The countdown has begun

In less than 60 days, I'll be getting on a plane to make the trip back home and then up to Aberdoon for the Haggis Run.

To say I'm excited and anxious would be an understatement; I always enjoy returning home for obvious reasons such as seeing the family, old mates, seeing how things have changed and all the other stuff. But I'm  anxious due to a dislike of flying.

That in itself is a little ironic as I was in the Air Force and spent most of my time in overseas which involved a flight of some sort to get to the destination. Glutton for punisment maybe????

Anyway, I've gone over the packing of the bag several times to make sure everythings OK. It's a habit from the military of taking the immediate essentials with you.

Apart from the usual stuff like t-shirts and other clothes etc, riding gear such as a Barbour waxed cotton jacket and Belstaff pants and a helmet which are necessities, there's a couple of other things as well such as the digital camera for recording the Run, visits to the National Motorcyle Museum in Birmingham (NMM) and to RAF Welford near Newbury in Berkshire where I spent the first four years of my military life. There is one other thing that goes in the travel bag but that's a surprise for someone

RAF Welford was a fantabulous place to play, I mean, work at. Besides the actual work, we also chased rabbits that numbered in the thousands there, got up to mischief such as having forklift races, aand hiding from the bosses when we could.

The NMM is a place that I didn't get a chance to see last time, but this time I will. A few years back there was a terrible fire that damaged or destroyed some of the exhibits. For the most part they have been restored back to exhibition condition.

Kawa who has commented on here in the past has sent me some pictures from there via the 'net. Due to that I am making every effort to get to the NMM this time around to see the bikes that came from the once great British motorcycling industry. The BSA/Triumph Bandit/Fury, Slippery Sam, Triumph Quadrant and other machines.

While there I'll pick up a few of lifes necessities such as PG Tips, Shepards Pie mix, Cadburys chocolate and a few other bits and bobs. I'll also join the Grampian Classic Motorcycle Club while oop Norf.

So for now, the clock is ticking, but waaaaaaay to slowly for my liking.