Back to the spuds, The first three rows went in fairly quickly, the next three a little slower and by the end of the last row I was worked to a stand still. I put in nine rows with ten spuds per row. The sweat was running off me. Not pretty but true. And yet I was not finished. The four rows of earlies needed earthing up. The soil at that end of the plot is quite heavy and the lack rain has left the soil baked hard. I had to loosen the soil with a mattock before I could ridge up the sprouting haulms. It was getting on for dinner time when I had finished spuds wrangling. I watered the Carrot drills, Gooseberry, Cabbages and Artichokes which was my cue to go home. When I got home a went for a shower I noticed that the bit of me that were exposed at the lottie were now a rosy pink, especially the backs of the my knees. Best get something on that befor eit starts to smart.
On Sunday I was wake early. We have the windows open in the bedrooms because it was so hot. The Starling brood in the roof keep early hours so their twittering woke me up as well as the holiday makers jets. I was supposed to be meeting my brother mid-morning so I was at a loose end really. I had a nice breakfast and it was still early. I decided to go the lottie and fix more the rabbit netting to the fence either side of the gate. The exisiting rabbit fencing only came up the bottom bar of the fence, about twelve inch [300mm]. I had some chicken wire round the Asparagus bed. I took it down and cut it length ways to get the narrow strip I required plus I had could now do twice as much for the fence. Just as I was finishing stapling the netting to the fence when my brother rang to say he was at the circuit.
My brother had a ride out from Manchester to watch his mates at a track day at Donnington Park. Miss L decided she would come too. Uncy Derk is her favorite uncle and their might be "hot guys". Donnington Park is only ten minutes from my house. Miss L and I found the garage they were in a said our "hellos". I know some of Uncy Derk's friends. We had a bloky laugh with shameless mickey taking. We had a look at the bikes, fiddled with them a bit and gave the chaps a few pointers on the circuit. Tony was having trouble with Coppice [Name of a corner] and Murph with Redgate [another corner]. I have ridden Donnington many times and had the same sort of problems. The advise I gave them was the same as was given to me. It seemed to work.
The session was called so Tony & Murph went off. Miss L wanted to go up on the pit wall. When we used to race she was not allowed on the pit wall because she was to young. There are benefits to being nearly sixteen. Part way through the session Miss L started criticising the other riders for not getting into a racing crouch as they whizzed down the main straight. She pointed out, quite rightly, that they would go faster if they made themselves small and were more slip-streamed. We tried to take some photos but my little camera was not up to the job. Having watched Murph and Tony's sessions from the pit wall we went back to pit to help them park the bikes up.
Tony drops a bomb shell. The heat has taken its toll on him and would I like to take the bike out for the next session. I was waiting H to give me a nudge to say wake up, was dreaming? No, it was real. I did not have to be asked twice. Tony is a bit bigger than me so all his kit fitted me. I had to wait an hour until the next session and time passed sooooo slooowly. The time came for the session, I was dressed and was doing my stretches in plenty of time. I had the mickey taken, whose he, Valentino Rossi, but did not care. I know it helps. Murph and Uncy Derk were bulling up my prowess. I was not sure I could still run at a fast pace. It has been over two years since I was on a track and now I had been given 150 horse power high-performance motorbike to play with.
As I sat on the bike in the pit lane , motor running waiting for the lights to go green I was not in the slightest bit nervous. It felt normal. The lights changes to green and we were waved off by the marshalls. It took it steady for half a lap but felt I was going too slow. Over the next half lap I wound it up and nothing scary happened. As we did the mandatory two sighting laps I got quicker. By the time the riding marshalls waved us through I was all over the back of the rider in front. Over the next ten laps I over took rider after rider. I was carefull with the power delivery, 150 bhp is a lot of power. The brakes were fanastic. Uncy Derk, Miss L and Tony were on the end of the pit wall. Miss L approved of my tucked position on the bike, Uncy Derk approved of the speed, very late braking and knee grinding the tarmac all the way round Redgate and Tony approved of someone getting more out of the bike than him. It was a fanatic session and prefect weather and all so unexpected.
We stayed on until the end of the day. I had a go at Uncy Derk's new camera and got some great shots and video of the lads on track. I took Uncy Derk round the far side of the circuit into the camera spots used by the pro-camera men. We snapped the bikes at good angles. The last session was cut short by a rider stuffing it into the kitty litter. Tony was not happy as my pointers helped him in Redgate and Coppice and this made a difference to the speed in the following straights. As we parted we all shook hands and agreed that we had had a great day out.
I was too "buzzed up" as Uncy Derk put it. So I was not ready for Tea. H and I went out for a drive to calm down. We went over to Donisthorpe orchard to see the trees in blossom. We had a surprise. Someone had been to the orchard and mowed the grass, cleared the path [which I had never seen before] and pruned the trees. The tree were covered in blossom so a good harvest can be expected. Having finished my book about English folk customs a felt I should at least have a "wassail" at the trees but I did not have any refreshments with me.
H and I took a walk up the track, away from the allotments, to the crest of a low hill and looked across the bright yellow fields of Oilseed Rape to the distant church spire poking out above the trees at Stretton en le Field. We watched the colours of the sunset develop; yellows and pinks of the sky set against the gathering gloom. A nice end to an odd day. Sublime to the ridiculous, you work out which is which!
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