I picked her up on the Saturday and we headed up to the hotel. When we arrived, I found out I made a huge mistake! I booked a double room and not a twin. Oh shit! I tried everything I could to get us changed, but I was told they had no spare rooms. It is what it is.

We unpacked and headed to the restaurant for dinner. You can usually tell how good a places food is by how good their burgers are, and that’s what I had. Burger and chips. It wasn’t too bad! Headed back to the room and chilled for the evening watching some TV.

Next morning arrives and I had barely any sleep. The room was horrendously hot. I set the air-con to the lowest temperature, no window to open, because why would you put an opening window in the room. It felt like we were in the middle of a heatwave in there!

Funnily enough when I complained about the room being baking hot, they suddenly found a vacant room to switch us into. We each had our own beds and a working air-con with windows that actually opened! We could get a decent nights sleep!

We got ready and headed to the theme park. Below is a mix of both days events.

When we arrived we just had to check to see if she was tall enough to ride the “big” rides. She is a little short bless her!

Thankfully she was tall enough! We picked up our fast track bands and headed straight to the Smiler.

We probably went on the Smiler around 8 times before heading to Oblivion which had a 35 minute wait time, but not for us! Thank god or rather my wallet for the Fast Track!

We went on Oblivion probably another three times, but before heading out of the area we had a few more goes on the Smiler!

Ive been to Alton towers a few times now, but never really been through the garden area. This time we decided to actually explore the garden area a bit. We had two days at the park so why not?

After a long enjoyable walk through the garden area, we headed over to Nemesis Reborn, and yes you guessed it, many many goes on this as well over the two days!

We were famished so had to have some lunch. We headed to the Rollercoaster Restaurant. Great staff and great food. Just be weary of the price! I had a burger, chips and a drink. Chloé had a wrap, chips and a drink. It came to £70. Don’t get me wrong, the food was amazing. I loved it. One of the best burgers I’ve ever had, but so expensive! I mean look at Chloés face, the shock!

We also had to have a go on the latest addition to Alton Towers – The Toxicator. Thankfully the water system was switched off. Probably due to the rain!

We went on that so many times. We loved it!

Day two of our Alton Towers trip, was very wild. We turned up at the park, sky was gloomy and grey. We walked over to the monorail and were told it was closed because of the storm. Storm? What storm? OK. We walked into the park, and in the distance we saw and heard lightning and thunder! Crap, it’s going to be a wet one!

Got into the park, and had to have a go on the Spinball Whizzer. Obviously because of the Fast Track, we had to have several goes on it! Its a simple little ride, but I would say one of the more thrilling ones! By the time we came around for the fourth time, the stares we were getting from everyone who was queuing were hilarious. We pased the same people over and over again! I don’t think they were happy! As they say, you get what you pay for!

Shortly after we decided to come off, the rain started and oh boy it started!

Of course the day of her 18th birthday we had to have a little drink to celebrate at dinner. The staff found out it was her birthday and brought her out a Biscoff Lotus biscuit with pancakes and caramel all over it. Free of charge! Fair play to them!

I’m not really a fan, but she said it was nice!

I had fun and I hope she had fun too. She tells me she did!

I cannot get over the fact that shes 18! Crazy!

My sister is now the proud owner of a Yamaha MT125 2022

Shes had the bike a little while now, so I have taken her out a good few times. We have done a run up to Peterborough, the May Day Run, and a general all day out riding day.

Shes picked it all up fairly quick. She just needs to learn to get up to speed quick now. Once she has managed to learn that, she shouldn’t really have any issues.

I’ve added a few photos I’ve taken. Enjoy.

Yesterday was the day that I decided that I need to get out and down to Broadoak Bakery. They do the most amazing Scotch Eggs and Sausage Rolls. Well worth going if you’re ever nearby, or not!

I picked up my munch and then headed up towards Tonbridge to grab me a Starbucks. As I pull up, I see in the distance a familiar face. In fact two familiar faces! My sister had gone out with her friend on their bikes, and a chap that I met while doing my day job. I said a quick hello to my sister and sat down to chat with the matey I met previously. He rides a gorgeous Harley Davidson Sportster S. I still need to figure this guys name out!

After sitting and chatting for a bit, I left everyone and headed over to Ashdown Forest. Annoyingly not really anywhere to park unless you want to pay! Wasn’t too keen on that if I’m honest, however I did manage to find myself a little lay-by. Parked up and just sat on the hillside overlooking the forest. Relishing in the sun. I sat probably around an hour. Taking it all in. Of course though, I had to grab a few photos.

When it was finally time to head home, I couldn’t simply go the quickest way. I headed down the A22 towards Polegate and stopped in the services for some “dinner”. An Asda meal deal from the petrol station! It filled the hole! After eating I took the long way home via Ashford! Straight across the south east coast. A27 – A259 – A2070 then back up toward Maidstone.

Obviously I had to stop to take some photos!

Part of the route I was taking was to explore the roads I had not been on before. To try find a good road to ride. 140 miles and I found myself some nice views, but also some trouble!

I headed from mine down the A274 then working my way over to the A22. As I went along the A265 I noticed something strange. My bike wasnt handling as good as she normally does. I pull over and what do I discover? A puncture! No!!

Thankfully I come prepared for situations like this. I keep a repair kit under my seat and a pump in my bag. It’s always good to be prepared for this kind of thing to happen.

With the puncture repaired, I managed to get back on the road. Found a little place. No idea where and grabbed some photos of Lucy.

Somehow I ended up at Ashdown Forest. As I was driving around admiring it, I noticed an ice cream van. I had to pull over.

After my long ride out, I headed back to sittingbourne to see my mum for the evening. After leaving and heading back home, once again the bike wasnt feeling right. The tyre was going down. The repair was not holding. I pulled over in the pitch dark and pumped it up. It had to get me home, and thankfully it did. I eventually took lucy to get a proper repair done. That cost me £45.

Annoyingly a week after this, I ended up getting another puncture. So I forked out the £400 for a new set of tyres. Michellin Pilot 6. Expensive, but well worth it. Its literally the only thing keeping me attached to the road when I ride Lucy!

Both me and my son jumped at the chance to have a day trip over to Venice, Italy. £37.50 each return from Stanstead! Hell of a bargain, who could say no to that?

The day started at 7am. We headed up to Harlow. Had a breakfast, got some Euros and parked up at the train station. Jumped on the train and headed to Stanstead.

Of course after checking into the airport and going through all the security we headed to the nearest pub! Two pints later we nearly missed our flight, but thankfully made it just in time!

Finally arrived in Italy. Not a clue of what we were going to look at or do. Just jumped in the nearest taxi and headed to Venice. No plan, no organisation, just pure adventure!

Stumbled across an ice cream shop. Very friendly clerk in there. Perhaps the owner, I’m not entirely sure. Ordered our ice creams and tried to pay. No luck on the card because my wonderful bank blocked it, but thankfully we had cash. Smallest amount we had was a €20 note. €16 back in change with a warning to be careful using cash. There were a lot of pickpockets about. Oh great!

A couple hours later and it was dinner time. If I was travelling to Italy, I wanted to try authentic Italian pizza! So that’s what we did. We ordered two pizzas and had half of each. I think because we were in Venice and there was obviously a good market for fish products, most of the options had fish on them. I certainly ain’t eating a pizza with fish on it!

We had the typical chorizo pizza and a Margherita pizza. Easy enough. Now, I’m used to the typical type of pizza you get in the UK. Specifically deep pan pizza. This was nothing of the sort. The base was thin, crispy and tasty. It was fresh tomatoes, great cheese and all around bloody nice!

After dinner we wandered around some more. I had a great time. I will be doing this again. Nothing beats experiencing something great which is unplanned. Here’s to the next adventure!

Even though we have had a pandemic and we are pretty much in a recession with prices sky rocketing through the roof for everything at the moment, I have managed to get a couple things ticked off of my list.

1. Reach the summit of Scafell Pike. I managed to get this done on the 4th June 2021 with my sister. View the full story here.
2. I got my tongue pierced again. This is officially the 4th time it has now been pierced. View the full story here.
3. I stopped smoking in March 2020. I took the pandemic as the perfect sign to quit. I did however move onto a vape. I have now also finally as of 1st November 2022 quit vaping. I am officially nicotine free.
4. I attained my motorcycle licence – AND
5. I bought myself a motorcycle – view the full story here

The last 18 months in terms of goals have been quite good for me. Ticking 5 things off of my list is a good amount. 

Sadly in terms of health, things haven’t been so good. As of August 2021 I had a lung infection which ended up in 5 months off work. I also caught COVID-19 in February 2022, which appears to have given me permanent breathing issues. I have been to the hospital and had a multitude of tests done and everything is coming back fine. I’ve had a lung function test, angiogram, bone density tests, x-rays, cardiogram, echocardiogram, blood tests, various asthma inhaler testing and everything is coming back as fine. The doctors are now investigating the possibility of long-COVID.

Currently I am back at work, but very much on light duties. I am not allowed out on the road to perform inspections. I’m not allowed to drive a vehicle. I am to either work from the office or work from home. For the most part I have worked from home but this has proven to have other side effects. I have missed human contact and being around others, which has affected my general day to day mood. I have agreed with my manager that I now go into the office a couple times a week and work and or catch up with the other inspectors. I think once I am able to start interacting with others my mood will improve.

This year I am hoping to tick a few more things off my list. I am not sure, but there will be some travel around the UK which will give me the perfect opportunity to go visit some castles and possibly some camping. Everything is very much money dependant at the moment with the issues with the economy, so we shall see!

I did the full thing. Something that’s know as a DAS course (Direct Access). For anyone over the age of 24 you are able to go from no licence to a full licence to be able to ride any size motorcycle you wish.

I have listed everything that must be done prior to undertaking this task.

• Apply for and get a provisional licence ( or already have a car licence )
• Take a theory test with the DVLA
• Attend and pass a CBT test with your local motorcycle school
• Attend and pass a MOD 1 test for class A
• Attend and pass a MOD 2 test for class A
• Receive your full licence

If you have no prior experience with motorcycles I would highly recommend doing some lessons after your CBT in preparation for your MOD 1 and MOD 2 tests. I did 3 MOD 1 lessons and 1 MOD 2 lesson.

Prior to even taking the CBT I did what is known as a taster session. This was an hour with one of the instructors on a CB125, the very bike I would do my CBT on. I can pretty much say it’s not too dissimilar from riding a bicycle, which is why I feel it’s fairly easy to pick up.

After completing my CBT I learnt on a CB 650F. This is the bike I would be using to take my MOD 1 and 2 tests on. This is also surprisingly very similar to the bike I would go onto buy.

It’s a lovely bike and nice to ride. It’s also an inline 4 which means it screams as you rev it, which I much prefer over the triple or twins such as the SV650 or MT09 etc.

All in all I paid a total of £1289 for my theory, training and tests. I probably could of done it about £200 cheaper if I went with another school, however because the school is a “Honda approved” school, it meant I would get a £500 discount off a Honda bike so it made it worth it in the long run.

As soon as I had completed my MOD 1 I went into my local Honda garage and put a deposit down on a new motorcycle. The CBR 650R 2022 edition in red. I had to get several add-ons as well.

• Akrapovič exhaust
• Sports double bubble screen
• Sports passenger seat cowl
• Quick shifter
• Heated grips

Sadly due to everything that is COVID-19, there has been an issue with microchips etc. This has caused massive delays for motorcycle and car manufacturers. I put my order in on 14th July 2022. The bike (Lucy) finally arrived on 10th December. Honda needed a couple days to add everything to the bike so pickup was arranged for the 15th, but then of course the weather took a turn for the worse. We had snow and then thick ice on the ground for around a week. Pick up finally happened on the 19th December. Next to my kids being born this really does rank high up on the list of awesome.

After signing all the paper work and a shake of the hand, I took Lucy on a long 3 hour ride. Unfortunately it rained and we both got wet, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I have now ridden just under 900 miles and I’m loving each and every moment of it. I can’t wait until the summer!

It was my daughters birthday and I was heading to theirs for the weekend. I had been wanting to get my tongue pierced again for a while now and as I know where the shop is in Winchester, I thought that there was no better time!

We all headed into town and walked to the piercing shop. Funnily enough the lady who did it, did it the last 2 times as well. Lets hope this one stays in and becomes permanent.

Of course the whole thing was video recorded, so you may see it here –

My first try of this mountain was part of the 3 peak challenge I did back in 2015 and if you know me, didn’t go so well. Due to the fact that I was such a heavy smoker I was unable to even be in a fit state to start the climb up after attempting Ben Nevis back in Scotland.

2021 was the year this was to change. I had already quit smoking and my lungs were in a much better state so I was at least in for a fighting chance of getting somewhere close.

I invited my sister along as this is something she had talked about doing for a while too. Not specifically this mountain, but one in general.

We arrived at the base of the mountain at around 2 pm. Not the best of times to start a climb. We parked up and got our things ready and headed towards the mountain. Probably around 45 minutes later we realise we are on the wrong path, and we are climbing the wrong mountain. We headed back to the car and decided to go to the local shop to see if they had a map. Thankfully they did, we then headed to the right car park and continued our journey onwards and upwards.

Take two of our journey up Scafell Pike. We are now on the right trail and heading in the right direction. Things are seeming familiar I remember being here a couple years back with the kids.

We take our breaks, we have lunch, we drink our drinks and we continue on.

As we approach the top I am no longer worried about my breathing. I am now worried about my legs, With each step comes the worry that they will give way. They start trembling and cramping. Not what I need or expected. I persevere trough the pain and we eventually make it to the top.

The realisation now comes that we must get back down. By the time we have finished taking in the view, taking photo and resting, it is now almost 8.30pm.

At this point I am struggling. My legs keep giving way, my feet are hurting and I am physically tired and there’s nothing I can do about it. We get about half way down and I am shattered. I need to sit down. I need to rest my feet, they are hurting so much. We sit for so long a group pass us going up and again back down. At this point I’m thinking to myself “leave me here, i’ll carry on in the morning”.

The group that passed us a while ago decided to come back. They were leading a group of others up and down the mountain. They do this for a living. They were worried for us. They understood we were in a lot of pain, and decided to give us a lot of moral encouragement to get our butts down this mountain. They gave us energy bars and walked the rest of the way down the mountain with us. I am so thankful we met those people, or I genuinely think I would still be up there the following day.

We eventually got down the base of the mountain and back to the car for around 2am. Due to being that tired and exhausted we decided it best to sleep in the car rather than continue the journey back to the hotel. We found a lay-by and pulled in and slept there for the rest of the night thus concluding the journey up Scafell Pike.

Water was still coming into my car. I started by checking some of the other rubber grommits under the rear of my bumper. Suddenly I was greeted with dripping water on my face and arm.

I knew at this moment that the issue was definitely the vents. I followed a very handy video I found on YouTube that showed you step by step how to remove the bumper.

The only difference I found between my car and the video is that my car had a few extra screws (3 on each side instead of 1 shown in the video) behind the rear wheels to remove the bumper.

Once the bumper and rear light clusters were removed I was then able to check the vents. Low and behold they were indeed loose and the cavity behind them was full of water.

I had previously found a video that someone had uploaded to YouTube which explains how to remove the rear vents. He also explains how to seal it all up. I followed this guide quite closely making sure I over did all of the sealing. It’s messy, but I can’t say I really care as I just want water to stop getting into the car and ruining the upholstery.

I removed the sound dampening material from the vents and I was able to squeeze out about a litre of water combined from both sides. I then cleaned and dried the insides and all around the vents themselves to remove any left over residue, so I was able to make a nice and clean seal.

I then went ham with the silicon and sealed everything and everywhere.

I wasn’t going to take any chances. I really went overboard with the silicon (OB1 Multi-purpose sealant and adhesive from Screwfix)

For now I have saved myself around £420 by doing this myself. All I have to do now is to wait until it rains and see if any more water gets into my car. Until then, wish me luck!