The Prince of Speed looks like he is on a Dinner Circuit speaking tour at the moment.Advertised in our local press 'Come to the Hilton Hotel and hear Phil Read- Giacomo Agostini Compere Tommy Robb'
organised by a motor car club.Bank balances must be getting a bit slim

Actually Helen my first TT was a disaster and when I woke up in Ramsey hospital I could not even remember going to the IOM.Why? well after qualifying on my first Monday evening practise lap I decided to go straight through on a second lap but come the end of the mountain mile the bike had other ideas and broke its conrod which locked in under the magneto and pitched me over the top causing a long sleep untill wedensday and a comfortable bed in Ramsey Hospital for the duration of the TT,my mechanic was quite jealous as he was sleeping in the Thames van,mind you he had Max Deubel parked alongside for company,even world champions in those days,1964, had to slum it.
What were the comparisons to today? well no Helicopter practise week,apparently they brought an ambulance up a track to the Gooseneck and then with outriders along the track where apparently I was being attended to by a marshall and police constable who had run down from the Black Hut.I was told the policeman took much of his uniform off to keep me warm I was able to thank him as he visited me in hospital where the matron nurses and surgeon were superb,no chance of catching MRS in those days.On leaving hospital the matron gave me a lecture on why it was sensible to pack this dangerous sport in but insisted that if I came back next year I join her for afternoon cup of tea,which I did.
On leaving I had to collect my damaged bike from Ramsey police station who in those days retained it,my mechanic could not get it back whilst I was receving medical treatment,is this still the practise?
The only conciliation to what was a disaster was meeting a young nurse named rosemarie who soothed my brow and looked after my every need but thats another story,wonder where she is now?

Something of an aside from racing but nonetheless to do with Ramsey Cottage Hospital, my elderly neighbour was terminally ill there and one of the nurses troubled to talk to him and heard something of his history including working with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands running the Dutch Resistance in WW2. The nurse got onto the Dutch Embassy in London and mangaged to get a message through to Bernhard who then telephoned the hospital to speak to his old friend in his last days. Rather a lovely story I think and it is just a shame that they keep trying to run down the services available in Ramsey.

I take your point, Mr Jones, the surgeon who operated on me,took the trouble to ring my parents that night and inform them that my injuries were unlikly to be life threatening,he added I was a lucky boy.I thought it was a great little hospital,offering at that time a full range of services.With a MATRON

I was looking forward to reading about ex-riders experiences, but we could do with a few more. I'm too young to contribute really :-)

But I remember my very first race in the Southern 100 in 1988, and I was near the back of the field on the first lap. As we came out of Church Bends towards Great Meadow, ahead of the sea of 40 or so bikes travelling at high speed, were frantically waved yellow flags. I feared the worst, that there had been a first lap pile-up. However I soon saw the reason. A dog was running down the right hand parapet, playing chase with the bikes, looking like he might run into the road at any moment! When I went past next lap, a marshal had him by the collar.. Scary!!!!

When I used to ride a 250 Bulto in the Lt/wt MGP I broke down at Ballacraine in the race, in the morning, the same as quite a few more riders, so we went into the pub for a drink, which turned into a few drinks as people bought us drinks. When my mate arrived after the afternoons race, apparently I was sat in the corner with a big silly grin on my face, and dont remember anything at all about the drive back to the paddock.

I've seen you like that in The Manor, haven't I Colin? :-)

Oh dear, my secrets out. I always look like that when Im p---ed, Barry !!!

Then of course there was 1977, I think, the year I fell off at Parliament Square, first lap, first practice session,and of course there had to be a bl--dy photographer stood waiting for someone to do it, didnt there!!! When Id got the bike sorted out I went out in morning practice and everything went ok, it was in the days when there used to be a practice report on Manx radio at about 9am. On listening to it the report went:-

Lt/wt practice

Fastest ------ -------- 250 Yamaha ----mph
2nd fastest ------ -------250 Yamaha--- mph
3rd fastest Colin Hammond 250 Bultaco 101.2mph!!

That was on the first lap when I was letting it warm up to Union Mills!!! The second lap was something like 86mph ( thats more like it).

Lee Heeson came running across to say he'd heard that Angel Nieto was coming over on the 1st plane to find out how to get these Bultos going properly!! It actually took them a whole day to figure out that perhaps they'd got it wrong !!!