CRMC Classic Festival, Donington Park, Saturday 11th August, 2012.

Get up. Have breaky. Put 'bike in van. Drive van to circuit. Park up in paddock. Unload 'bike and place on stand. Sit back and admire 'bike 'til it's time to ride it.

Brilliant.

Not sure how impressed Vicky is with olde ex-Hailwood and Baker 250 twins.

We shouldn't forget that Bazza rode plenty of Yamahas as well as Suzukis back in the day.

David meets Steve Baker, a hero of his younger days and, yes, it was emotional.

Hey Vic, that 'bike looks quite interesting. Why don't you take a photo of it whilst I nip off and have a pee?

Transpires it is the Moto GP Yamaha M1 that Ben Spies rode to victory at Assen last year. Hmm, yes, 'quite interesting' then.

Swedish rider Hasse Gustafson stretching the legs of his 750 Ducati down Craner Curves.

Catching-up and having a laugh about the (ongoing) good olde daze with Andy Muggleton who's just finished third on his beautifully turned-out 350 Yamaha.

Keep off the grass! Nick Hawson just about keeps his 500 BSA Goldstar on the not very straight and fairly narrow at Redgate.

All that Classic 'bike racing is all very well but yer can't beat the real thing! And these cars have had their magnets removed which makes it a whole new can of the proverbials. We vow to remove the magnets from our slot cars the minute we get home.

All-in-all it has been a fantastic day at Donington. Easily the best 'motorsport' day of the year so far and a great way for David to spend the last day he can ever say he is 58 years olde. Vicky says she's never enjoyed Donington so much before and we've been here (at the last count) for at least 35 events over the years. Great club, great atmosphere, superb weather. What more could we wish for?

Evesham Cats Protection, Sunday 5th August, 2012.

There's always somebody on hand to take your call.

This is ridiculous. He was our favourite last month, yet he still hasn't been adopted. You know the number, give it a call.

Been here for an hour: time for the first cuppa tea.

Since the dawn of time young-uns have been fascinated by the taste of their own bodily fluids.

Oh yes, I'm chillaxed, me. But should you come any closer, I'll 'ave yer!

WSBK, Silverstone, Saturday 4th August, 2012.

Oh, it looks lovely right now but, don't worry, there are plenty of short sharp showers on the way. Hence the tightly gripped brolly and waterproof coat.

Jakub Smrz is well known for being a 'one lap' specialist so it was no surprise that he won the 'Superpole' on his Ducati. Wonder how he'll do in tomorrow's race?

It'll look fabulous when it is finished. No, really, it will.

Vicky has made a bee-line for her favourite Safety Cars. 

No, she's not standing on a box. Hiroshi Aoyama makes the mistake of standing too close to someone much much taller. 

Andrea Antonelli is a very nice friendly Italian and doesn't deserve to be made to pose for a photo with an old chap by Vicky.

Miraculously, now fully recovered from his 'posing with an old chap' ordeal, Andrea Antonelli is still able to blast his 600 Yamaha up the International Pits Straight. He'll go far, he will.

Thursday, 2nd August, 2012.

Vicky gets the joy of driving 'the future' for the day whilst the Lancer is in for its MOT. She looks very happy about it, doesn't she?

Gloucester Docks, Saturday, 28th July, 2012.

It's yet another lovely summer's day (there's a cooling breeze today - which is nice) so we've made the short and quick drive down to Gloucester for a look around the re-developed docks.

Well, we say 'quick drive' but the M5 is closed at Cheltenham due to an accident so we come off at Tewksbury and use the A38. It's a bit slower but the scenery is much nicer.

Howard taking things easy and enjoying the vibe.

Hard work? Oh yes, we can stand here and watch it for hours.

Scottish owners?

We know what you're thinking but, no, we didn't venture inside. The Food Police were everywhere. We had a nice pot of tea each to wash down our toasted panini at a far more healthy establishment (absolutely). 

Olde quayside crane (bet it didn't look that good when in use) stands guard over warehouses converted into offices and apartments (you know the sort of thing).

Main canal boat basin.

Different view of same basin with 'Britain In Bloom' (or some such) award winning flower displays.

A chap nearly as olde as The Docks but, crucially, not quite.

Worcs CCC v South Africa, New Road, Worcester, Friday 27th July, 2012.

The long hot British summer continues (well, it's been here for at least a week now) and Bob has come over from Burbage to watch the pesky South Africans succumb (oh yes) to our brave boys from Worcestershire. It's a big crowd and it's not easy to find a seat. And, blimey, it's cowin' hot! So, buying the first teas of the day and slapping on the sun cream, we settle back to decide who's at the crease. Trouble is both teams have a bloke who looks exactly the same as that famous bloke what plays for South Africa. One hour later we realise that Worcester are fielding not batting as we originally thought. It's an easy mistake to make and we blame the prickly heat.

It's one o'clock and time for lunch, dum-de-dum-de-dum (one for all fans of 'classic period' Genesis).

Two shifty looking groundstaff are busy re-marking the crease (aka in some circles as 'doctoring the pitch').

Pesky South Africans practising their slip fielding and doing their best to ignore the barracking (which is far too prevalent in the modern game) coming from two over-weight middle aged chaps who were really good when they were young (oh yes), thankfully, behind the camera.

Rear of the Basil D'Oliveira Stand (no particular reason for including this).

Bob and Dave enjoying the seats in the welcome late afternoon shade below the scoreboard. We've had a cup of tea and a slice of cake from those very nice ladies in the 'tea and cake' pavilion and are looking forward to a return visit before the walk back home under the trees along the river. Yes, it's a tough life alright. Well, if it was good enough for Elgar...........

Monday, 23rd July, 2012.

Third consecutive day of summer shock!

Emlyn's had his first breakfast and waits for his second and third ones in the glow of the kitchen.