Friday 19th March, 2010 (Pt 1).

It's the August 1988 British GP at Donington and Vicky has tracked down Barry Sheene. Some would use the term 'stalked' but that would be cruel and unfair. She's a fan. We all were/are. Nowt wrong with that.

Looking at this photo now makes me wish I had a camera back in the '70's when I first started to go to 'bike meetings on my 5oo-4. You could get any number of shots of young Barry back then. He always made time for his fans. At the October '75 Brands Powerbike Meeting I remember walking into the Paddock at the end of the racing, and seeing Barry sat on top of his caravan, then my mates and I walked all around the paddock gawping at the riders packing stuff away and when we came back to Barry, about an hour later, he was still there signing stuff as happy as Larry. Of course, as serious bikers, we were too 'ard to want to get our programmes signed. That was for gurls and families. I look back on it now and think: 'what a wasted opportunity'. There you go.

I didn't have a camera back then. Never wanted one. Had other financial priorities. Think of all the riders competing back then. I could have got photos of Ago, Read, Smart, Potter, Haslam (on the Pharoah Yams), Ballington, Grant and Ditchburn on the 'Green Meanies' etc etc. You name 'em, they were there. But Barry Sheene was the best ever. For Vicky and I, our all-time favourite. So we must be grateful we have this image of him taken when his racing career was well-over. But still he retains all the same cheeky enthusiasm he always had for motorcycle racing. Dodging from garage to garage, motorhome to motorhome on his paddock 'bike, cadged off somebody no doubt, chatting to riders and teams about their prospects for the weekend. Still a star.