And so.........meet 'Jack'

This is the gorgeous new bike in my life, replacing the marvellous, magical LittleInsect (see previous post).
Only just got him, and am busy running him in, so don't expect any new posts from me for a couple of weeks!

Now is he pretty - or is he pretty?

So sad to see it go..............

.............the LittleInsect.

Yes, I've finally come to terms with the fact that I've got to let it go. After all the years, miles and memories, it's reached the end of its useful life in its present form, and, as I don't have room to store it for the rest of my life, it must make room for a replacement.

However, I refuse point blank to sell it. I really could not bear to let anybody else ride it. It would absolutely break my heart. So, in two weeks time it will be de-registered and taken apart. The fate of its component parts has been decided, but will not be discussed here. (or anywhere, for that matter)

The final nail in its' coffin came via Kent Motorcycles, who are supplying me with a new Hornet with the most gorgeous one-off custom paint job. I'm not picking it up for a couple of weeks, so I'll post photos then.

No, it could never be a 'LittleInsect 2' but if it gives me half the pleasure that one did, I'll be more than happy. I've only left myself a few days after picking it up, in which to run it in and get it serviced, and then its' first long trip will be to North Wales.

Let's hope the weather improves. It would be a shame to get that beautiful paint scheme wet and muddy.

This and That

Really, I shouldn't let life interfere with writing my blog!  However, it does seem to have happened a lot lately, mostly because there always seems so much to do.

To catch up, I had a very wet week in Somerset on the LittleInsect, followed last week, by a wonderful few days with Pat and Peter on the Devon/Dorset border. If you're looking for somewhere to stay down that way, then go to my other blog 'My British Isles', link on the right - and pick up the signs for The Old Black Dog. I can promise, you won't regret it.

No matter how often I go to Dorset, I never tire of riding the Dorset roads and poking around the gentle little towns and villages. An absolute 'must' for me down there, is to ride the B road that runs from Burton Bradstock through Abbotsbury, to Chickrell on the outskirts of Weymouth. It's such a pretty route, with wide views over Chesil Beach, to Portland on one side, and rolling hills on the other.

Another 'must' is an evening down at the harbour at West Bay, where all the bikers hang out. There's a branch of Helmet City just opened up there, and I made Dick promise not to spend any money if he went in there, and then promptly bought myself some new gloves! - a mere £80 or so........

Dick had only been to Dorset a couple of times before, and hadn't seen much of the towns at all, so one day, we spent the morning poking around Dorchester. It may be the county town of Dorset, but it's not exactly huge, and has a faded, genteel quality about it.

We then took a lovely ride from there, up to Sherborn and then through to Shaftesbury, where Dick had expressed a wish to see Gold Hill, the place that pretended to be 'oop north' in a certain famous Hovis ad. My eyes lit up when he said that, and he couldn't understand why I was so keen to show him Gold Hill...that is, until we got there and found the Beadster bead shop at the top. Of course, as we were in the area, I just had to, didn't I?

Talking of beads, and my jewellery-making, I've been spending time recently, learning the art of Kumihimo, or Japanese silk braiding. I'm quite pleased with some of my efforts so far, and there are one or two necklaces in my Etsy shop (link at the top of the page). See what you think. My friend Sheila, who owns Blueberry Glass, made me a couple of stunning pendants, and I've used one with toning silk braid to create a very stylish necklace.

I've started to carry a small pad and pencil around with me, as I see things which give me an idea for a piece of jewellery, and then by the time I get home, I've forgotten it. It's my age, don't ya know! I've got designs in mind for two more necklaces in The Weather Collection - these will be 'Snow' and 'Fog'. Are you intrigued yet? There's a pretty blue bracelet just waiting for me to have time at the weekend to photograph it, and add it to my shop, and, as usual, more ideas in my head than I actually have time to produce!

Two weeks time, we're off on our travels again - this time to Northumbria and North Yorkshire, so I hope to come back with even more ideas. I'm also hoping for a change in the weather..........................