Tag Archives: Travel Writing

“Meh” Day

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I’ve been a bit “Meh” today…

Last night I got word that an old railway colleague of mine had died suddenly.
Mike was a year or two younger than me.

I first met him when I was a Junior Manager in my first real managerial position. Mike was a Management Trainee and had been sent to shadow me and get a feel for what it was life was like for a newly appointed trainee after graduation.
We hit it off straight away and got along really well.

As was the way in the Rail industry back then, people tended to move around the country to different postings and positions. Over the years our paths crossed occasionally and we often smiled about those two young men at the start of their careers and where our incredible journey’s took us. We weren’t close, nor friends really, just colleagues who got on very well.

Mike left the industry a few years after me and like me always kept an eye on what was currently happening in our old industry.
Also like me, he was a keen railway modeller; only two days before he passed away he was writing about the “life-project” of a layout he was planning to start, just as soon as he had time to get round to it…

Now that time has gone.

I’ve spent today doing various jobs around Dookes H.Q., popping out to the local recycling centre, plus getting a few groceries.

All the time though my mind has been pondering that phrase,
“When I have time to get round to it.”

Time…It’s the most precious commodity that we have, because for all of us it is finite.

I told Mrs Dookes how I was feeling. That I’d been thinking about people that have gone on; Mike, Little Brother Greg, David and a few others that have their share of health issues at the moment. I do a lot of thinking when I’m cutting the lawn.

In her usual wise way, Mrs Dookes smiled at me and reminded me off all the good things in my life and to be grateful that I’m still, almost, in full working order.
She didn’t exactly tell me to, “Snap out of it!” but I got the drift…

My new “Man Cave,” a big shed for my model making and other stuff, is being delivered in two weeks and believe me ,once I move into it, my “Time to get round to it!” will begin in earnest!

Oh yes, there’s room in the “Cave” for Harls and Hettie too!

“Gotta keep rollin, gotta keep ridin’, keep searchin’ till I find what’s right”

Catch you soon,
Dookes

On The Border

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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

Moving Home – Dookes HQ Relocated – Here Comes The Solstice!

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I’ve been quiet for a long time, off air and our of contact!
Life has been hectic for the past few months as Mrs Dookes and I have been in the process of moving home.

In the usual Dookes way this hasn’t been a minor undertaking. In our world it always seems that if something is going to happen it’s going to be pretty major and totally worth doing! This also hasn’t been a simple matter of popping just a few miles down the road or into the next county; oh no, we have moved from one end of the United Kingdom to the other!

Previously we were in Cornwall, in the far South West. Now we are in Caithness, thats about as far to the North East as we can go without dropping into the sea! Not only have we travelled 750 miles North, we have also changed countries and are now in Scotland.

Additionally, we are very, very, happy with our decision!

It is beautiful here , the people are great and I am looking forward to blogging furiously about the place once I get out and explore more on two wheels, but for now I give you a couple of taster pictures

Not a bad view from the back door of Dookes H.Q.!

Thursday is the Winter Solstice and I’m very happy in a Druid-like way. I said before, it’s probably my favourite day of the 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! Here in Caithness the daylight hours are particularly short. Sunrise on the Solstice will be at 09:02 and Sunset is at 15:20.

Caithness Sunrises are very special!

I have said previously 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!

Stennes Sones Orkney

Have a great Solstice everyone.
Catch you soon,
Dookes

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

Adding Some Omphf!

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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

En France, Chillin’ and Cookin’

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It seems amazing to me that its been a year since I’ve been in France…the gap has not been through choice! It’s just that Mrs Dookes and I have had so much going on in our lives that fitting in a holiday or some motorcycle touring hasn’t really been possible. The situation has frustrated us both, so a few weeks back we grabbed the nettle and booked a short trip to Brittany. Boring stuff can wait!

The nice thing about Brittany, for us, is the lovely friends that we have made here over the years; that started way back when Mrs D was an au pair, long before she met Dookes!!

We caught the overnight ferry to Roscoff and on the spur of the moment decided to drive 200 miles to visit our friend Anne and her vineyard. Yeah I know, crazy, but Anne’s wines are simply heavenly!

Located near Ancenis, in the Val de Loire, the vineyard is a bot of a mix of a traditional Muscadet producer and then something quite exceptional. Anne’s family are very connected to their land, they should be they’ve been there since 1635! As such, they can “read” what the vines are telling them and then react by producing limited “cuvees” of incredible complexity and variation; it’s very true that you have to grab them quickly!

In 2021 the produced Cuvee L’Inedite that was a heady golden wine with just the right balance of acidity and sweetness caused by early frosts as the grapes still hung on the vine. Sadly this has all now gone, but it was wonderful whilst it lasted!

2022 offered different conditions and the result was Fine Fleur, straw coloured, lightly floral on the nose, with hints of honey and again flowers in the mouth. Anne and the team at Domaine des Génaudièrs have done it again, another masterpiece!

Needless to say, the Dookesmobile was pretty quickly loaded up with an adequate amount of the heavenly harvest!!

Our next stop was with our friend Christophe and his delightful house in the middle of the Borcéliande Forest for some much needed peace and quiet. It’s only 150 miles away from Anne’s place, though sort of heading back on ourselves!

Chez Christophe

Borcéliande is a place of legend. An enchanted forest that held sway in the imagination as a place of magic and mystery. It features in the legend of King Arthur, as the home of Morgan le Fay and her Vale of no Return, whilst local Breton legends talk of a forest of fairies and whichcraft..

To me it is a place of serenity, stillness and peace. Somewhere to go to unwind, recharge and start anew; possibly its my Celtic roots that embeds me into Brocéliande, I just feel at home here.

Brocéliande from the beadroom window!

There’s no rest for Dookes yet though. After a day of socialising and driving, I have to cook!

OK, it’s not a big deal, in fact one of my passions is cooking in France as I’m sure I have recounted in the past. I blame my sadly departed mate Floyd for planting the seed, I’m sure he will be looking down on me quietly amused as how it grew!

I have a wonderful old French cookbook “Des Meilleurs Petits Plats Français” that I frequently turn to when in need of a bit of culinary inspiration and as i had just bought a rather nice hunk of Monkfish, Lotte in French, the book was consulted.

Monkfish, off the bone.

Bourride de Lotte et Coquilles avec aioli was the end result, and not at all bad if i say so myself!

This was, naturally, accompanied with a fine white wine, a Touraine from near Angers on the left bank of the Loire.

Here’s to Mrs Dookes my companion on life’s crazy ride!
And here’s to you too Floyd, I still miss you..

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Gremlins!!

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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

Back In The Dealership

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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

Shiny Things and the Smell of Rubber

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It’s the time of year that my two lovely Harley Davidson motorcycles have their annual service. Normally, as part of the service plan I have, they get collected by the Plymouth Harley dealership and delivered back all serviced and nicely clean. That happened with Harls a few weeks back, but unfortunately not for Hettie, I’ve had to ride her to the dealership….!

Now this isn’t really an issue, I love riding my bikes even if just lately i haven’t had much time to do so, unfortunately though, this morning dawned a bit damp and soggy…oh well, suck it up and get on with it Dookes! Regular blogonaughts will know that I’m certainly not a fair weather rider, just that given the choice I’d rather avoid the wet stuff especially when the ambient temperatures are a bit on the low side. Tyres can take an age to warm up this time of year and the added fun of mud, low sun, slippery roads and this morning a liberal coating of diesel oil on a particularly tight corner made for an “interesting” 45 miles from Dookes H.Q. to Plymouth.

So here I am relaxing in the showroom of Plymouth Harley Davidson, surrounded by lots of shiny things and with the smell of rubber from new tyres, whilst Hettie gets the best attention of a Harley Davidson Technician.

I’m also sitting here in a state of shock.

Shock induced by how expensive a new Harley is these days!

There are currently 67 bikes here in the showroom and if I apply a, probably low, average price of £20,000 i calculate that I am surrounded by £1.4million worth of Harley Davidsons!

I’m not sure if that is cool….or scary!!!

Over the last few months I had been contemplating just becoming a “One Bike” rider, possibly parting with Hettie, but I’ve been wavering. This morning has firmly buried that idea, Hettie stays!!! A new Hettie, in basic form would cost me in excess of £24,300 on the road; if I then add on all the little bells and whistles that i’ve put on her it would push the new price to over £25,000!!

Hettie….this girl’s going nowhere!!!

That’s £7000 more than I paid for her!!!!…….Ho hum, it’s only money!!!

Now I must relax and breath deeply, I love the smell of a motorcycle dealership showroom!!

Catch you soon,
Dookes

PS I really need to check Hettie’s agreed insured value….

Winter Solstice Greetings

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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!

Autumn Musing

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There’s an Autumn storm brewing.

The wind is rising and the barometer pressure falling. Leaves are whipping from the trees and swirling like a murmuration of starlings.

Heavy rain is forecast and localised flooding predicted.

I thought it was a good idea to get out for a walk with one of my canine pals before things got really wet and wild. Not a day for heroics on a motorcycle at all.

I feel that one of the nice things that stems from living in the cuds (middle of nowhere) is that it gives me space to think, drink in the silence and concentrate on the joy of life.

Autumn is definitely my favourite season, as the poet John Keats wrote “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun.”

Yes, Autumn sees the shortening of days, cooling of temperatures, the first frosts and heavy water-soaked soils. I find beauty everywhere, the colours of the season prevail. The last fruits of the year are gathered. Summer blooms begin to die, but bravely brighten grey days.

Still stubble fields, that only recently stood proud with wheat or barley, now feed wild birds with fallen seed. Cattle savour the last good grass before Spring and on leaden skies the migratory Woodcock returns to the British countryside for Winter.

Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola). JJ Harrison

There’s a sweet smell of decay in the air and the tang of beechwood smoke drifts from cottage chimneys.

It all lifts my spirits and I feel like the luckiest man alive.

“Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.” Emily Brontë

Catch you soon,

Dookes