A great bargain: 37 BBC DVDs covering the complete Shakespeare for about £120. I mean, how otherwise will you ever see Timon of Athens? We watched the plays on telly in the seventies and are now re-viewing them. Two surprising enlightenments: The Comedy of Errors and Henry Vl, pts 1 – 3.Plus a salutary reminder from Falstaff: “Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to this vice of lying.” It’s not that I overtly fibbed but I may have left the wrong impression and I feel I must do a little repolishing.
The subject was motorbikes – what else? The hero was the Honda Fireblade and for starters I must confess to a conflict of interest. In asking Honda if I could use an official photo of this mighty beast I was mildly interrogated about my motives. As a result I was given the key to the Honda Virtual Press Office! This may have affected my disinterestedness.
More important, did I leave anyone believing I had ridden a Fireblade? If so I apologise. I haven’t. I’d like to but things are stacked against me. The insurance companies have identified a new category of risk with its own amusing acronym which, alas, I forget. Basically it concerns men d’un certain age who now have the wherewithal to indulge activities they could only dream of in their youth. They buy a two-wheeled monster and then do fatal damage to themselves, the bike and a tree. It’s usually a tree.
Restrained by the work of actuaries I can only stand by the roadside and yearn. There, am I shriven?
4 comments:
Apart from enjoying the post as a whole, I would like to thank you for writing "more important" rather than the too common adverbial alternative.
Insurance studies on this side of The Pond have shown a disturbing rise in motor vehicle accidents involving men over 50 and motorcycles. Many a time I have watched someone pulling up to a stop-light using their shoe leather as slow-speed brakes. OK with a Vespa, but a Harley is a different story. As the great Yogi(Berra) said: "It gets late early out there", and things can get out of hand with 50+ year old reflexes.
I would love to re-acquaint myself with the Triumph line,an early and abiding interest,but I too am over50 and like to think I have developed more sense over the years.
Your post, as always, has worked well at making me think.
And you've made me think, RR. A post is forming in my mind about my Triumph Speed Twin, the one with the sprung hub - not an unalloyed delight when going round corners.
I can still manage my beloved BMW R100 (1982 vintage and bought by me in 1985 - we have grown old{er} together.) But I respect the fact that my reflexes must be slowing at 69 and ride accordingly.
However, oldsters coming back to the game these days can really get into trouble with power that would have been unthinkable in a 1970 Triumph.
Sprung hub "Tweed Spins"? I borrowed one from a friend back in the '50s to get home from army camp and still sweat remembering its interesting way of going around bends.
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