Bob & Betty go British

British Motorcycle Grand Prix 2006

A heatwave warning has been issued. The sun has come out and it's reached all of 30 degrees. This wouldn't be so bad except for a few things of note:

1. The British are so deprived of the sun that when it comes out and it shows any sign of being hot, they take their shirts off, wear tops that are inappropriate on all but the very young and thin, and then drink lots of beer. This results in what I can only imagine would be hideous hangovers and lots of peeling skin. We in Australia understand about Slip, Slop and Slap. But here in England the message hasn't quite made it. So in the absence of anything else interesting to do, you can always sit and watch the people go by, shake your head, and wonder how they're going to feel in the morning.

2. The British Motorcycle Grand Prix was on. We rode 124 miles (or 200km for those who have accepted metric) to Donnington Park early Sunday morning. This wasn't so bad as the heat hadn't quite kicked in, but our bottoms were a litte sore. For some reason the Triumph has the hardest foam seat I've ever encountered on a motorbike. I know my experience is limited to the 4 different bikes that Robert has owned, but this really is quite bad. And after not having been on a motorbike for a while, going all that way and it being oppresively hot, it wasn't the most wonderful experience.

The race itself was quite interesting but I'll let Robert describe the finer detail. As you'll see from my other photos, we walked around a lot, and sat in the sun to watch the race. I still got burnt even though I put some sunscreen on (have I mentioned previously about the price of sunscreen in this country? No? Well, you can pay a whole 10 pounds for a small bottle - that's $25!). It was hot enough that Robert at least bought me an ice cream :-)

The 124 mile trip home again was quite hideous. It was hot (have I mentioned it was hot?) as the jacket I have isn't breathable so I just heat up inside like a sauna. There was a lot more traffic in the afternoon compared to when we set out at 8am on Sunday morning (I think most people were still in bed trying to come to terms with the fact that England are out of the World Cup) and our bottoms were already sore from the trip earlier. Still, we survived, despite a close call with a surprise right turning car just as we reached Putney. Now I feel positively dehydrated - oh, and my bottom is very sore.

Yesterday was far more civilised. We headed out to the nice leafy suburbs of Greater London. It reminded me very much of Turramurra. Huge houses, lots of fancy cars in the drive way and huge backyards with pools. We went to a BBQ organised by one of the people I work with (James is one of the sales team). Robert and I arrived on the motorbike much to James' delight. He declared that the triumph was the coolest thing that had ever been in his driveway - now that's saying something.

Well, I'm off to bed early. Better have one more hydrating drink and transfer the fan to the bedroom. I hope it isn't this hot when Juliet comes to stay or we'll need to buy another fan!

posted by Elisabeth @ 9:46 PM