Goodwood, Brooklands and Manics

ok just a quick update on the last couple of weeks. Last time I mentioned the Goodwood Revival. Well, unfortunately we picked the wrong day. I had been watching the forecasts from the previous weekend, at which point the Saturday was the wet day but as the week went on the Sunday became wetter and wetter. Unfortunately they were accurate and from 2 30 it pissed down. This year there was a 9 strong party; Tracy, the boys, sue and david, adam and my carer kadvi. Knowing the likely weather we positioned ourselves on the covered wheelchair viewing platform from where you get an okayish view (once you have reminded the row of people standing at the front of the enclosure that it's not a photography platform)

We arrived around 11 30 as usual, missing the first couple of races. I had come prepared with blankets, waterproof and hat, all of which were employed during the day. The boys weren't very interested this year and by the end of the day, I think every wheelchair visitor was well aware that playing xbox is greatly preferable to watching a "bunch of old cars drive in the rain", when you're a 12 year old boy.

The rest of the party were less vocal about any dissatisfaction and alternated with being with me and looking around the various period exhibits and shops. But by four o'clock the horizontal rain and gale force wind resulted in the first stage of an early retreat. Me, kadvi. Adam and david lasted another 30 minutes but decided to take advantage of a break in the rain, returning to the car. It was such a shame because on a late summer's day it's a magical place, but in the rain it's miserable. The journey home was very slow and despite kadvi doing a great job of supporting my head from the back seat, it was a horrible journey home. And at the time I said to myself "That's the last Revival I am going to". I am not so sure now, 2 weeks on.

Last week I continued the theme of historic cars with a trip to Brooklands. It's been  18 months since I last went so it was nice to go. They have recently moved the nearby bus museum there so there was something new to see. Although it's nice seeing someone else enjoy it, especially the opportunity to go on Concorde. The weather was beautiful and I had a lovely afternoon.

On Tuesday this week we went to see the Manic Street Preachers at Shepherds Bush Empire or as every venue now seems to be prefixed, the O2 Empire. It's a bit of a pain to get to but the wheelchair viewing platform is great. Sandra, my carer for this week, kindly agreed to drive which made parking easier and the journey more comfortable. The gig was brilliant; long term readers will know we are long standing Manics fans but this is probably the smallest venue we have seen them play. This was also the first gig for ages when it wasn't freezing cold which made it far easier for me. It's been so long since I have been out at night, that in itself was a treat.

.

The song above is from the new album which has much more acoustic approach than previously but they played a good selection from their back catalogue and below are short clips of some of the other songs they played

Cruise photos

https://picasaweb.google.com/tuscanboyuk/Cruise2013#slideshow/5923543700273697362

Cycle to Paris for MND

Next week, my friends are cycling to Paris to raise money and awareness for MND. I am so grateful to them for making such an enormous effort. This is Phil's information of the ride and if you would like to support them, visit

http://www.justgiving.com/Philip-Barr


Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page

So - what's this all about then? Well, 8 of us all aged 43 to 51 decided to ride (off road) London to Paris in September 2013, around 250 miles approx while raising funds, and just as importantly, awareness, for the MND association.

This was inspired by our friend Steve-he was diagnosed with MND back in 2007, and did a cycle himself for the same charity back in 2008- details of that ride can be seen  at steveevans.co.uk

Sadly Steve's condition is such that he can no longer join us - he would love to be able to. You can find out a little more about how MND affects every moment of Steve's life now in this short film he made for MNDA, and also in Steve's own blog.

Do please take a look at these- this page is not only about raising money, although of course that remains important- the more people are aware of this horrible disease and how it affects people, the better.

Next, the money bit - I can assure you that donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you,

Post Cruise

so, been back now for 2 weeks but still missing the cruise ship style. Yes, there are some advantages to being home; my profiling bed and my bidet loo (Kadvi was VERY glad to see that again!! ), but I think I could easily live on a cruise permanently. It's perfect for me. A different location every day without getting in a car, entertainment on tap, and smooth floors everywhere. I reckon £75k per year will cover it!!
Have been out a few times recently, mainly to Bushy Park but also met the boys at Chessington World of Adventures. The visit wasn't altogether successful. Firstly, although my carer gets free entrance I am expected to pay full price, a hefty £44. Even though I explained I just wanted to watch my kids and it's blindingly obvious that rollercoasters aren't my thing, they only offered a concessionary price of £30. Then the park was so busy that the boys only got on one ride. I DID get to watch some of the 10 minute sealion show (the bits when the man in front of me remembered to crouch down) and we went into the aviary too. On the plus side no birds shat on me.

The boys were taken to Alton Towers overnight by Tracy and uncle Jeremy at the end of the holiday. Being a school inset day ensured the ride tally was better than chessington although the locally situated Thorpe Park will no longer seem satisfactory.

An event I am going to is the Goodwood Revival next weekend. It's the only motorsport event I bother going to and it's a great day out IF it doesn't rain. If it's wet, the lack of covered wheelchair viewing platforms makes it a pretty difficult day. So here's hoping...

But I can't moan about this summer's weather, it's been fabulous and with the help of carers it's enabled me to go out much more than last year.

.