Courier Hub Is A Con

I am always looking for alternative work, this Courier Hub looks promising until you look below the surface.
They ask for a registration fee and then a monthly fee to supply you with courier work, you can
earn up to £350 a day. Then you find some feedback like on this website here:
http://www.reviewopedia.com/ , and here: courier-hub-reviews and you discover it is all a con.
http://www.scambook.com/report/view/202230/Courier-Hubcouk-Complaint-202230-for-$49.95
However what is worrying is how many more con websites are out there, conning people out of their money?

Classic Bike

I was in York yesterday, saw a lovely Royal Enfield, had to take a photo.

Also shown is York St John University, an institution of excellence, the history department here is up there with the best.

A Yorkshire Family Afloat

 A good friend of mine - John Paul is  in the process of blogging the nautical exploits of himself and his family. In 1980, he had built a yacht himself, and his family and an adopted son ( for the voyage) set off from Scarborough via the French Canals, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and Red Sea for Singapore.
read about their exploits here: http://ayorkshirefamilyafloat.blogspot.co.uk/ 

There was a entry in the Yorkshire Post of the event, which  was re-printed in November 2012,

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IN July 1980, the Paul family from Pickering set forth on a sailing adventure from Scarborough to Singapore. The intrepid group included John Paul, his wife Brenda, their daughters Belinda, 22, Nicola, 19 and Katie, 16, and family friend 18-year-old Peter Wood. Sadly, they had to abandon the voyage after a severe storm near Port Said in December that year damaged their 33ft motor yacht Ambition. “We were told it was one of the worst storms for 20 years. We were rolled onto our side, but fortunately we picked up quickly,” said Mr Paul.

(Entry found via PressDisplay.com, 10/12/12).

Gordon Stevens - And All The King's Men

This is one cracking read. I admit I am a fan of alternative endings to various historical events. This book by Gordon Stevens (you can get secondhand on sites like amazon.co.uk as its out of print) puts an alternative spin on the Battle of Britain and depicts a German victory in England in 1940.  The main character in the book is a man called Jack Masters, a Kent farmer who is approached by British intelligence before the outbreak of war in France. He is asked if he would be interested in joining a resistance network, and of course he says yes. The book is very descriptive about events of the invasion, the annihilation of the Royal Air Force, and the subsequent collaboration by the majority, and the small number who choose to resist, albeit in a small way. My only criticism of this excellent book is that Stevens writes the Germans do not progress any further north than the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland. This is very difficult to believe, surely the Germans would have wanted to complete invasion, especially before invading the Soviet Union. But hey, don't let this put anyone off buying or reading this excellent book, imagine if this had really happened? Its a scary thought...  

B.S.A Factory

The B.S.A factory employed over 40,00 people at it's height. These Youtube videos show what life was like at the B.S.A factory in 1958. How many British employers would bother organising a sports day like this, let alone pay people for the day off work? It is understandable why most B.S.A employees would stay at the factory for the duration of their working lives, and one can also understand why the factory was sorely missed when it closed and then was demolished in 1978.

The Mighty B.S.A. Bantam, Was It More Of An Eagle?

 Bsa Bantam D1 125cc,

Image found at: http://images.westendclassics.co.uk/stock/bantam.JPG

The B.S.A Bantam was the first bike owned by many lads and lasses in the 50's 60's and 70's. Production started on the 24th June 1948 of the D1 model. The Bantam underwent a few model changes as the years went by, 125cc, 150cc and finally 175cc.

BSA Bantam 150cc

Image found at:http://www.cheffins.co.uk/assets/catalogues/lots/239/1015.jpg

My favourite, the BSA Bantam B175, this one from 1971

Image found at:http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/bsa-bantam-b175.jpg

As a classic bike I think it has a lot going for it. Cheap to run (100mpg approx), plenty of parts available, and as reliable as other bikes of the era. It will plod around at a comfortable 50mph, the 175 will do 65mph at a push. It is such a shame they stopped making them. there is no accurate figure for how many Bantams were built, but it is estimated at around 500,000. 

                                                      Image found at: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YWin-ojFL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg

I just read a really good book about the Bantam by Owen Wright. Full of interesting facts and figures, it also is chocablock full of good photos and adverts. There are even first hand accounts of some extraordinary journeys, such as that of Brenda Collins who travelled from Canada to Mexico on a Bantam in 1952 covering more than 10,000 miles.

This lad on Youtube made an excellent video of his Bantam, even now it attracts riders of all ages.

Swainby Classic Car & Vehicle Show Sunday 26th August 2012

Today we paid a visit to the Classic car & vehicle Show at Swainby, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. It was only £4 for two of us, a bargain. I was really looking forward to it as I had heard that there was a large contingent of BSA bantams present. I am interested in buying one so I was hoping for a chat with an owner, but they were either ignoring me or too busy too talk to me. Nevermind. Apart from that we enjoyed our look round some excellent examples of lovely vintage vehicles.

Real Radio Legends Where Are They Now?

Micky Horswill, Malcolm MacDonald and Bernie Slavern all dropped from real Radio phone in show The Legends.This has caused an outcry amongst fans, me I liked to listen to them at work. It was bad enough losing Gary Rowell and Chris Coopland with the match commentaries but this is the final straw. I call upon all the general public -BOYCOTT REAL RADIO.

Have a read of this:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2012/07/24/three-legends-axed-from-real-radio-phone-in-show-72703-31460453/


In the meantime where are they now?

The Purple Man Of York

Today I visited York and we saw the Purple man in Stonegate. I don't quite understand what he does, but he's harmless. Someone told me he was getting bullied for his harmless antics, this, if true is sad. I thought it was nice to see him back. He even has a website: http://purpleman.co.uk/

On This Day In History

What happened years ago on April 5th?

                                       The Admiral Hipper after being hit by bombs.   Image found at :http://www.warshipsww2.eu/ships/img/41083_003.jpg accessed 5/4/12.

The Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front reaches the outskirts of Vienna which has minimal German forces to defend it. In the West, the French First Army (de Tassigny) captures Karlsruhe on the upper Rine. The US 8th Air Force carries out another heavy attack (450 bombers) against Kiel which causes severe damage to the cruisers Hipper and Emden. Found at:http://www.feldgrau.com/april.html, (accessed 5/4/12).

Less than a month later and the Germans unconditionally surrendered.