Phew!

What a few weeks this has been, to see out August.

It started with me assisting/riding shotgun, as my brother Paul trailered his Suzuki GT750 up to Telford, for refurbishing. Setting off around 9am from Hythe, the whole task took about 12 hours! With one stop on the way for a coffee/pee, and to tighten the straps, it took us about 5 hours to get to Telford. Bizarrely, Phil the Suzuki 2 stroke guru who is undertaking the restoration, hadn't given Paul his address, only a postcode. As we pulled into the street, wondering how on earth we'd turn round, if it wasn't right, Paul started to send a text message. Just then, a kid on a bicycle (Phil's son) stopped alongside and told us to follow him. 50m down the road, was Phil's house. After some shenanigans with the trailer, Paul can't reverse one, the bike was off the trailer and wheeled through to Phil's workshop. It's a big shed, basically, but he had about 5 different bikes in there, in various stages of repair.   

With a cuppa in hand, they went over what needed to be done and what Paul wanted to be done, not necessary the same things, with Phil giving estimates as to the cost, as they went along. Suffice to say, to get it back running and looking decent, won't come cheap.

With that all sorted, we were back in the car and making our way, slowly, back to Hythe, arriving back, as I said, somewhere in the region of 12 hours after we'd set off. Claire, my sister-in-law had some food for us when we got back, so I scoffed that pretty quick, then rode home. I'm looking forward 😧 to doing it all again when the bike is finished!

Step forward a couple of weeks and the day finally arrived, when Catherine and I tied the Civil Partnership knot. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster since we first announced our intentions in April but in the end, it all worked out fine.

The ceremony, if you can call it that, took place in a small room within Rochester register Office. Present, with us, were Catherine's son and his fiance Jenny, as our witnesses, and the registrar. The registrar went though questions we had been asked when we booked our ceremony, and we signed a piece of paper. All done in about 5 minutes. With a civil partnership, you don't even get a certificate to take away, as that is posted out to you a few days later. Not quite what we had hoped for or originally planned but a sign of these strange times.

Rochester being a lovely historic town, lends itself perfectly to photos, so we had a few taken in front of the castle and cathedral, before heading down the high street, to the restaurant we had booked for our wedding breakfast, Oliver's. Waiting for us there, were Paul & Claire, my daughter Jen, with husband Chris & baby James, my daughter Elly and her partner Ross and Catherine's daughter Natalie, with her partner Mark & baby Emma-Rose. Just 12+2 of us, at socially distanced tables. We had a lovely 3 course lunch and would thoroughly recommend the restaurant, as the food and service were excellent. All in all, we had a very nice day, and both agreed that, though we had never imagined we would, we somehow felt different, having tied the knot after 24 years!

The Happy Couple

A week on and it was Catherine's son Alex and fiance Jenny's turn to get married. Like our wedding, Covid-19 had played merry hell with the plans, and it was an 11th hour deal, to get the wedding on at the local church, in Rottingdean. The rest of the plans, have had to be postponed until 2021, so they will for all intent and purposes, be having two weddings.

We drove down to Rottingdean in the morning, arriving about an hour before the ceremony. The church is only about 150m from Jenny's parent's house, so very handy. Nevertheless, Nigel, Jenny's dad, had his MKII Jaguar ready to ferry her to the gates, with her brother Andrew as chauffeur. In the church, we were all spaced out and wearing white face masks, so it was unusual to say the least. Following the ceremony, there was the usual photo session (the photographer never stopped in about 5-6 hours), then we walked around the corner to the house for the garden party/reception. In the meantime, Andrew took Alex & Jenny for a little drive but not before a slight scare, as the Jag struggled to start. Another lovely afternoon. 

Another Happy Couple

Not sure the weddings count as 'adventures' but certainly worth a mention as they both signify new phases in our lives.

On the Sunday before Bank Holiday, I (we) completed my 2020 Virtual Spitfire 10k. Last year, Helen and I went to the RAF museum in Hendon to run/walk the Spitfire 10k, and having already completed the Virtual Hurricane 80k earlier in the year, it was clear we would both enter this virtual event too. As with last year, we both had a label with the name of a pilot who died in RAF service and even though we were just completing the challenge locally, we both wore the labels. Helen completed her effort on the 29th and bettered her time from last year. I was about 30 minutes slower but then I walked the whole way this year, and I had a slower partner to consider. Helen and I both logged our times on the official timing website and now just await our medals. Mention should go to Catherine, who, although not signed up for the event, walked with me, 11.3k in all. Maybe I'll let her put my medal on when it arrives 😉

A True Hero

My next adventure, weather allowing, will be to find the grave of the pilot, whose label I wore, Flying Officer Peter Cape Beauchamp St John. He is buried in Amersham. My plan is to find his final resting place, then visit the ATA Museum in Maidenhead, before rounding off the trip with a visit to the RAF Memorial at Runnymede. Watch this space for details of that trip and photos. Hopefully it won't be too far in the future.

That's all for now. Sorry there's a lot of text to get through (and I didn't even mention Ginny's gearbox recall) but hope you have enjoyed the update nevertheless. 

Till next time.