(15-01-2015, 11:18 PM)Steady the Edward Wrote: I think one of the biggest changes is that Douglas is not the hub it used to be with the demise of all the seafront Hotels therefore not getting the spectacle of hundreds of bikes parked from one end of the prom to the other , it has just lost that wow factor , but what Douglas has lost other towns have gained , Peel being one in particular that has changed dramatically I feel ,  

As for the clientele that now attend ( the yuppy bikers as the wife calls them , all show and no go brigade ( her words not mine ) I can't say I feel they will be the regulars of tomorrow ,

I often think when you look at the changes since I first set foot on the Island 50 years ago to what it is now I wonder what it will look like in another 50 years ??  will it still exist even ?? I so look forward to finding out

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You're right S t E, Douglas was the centre of the action for spectators. Not now though. That said I believe racing over the TT course is the thing that repeatedly draws most of us over. It's 52 years since I first watched the TT races, I've watched regularly since and it still excites me as much now as it did then. Who knows whether the spectators drawn over by TV coverage of the TT races will keep coming? I'm just grateful these ever fascinating and dangerous races still exist in today's risk averse world.