Every (well most) cloud has a silver lining....

Michael Osborne

Western Thunderer
image.jpeg I did have a Moto Guzzi Le Mans Mark 1 in 79 / 80.
It was my mistress for a couple of years ! When it went well it was fast, exciting, sexy and a pleasure to own. When it went wrong it costly, annoying, frustrating and it always let you down at the most inappropriate time and place.
I went to the Isle of Man TT in 1980 on with my mate on his Suzuki 500 twin. I just fitted a pair of new tyres from Goodyear which Kenny Roberts endorsed as the new thing. They were the worst tyres I every rode on ! It made the bike handle like a three legged camel that had been drinking. My mate ran rings around me all over the island.
Would I like it back ? O yes !
 
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simond

Western Thunderer
I met a fellow Guzzisto at the Bristol show, he too had a LeMans, we compared notes whilst perusing - was it “Bridgewater”?

Michael

your photo could easily have been me in 79/80, same hair, same moustache... ‘Cept I was an impecunious student at Liverpool Poly, with a P reg Honda CB250G5 “prettied up” with clip-ons and a Rickman fairing

Avon tyres iirc...

happy days indeed

the Guzzi is officially “Historic” which is nice, and has been pretty much reliable over the last 30-odd years. The “shopping bike” is a BMW Funduro F650 which I inherited. It’s quite sweet, if a bit wimpish.

ride safe
Simon
 

76043

Western Thunderer
Here's a cloud with I hope a silver lining. The Bluebell has closed for the duration and is launching an emergency appeal for funds. I've no idea if they are eligible for HM Government support, no doubt they are investigating this. I suspect other railways are going to be in the same situation.

Coronavirus - Bluebell Railway in Sussex

I have thought about joining the society for years, maybe this is now the time. Could it be we all join our favourite railway(s) to help them going?

Tony
 

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
Most heritage railways will find this a huge problem. I wonder if all will survive. Nowadays income is derived as much from catering as running trains - in fact in some cases the catering revenue exceeds the operating revenue - and the special events which really bring in the cash will be absent.

Tony - I think your suggestion is a very valid one. At the moment I make a £10 per month donation to my favourite railway by standing order. I'll think abut whether to increase that as there'll be little enough on which to spend disposable income for a while. (Well, for us except for the kits we'll all have to buy and build to keep us out of the loony bin).

This small altruism could be extended elsewhere. Mrs D and I with a couple of friends have a holiday booked in Norfolk which will certainly not go ahead now. Although we'll not be paying the balance due we'll leave our deposit with the property owner - they'll be struggling enough anyway and I hope there'll be the opportunity to revisit next year. If the business goes bust that clearly can't happen.

Brian
 

76043

Western Thunderer
It also occurred to me that the money I'm not spending on my local neighbourhood train operating company could enable me to buy the 5 year Bluebell membership package for £135, in just three weeks.

So for those of us commuters, we could swap the train fare for a steam railway.

I'm sure someone could come up with a good hashtag.

#seasonforsteam or something daft like that.

Tony
 
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