Friday, March 09, 2012

Password remembered




It's amazing what a spring clean can do. Amongst the old photos, copies of Boney M LPs and Betamax videotapes, I found this dusty old blog. Let's see if I can remember how to use it, in this age of iPhones and Twitface.

The last post was a lamentable tale of tragic loss. We still feel it a bit, that beautiful horse. But Omi now has a new steed, name of Riley. Almost a year to the day after Roxy died, Riley pulled a neat stunt of getting tangled in a wire fence, pulling a chunk of skin from his ankle right above the hoof. I've never seen so much blood, nor such a large vet bill. I've stayed in hotels less lavish than Riley's convalescence digs.

Riley is recovering nicely, but one wonders whether we are meant to own horses.

Some other stuff happened too. And here we are, in 2012.

Despite leaving the world of motorsports, it keeps finding me. 1986 Aussie Formula Two champ Jon Crooke has been trying to get me into his new hybrid motorbike-powered micro race car, the Hyper Pro Racer. MOTOR magazine, with whom I have had previous relations, were doing a spread on the car during a test day at the magnificent Bryant Park hillclimb track at Moe, a track dubbed "little Bathurst". It was here I was promised a drive.

But no- MOTOR's Dave Morley broke the test mule before I could drive. My consolation was to take my new XR6 around the track, at liberal speed. Jon had hired the track all to himself and you could do. whatever. you. wanted.

Here's the MOTOR spread, featuring photos taken from a lunatic/artistic genius lying in the boot of my car while I drove sedately around, trying not to kill him...