to be inspired by a rattlesnake skin, at first I wasn’t so keen, but hey it’s kinda growing on me!
Last weekend, after another loads more rain we were treated to a rare, beautiful, Saturday morning. Just had to get Harley out of the Man-Cave and reel off a quick 100 miles of perfection. It’s good for me you know! I believe I have a reputation for loving French bridges, but lets celebrate one of our own, this is Trevido Viaduct, near Menheniot, in Cornwall and photographed from the A38.
Catch you all soon.
You better stop, look around. Here it comes, here it comes….
Dookes
Hello everybody!
Firstly BIG apologies for being very tardy with blog updates…yeah I know, all the best blogs have regular updates, but if you ain’t got anything useful to say or report I think it’s often best to say nothing!
Since we got back from Burgundy I have to admit that I haven’t managed to get out much on my beloved Harley. The main reason for this absence of two-wheeled action is building work at Dookes H.Q. and when I have been free the weather has been so sh*tty that I haven’t felt very inclined to get Harley covered in autumn road muck! The only trouble with living in a 300 year old house, which is also an historic listed building, is that you have to do things the traditional way and use traditional materials….which means that everything takes about four times as long to do. So here we are on the shortest day of the year and now it’s officially winter; the building project is coming on nicely, only three more coats of lime plaster to put on with at least ten days between each! There is light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Yesterday I slipped into Plymouth Harley Davidson, just to say hi to a few friends, drool over the 2014 touring models again and pick up some petrol conditioner. I know I told you how much I like the new Electra Glide, but here’s another photo anyway!
The fuel additive is to stabilise the petrol currently in Harley’s tank; petrol is like other hydrocarbons in so far as it is slightly hygroscopic, it likes grabbing water molecules from the atmosphere and this can, technically speaking, bugger up your equipment if you are not using it! So, as I don’t know when I’m going to get the chance to hit the road and winter air is full of water molecules the petrol conditioner is going in Harley’s tank; not withstanding that she lives in a heated de-humidified workshop. Yeah i know I spoil that bike!
…oh yeah, I nearly forgot!
I’d better wish you all the very best wishes for the Season! Whether you are celebrating; Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, The Solstice, Dongzhi, Yalda, Saturnalia, Malkh, any other festival that I may have missed, or just looking forward to having a restful holiday, I extend to you my very best wishes. Thanks for joining me for the ride this year, it’s been a ball and I hope you will saddle up with Harley and I in ’14 for more two-wheeled adventure and opinion!
Ring out, ring solstice bells!
Dookes
In memory of Andy, Colin, Eliza and Henry who rode on ahead in 2013.
Hello everyone.
Sorry to have been a bit quiet of late, but currently on holiday with Mrs Dookes, and without Harley. We are staying in the beautiful Movan National Park in Burgandy, France. Unbelieveable weather to boot, 28 degrees yesterday!
This is Montreuillon Aqueduct, you know me just gotta show ya all some cool civil engineering!!!!!!!!!
Hogrider Dookes 