Ryan came shooting the other week so Nathan came this time but I don’t think he enjoys it as much as Ryan. Unfortunately when we got back to the cottage at the end of the day someone had broken in and stolen the booze. I have not calmed down since Nathan’s bike was stolen and to find that low-life’s even affect shooting just shows how inadequate our Police force has become.

What was astonishing was that the red wine that was stolen was Beaujolais trash which should match the skull content of whoever stole it quite well, plus can you believe stealing booze from a house when you can hear shotguns going off all around you?

Lucky not to get caught. You bet.

Got Nathan’s new riding kit for next year, all we need now is a bike. I like people that can prioritise. Ryan has asked Santa for some goggles. I tried to explain to him that Experts have a new pair of goggles every other week, just ask Nathan, and whatever happens make sure that you don’t buy the same make twice because then you can buy another 10packs of rip off’s (Nathan insists on calling them ‘tear off’s’ but have you seen the price) so that we can add to the 678 other opened, but unused, packs of rip offs on the truck.

We didn’t have Rip off’s when I was a lad, but most tracks had a stream crossing that acted as a wash system or we operated like Santa and left our goggles off. Personally I would rather follow a motocross bike without goggles than sit on a sleigh with eight reindeer in front that have just eaten an extraordinary amount of carrots and mince pies. Old Santa loves to feel the wind in his hair but with the view he has I think a pair of goggles might be preferable.

Anyway Santa may not visit next year as rumour has it that the noise meter man is taking measurements with regard to how loud the sleigh bells are and Health and Safety are concerned about the public wearing head protection when the sleigh is overhead. The Police are concerned about insecure loads on the sleigh and the tax man wants us all to declare any gifts received and their current value.

Fortunately the government can sort all these problems out by giving our banks another big payout. This will force the banks to do nothing again other than inform us that ‘it’s happening in America as well’. Remember the Americans didn’t invent Christmas, they just commercialised it.

What a cold week that was!

Shooting Wednesday at the second syndicate I am a member of. I think I may be going a little too often at the moment but it is good fun.

Mick Alsop has been round home most days this week building walls and generally making a mess. Poor old Mick has had the weather against him all week but I think we are near the ‘tidy up’ stage now. Mick is still struggling to get around after his big ‘off’ at Branston in September.

Sunday’s practice at Bromsberrow was cancelled on Saturday. Ken Winstanley checked the circuit and wisely called it off due to all the wet weather we had suffered. A brave decision I thought and the correct one but this was the first of this type of event after many years and a large amount of work had been put in. It would have been easy to take the money and ‘hang’ the consequences as no doubt the moaners are going to have a field day anyway.

I hope they can go again in the near future.

Went to the fixture meeting for the Midlands Groups at the AMCA office on Saturday and I thought it went quite well. No doubt there will be some changes to the fixture list, it’s inevitable, but the bulk of the work will stand. It’s a shame that South Shrops group run so many meetings as this reduces rider’s chances to try anywhere else but I’m not complaining and hopefully they will get a little more revenue from visiting riders.

We have three Motoduro’s organised for the start of the season, great if that’s what you want but I am not impressed with them being counted as an event on the motocross calendar. The name is the clue, they are not motocross and they do not take the same effort to organise.

The big plus is that all motocross entries will be reduced back to £18.00 next season as although it was felt that not so many riders will be racing next year the new grouping will increase the number of riders attending. So if you ride every scheduled meeting in South Staffs next year you will save £62.00. Almost the cost of a Transponder.

When Paul’s mother returned she said some rider’s parent had been complaining at race control that their son had won the race (I use the term race loosely) and explained that the way the parent had worked it out was like this. ‘No one was in front of him but every-one else was behind him’. Now I call that a convincing argument but no, the parent was sent away.

For me, that captured the mood of the day, it wasn’t a race it was a ride but someone had to win otherwise what was the point? Yes that was it……. What was the point?

Newport Club organised an enjoyable day and other than multiple shortcuts around the circuit it all went very well I thought. 

One final point. I didn’t see any of the really fast lads cutting the circuit they just got on with it and hopefully got the rewards they deserve.

Our Lads enjoyed it so I guess that if there is no motocross they may try it again. Personally I think next time they go to an event like this I may paint the garage floor.