The Decade in Review....................2007

The year started off as a very busy one. We lived in a 3 bedroom house but with the new arrival coming very soon we decided to get the loft converted which was a great thing to do. It allowed us much more space than we could have ever imagined and essentially made it into a 4 bedroomed house which was spot on for having guests but also having my office up there with PC etc. The worked start with Keith in the early January and the turnaround was alot quicker than we thought in just 5 weeks, all completed.

Unfortunately that wasnt it for the decorating although i wish it had been after all the glossing!

We had to prepare the new arrivals room. We decided not to find out what sex so did the decorating in quite neutral colours. Daddy to be below with more paint on his arms than on the walls!

Mummy with only 8 weeks or so to go painting the new room.......

Wetting the babies head is a must and we decided to do it before little legs was born and on St Patricks Day. What a blast we had at the local drinking Guiness and seeing how many badges we could fit onto our bodies.......

Two days before little legs was born we went to Monk Fryston with my Grandma and Grandad to celebrate their 57th Wedding Anniversary. We had a bit of lunch and a lovely walk around the grounds as usual............

Then 2 days later.................

Nyah Nicola May

born on the 8th April 2007

The picture was taken seconds after Nyah was born. Nikki was fantastic, not just through the labour but all the way through her been pregnant. Nikkis labour lastest around 42hours with the contractions gradually getting worse and worse. Having seen Nikki go through that pain was pretty hard. My respect for women who have had kids is just endless.

August 2007 also saw my best buddy Ben get married with me been best man. They tied the knot down at Warrick and it was one of the hottest days of the day and certainly a day to remember.

IOM 2007, Our 5th year at the IOM TT.

The Decade in Review....................2006

This was a milestone of a year for Nikki. She had been in sales for Inital for a couple of years and previous to that had worked all over the country in particular London where she was a Visual Merchandising Manager. Nikki had been doing this for some time and wanted to refocus her time and energy into her real passion which was Holistic and Beauty Therapy. She took time out to work part time and went back to college to study to get her qualifications in order for her to start up her own business in which she has done.

Another reason for Nikki pursuing this line of career was due to the two mis carriages she had had. Not dwelling on it but these well serious reality checks in that the stero typical view of you fall pregnant and have the baby 9 months later couldnt be further from the truth, It can be alot more complicated than that.

This picture was taken just before Nikki went for her graduation. Nikki was also recognised as the student of the year which she was over the moon with and well deserved.

http://nikkimayholistic.co.uk/

Me and Nikki also visited the North West 200 road event in Northern Island. We got the plane over then camped near to the circuit. The visit wouldnt have been the same without a trip to my hero's local bar...............

We celebrated my Grandma and Grandads 54th Wedding Anniversary this year, awesome! We celebrated by going to Crofters as a family and having some good food and few drinks. They really are remarkable for their age and really are people to look up to.

2006 also saw me get promoted from a CDDR to AE Grocery covering Bradford. This was a really enjoyable time been an AE covering the big 4 in bradford and allowed exposure to some serious volume accounts.

This picture was taken in December 2006, 3.5 months before Nikki was due to give birth. At this stage and on reflection she was quite big with still alot growing ahead of her!!!

TT 2006

We went this year with Dave and Jimmy. Me and my dad on the bikes, Dave and Jimmy in the car carrying the beers.

Morecambe’s John McGuinness won his ninth TT, blitzing the six-lap Superbike TT, winning for the second year in succession.

Riding the 1000cc HM Plant Honda Fireblade, he broke his own outright lap record from a standing start, went even quicker on the second lap and carried on to register the fastest-ever six lap average speed, winning by 39 seconds. Ian Lougher (Stobart Honda) trailed Ian Hutchinson (McAdoo Kawasaki) to begin with, but gradually reeled in the 10 seconds starting interval and maintained second to the end.

Flying Kiwi Bruce Anstey narrowly fought off the close attention of Yorkshire’s Ian Hutchinson to win his second successive Superstock TT and make it five wins in five years. The pair were rarely more than seconds apart as the four-lap race was slugged out after an hour’s delay for mist. Welshman Jason Griffiths made it three different marques in the top three placings.

At an astounding record average speed of 122.264mph and a record lap at 123.975mph John McGuinness won the Supersport TT, with Superstock race winner, Bruce Anstey second, after Ian Hutchinson was disqualified for a machine infringement. Third place was awarded to Jason Griffiths.

John McGuinness again set a blistering pace in the Senior TT race taking the outright lap record to 129.451mph on the second lap of the ‘blue-riband’ TT, and take his number of wins to 11. Australian Cameron Donald finished in runner-up place, in his second year at the TT, with fellow Antipodean Kiwi Bruce Anstey third.

2007 was going to be a massive year, new baby, new job and i guess everything that comes with that, a total new way of life............

The Decade in Review....................2005

The highlight of 2005 was going to be our wedding at Monk Fryston Hall. Nikki had been organising the day for the pretty much for the last year with me moaning about the cost of everything but think that was me been a typical bloke and as usual I shut up as I knew what was good for me!

We found the venue for the wedding whilst out on the motorbike when we stopped off for coffee. The place is relatively small and has that internate, warm and welcoming feeling every time we walk through the door. The day really was perfect, Nikki looked stunning, the weather was spot on and we had all our family and closest friends their on the day. Everyone who was staying for the day was staying for the night so it really made it feel like a long weekend party!

My Stagg Doo was mental and really enjoyable. 12 of us headed out via plane to the IOM for the TT Races. Shame about the weather but nevertheless you come to expect that from the IOM.

I guess the pictures speak a thousand words.............

I guess no wedding is complete without a honeymoon so we had booked a 5star resort on the island of Gozo of the main island of Malta. We had helicopter transfers to the island and resort was just out of this world. Our rooms where not the best in world but for the time we spent in them it didnt really matter. The place had an indoor and outdoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, gym, massage rooms and every evening we ate outside alfresco as the weather was just amazing. We would sit during the day reading and looking out over the island of Malta as Gozo and where we where was set on the top of a very large hill, amazing. The best thing of all was that we had the place to ourselves.

We spent some great times with friends in 2005 which I have put the pictures in below.

Me, Baz and Grant outside our favourite Thai restaurant in Leeds

Me and Ben also did a ride in 2005 for the British Heart Foundation down in Rugby. The day was so well organised that every corner we seemed to go around there where locals giving us food and warm drinks. It was a great circuit and really sent the benchmark for our charity rides that we would do in the furture.

2005 also saw my mum and das 30th Wedding anniversary in which we celebrated in style by booking the family on the north yorkshire railway. We camped in a little village just outside of Pickering then headed on the evening to the railway in which we had a 5 course meal as it took its way through the moors up to Goathland.

The Decade in Review....................2004

We celebrated a couple of big birthdays in 2004 and also moved into our new home in Brayton, Selby. Reflecting on 2004 alot of planning went into the wedding for the following year but we still managed to get away quite a bit.

Having sold my house in Leeds I had then bought another buy to let property in Hull. I was still looking at property on a buy to let basis and when I saw the release of some properties in the sort after village of Brayton outside Selby me and Nikki made the trip there for the release of the prices. We happened to arrive first in the que and got the chance of putting a deposit down there and then, and we did on the house below. This is probably the only regret I have had so far in that I didnt buy more that where on sale that day! We did originally do this on a buy to let but as the property went on we decided to move in.

Me and Ben had another trip to the Lakes to spend a couple of nights camping, having a few beers and covering about 100 miles on the bikes. I was wondering why Ben seemed to be always pulling away from me on the downhills and I guess in general. It wasnt until we got about 10 miles back to the site that I realised my front brake was catching, Brilliant! We stayed on this occassion of onew of favourite sites at Thirlmere near Keswick.

Me and Ben at the waters edge of Thirlmere

Dave's 60th Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Dave's 60th with a surprise bash at his local watering hole the Barlicorn in Barwick in Elmet. As a present we all chipped in and got him a red letter day driving day experience.

A very happy Birthday Boy below................

In September we celebrated Nikki's 30th Birthday and did it style by going to the Lakes. We camped in the valley next to Thirlmere. When we set up the tents, not a problem, weather was good, we had a good pitch and the pub was in spitting distance. After some food and a few beers we headed back to the tents to be confronted with a massive down pour that lasted all night. Been in the valley, the winds where terrible and we seemed to get the brunt end of this storm with the campsite been flooded. Unfortunately we could only stay the one night but we did have a laugh!

Thailand 2004

In the October of September we went to Thailand for 2 weeks. We booked flights, a 1 nights stay in Bangkok then 12 nights at a Krabi resort hotel. We had an actioned packed two weeks of horse riding on the beach, eating from street vendors, hiring motorbikes, going on speedboat trips to the Phi Phi islands, snorkeling and a trip to the hospital (if you could call it that) when Nikki got an allergic reaction to the sun. She got given an injection and moments later after recieving the injection she passed out. No one in the hospital could speak English and I was stuck in this room with Nikki passed out not knowing what injection she had been given and what was going on! Should have checked the life insurance. Nevertheless the injection did seem to do the job and it made her feel alot better. The majority of time was spent in the islands and it was amazing to do everything we did. Just wish we had more time.

TT 2004 - Our 2nd visit to the IOM

2004 saw the ACU sign a 20 year agreement to hand over control of the TT to the Isle of Man Government and for the Manx Motor Cycle Club, which runs the popular Manx Grand Prix, to organise the TT Races.

John McGuinness (Yamaha) set the pace in the opening Duke Formula One race, with a sensational opening circuit of 17 minutes 43.8 seconds, (127.68mph) ensuring that the last Formula One TT went out with a ‘bang’, clinching victory by 18.6 seconds over TAS Suzuki mounted Adrian Archibald, with team-mate Bruce Anstey third.

As well as the fastest ever lap in the 97-year history of the TT, McGuinness also established a new fastest race average over four laps of 125.38mph.

John McGuinness went on to take wins in the Junior TT and Lightweight 400, three in a week, to join TT great, Mike Hailwood, Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop and David Jefferies in the elite hat-trick club.

Kiwi Bruce Anstey spoilt the party for John McGuinness when he powered home a blistering record-breaking victory in the delayed 1000 Production race, upping the class record to 125.10mph on his TAS Suzuki. McGuinness, Yamaha, who led at the end of the opening lap was 18 seconds down at the flag, with local rider Jason Griffiths, also Yamaha-mounted, slotting into third.

Former 125 British Champion Chris Palmer created a bit of TT history, when he clinched victory in the last-ever 125cc TT, in record-breaking style, repeating his win of the previous year. Ian Lougher had no intention of letting his long-time rival Palmer have an easy win, until his efforts were thwarted when the Welshman’s Honda threw its chain at Milntown Cottage, allowing Robert Dunlop to inherit second place in what was his final TT. Manxman Nigel Beattie completed the podium in third.

After being dogged by bad luck all week, Ryan Farquhar’s fortunes took a massive turn for the better when he brilliantly won the Production 600 race, to notch his first TT triumph and give Kawasaki an important and historic TT victory. It was only Kawasaki’s sixth TT win and the marques first for 20 years, since the late Geoff Johnston won the Production race astride a 900 Kawasaki in 1984.

Farquhar took the three-lap, 113.19-mile race by the scruff of the neck from the outset, and led all the way on corrected time, after he overhauled John McGuinness during the closing stages of the first lap. McGuinness was first to complete the race, ahead of Anstey and Farquhar, but when the times were shuffled, Ryan was declared the winner by 2.3 seconds, as Production 1000 winner Anstey recorded his second runners-up slot, nine seconds ahead of McGuinness.
TAS Suzuki teamsters completed a one-two in the ‘blue-riband’ event of the TT, the Senior. It was Adrian’s second successive Senior TT triumph, as another Suzuki rider Gary Carswell took a magnificent third place.

Pictures of 2004 tour of the IOM TT, this time on my CBR600!

Pictured above, Richard Britton, one of the happiest guys in the paddock. Come rain or shine, win or loose he would always have a smile from ear to ear. He later died in 2005 at race near his home where by his engine siezed when he was only doing about 40mph. He was killed instantly.

The planning had been done in 2004 for the wedding, now to 2005 for the big day......