News has just reached me that there has been another great escape from the Wildlife Park.

Bearing in mind that the Curraghs are already hopping with bands of escaped wallabies (Don's friends?) and that a wild boar or two may still be on the loose in the area (no prizes for naming them!) I understand that up to 5 raccoons have recently made a successful break for freedom.

Think again if you were planning to wear your Davy Crockett hat to the MGP as these rebels may respond in a less than friendly manner!

"The Raccoon is the trickster, the sly and crafty one who may appear slow, but who is quick and agile; the opponent who outsmarts his enemies, and who uses his hands like a human. The Raccoon is the survivor, who lives alongside man as if to show him that he cannot truly conquer the land. Above all, however, The Raccoon is intelligent and determined. It seems at times as if he can find his way into any closed container, or out of any cage. And he's cute, too. What more could you ask for from a species?" See <A HREF="http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/">http://www.loomcom.com/raccoons/</A>

Did you know that the motorcycle ridden by Steve McQueen in "The Great Escape" (1963) is the same bike ridden by Henry Winkler as Fonzie in "Happy Days" (1974)? But what make was the bike?

This will probably be impossible to answer, however, here goes. In 1927 there was a group of 4 Australians entered for the TT. Amongst them was a W. Pugh from New South Wales. The question put to me was, is this person the same one who rode speedway in England during that period known as "Digger" Pugh.

At 3 Sisters yesterday Garry Dunlop was wearing the famous yellow and black helmet as worn by the his late father but i hadnt noticed him wearing it before? is this the first time or has Garry used it in previous races.

On Saturday I took part in my second race meeting in my mini 'comeback'. This time it was at Silverstone, which is considerably flatter than the undulations of Oulton Park of two weeks ago. Having both wheels on the ground suited me much better and I was able to achieve two 15th place finishes (out of 25 and 24 finishers in my class).
I had taken the opportunity, the previous day of practising at the circuit, which really helped my confidence and allowed me to get acclimatised to the track. I began the day lapping in 1 minute 9 seconds and proceeded to lower my times to a best of 1.05.2. And was really looking forward to race day.
It began to drizzle as we started our 10 minute qualifying session on Saturday morning, which suited me as I was using intermediate tyres, whilst the front runners were slipping around on slick tyres. After approximately 7 minutes the session was stopped after a fallen riders bike had caught fire in the track, but I was confident that I had achieved a good qualifying position.
However, an announcement was made that another 10-minute qualifying session would commence in 10 minutes time. It was still drizzling, so as I sorted out a slipping clutch problem my friends quickly changed the wheels to full wet weather tyres. Unfortunately, just as they finished it stopped raining and the track began drying incredibly quickly. With no time to change back I elected to do one hard lap to attempt to better my previous time. I succeeded in improving by 5 seconds! Alas everyone else, on slick or intermediate tyres, made greater improvements and I ended up in 32nd place on the grid! D'oh!
In the first race, held in sunny conditions I made a good start, but my lack of race aggression, following my two-year layoff (and a fear of being knocked off and breaking my leg prematurely) cost me numerous places. I did manage to re-overtake two competitors later on in the race, but it was too little too late by then. I crossed the line 26th on the road and 15th in class (my Sound of Thunder class was combined with the Power Bike class). Although reasonably happy with my 1.04.2 fastest lap, I knew that I could ride better and wanted to do so in race 2.
As it turned out I did ride much much better, but only after making a dreadful start. So despite passing a lot more racers, I once again finished 15th in my class, but was far happier with my performance, which was a nice way to end with.
I would like to sincerely thank Andrew Brown for the load of his Aprilia race bike for both the Oulton Park and Silverstone meetings. I would also like to apologise for the state of his wet weather rear tyre after just one lap in the dry. I WILL be buying a replacement, when he gets his leg out of plaster and can catch me!
Next month I am due to have my right leg broken and set in an external fixator for 9-12 months, but not before I have been to the Isle of Man (on my road bike) for the Manx Grand Prix to cheer on my mates.
A final thanks to everyone who has supported; helped; resisted telling me not to race; come and watched me; at the two events recently. I hope we can resume play in 2004, when my leg should be back in full working order.
Rgds,
Scott

G'Day I'm Stewie

from Australia,and I am frantically looking for a recording of the sounds of the 1957/59 TT .I did have the 45rpm recording,but some one needed it more than me ,& Ihave not seen it since 1962.It holds the sounds of the first Honda four ,in long distance racing,plus my beloved Manx Norton ,pretty sure ridden by Mike Hailwood.
Thank you all
Stewie

Hi Baraba,
can you order fleeces for the mgp
speak to you when l return
Kevin
p.s i have not met wade yet

the word i,ve heard is that v&m have gone bust big time. any body else heard it ?

Good w/end for Garry Dunlop 2 wins Sat and 2 3rd places today Sun but the Anglo Ulster challenge race was cancelled due to the meeting running late, bad weather.

JOEY DUNLOP INJURED RIDERS FUND, A lap of the TT course
on a tandem is taking place on Sunday 26th Aug to raise
money for the fund.

Starting from the grandstand at 1pm the lap will be
ridden in stages by three 2 man teams.

The first leg from the start to the Glen Helen Hotel
will be covered by Nigel "The Bishop" Beattie and his
spannerman Paul "Stealth" Collins, at Glen Helen they
will hand over to the next pairing, one half of which
is rumoured to be Richard "Milky" Quayle who will
continue to Parliament Square Ramsey.

The third pairing will have the unenviable task of
crossing The Mountain back to The Grandstand, (Two
regular cycle racing competitors are doing that bit!!).

Collection buckets will be brought around the pubs on
the route just in front of the riders and we hope to
raise a few quid along the way.

We'll keep you posted on the event as it all comes
together.

<A HREF="http://www.ttwebsite.com/news/article_2002_08_2_3130.php">http://www.ttwebsite.com/news/article_2002_08_2_3130.php</A>