Safety Last

I don't know whether I've become more observant as a consequence of riding a bike, or there has been a sudden upsurge of the problem, but I've recently noticed a lot of cars with defective brake or tail lights.

The other night, on my way home, I counted 7 (seven!) cars in front of me with at least 1 tail light out. I only started counting after seeing another two or three. And that was on a journey of less than 15 miles!

When I think of the stats on this one, the maths become mind-blowing. The vehicles I counted were those immediately in front of me; there were probably lots more going in the opposite direction and elsewhere on the road. I believe that there must be many cars on the road with a tail light out - with all the inherent danger that brings.

Doesn't anyone do their weekly vehicle checks anymore. Once a week, we are supposed to check our vehicle is in a road worthy condition. That all lights are working and properly adjusted, tyres are at the correct pressures, oil and water are topped up and windscreen wash is not empty. My understanding is that these features are there to protect the driver of the vehicle and other road users. At night, I want to know whether the vehicle in front is a car or a motorcycle, and a major clue to that is the number of tail lights. One tail light generally means bike rather than car.

If the owner is so casual about something so obvious, what else is wrong with the car?

If people are going out on the highway, then please, do so in a car that is fully road worthy. They may not value their life too highly, but I do value mine.

The Die Is Cast

Four years ago, the England rugby team - known affectionately as "Dad's Army" due to the relatively old average age of the squad, packed their bags and left this fair isle to ply their trade in the Rugby World Cup in Australia. With almost the final kick of the game, in the final against Australia, Johnny Wilkinson broke the deadlock and gave England victory.

That moment is still crystal clear to me today - England had won the World Cup.

The final squad for next month's World Cup in France has now been named and it contains 13 of that victorious squad (highlighted below) - including the 35 year-old Lawrence Dallaglio at No. 8.

Backs (14):

M Cueto (Sale - Age 27, 19 caps); J Lewsey (Wasps - 30, 48 caps), J Robinson (unattached - 33, 45 caps), P Sackey (Wasps - 27, 3 caps); D Hipkiss (Leicester - 25, 1 cap), J Noon (Newcastle - 28, 25 caps), M Tait (Newcastle - 21, 12 caps); M Catt (London Irish - 35, 70 caps), A Farrell (Saracens - 32, 4 caps ); O Barkley (Bath - 26, 17 caps), J Wilkinson (Newcastle - 28, 59 caps); A Gomarsall (Harlequins - 33, 26 caps ), S Perry (Bristol - 29, 11 caps), P Richards (London Irish - 29, 6 caps).

Forwards (16):
G Chuter (Leicester - 31, 12 caps), L Mears (Bath - 28, 16 caps), M Regan (Bristol - 35, 37 caps); P Freshwater (Perpignan - 34, 7 caps), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks - 28, 13 caps), M Stevens (Bath - 24, 13 caps), P Vickery (Wasps - 31, 54 caps); S Borthwick (Bath - 27, 28 caps), M Corry (Leicester - 33, 56 caps), B Kay (Leicester - 31, 46 caps), S Shaw (Wasps - 33, 36 caps); L Dallaglio (Wasps - 35, 79 caps), N Easter (Harlequins - 28, 5 caps), L Moody (Leicester - 29, 45 caps), T Rees (Wasps - 22, 5 caps), J Worsley (Wasps - 30, 59 caps).

Since that famous win back in 2003, England have not suffered the best of fortunes on the international front, and my confidence in an England win is based more on hope than conviction. However, when one takes a cool look at the squad, there is quality and experience everywhere. The forwards are really impressive, big, beefy men who give no quarter when the chips are down, and on their day, there is no pack in the world that could live with them. And if the pack is on song, then they will give time and space for the talented backs to conjure up their magic.

I suppose, my one concern is that the reactions from some of the older players may not be as sharp as they should be, and on the counter attack or in defence, may leave a few holes to be exploited by the opposition.

Ah well! This is the team that is going to cause me such joy and grief (probably at the same time!) and I wish them all the best. Whatever the result, I know they will have given their all, and if England pull this off, then I'll probably stay drunk for a month!

A Lesson In World Economics

As the World's financial markets start to recover from the 'jitter's' over the weekend, it is interesting to see just how entwined we, in the free world, have become, economically with the fortunes or otherwise of the US.

Some financial institutions in America offering 'sub-prime' mortgages, - those are loans and mortgages to high-risk lenders, were facing severe problems, which in turn, led to cobby-wobbles in the larger institutions which, if the crisis continued, would have led to the interest on my mortgage in the UK going up to pay for it.

Thanks America.

What, I think, was interesting, was that it was the non-US financial institutions, and in particular, the European Bank, that led the support and rescue operation, releasing funds to ensure the whole tottering edifice remains. Perhaps we are starting to see the end of the mighty dollar dominating my world - at least I truly hope so.

We Were So Young

I recently received an email from my mate Dave who had unearthed a few shots of a holiday we had shared many years ago. This particular picture was taken in a folk club in Douglas on the Isle of Man back in 1970.

We had decided to take a week away, so with a loaned tent, we grabbed the next ferry out to Mona's Isle for a week of R & R. A couple of our friends were already over there working the summer and we had a great time. The club was an opportunity to earn our beer, so I made a real good effort on the guitar while Dave (clearly suffering from earache - but then we all did when he sang!) provided the vocals. We did seem to go down pretty well, and the beer flowed freely that night if I remember correctly!

The other picture was taken after we had walked up Snaefell - Isle of Man's tallest "mountain", - from Laxey on the coast. Fortunately, there is a cafe at the top which sold beer - so we felt pretty chuffed at the top.

Not Taking It Seriously...

Not Taking It Seriously...
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

The first decent day, this summer, and a chance to stretch the legs over the West Pennine Moors.

We left the car in Rivington and climbed over Winter Hill to Belmont where we had lunch at the Black Dog Pub, before heading back over the hill via Rivington Pike. A great walk, and I felt a lot better for it.

Now, if only I can get some people to take this sort of thing seriously....

A Change In The Weather?

The weather forecast for this weekend is looking a bit better than it has been throughout this week. For those living with the floods it could be an opportunity to get back to homes and businesses and start to assess damage and its effect on lives. For all those affected, I hope they can resume their lives.

For me, this weekend, it will be an opportunity to get out for a decent length walk. Unfortunately, I'm working on Saturday, but Sunday is looking good, and a brisk walk over the hills will be a good step up. It'll also give some quiet time to Christine, who had a carpel tunnel operation this week and is not able (or allowed) to do very much.

What I would like to do is walk from Rivington, over Winter Hill to Belmont, have lunch at the Black Dog, then walk back over the hill. The great barn, in Rivington, on a Sunday, is a meeting place for bikers and there is generally a Bar-B-Que and a chance to check out bikes and meet people. If the weather holds up, it should be a great walk.

Britain's Katrina

As large tracts of southern England spend another submerged day, it is becoming clearer how ramshackle the response has been. The success of meeting the demands of the situation were down, more to luck and the dedication and skill of many in the emergency services, than design.

A report in 2004 made clear that the diversity of responsibility in the face of a natural disaster leads to confusion, delay and potential loss of life. It recommended that the Environment Agency would, in situations such as we are seeing today, take overall responsibility for co-ordination and decision-making.

In 2005, the Government agreed to this and said it would be in place by summer of 2006. We are still waiting.

Now I don’t believe that this is due to lack of Government concern or care, it was just that it was not a priority, and with a hot summer in 2006, followed by cabinet in-fighting, the risk of flooding receded. But this year, the flooding has been the worst since 1947, and the problems have been made worse by the way development and growth has been managed - Green Belt development and house building on ‘desirable’ green field sites, mean there is less land for the water to soak into.

Gordon Brown has already announced the intention to build 240,000 homes over the next 10 years or so – many of those have been earmarked to flood plains which, from where I sit, doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Clearly we need houses, but much more thought is required at the planning stage into foreseeable environmental problems, as well as social issues, and their solutions. Clearly, not everything can be planned for, but much can, it just requires will.

And Then The Waters Came!

Large areas of Southern and Eastern England are under water after some of the heaviest rainfall to hit the UK in half a century. Last Thursday saw an unprecedented "one month's" rain in less than 3 hours, and it has continued to rain since then. Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire is the meeting point of the River Avon and Severn, and as a result of both rivers bursting their banks, the town is now, effectively, an island.

Unfortunately, although the rain has eased off, both those rivers are fed from Wales, and so there is likely to be a flood surge over the next few days. Emergency services are in full flow, but there are real problems now emerging. The most ironic is a scarcity of drinking water! Large tankers are being brought in to help with the supply, and food is being brought in. The government has agreed to offset 100%, local authority clean-up costs in all emergency areas, which should mean a quicker and more efficient response to need - lets just hope that the insurance companies (which make big fat profits each year) are just as quick.

However, the problems that remain are practical and unsettling for those involved, and will be with them for many months to come. Saturated homes which will take months to dry out; lost crops in the farms, businesses not able to do business and just the general mess and muck something like this brings.

Finally, I hope this will bring about a re-think on planning for weather driven disasters. Building on flood-plains needs to be assessed. Flood-plains existed to allow rivers to burst their banks and let the surrounding ground to soak up the over-flow. Better flood defenses, with more thought going into how water can be channelled away from population centres. Clearly, I'm no expert on these things, but we can't keep allowing our country to drown each time El Nino decides to burp!

Four-Wheeled Idiots

I have only been riding my bike for a month or so, but I am already aware that, as a biker, I "share" the road with a whole range of imbecilic "drivers".

Twice, I have had someone pull out in front of me without once looking to see if anyone was coming. Mind you, the drivers were very busy on their hand-held mobile phones at the time, which probably is a good enough excuse. But what about the woman busy in an animated conversation with her friend, who changed lanes without realising that I was alongside her at the time! Maybe I am being unfair, as she did have one hand on the wheel, while using the other to describe what she was talking about, and of course, she had to look at her friend/partner to ensure she got the point.

No, it is the "faffyness" of drivers that gets to me! Do drivers not realise that crawling at 2 mph is very difficult for a motorcyclist. The other day, I was in a queue, when the cars in front started to crawl forward - not very far or very fast, so I decided to wait until the queue started to move properly before attempting to move off. Eventually, there was a gap of about six to ten feet in front of me and it was at this point that the wazzock behind me beeped his horn! Now I was both enraged by his idiocy while admiring his bravery. Beeping a large hairy (well in my case - hairless) biker is likely to lead to a short ride to the nearest hospital. In this particular instance, I took pity on his mental illness and just gave him the finger. Sensibly, he left it at that.

Another guy was indicating right - and turned left; someone else turning right, but not moving over to the middle of the road (of course, I am describing driving in Britain where we drive on the proper side of the road) and of course, the nightmare that is the "school run"!

But I am left with the impression of how bad drivers are - something I hadn't really noticed before, and I am aware at how well my driving in general has improved since taking up the bike. I have greater road sense and awareness now and my road positioning and signalling is a lot more clear (the number of drivers that don't indicate on round-abouts are legion). I now also understand the desire of bikers to get to the front of the queue - it helps to keep them away from the idiots. In the UK, there is a big debate about congestion charges, and of course the majority of drivers are up in arms about it, but lets face it, cars cause congestion - bikes don't.

Like A Virgin

Like A Virgin
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Moving on up the bike size. I'm about to have my first ride on a 500cc motorbike. It was absolutely fabulous. At one point I was feeling so great I let it all out in one great expletive filled scream - good job no-one could hear me!

Why didn't I do this sooner?

Fifteen Years Ago

Me & Christine In The Back Of The Car
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Fifteen years ago, Christine and I got married. It is important to say that I have never regretted a day of those years. Many ups with very few downs, and I love her as much today as the day she refused to say "I obey" at the altar steps!

Two children and a move away from our beloved Wirral to Wigan and the adventures continue. The time seems to have flown by - frighteningly so and who knows what will happen tomorrow, but I don't care as long as it is with this woman. All I can say is that I am looking forward to the next 15 years.

By the way, our grateful thanks to all America for joining us in celebrating our marriage, you do it every year and it means so much!

Thick As Thieves

Former White House aid and criminal Lewis "Scooter" Libby has, in the face of a jury and a number of senior judges, had his sentence commuted by George Bush. No longer will he have to serve a prison sentence for his treasonable role in obstructing an inquiry into the leaking of a CIA agent's name.

Makes me wonder what form of blackmail was used to twist Bush's arm. I wonder if Libby had actually gone to jail, he might have started talking about the rogues that dumped him in that situation. There does seem a major air of desperation and cover-up over this, because if there was nothing to hide, then there would have been nothing to fear and America's "Rule of law" President would not have got involved.

Come on America, the Bush is now on the run - get after him before its too late and he causes any more damage.

Under Attack

Over the past few days, terrorism has, again, raised its ugly head. Two car bombs were discovered in London over the weekend and a third attack took place at Glasgow Airport which did go off, but did very little damage and no loss of life. Those are the basic facts of the case, and there are a lot of reports and information about them, which I don't want to go into here.

I was more interested in the nature of the public's response to these criminal attempts. We, in the UK, have lived with terrorism and terrorist attacks for a long time - certainly we have had the car bomb since the late 60's when the IRA stepped up it's attacks in both Northern Ireland and the UK mainland. More recently, we suffered, attacks in July 2005 which killed and maimed a lot of people (and incidentally, was the subject of my very first post). We must be one of the most terrorised and fearful countries in the Western World.

So if we are terrorised, why aren't we showing it? We do we always have the same spirit after these attacks - "it isn't going to make me change what I do, or where I go" is the general refrain from people. Even when the guts of Manchester city centre were destroyed by the IRA in the 1996, people were more concerned that the reconstruction of the city was better than what went before (it could hardly be worse!).

What is really fascinating is that there doesn't seem to be any deep-rooted anger or hatred of the perpetrators - in some way, we feel sorry for them - but that is not to say that we don't get angry at all. And when we do get angry, it is because we know that the attacks will provide ammunition to those who want to screw ever more tightly the "security" lid on our society, couched in friendly terms as "protection of the innocents".

Just being alive is a risk, and these sad, stupid people just make that risk a bit bigger, but most of us accept that at a personal level, we can do very little but carry on with our lives. To the security forces, yes, protect me, but don't swaddle me or constrict my freedoms through fear or physical restriction, because if you do, then the terrorist wins. I intend to continue to do the things I like doing, and enjoying the good things this beautiful world can offer. It saddens me, that these people do not seem to be able to appreciate the goodness and beauty of the world that I see every day.

A Change Of Government

This week has seen a change of government in the UK. A new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet and, we are informed, a new direction. This has come about without anyone casting a vote or meaningfully voicing an opinion. No! One person resigns and another takes his place without the mess of an election.

Not sure how I feel about this. As a democrat, I have always believed that the people should have a say in who governs us. However, a change of Prime Minister between an election, seems to be an increasingly common aspect of British politics. Harold McMillan and Lord Home in the 1963 at the height of the Profumo affair; Harold Wilson and James Callghan in 1976; Margret Thatcher and John Major in 1990 and now Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in 2007. What is interesting is that, John Major apart, the transition led to the party of power losing the next election - John Major survived only because the Labour party under Neil Kinnock imploded on the eve of the election.

I do have a lot of time for Gordon Brown. I feel he is principled and focused. I hope he can stand tall and true on the world stage and provide a riposte to the criminal activities presently being formulated in the White House. He seems to be surrounding himself with talent rather than 'Brown's Cronies' and, even in these early days, he is looking to place his own stamp on the office. I wish him well.

When I've had time to reflect, I'll write something about Tony Blair. He wasn't all bad, and Iraq should not be the only measure for his Prime Ministership.

Mid Life Crisis - The Reality

Tryfan Sunday Morning
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

This mountain is Tryfan, the lowest of the 15 Welsh 3,000 foot mountains. I have climbed this mountain many times when younger - in fact, when my friends and I were going to spend the weekend in the mountains, we would climb this rock on a Friday evening just to loosen up. In those days, just turning up at the foot of a mountain would guarantee it would be climbed.

Last weekend, I thought it would be fun to meet up with someone who was attempting the 15 peak challenge - that is, all 15 peaks in 24 hours (something I did when I was about 19 or 20) at the top of Tryfan, or if possible, up on the Glyders which are connected to Tryfan by Bristly Ridge.

So I packed the car, kitted out the girls and off we went. 2 hours later we caught sight of Tryfan as we approached from Capel Curig and I began to feel the heart begin to race. I have always loved the mountains and walking, and I could almost taste the anticipation. Weather was not great, but certainly not as bad as I've known it in North Wales, so with boots and the correct gear on, we started up.

About an hour later, and still only half way up the north ridge, I finally admitted what my body had been telling me for the past 30 minutes - I'm 54 not 24! Physically, I felt awful and I knew that there was no option but to descend, otherwise we would all have been in danger. The weather was also taking a turn for the worse, and so we came down.

All was not lost, however, as I knew of a couple of walks that we could do, and in the end we did a turn around Cwm Idwal, but I am left with the realisation that no longer will things come so easy.

If I'm ever to get to the top of the mountains again, I'm going to have to train and work for it. My target now is August when I have a week's holiday and I intend to do Snowdon! Strolling across the West Pennine Moors or cycling the canals and stopping at every canalside pub is not going to do it for me.

There are some pictures of the weekend here if you are interested.

I Thought It Was My Crisis!

Ready To Hit The Road
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

Christine doesn't want me to suffer alone.

Mid Life Crisis

Should Know Better
Originally uploaded by markhsal.

It's my mid-life crisis, and I'm going to enjoy it!

An Honest NeoCon!

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums in war to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.

It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, they will offer up all their rights unto the leader and gladly so.

How do I know ?

For this is what I have done.

And I am Ceasar."

Courtesy of "and yes, I DO take it personally"

I Should Have Known Better

Reports from the BBC indicate that George Bush is really not that keen to tackle the main causes of global warming after all.

His spokesman at the G8 meeting has said that targets "...should be established on a national basis, and the only area of disagreement is that the G8 should dictate the national policies of its members." Germany is looking to increase fuel efficiency by 20% and set a target of limiting the world's temperature to a 2% rise if possible by cutting emissions by 50% by 2050.

President Bush responded by saying he still has a strong desire for a post-Kyoto agreement, but does anyone believe him? The man is an international joke, - unfortunately, no0one is laughing.

Further, Bush is now trying, for no obvious reason I can see, to stoke up tensions with an already flaky Russian government, the result of which will mean that us in Europe will be in the front line again.

Can someone please tell me, one thing that man and his administration has done on the world stage that has been good! (and if some clown says getting rid of Saddam - I want them to try and explain that to the hundreds of thousands of people who are presently suffering in Iraq). Everything that man touches ends up worse than it was before.

Global Warming - A New Dawn!

It would seem that President Bush has decided that the world is not doing enough to fight global warming. He has urged countries to set long-term goals and has set a target of 2050 for cutting global emissions.

Is he having a laugh!

What he appears to be advocating is very similar to a something that was agreed back at the turn of the century ripped apart by the then American administration headed by someone, funnily enough, also called Bush. That was the Kyoto agreement, and, for many countries, it remains a fundamental cornerstone of their environmental policies. Mind you, that agreement set more urgent targets than Bush. Unfortunately, the good work of the majority of the world has been shafted by the dirt and pollution pumped indiscriminately into the air by the US over the past 6 years, - a similar amount of time that a certain President has been significantly playing down global warming and its effects.

Mind you, I was almost deafened yesterday by the non-us world falling off their chairs in hysterics, when Bush said "The US takes this issue seriously."