Tag Archives: Motorcycle Roadtrips

The Last Lap Home

Posted on by
2

OK, I need to be honest about this trip; I’ve found it really tough!

I’m thinking that its a mixture of things:
1. I’m out of practice riding motorcycles; with all the upheaval last year I just haven’t had time to get out on any kind of two wheels. Plus with all our things in storage, I couldn’t get at them anyway.
2. I’m carrying a couple of injuries at the moment, nothing serious, but enough to inhibit me a bit and at times make life a bit uncomfortable, plus I’m as a result not as fit as I like to be!
3. The weather. Riding in our Northern latitudes in early Spring is always going to be a bit of a lottery with the weather, plus inevitably it’s going to cold a times. OK, I do wear my heated clothing and it has been quite a bonus on this trip, but after a few hours in the saddle you do still feel the cold in the unheated bits! Rain doesn’t really bother me, except when it makes the roads greasy, as my gear is all very waterproof.
4. I’m getting older. No escaping this, I’m not going to let it stop me, but maybe I need to modify my approach to motorcycle touring in future?

Anyway, we are now home in Caithness, arriving here after a 300 mile push from Lauder in the Scottish Borders last Saturday.

I think that I can describe the day as a symphony in four movements…

Lauder to Edinburgh was delightful on open roads in the early morning crisp sunshine.

Scottish Borders Roads. Smooth, Sweeping, Empty.

Edinburgh ring road to Perth via the Queensferry Crossing was busy, very busy and not over enjoyable.

Queensferry Crossing.

Perth to Inverness on the A9 climbing into the Highlands was a hard section; fantastic scenery as the mountains rose around us, annoying traffic at times and getting colder.

Welcome to The Highlands, snow on the mountains still!

Inverness to Caithness, a feeling of opening freedom, clean air, less traffic, fun roads and the joy of getting near home.

Nearly Home!

The last bit is always something to be wary of, as many accidents befall motorcyclists at the end of long trips just as they are nearing home! A bit of light rain began to fall ten minutes from Dookes H.Q. and was enough to turn the roads quite greasy, so yes, time to be extra cautious!

Caithness Roads, take us home!

The trip is over now and though I’m still physically recovering from it, I’ve had time to process it all a bit.

It’s been strange doing a long trip in my own Country and by that I mean the UK.

In comparison to my many Continental Europe trips I was struck by how busy and crowded our small island is; I didn’t have to stray into any major city centres to notice that!
Everywhere in England people seemed to be always in a massive hurry and yes it was really noticeable how much things change once we got into Scotland.

I saw evidence throughout the journey of crumbling and neglected infrastructure. Roads were deteriorating and pot holes common; bloody dangerous for the unwary motorcyclist too! Even on the arterial Motorways, potholes were not uncommon and many motorway signs were becoming barely legible through weathering and neglect.
The verges of many roads were strewn with litter and obvious fly tipping in lay-bys seemed normal.
Considerate and careful driving was not over common…
In many ways parts of the trip were quite depressing, but then there were the people, people who were friendly, wanted to ask about Harls and just were interested in what we were doing; that was nice and rather up-lifting. More about them in another post I feel.

The scenery was the thing though; at time it’s just breathtakingly beautiful.
From distant glimpses of the Welsh mountains, the wide sweeping Severn Valley, the sturdy Pennines and West Riding of Yorkshire, the high Westmorland Fells, Scottish Borders and finally the Highlands, every region has such lovely natural treasures.
The 868 miles that we covered were worth it for that alone; even though I didn’t grab many pictures, so much variety in such a little island!
Would I want to do the whole trip again? No, I don’t think so, I’ve got a lot of other new places I really want to go and most of them are pretty much on my doorstep.

The view from Dookes H.Q.
The view from home at Dookes H.Q.

Now, I’m starting to build a new garage for Harls and Hettie and when I’ve done that we will be back out on the road, after all I have the whole of Scotland to explore!


Hope to catch you soon.

“This land is my land,
This land is your land,
From Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands,
This land was made for you and me” …with apologies to Woody Guthrie!

Dookes

On The Border

Posted on by
2

After the relentless rain in Lancashire yesterday afternoon, it was a relief to wake to almost dry skies.

Harls and I hit the road bang on nine o’clock and headed North, through Gisburn and then to Settle, which is at the South end of the famous Settle and Carlisle Railway.

The fells looked fabulous, but I wanted to push on and get a sixty mile section of the M6 Motorway out of the way.
I generally dislike riding on Motorways, not just because they are boring, but mostly they can be dangerous for motorcyclists. Dangerous through poor lane discipline and bad driving habbits of many other road users and wow were those on full display today!

Because the weather was so nice when we got on the motorway, I was planning to stop at Shap and maybe watch a few trains pass on the famous climb from Tebay; a gradient that used to severely tax the old steam locomotives and even makes modern traction cough a bit!

In my railway career days, I’ve driven trains over it and I know how it can catch out the unwary. It’s a stunning location, but is mountainous country and the weather can change in an instant…. just like today.
We were happily travelling up the sunny Lune Gorge just South of Shap, up ahead I could see ominous black clouds and mist, this was going to be interesting! True to form, we rapidly moved into reduced visibility, biblical rain and gale force winds; I do like a challenge, but the Shap stop was scrubbed!

The Fells though, have a habit of changing their mind fairly quickly and by Carlisle we got back into sunshine and swung off the dreadful motorway and onto the A7 road through the Scottish Borders.

The A7, my kind of road!

This road has long been on my UK bucket list and I wasn’t disappointed. It starts of innocuously enough, then sort of develops into a lovely scenic twisty indulgent asphalt ribbon of happiness.
It has enough jeopardy at times to keep a motorcyclist alert without being dangerous and some glorious straight bits where you can soak in the views or burn up the fuel a bit quicker.

I’m afraid that on the best bit, between Langholm and Hawick, I didn’t stop to take photos, I was too busy enjoying myself!
North of Galashiels though I grabbed a few pictures, it’s not bad, eh?

Tonight we are in the Royal Burgh of Lauder, a delightful small town about 30 miles South of Edinburgh. 

Tomorrow, it’s a big push of 300 miles back home to Caithness, with a brief stop at Edinburgh Harley Davidson to discuss service plans; yes they really are my “local” Harley Davidson Dealership and service workshop!

We will be traversing the Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth adjacent to the famous Forth Bridge built to carry the North British Railway’s line from Edinburgh to Aberdeen in 1890.

Then its off to Perth and the Highlands, following the A9 just about all the way home…

The Highlands are calling me …..

Are you coming along for the ride?
Good, stands up at 09:00; Screw it, Let’s ride!

“On the border 
Leave me be , I’m just walkin’ this line 
On the border” 

Catch you soon,
Dookes

What We Do For Love

Posted on by
2

This blog is supposed to be about the my travels on my Harley Davidson motorcycles and to be honest, of late they haven’t featured very much.
Our move from one end of the UK to the other, Cornwall to Caithness has had a lot to do with that….not to mention that my beloved Softail, Harls, remained behind when we moved, waiting for me to collect her at a suitable date in the future.

Well that date has arrived!

I’m currently in Lancashire just over 300 miles from Cornwall and 450 still to go back to Caithness….and yes Harls is with me!

It’s Harls! Looking a bit road stained in the Lancashire rain.

We hit the road yesterday and wow, was it good to be sitting in her saddle again!
It had been a while since I last rode her, September last year to be honest, since then she has safely resided in my friend Peter’s workshop in Cornwall.
I’m pleased to say that after a thorough safety check, a wiff of air in the tyres and reconnecting the battery…she started first time, bursting back into life and happily burbling that familiar Harley “Potato, Potato” song from her exhaust.

I just fell in love with her all over again!

Yesterday we took a steady trundle up through the Welsh Marches to an ovenight stop in North Shropshire with two wonderful and special hosts, plus on the way meeting up with a very, very, special person who I hadn’t seen in years. That was quite some hug!!
It was quite an emotional day that left me feeling very happy and grateful for my many blessings.
Today we rode to Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales, to drop in on to say hello and share a coffee with a mate. Tonight we are at the foot of Pendle Hill in Lancashire, made famous/infamous by the trial and execution of The Pendle Witches in 1612.

Yesterday and this morning we enjoyed glorious riding weather; this afternoon, not so great, with vicious winds and lashing rain. Let’s be honest, it was just the “Weather Clerk” checking out just how much I enjoy riding Harls…

How did it go?
Well, I will admit to being a bit “Ride Rusty” yesterday when we got going, not dangerously so, but I was having to think about what I was doing, but after a couple of hours I got into the groove and things became more instinctive and considerably more enjoyable.

It occurred to me that this is the first long distance ride that I have ever done in the UK and as such I really should embrace the same principle I apply to my long distance Continental trips.
In other words, as my late lamented mate Floyd used to say,
“To know a country, you must eat a country!”

Well OK Floyd; last night was Shropshire beef steak, beautifully cooked blue, just how I like it, accompanied by wonderful conversation and a toast to those we have lost

Tonight, it’s the local speciality of Pendle Pie a wonderfully calorie laden creation of beef in an ale gravy, topped with mash potatoes and cheese, served with seasonal vegetables. Accompanied with a pint, or two, of the local IPA.
“Only” 1055kcal, it’s how they keep the rain out in these parts!

It seems to be working!

Tomorrow we will get to Scotland, but with still a bunch of miles to follow on Saturday.
I could have had Harls shipped up, but I feel its only right to give her the dignity of arriving in her new home on her own two wheels.
I love that bike and for the people and things I love, I will do anything.

“Spread out the oil, the gasoline
I walk smooth, ride a mean, mean machine
Start it up”

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Big Skies

Posted on by
4

Now you are going to have to indulge me a little with this post, mainly because I can’t decide which photographs to leave out!

Since we moved to Caithness I have fallen in love with the sky.
It’s a big sky, with far horizons, crystal clear air, amazing clouds, glorious sunrises, and majestic sunsets.

At night it is a black as ink and flushed through by a billion stars.
One day i will master the science of photographing the night sky, but for now I have to stand an gaze at the heavens in wonder.

Daytime. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s beyond just “daytime” in these parts.
It must be a combination of being so near the cold near Arctic Sea, the clean air and our Northern latitude, that makes the air sparkle and even overcast days seem vibrant.

The mountains add to that gin clear sky feeling by pushing clouds high and aside by their mass.

Someone once speculated that there are places where the gap between Earth and Heaven is thin….
I’m beginning to feel that this little corner of the world is one of those special spots!

Sunrise and Sunset are always special times too.
Until we moved here, I had never seen such fiery displays in the heaven; I frequently enjoy sitting and absorbing the solar kaleidoscope unfold above me.

Last weekend I managed to get out for a ride on one of my Harleys.
It was mind clearing, but also made me feel very small underneath those soaring skies.

If this is what motorcycling in the Far North is going to be like, I cant wait to do more of it!

It’s going to be hard to decide where to go to next really!

“Ride like the wind at double speed
I’ll take you places that you’ve never, never seen”

Catch you soon,

Dookes

Adding Some Omphf!

Posted on by
2

Well, I’ve had been dithering about it for some time and then I have finally bit the bullet and trundled Hettie into Plymouth Harley Davidson for that Stage Two Tuning I wrote about a couple of months back.

Hettie

In essence it’s a fairly simple job; just dismantle half the engine, throw away a few bits, add in some new ones, bolt it all back together and ride off with a smile on your face…!

If only it were that simple!

The whole job takes a skilled Harley Technician about five hours to install the new high-lift cam, pushrods and remap the ECU, it wasn’t something that I fancied doing myself. Whilst we were at it though I also arranged for a new high capacity oil pump to be fitted, you can’t have too much lubrication if there is more horse power involved.

I am grateful to Damien at Plymouth Harley Davidson for doing the work and also taking some photos for me as a record.

First of all the fuel tank had to come off. Then the air cleaner and timing cover are removed.
You can see the end of the oil pump with its drive chain at the bottom of this picture.

The drive is dismantled.

Once the oil pump is out of the way, the old camshaft is removed and replaced with the new sexy one. Unfortunately Damien didn’t take any pics of that stage, but this is what it looks like.

After that, the new oil pump goes in…I don’t know why its orange as you cant see it once everything goes back together!

Then once it’s back together, no one would ever know the difference…

Until you open the throttle…
Then it’s 0 to ‘Maximum Smiles per Hour’ in just a few seconds!

Oh and she sounds just great too!

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Gremlins!!

Posted on by
5

I first published this post way back in 2015!

Following a comment this week from my blogging friend Michael Graeme, I thought that I would revisit and update it, as things in the Gremiln world have moved on a bit since 2015!

Don’t forget to visit Michael’s site, https://michaelgraeme.wordpress.com/ he writes some lovely tales that are well worth following!

Now with Gremlins I’m not referring the  fictional characters in the Hollywood films of the same name. These little fellows are real and play havoc with all kinds of electrical and mechanical equipment.

It is believed that these little creatures first came to notice during the First World War between 1914 and 1918. Perhaps the activities of the war released them from an underground lair? Certainly they were documented by the Royal Air Force in the 1920’s, when the Gremlin delectation for mischief with aeroplanes and engines was further recorded.

During World War II aircrew of the RAF blamed Gremlins for inexplicable occurrences during their flights and missions. Members of the United States Army Air Force also began to experience the exasperating effects of these Imp like little devils. There was even a view that Gremlins had enemy sympathies, but investigations subsequently revealed that enemy aircraft had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems; they were just as prevalent in the Luftwaffe and Imperial Japanese Airforce!

It appeared that Gremlins were equal opportunity beings that took no side in the battle; rather they acted in self-interest wreaking their mischief on whoever came into their range.

Since the end of the Second World War the opportunity for Gremlin mischief has literally exploded. The world is now a much more mechanical and electrical place, giving even the most inept trainee Gremlin the chance to practice their dark skills. Since the demise of powerful piston engine aircraft, there is however, one machine that Gremlins love above all others. . . Motorcycles!

Gremlins are now known to be evil road spirits. They jump onto passing motorcycles because they love to ride, feel the wind in their ears and the vibrations of the engine, they are often the cause of many problems endured by bikers. There is however, hope. Many years ago an old biker discovered that Gremlins hate the sound of a small ringing bell. There are many versions of the story of how this happened, but it appears that the evil road spirits can’t bear the ringing and that they get trapped in the hollow body of the bell. Then their hypersensitive hearing and the constant ringing in a confined space drives them insane and they lose their grip and eventually fall off.

Over time it has become apparent that these bells have even more power if they have been received as a gift; sure they work fine if you buy one yourself, but for maximum protection you really need to receive one from a friend or loved one as a gift. That way the magic is doubled, because out there somewhere, you have a friend looking out for you.

So next time you walk past a motorcycle, take a look and see if you can spot a small bell, either on the handlebars or maybe on the swing arm. Whenever you see a biker with a bell you will know that they have been blessed with the most important thing in life, love and friendship. The spirit of camaraderie and brotherhood between bikers is what the ride bell encompasses.

P1030523

So you can imagine I was pretty happy when Mrs Dookes presented me with this little beauty to hang on Hettie.

P1030524

…..and then another one for Harls!

As you can see, I took the picture of Hettie’s bell when it was new and before I fixed it to her.
Harls bell shows it has done quite a few miles!

A word of caution though…if you steal a bell from a biker, you steal all the gremlins and the evil that comes with them. So don’t do it, the consequences could be dire!

“You got me ringing hells bells.”

Catch you soon.

Dookes

Black Magic or Witchcraft?

Posted on by
4

I received a message the other day.
“Hey Dookes, how come you haven’t been out riding the mountain passes for a while…?”

Good question, yes, it has been a while since I’ve been on a decent road trip and this is the time of year that I normally would be away. Though to be fair, locally its not a bad place to ride.

As to why:
Well, first off was the small matter of the Covid Pandemic. Now whatever you think about the whole situation surrounding that, there is no doubt that it certainly caused no end of difficulties with travel. In my case there was also the more than slight inconvenience of catching the virus long before vaccines and effective treatment; fun it was not! Then for most of last year I was tied up on a building project here at Dookes H.Q.. Anyone who has had building work done will know just how much time that absorbs.

So that leads us to this year….and just as i was starting to consider slipping off for a quick blast around the mountains, I injured my right shoulder. Bummer. The good news is that some days I’m ok to ride about 50-60 miles, the bad is that other days I’m fit for not much at all and today is one of those!! Fortunately I have an appointment with a Consultant who specialises in shoulders and I am hopeful to get the thing on the road to recovery very soon.

We have been been experiencing lovely sunny riding weather for the last month or so, which has enabled me to get out on my two lovely Harleys when the mood and shoulder permitted. I have also really been falling in love with my Heritage Classic “Hettie” until a couple of weeks ago, that is.

Now “Hettie” is typical of many modern motorcycles and other vehicles; full of electronic wizardry that is supposed to aid the rider and deliver maximum efficiency…and all of it beyond my comprehension or ability to put right if it goes wrong! I’m just a simple mechanical engineer!

One of the little gizmos that “Hettie” has is keyless ignition, using a magic fob that unlocks the motorcycle when in close proximity to it. There is no button to press, the machine just senses the fob, disables the immobiliser and allows me to start the engine…in theory.
I wanted to go for a short ride one evening a few weeks ago, but when I climbed on board the display simply told me “No Fob”. Except I was holding it in my hand!
No panic, I popped back inside Dookes H.Q. and brought out my other fob, to which the bike started with no problem.
Next day I decided to investigate and yes one fob would definitely not work; so I changed the fob battery. It still wouldn’t work.
Time to check the user manual. Nothing useful there.
Check on line user forums. Nothing useful there either.

Ring the local Harley Dealership. “Bring her in”.

Monday last week I rolled into Plymouth Harley Davidson and handed over the two fobs and “Hettie”.

Twenty minutes later technician Damien appeared and questioned just exactly what I had experienced as he could not find a fault with either the bike or the fobs! I used to hate that in my railway days, NFF, “No Fault Found”!!! We discussed the issue and he went back to the workshop to try again.

After another 30 minutes “Hettie” and Damien appeared at the front of the Dealership and he confirmed again that he couldn’t get the bike to reveal any fault, but he had, as a precaution, reset the system and reprogrammed the fobs for me.

I concluded that it was Black Magic and that Damien had weaved some kind of Witchcraft to banish the Demons!

I went to pay and was pleasantly surprised when Dealership Principal Chris told me that there was no charge and in addition they had carried out a “health check” on “Hettie” which she had passed with flying colours!
Now that’s what I call good customer service!

Time to ride home…

“Call me the breeze, I keep blowin” down the road”

Catch you soon

Dookes

With many thanks to Plymouth Harley Davidson.

Farkles and Sparkles: Comfort and Safety

Posted on by
5

Earlier this year I went through a slightly worrying phase: I began to question whether I should keep both of my Harley Davidson motorcycles…after all, I can only ride one at a time!

This disturbing musing then threw up another dilemma. If I was to say goodbye to one of my bikes, which one should go?

“Sensible Head” says keep the newest, Heritage Classic Hettie: she has much lower mileage, is more powerful, has modern suspension, better luggage and is generally a bit more comfortable.

“Romantic Head” says keep Centenary Softail Harls; been places, done things and got great memories of the many, many, many miles we have rolled together.

I was still pondering my self imposed conundrum when I visited the local Dealership for Hettie’s service a few weeks back. It was whilst i was waiting that I wandered around the showroom and saw the price of bikes for sale. Not just brand new bikes, but also the price of pre-owned bikes.

I wasn’t just surprised…I was totally dumbstruck by how much Harley Davidson motorcycles were selling for. A new version of Hettie for example would set me back a cool £24,500! (Thats 24,500 UK Pounds) Add into that mix the various tweeks and additions that I’ve done to her and an extra £3000 could easily disappear too…!!! A massive £27,500 in total!!!!

Time for a serious and sensible chat with the Dealer Principle about bike values. Even dear old Harls, who now is, a bit like me, viewed as a “Classic” is now appreciating in value!

Do I need to sell either bike? – No.
Do I want to sell either bike? – No.

What the hell have I been thinking about???

So I did what any sensible Harley rider should do and ordered a set of heated grips and a new LED “Daymaker” headlamp for Harls! The grips for a bit of added comfort and the nice bright headlamp for a bit of added safety.

The Dealership fitted the grips a week or so back, as previously reported, I got around to fitting the headlamp yesterday.

All was good until, after a nice test ride, I decided to give the headlamp mounting bolt an extra bit of torque and the distinctly heard something tear in my right shoulder! I dropped the wrench like I had been hit by an electric cattle prod and am now sitting writing this with my arm in a sling and stoked up on pain-killers and anti-inflammatories!!!

Oh the joys of getting older!!!

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Back In The Dealership

Posted on by
2

I have a problem, it’s pretty persistent and can flare up without warning…

It frequently happens when i walk into a Harley Davidson Dealership and usually involves parting with substantial sums of cash!

A week ago I was sitting here in Plymouth Harley Davidson, waiting for Hettie’s service to be completed thinking how nice it was riding in with her heated grips keeping my hands warm…and the thought occurred to me, “Why haven’t I ever had heated grips fitted to Harls?”

Good question Dookes…and to be honest, it has never really occurred to me in the past to fit them!

Well, that didn’t seem like a very good excuse not to have them…so i ordered a set and here I am waiting for them to be fitted! Call it my 20th Anniversary present to her!

One of the old grips, I’ve been to a lot of places holding onto those!

It’s just a shame that it’s such a crap day, weather-wise, to ride a motorcycle!
There’s reasonably heavy, no, read monsoon, rain, gusty winds, lots of spray and the roads are a slippery as hell!…Welcome to Cornwall and Devon in March!!

I’m valiantly trying, successfully so far, not to spend any more money. I am though looking forward to enjoying the new heated grips on the way home! Not that I froze on the way here, i have my heated under-jacket and gloves with me, I’ll just be a little bit more comfortable…

Nice new shiny heated grips!

Catch you soon,

Dookes

Winter Solstice Greetings

Posted on by
8

Hello dear readers, yes I know “Where have you been Dookes?”

Life is busy, hectic, interesting and really quite good….I’m not complaining at all!
I am struggling though, to find time to do any writing, let alone keep this blog updated. So please forgive me.

Today is the Winter Solstice and as a result I’m very happy in a Druid-like way. Lacking time to get very creative and write a new post I’m going to break one of my own rules and rework something that I wrote previously, but hey it’s my blog and my rules!!!

Have a great Solstice everyone.

“Now is the Solstice of the year.
Winter is the glad song that you hear.”

It doesn’t take much to make me happy, which might seem a bit strange for a chap who owns two big Harley Davidson motorbikes, but it’s true. Today, for example, is one of those things that no-one can own, hold, buy or claim; take note Mr Musk! It’s the Winter Solstice and I’m a very happy Dookes as a result!

It’s probably fair to say that this has become my favourite day of the whole year!

In our Northern Hemisphere it is the shortest day, when the Sun barely shows itself above the horizon and then for the briefest possible time! Sunset today is just before 16:00hrs!

Stennes Stones Orkney

The Solstice marks the turn of the seasons when the days begin to grow longer and the warmth of Summer begins its long return journey.

It’s also the real beginning of Winter.

I written before how the relevance of this turning point has become stronger for me as I have grown older; I understand the ancient people who venerated the turning seasons and the Celestial Calendar, I celebrate their wisdom and align myself to their beliefs.

It appears that since the dawn of time our forbears have found reason to celebrate a festival of light in the depths of the darkest day of the year. So why not have a party to celebrate the ending of one celestial year and the beginning of a new one?

Sounds good to me, but then I am a Welsh Wizard/Dewin Cymreig!

Let’s not forget that many other cultures and religions around the world also celebrate festivals at this time of the year and have the rebirth of light firmly as their focus.

Dunnet Head

The Christian Church has celebrated the birthday of Jesus Christ, Christmas, on December 25th since the 4th Century when Pope Julius I chose the date in an effort to replace the Roman Feast of Saturnalia. People have compared the rebirth of the sun to the birth of the son of God.

It’s also interesting to reflect that the origins of many “traditional” Western Christmas decorations such as the Yule Log, Tree and Wreath can trace back to pre-Christian times.

Familiar decorations of green, red and white cast back to the Wiccan traditions and the Druids. The old Pagan Mid-Winter Festival of Yule also included feasting and gift giving, doesn’t it all sound very familiar?!?!

When I was younger we always did the usual Christmas decoration stuff, including a highly non-authentic artificial tree! My late father did little to dress the tree, but had his own take on the whole decoration thing that he insisted on doing himself; every year he would garland the house with boughs of green holly and evergreen, it was only then that I truly used to feel that things were being done properly. I suspect that my Celtic blood has a lot to do with this and I still carry on that tradition today in Dookes H.Q.. I adore the house smelling of pine and other evergreens! Yesterday, on the eve of the Solstice I was out in the glorious Cornish countryside gathering the greenery to decorate our home. It’s done now and I feel very happy and at ease with it.

Many Pagan religions had a tradition where it was customary to place holly leaves and branches in and around dwellings during winter. It was believed that the good spirits who inhabited forests could come into their homes and use the holly as shelter against the cold; whilst at the same time malevolent forces and spells would be repelled.

Mrs Dookes also enters into the spirit of the season with her splendid handmade evergreen wreaths. This reflects another pagan tradition, the wreath’s circle has no beginning or end and the evergreen represents life in the depths of winter. The circle of life.

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, have a truly wonderful time and maybe spare a thought, or penny, for those less fortunate.

Thanks for joining me this year, we haven’t ridden much, but i have a feeling that 2023 is going to be some ride and i look forward to sharing that with you all!
I hope you will saddle up with me for more adventure and opinion than this year!

“Praise be to the distant sister sun,
joyful as the silver planets run.
Ring out, ring solstice bells.”

Catch you soon.

Dookes

With grateful thanks to Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull for sharing the Solstice over many decades!