first published in The Lion Roars issue no 221 reproduced with the kind permission of the editor

Like a lot of people who couldn’t get tickets for Southampton, I settled down to watch the game on Sky. The game was screened in our local hotel but there was only one other Millwall supporters with me, & the rest of the clientele were made up of lunchtime diners. The result being that the sound had to be quite low meaning I missed some key incidents & the atmosphere was decidedly subdued for a Lions game. I watched the game end to end, and although happy with a draw I was disappointed with some of our play. Later that evening I met up with a few mates & I was amazed to find that their view of the game was totally at odds with my own.

So let’s start with what I saw (and this has been written completely independent of any other match review in TLR or elsewhere):-

Going into the game I thought Southampton would be disjointed and suffering from the off field goings on. Millwall by contrast had a settled side and had enjoyed a good pre-season. I reckoned if we took the game to them this was as good a chance to beat one of the top rated sides as we were going to get. I thought the Lions started well and moved the ball about brightly. But after about 15 minutes we started to punt the ball long up from the back. All too often their central defenders collected it and played it out of defence. Passes were missed by our midfield and we seemed disjointed. A couple of good chances went to Southampton, notably Schneiderlin’s lob & Perry’s volley hitting the post. Just before half time though, Morison scuffed a tight ball in the area, sending us in at 0-0.

The 2^nd half started out the same way and I despaired as the Saints were allowed to play football around us with no tackles being made. When we did get the ball we gave it away cheaply. After 51 minutes almost inevitably the ball breaks to Paterson in the area who drills it home. The Lions responded in the best way and started to take the game to Southampton, the ball being played out of defence, and crisp passes tore their midfield apart. This was helped by the introduction of Ali Fuseini and Jason Price for Bolder and Martin. The pressure mounted & we had several corners before the penalty. Yes it was a definite penalty long before Price was bundled to the floor. Shame Dunny couldn’t convert it but the Lions kept the pressure up and minutes later a lovely looping header from Jimmy Abdou puts us level. Then I saw a 2^nd very good penalty shout when a Saints defender under pressure from Alexander handled the ball pushing it out over the line. Price had the ball in the back of the net only for the linesman to disallow it. The Lions finished strongly but overall I thought a draw was all we deserved. Our defence was excellent despite key players being unavailable, but too often our midfield were either by-passed or ineffectual.

So what had other people seen? Now Peter has, like me, been a Lions supporter for well over 30 years, travelling home & away so he’s no mug when it comes to calling a game. And Liam may only be in his mid teens but his knowledge of soccer in general & all things Millwall in particular is almost encyclopaedic (Ah yes, I remember the good old days before age, alcohol & controlled substances took their toll on my neuron receptors. Nowadays I can barely remember my name!). He also plays in a very well respected youth team, so you would expect him to give a good valid opinion. But we had three different people and three different verdicts, and that’s before you mention Keith who attended the game and gave a fourth interpretation on the match.

Pete said he thought Millwall had played really well and had held the upper hand throughout. He felt that our strikers had created chances against an experienced and well drilled defence. Our midfield & defence had played well, specially given the fact several were playing out of position.

Liam concurred up to a point, feeling that our midfield were not aggressive enough but that when they had the ball they played well. Neither saw the repeated hoofing the ball from the back that frustrated me so much, or spotted the 2^nd handball penalty shout.

Now I know opinions are like arseholes – we all have one but think everyone else’s stinks more than our own – but this is ridiculous. So what is going on?

We all know that watching a game live is totally different to watching it on TV. The way the human eyes & brain handle information just isn’t designed to work with the way TV coverage is presented to us. For a start the eye is drawn to movement and variations in colour, hence the rotating, moving advertising boards around the edge of pitches these days (which is bloody infuriating in my opinion). Also the eye focuses on one item (or player) for a split second then moves on to another, then another, then another around the field of vision. All this information is relayed to the brain which tries to make sense of all the information that is being input to it. So when you are sitting in the East Upper and you watch Forde kick the ball out of goal your eye may first focus on the keepers kick then switch for an instant to the run of Hackett as he traces the balls movement, then switch to the ref to see what position he’s in, then switches again to Alexander who is wrestling with his marker, then switches again to the 20 year old shapely blonde girl who has just jumped out of her seat in the West Lower, then switches again to the run of Morison as he draws his defender away from the ball. From this split second snap shot your brain will make an informed opinion of what is happening. Now watch that on TV and the director will use a wide angle shot to follow the movement of the ball following the kick, then switch to a tight shot of Alexander as he & his marker move to meet the ball, hence missing all the peripheral action. It’s also a bloody shame as that blonde is quite fit in my opinion.

The brain has to then interpret all this information, but will take its cues from other factors such as noise, sensory movement, tension and the like. So was my reaction to the game just a reflection of my surroundings & my overriding sense of frustration? There was no “big match atmosphere” in the pub, I was straining to hear the commentary over inane chitter chatter in my ear, plus my own over-riding sense of pessimism. So was I watching the game I EXPECTED to see? After the initial few minutes my pessimism took over & I no longer expected Millwall to play well. As a result my mind emphasised all their mistakes while playing down their good points. On the other hand, those eternal optimists Pete & Liam were willing Millwall to win so enjoyed the draw much more. It’s certainly something to be considered isn’t it, and explains the massive discrepancies in our opinions of a match with our mates. Maybe we should all refrain from watching Millwall unless we are certified as being in a happy mood – or barking mad of course.

You tube interview

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Thunder on Tour 2009

I have always loved the highlands of Scotland, maybe because I spent my honeymoon touring the Cairngorms  many years ago! But there is no denying that the stark beauty of the mountainous landscape is breathtaking. So the opportunity to combine a visit to Aviemore with a Harley rally is just too good to be missed for me.
I had pre-registered for the rally in the spring but even so, by then all accommodation in the town itself had been booked out. I found a room eventually at the Hilton a few km down the road, but at a horrendous price – lesson one for next year: BOOK EARLY
The run up to the week end gave us terrible weather so it was no surprise at 6am when I awoke to torrential rain. What was a surprise was that it stopped just before I donned helmet & gloves & hit the road to Belfast. I had a great run up getting to the docks in plenty of time. Waiting on the quayside I met a couple from Belfast, Alan & Dee riding a Fatboy, and as we immediately hit it off, we decided to run up together. The Ferry crossing was great, not too bumpy so we used the opportunity to get some food into us and relax. We couldn’t decide whether to take the scenic route up past Loch Lomond to Fort William or hit the motorway via Sterling. In the end we decided to let the weather make the decision for us, we would see how we fared up to Glasgow.

Ready for the off

Incredibly we left the ferry to blazing sunshine, and had an excellent run up the coast road to “Glasgae” so the decision was an easy one. Barely over the Erskine Bridge, whilst braking for a roundabout, I suddenly lost all gears. A bolt had sheared on the footpeg holder, the whole assembly spinning uselessly on the remaining bolt. As we tried to fix it a Triumph rider stopped, and being local, offered to take us to a mechanic who could repair it. We limped the bike to the workshop, that had actually closed for the evening but the owner had returned on hearing our plight.  Less than an hour later, having tapped the old bolt out and replaced it, he had us back on the road again. This wonderful brotherhood of bikers never fails to amaze and humble me. Where else can you find someone who having gone home on a Friday looking forward to a quiet night had turned around and help a stranger? And he certainly wont get rich on the money he charged me!

The boys are back in town

The upshot was that we could make the most of the incredible scenery along the A82 alongside the Loch & up through the Glencoe National Park past Ben Nevis. If you have never been through the Highlands I can’t recommend it highly enough, you have to see it. However by the time we picked up the A86 at Fort William for the last leg to Aviemore the sun had set and the inevitable rain had started down. The roads were treacherous: pitch black, no markings and devilishly bad surfaces made for a cautious ride. We arrived gone 10pm & having been on the road since 6am we carefully considered we needed to warm up, dry out, check in, get food, & Alan needed to set up his tent. So we headed straight for the bar – like you do!

Apparently riding Harleys isn't exhilarating enough for some people!

Saturday dawned dry but cool and I got my act together to register & get sorted for the ride out. I was told that over 1700 people had pre-registered plus another 1000 turned up on Friday and signed up. Estimates put the non-registered attendees at another 1000. That is incredible for late summer event that is so far north in the middle of a recession. The ride out followed the same route as last year over about 40 miles & took just over the hour & 1000+ bikes lined up for the off. It was no surprise that I couldn’t locate the rest of the Celtic Thunder guys, despite them having massive tricolours on several bikes.

1000+ bikes make their way around the lake

I am told that it took over 26 minutes for the parade to clear the complex, even so many more bikes joined along the route around the villages to Loch in Dorb, then back to Grantown on Spey, where the locals treated us to a royal welcome.

Caledonia - fantastic entertainment as ever

The drum & bagpipe group Caledonia were much in evidence, and once again captured the imagination of all & sundry with their hypnotic music. Saturday evening entertainment had a full-on Scottish Theme offering a range of top quality musicians in the main hall. However, all the hotels had live music of some sort, from country & western to blues, so no-one needed to feel left out. I made my way along the high street and took in the great atmosphere of the pubs. One of the pleasures of any rally for me is to meet up & make new friends from all over the country and TiTG didn’t disappoint. I had a great laugh with locals & met a lovely group from 1066 chapter based in Hastings. We made our way back to the main arena in time to catch the firework display and a few last beers before bed.

I made some new friends from HOG 1066 Chapter

Probably the best chapter patch Ive seen

Sunday once again dawned dry and clear if a little cool. Another ride out, although somewhat smaller that Saturdays, set off around noon for a charity BBQ. A custom bike show and American car cruise kept those lazy beggars amongst us (& those with hangovers) amused on site. The release of the 2010 Harley range drew a crowd, and as previously the demo rides were very popular.  Walking through the town various pubs had on live bands and a bungy jump catapult was doing a roaring trade. Sunday evening I decided to forego the “Route 66″ show which was standing room only and hugely popular. I spent the evening with the locals in a really nice pub, enjoying the atmosphere and the great food.

What makes you think we'd been drinking?

As I said one of the main attractions of rally’s for me is to meet new people. Some of the Scots lads were saying they intended to get over to Killarney again next year, some even said that after Aviemore they felt Bikefest was their most popular rally,
Monday I packed up the bike and geared up for the long ride back, No scenic routes this time, the weather forecast was for seriously bad weather.

The standard of the custom bik,e show was very high

I set off down the A9 under heavy dark skies, but amazingly again the rain held off. All the way through Sterling & Glasgow I kept dry, though motorway signs warned of heavy flooding in places, I saw none of it. About an hour out of Stranraer my luck run out and the rain came down.

Another lovely custom bike

It was enough to soak me but the 3 hour ferry crossing gave me time to dry. On docking in Belfast the captain advised that after a day of heavy rain the worst of the weather had cleared leaving flooded roads but not much else. I couldn’t believe it. The last 100 odd miles to Carlow were done under a beautiful setting sun, summing up a marvellous week end.

I arrived home tired but happy. Four days away in some of the most beautiful landscape the British Isles has to offer, with a fatnastic bunch of people, and barely a drop of rain to worry us!

See you all next year!

OK how do these things work again?

I saw this sticker in a restaurant on a snow board, & think its hilarious!

HOG Thunder in the Glens 2009

Five go mad on Oysters

The following is an article that I had published in the August edition (No 218) of The Lion Roars, a Millwall fanzine. It is my first attempt at writing & I hope you like it:-

Kick off at Teryland Park

When the pre-season friendlies were announced there were 2 games that looked really interesting. Obviously the Richard Sadlier testimonial was the main one; a game that is long, long over due for a player who showed a large degree of talent allied with a great work ethic, & whose career was definitely cut short in its prime.

The other interesting fixture was the game away to Galway United.

As I have lived in south east of Ireland for some 8 years now it’s always nice to get to see them in your own back yard as it were, without going through the expense and heartache that is flying with Ryanhare. God bless Michael O’Leary to bits for bringing cheap air travel to the masses, but why does it have to be so bloody painful? From the minute you book on-line, ticking boxes for “No Insurance required” “No bags to check in”, “No I’m not going to wake up the girl at the check in desk, I’ll check in on line thank you” its like drawing teeth. And it continues right up until you get through security, fight the scrum to get a seat that will only accommodate a quadriplegic dwarf, pay an extortionate amount for a drink (£3 for a small bottle of water!!! A bloody litre of 4 star only costs £1.20 for feck sake) then a mad dash to the railway station only to watch the Stansted Express pull out just as you hit the platform.

Anyway, the Dublin games are OK to visit but don’t really spark a flame of interest. But Galway, was certainly one to be pencilled in – if only for the novelty factor.

Now I didn’t know too much about Galway to be honest other than it’s a small city noted for its cultural heritage and is a major tourist spot. There is a famous Oyster festival once a year, & the seafood landed there is some of the best in Europe. At the end of July the week long Race Festival attracts punters from all over Europe. And – possibly due to the 14,000 students the city accommodates – there are rather a lot of keenly priced hostelries playing music and serving alcohol to some ungodly hour of the morning.

The River Corrib

In fact most of my knowledge of Galway is garnered from songs: The fields around Athenry are particularly low lying and a very nice place to watch Freebirds in flight And according to Steve Earle, The local ladies have hair of black & eyes of blue and he’s never known nothing like his Galway Girl. In the interests of investigative journalism I endeavoured to establish the truth of this last statement but had to desist when my face started to ache from the slaps.

On the Sunday of the game Galway were playing local rivals Mayo in a regional final of Gaelic Football, an interesting sport to say the least. It’s a bit like rugby with a round ball, intense bouts of on-field violence and is pretty similar to Aussie Rules (but without the dodgy shorts). It was a cracking game and lived up to its billing as being a hard fought contest which Mayo edged with a last minute score.

Heading off to Terryland Park on the outskirts of town we found a small but well cared for ground on the banks of the Corrib River, with a fantastic playing surface. Even so it’s obvious Galway United are going through tough times and have just had to replace a major sponsor half way through the season, always a difficult prospect. However they are dedicated to bringing young players through the system and launching them on to bigger things. Indeed our own David Forde is an ex player, probably a factor in the game being staged in the first place. Given this, it was disappointing to see only a few hundred supporters turn out for the game. I know they had an important home league game the previous Friday against 4^th placed Dundalk (Galway lost 3-0) plus the aforementioned GAA final the same day, but I would have liked to have seen a few more turn out than the couple of hundred that paid in. One fella who obviously had a good day was the man who arrived dressed as a cockerel in the red and green of Mayo with a white Millwall shirt over the top, a surreal sight indeed.

The game itself was a typical friendly between two wildly diverse sides. Millwall understandably looked a touch rusty but did enough collectively to show grounds for optimism. Galway played some neat football without ever troubling Fordy (or his 2^nd half replacement John Sullivan) & their star player Jay O’Shea had some good touches but was always being martialled by our back four. Rumours abounded that an English club were coming in for him, possibly Derby County, but I think he’ll need to up his game somewhat from this showing. 14 minutes in the ball was crossed in from the left and after a scrabble it was put away by Gary Alexander.

The 2^nd half saw wholesale changes as Kenny Jacket kept to his word of rotating the squad, and the game livened up a bit. Harris’ pace and experience started to cause problems in the opposition penalty area and in the 70^th minute space opened up for Chris Hackett to strike low into the corner from the edge of the area. Within 2 minutes Harris had scored another with a low header from Hacketts cross. Almost from the kick off the ball was knocked back into the corner of the area and was chased down by Bomber and their over-excited goalkeeper. Both arrived at the ball together and Harris went to the ground. Penalty??? The ref blew and raced over…to promptly book the Lions star for diving! Everyone collapsed laughing at that one.

On 79 Minutes Ashley Grimes sealed the game with a 4^th goal to send the Lions fans home happy.
We headed back into town and thought it really fantastic that the local people had laid on a huge parade, plus a firework display in honour of the Lions victory. Later it was explained to me that this was more to do with the start of the week-long arts festival than the visit of the glorious Millwall but I didn’t believe them. We celebrated in style with a platter of the finest oysters and a couple of glasses of Guinness (or ten), while listening to a live band play jigs and reels (more technically known as “diddley-dee” music). Long live Millwall on tour – the Mank Utd Sky viewers just don’t know what they are missing do they?

The narrow streets of Galway City

The latest edtion of TLR was released on August 28th and is available from good bookshops at £1.50, or contact The Lion Roars email:- TLRTowers@googlemail.com

Website: The Lion Roars

A Camel Ride to Wembley

The following is an article that I had published in the August edition (No 218) of The Lion Roars, a Millwall fanzine. It is my first attempt at writing & I hope you like it:-

Go on admit it, I bet a play off final at Wembley wasn’t the uppermost thought in your mind last September was it? It certainly wasn’t in mine after the dismally depressing season we had previously. Well that’s my excuse anyway and I am sticking to it, and duly booked the Clayton families much needed break for the middle weeks in May. So that’s how I came to find myself on a 5 hour flight to Egypt while 800 of the Millwall faithful were on an equally epic journey north up the M1.

Living in Ireland as I do, work commitments precluded me from making it back for the home leg, but at least I watched it on the TV. Admittedly a one goal cushion was small enough to take to Yorkshire but even I could dream about Wembley. Obtaining a final ticket was going to be the easy part, but having fought so hard and long with Mrs C to release the finances for scuba diving in the Red Sea, cancellation was not an option.  Clearly a much more cunning approach was needed; I checked the internet to see if Ryan-hare had expanded its services to the under-utilised North African market. Hatching a plan to sneak away from the beach, nip back to London for a packet of fags, and quick jog up the Wembley way to the famous new stadium. But as the days ticked by to the 14^th May it dawned on me that Millwall’s possible first visit to the new Wembley would be without me.

Our 5 hour flight to Sharm el Sheikh was scheduled so that we were airborne for the 2^nd leg. Friends, fully aware of my predicament, were going to text the highlights to me as they occurred. As soon as the plane hit the tarmac the Nokia was banged on & I waited breathlessly as text followed text:-

“Great atmosphere” – OK what’s the result?

“Getting nervous mate” – yea me too, what’s the result?

“Millwall started well” – great, what is the damn result?

“Lively 1^st Half 0-0” – who cares about half time, what’s the sodding result?

“Penalty to Beckford L” – Oh feck!!!

“SAVED!!!” – For Gods sake what is the result????

“1-0 Leeds Becchio” – so is that a result??

“Dying minutes its all Lions” – Im bloody dying here what’s the result?

“GOAL, Abdou, you beauty!!!” – YES!! Please let that be the result

“6 mins of injury” – and a result?”

“All over mate. We’re on our way to Wembley” – What a result!!!

I don’t remember the transfer to the hotel, all I can tell you is I may have floated on a wave of euphoria.

The next chestnut on the tree of association football came to me over the next few days. That is: where do I go to watch the game live? Sharm el Sheikh is a pretty quiet resort and is not over occupied with “English” pubs or sports bars. Eventually I was pointed in the direction of a bland building with a banner reading “ALL live Sky soccer games shown here” backed up by a full list of fixtures for the coming weeks sporting events. Making my way up the stairs I was greeted at the door by an amiable bar man.

“Will you be showing the soccer, football, err play offs Wembley this Sunday?” I continued

“Welcome welcome, Wemberly, yes yes, everybody welcome”

“err right, but the game will you show it err live, real, on-time?”

“Yes Yes good match chillingjam”

“Chilling Jam” what the feck’s he on about?

“Yes we show you chillingjam Saturday”

Good God this guys mistaken me for a Medway Sea caravanner!!

“No mate, err Millwall, The Lions, are playing Sunday”

“Sunday yes yes I try to show Meellwall, will many English come here see Meellwall?”

“Errr yeah, hundreds” I replied through gritted teeth.

“Ok Ok but Scottish boys also be here. Lots and lots to see Glasgow play to the final. You watch the Wemberley on the veranda, OK?”

“Yep verandas fine with me mate” I grinned “whose game you showing Rangers or Celtic?” “Yes Yes Ranchers and Cheltic. Sunday, big game”

To be honest it didn’t matter to me, I was sorted so who cares.

On Sunday  24^th I lazed around the pool till mid afternoon (Egypt being 3 hours ahead of dear old blighty) then headed over to the bar. Mohammed welcomed me like an old friend and showed me into the main bar where I ordered a beer and turned to look round. There I saw, side by side, only a few feet apart, two huge projection screens. One was already showing a live feed from Dundee where Rangers were warming up….and the other was being beamed live from Easter Road where Celtic were playing Hibs. Holy Shit! The realisation dawned that this guy was going to show the Scottish championship deciders, in the same bar at the same time to a roomful of Jocks who had most likely been on the lash for 4 hours before a ball had been kicked! This should be interesting I thought as Mohammed ushered me out to the veranda “This is for you, Wemberley, Meellwall, big final, good yes?”

“Perfect mate. Err one thing, the Scottish lads you do know they, ummm don’t get on too well don’t you?”

“Yes very good, last game season, everyone excited”

“That’s an understatement I think mate” I replied as I settled down.

Over the next half hour I was joined by a few other ‘Wall fans and just before kick off I heard a late arrival ask: “Or-reet? Is T’ footie from Wembley on T’ Tele?”

As we all turned to look his face dropped as he spotted all the blue shirts. “Ahh, so t’is. Mind if ah join thee?”

“Nah mate, sit down”

Well kick off came and I was impressed at how well we moved the ball around when we had it, right up to the point where Sparrow slammed the ball past Fordy. Northern man threw himself into the air before realising the full implications, and looked around somewhat apologetically.

“Nice goal” said Mohammed, as we all stared into our beers wordlessly.

Amazingly Millwall didn’t let their heads dropped and determined to play themselves back into the game. And then Alexander got the ball out on the left, and as a few players ran toward the box he lifted the ball up and over Murphys head. “What the feck is he doing?” I thought as the ball sailed away…into the net.

A split second of silence was burst by Mohammed’s wry but suitable comment “Fuck-a-luck” before the room erupted. Even Northern Man could see the beauty in that goal and a handful of Scots lads made their way out to see what all the noise was about. Barely had we calmed down than Gary’s header put us in the lead and even the Celtic fans cheered that one. By now the Scottish championship seemed to be decided judging by the look on the Celtic fans faces & hearing the inner bar echo to the sound of marching songs.

Half time gave us time to reflect that the pitch side temperature was only slightly lower than Sharm, not good when you’ve paid as much as I had to be there. The second half started with the Lions taking the game to Scunthorpe before their equaliser. Of course the stand out moment was when Alex got his head to the cross perfectly and just edged it past the right hand post. “Bloody feckin hell what he doing?” raved Mohammed, who by now had become an honorary Lions fan. “He make it harder to miss than hit a bloody goal” As he kicked a bar stool across the room.

I knew at that point that it wasn’t to be our day, and glumly watched the match play out until Woolcock scored the winner.

As the match ended we all relaxed and had another beer. The observations from Mohammed and the Scots lads deemed this probably the best play-off game in a long time. We congratulated Northern Man, bought him a beer, then told him to piss off! I think he’ll certainly remember that play off final, for all the right reasons. Sure it was a defeat, but the manner of it gave me a lot of hope, and may just have won us a few friends – I certainly know of a bar owner in Sharm el Sheikh who is going to be following the fortunes of the “Meelwall”. Well, we did take the time and trouble to educate him in the intricacies of inter-club rivalry in South London, which may shock any Palarse fans that wander in, or even Chilling Jam supporters!

The latest edtion of TLR was released on August 28th and is available from good bookshops at £1.50, or contact The Lion Roars email:- TLRTowers@googlemail.com

Website: The Lion Roars

Harley Davidson

Due to unforeseen circumstances I find myself booked alone into a family room at the Hilton Hotel for the Thunder in the Glens Rally but with no one to share it with. The room is booked from 3pm Friday 28^th August until Monday 31^st noon & includes 2 adult beds & 2 childrens beds.
The room rate is £542 but this includes breakfast & 3 evening meals so doesn’t work too bad for three nights.

The hotel is in Coylumbridge which is less than 3km from the show site on the B970.

See there web site for more info on the hotel:-

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/INVCOHN-Hilton-Coylumbridge-hotel/index.do?WT.srch=1

I am a member of Celtic Thunder HOG chapter in Ireland and will be making my way over on Friday morning. If you know of any HOG member who is still looking for a room, they can e-mail me to discuss sharing
Happy Riding
Dave

Dave of Celtic Thunder

I took my first part of the Open Water back in 2008 while on holiday in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt with Aqarius, a registered PADI dive school. Sharm is a new resort set on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula and its hot weather, clear blue seas, make it an excellent dive location. The minimal tidal flow and currents make it especially easy for novice divers to learn & build their confidence. The Ras Mohammad National Park is only a short drive from the resort and boasts some of the best coral reefs in the world. Angel fish, Parrot fish, Manta Rays, Dolphins and Sharks all thrive in the area, as do giant turtles. How could I resist?

The first part of the course lasted 3 days. 2 in the pool & classrom, follwed by 2 sea dives off the Schools house reef. It was quite hard work, mainly because I am not as fit as I should be, and I was very nervous to begin with. This was mainly due to the fact that I am not a particlularly good swimmer and to the fact that no-one likes to be moved outside of their comfort zone, into an environment that was alien to us. Our instructor realised my nervousness and spent some time and care to allay any fears that I had. Explaining that there wasnt a single problem that couldnt be overcome, provided that we remembered out training, and worked closely with our buddy.

Table Coral in Ras Mohammed National Park

When we got to day three we went down to the beach, kitted up and headed out onto the pontoon. Giving our kit one final check, our instructor went in first then waved the 2 of us to follow and we jumped in – literally. We checked each other again, thene descended into the amazing world of the Red Sea.

Words cannot do the experience justice, the colours were spectacular, both of the fish and the coral around us. We dropped down to 12 metres and marvelled at the aquatic life that surrounded us: Angel Fish, Banner Fish, Anthias, Grouper, Napoleon Fish, Big Eye Emerald Fish…. the list could go on and on. Some of these were coming right up to us close enough to touch, one even took a shine to the colourful tattoo on my upper arm, but when he realised he couldnt eat it he swam away dejectedly! All too soon we reached the safety limit of our air supply and made our way to the surface.

My first dive at Ras Gamila

After a brief break for lunch we dived again and were equally enthralled by the myriad fish and corals around us. This time addinga large Lion Fish to our list of “Have seen”. Having completed the mandatory tasks required, we surfaced to learn we were no fully qualified scuba divers. My first task: book two more dives for a few days later!

My 2nd and 3rd dives were with 2 fully qualified divers, who Id never met before but were friendly and helpful. We dived down to 18 metres and the instructor signalled me to lead along the face of the coral cliff. Knowing that all the guys with me were experienced I was a bit surprised to turn round and see all 3 heading off in a different direction – what were they up to? Then looking up I saw a huge Manta Ray (aover 2 metres from wing tip to wing tip)  swimming above us! They had seen him and turned to get a photo so I quickly caught them up and just stared at this massive elegant creature as he effortlessly disappeared into the distance.

A Giant Manta Ray

The afternoon dive was again amazing, this time a Giant Turtle, easily over 1 and a half metres long swam past us, again the easy movements through the water filling us with awe. Later when we recounted our dives to those on shore we were told by one of the insutructors that despite his having been workign there for 8 months, he had yet to spot his first Manta Ray or Giant turtle, so we could count that as one of our best days diving ever!

My Street Rod at St Mullins View in Kilkenny

Why? That’s on of the first questions I get asked most about my bike. Why did you buy the Street Rod? And its something I have thought quite a lot about. After all the Street Rod is not the most popular of the V-Rod range falling far behind the VRSCR & Night Rod in the number of sales, yet it suites me to a tee.
I’ve owned bikes for ages, buying my first in my early teens. It was followed by a succession of Japanese rides from trail bikes to big fours, and I enjoyed all of them.
By the time I turned my forties I was starting to think hooning about on a sportsbike was no longer such a good idea and would end in one of two ways:-
Either I’d win the Road Transport Offices lottery (Roll up Roll up! Just get 9 points on your licence and you get a free pushbike) or Id wrap myself round a tree. Not good options I reckon. Besides, this body can’t contort itself into the weird shapes sports bikes require as well as it used to be able to!
But what to replace it with? I wanted a bike that would be fun on the twisty bits, could cope with the lumpy bumpy roads, could commute to work 70 miles a day, eat up the motorway miles, be comfortable on a run and had a bit of style. I looked around but couldn’t see anything that fitted the bill. A friend of mine had also been searching for his own motorcycling nirvana. He had fallen in love with a Harley Ultra Glide then joined HOG. Now a big tourer isn’t my particular cup of PG Tips, but when he invited me down to Killarney for the 2006 HOG European Rally, I thought it would be a good week end if nothing else. I wasn’t particularly looking for a new bike and certainly didn’t think I would find a Harley to fit the bill.
While walking around the show I saw several V-Rods, and although I had seen them before I had never really taken much notice of them. Some of these looked fabulous though. I picked up some brochures and was impressed by the high spec that Harley and Porsche had put into the engine, frame, suspension & brakes. Talking to owners they raved that here was a Harley that not only looked good, but was light, fast and braked like a demon. Over the next few months I devoured all the information on V-Rods I could find. A visit to Brisbane, Australia in 2007 gave me a good excuse to hire a V-Rod VRSC and take it for a spin through the Queensland Mountains. From that moment on I was smitten. I spent days just riding through canyons and valleys, over mountains and through villages – all under clear blue skies, the sound of the big V-Twin rumbling beneath me. The icing on the cake was the looks and waves I received every time I rode through any town – large or small, and the number of people who came up to chat. I had never experienced anything like it before. There was no turning back.
All I had to do now was narrow down to what model I wanted. The forward controls made a big stretch for my short legs & I wasn’t a fan of the solid wheels. I searched around until I finally found the Street Rod, here was a bike that suited me perfectly. Before long money had exchanged hands & I was the proud owner of a 2005 black & silver VRSCR. As I pulled away into the traffic I felt complete in a way I had never done on a bike before.
We have now clocked up over 12 thousand miles and the Street Rod has never let me down. Whether hustling down the lanes or commuting through the city, riding hard on the motorway or burbling through town at 25mph – this bike does it all, and in a stylish way that cannot be compared. The fuel economy is good for such a quick bike, as is the comfort level, and a twist of the throttle lights its fire with a vengeance.
The next task is to sort some custom parts for it – lightweight wheels and lightened swing arm to improve the handling and fuel consumption, some new indicators and chrome parts to improve the looks, then maybe some Screaming Eagle pipes and gas flow to free up the engine a touch. Best I start saving before a trip to Waterford Harley Davidson!

Me & the VRSCR at Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, UK

Thistlegorm drawing

While on holiday in Sharm el Sheikh I gained my Open Water qualification from PADI.  A few days later, I completed a drift dive, navigation, deep dive and finally a wreck dive to gain my Advanced Open Water qualification. The wreck dive was on the famous SS Thistlegorm wreck, which was a fantastic experience.

Moray Eel

BBQ is Saturday 12th June at the shop from 3pm till late. HOG & HDCI will be attending. Have Fun

provisional dates have been released for Millwalls pre-season friendlies. One at Galway on the 18th July, then a second game at Shamrock Rovers on the following Tuesday. Galway in particular sounds like a party in the making