I don't know who was the most nervous..

True to their word, Denise and Jon

            gave Sweet Sam one of the best afternoon's of his life

                       ..including his first ever Motorbike Ride

                           (and yes, of course I was terrified)!

 

He shook all the way, but the lad did well, feeling proud as Punch to make it to the Grandstand.  In the Paddock, he met and ambushed several of his hero's for a photograph.  Here he is with Michael Dunlop, one of the winners of this year's TT races.

Later, Sam queued to buy a bag of donuts, but um, inadvertantly jumping the queue, he almost picked a fight with one of the biggest German biker's known to man.. thankfully, this giant proved friendly enough and elected to let him off (just this once).  From there on out, every time Sam passed him and his mates in the grounds, he would point and yell out, "Look, there he is - zat is ze boy ooo stole mine 'nuts!!" much to Sam's complete and utter delight.

Yeah, Denise and Jon truly did him proud, I think you can tell, as his face says it all!

This is the second year I've met up with Mrs. Nesbitt and her hubby, and this time they were able to spend three full race days with us, watching the riders pass from the top of our drive.  There were a fair few other familiar faces up there, too, and certainly a fine time was had by all.

Pity the Mutt made off with BOTH  of Jon's cap's this year (sorry Jon), but at least (unlike last year) this time Jon managed to escape our house with a full set of unmolested gloves.

Here is Denise catching a quiet moment or two in between races..

I had no idea a mere mortal could speed-read that fast - she devoured that entire book within just a matter of hours!

Aww, it was lovely to catch up with them both, and it felt kinda' sad to wave them off - but as they'll be back come the next TT,  we can still look forward to meeting up with them again, soon enough.

The extra icing on the week came for me when my shirts arrived from Chewy's on-line shop.. tell me, how cool is this?

I also have another design of hers in white, and am happily sporting them both with pride (er, one at a time, that is)!

So that's it for another year, the bunting is coming down, and the fun-fair is packing up as I type - the bikes are flocking to the ferry now, and all the buzz and excitement of the past two weeks is slowly dissipating with them. I can almost hear our little island exhale in relief, as it focuses upon a return to normality, and a revertion back to that usually more measured and peaceful pace of life, that which we locals have also grown to know and love so well.  

Living At Agostini's Leap, We see The Best Of Wheelies Fly By

Actually, a rider crashed against that concrete post at the top of our drive, and died one year.  (But that was long before our time, and we don't really like to talk about it..)

Oh, and oops, since filming this I stand corrected.  Hubby took Sam NOT out on Marshall duties today (there's a law against that, apparently), but up to watch the races from the grandstand, instead.  Not being a mind-reader, I didn't know my dear beloved had booked himself a day out from his usual volunteering lark, as a one-off special treat for the lad.

So, guess it's not going to be that peaceful for me this week, after all.  Sam is utterly obsessed with the TT, he's a virtual walking encyclopedia - with a knowledge of it he just loves to share!

(The TT spans a full two weeks, not including all the hype leading up to it.)

But on the bright side, keen bike enthusiasts, and a fellow blogger of mine, Denise and her husband Jon (she aka. Mrs. Nesbitt's Space) will be spending a day with us again.

This year, they've promised to give Sam a ride with Jon, up to the Paddock.

And um, no, Sam has never ridden pillion before.

But, er, he is very keen!

(God help them!)

I'm sure it'll be fine, I mean, what on earth could POSSIBLY go wrong, eh..?