Are you back to work next week? - Page 6

andymc · 14th May 2020, 12:11

Nice one Phil! That bar isn't too far away, and is still in the ownership of the Dunlop family. It's at Ballymoney railway station and was bought by the late great Joey Dunlop, of motorcycle road racing fame and one of the original Armoy Armada.

Here's a little story connected to the place - some 10 or more years ago, I was involved in organising a charity hog roast timed to coincide with an annual motorbike rally which was always very well attended. Joey's widow Linda - someone for whom the term "great lady" could have been invented - gave us permission to hold the event outside the bar, which involved setting up the rotisserie the evening before so that the whole pig would be slowly cooked over some 14 hours. As it was due to rain heavily overnight, we set up a gazebo above it so that any rain falling on it wouldn't alter the temperature and potentially spoil the meat. We left at around 9.30pm to return to the bike rally, with the son of one of our members (who was a rising star among Irish chefs at this point) plus his girlfriend and a couple of colleagues all camping in the car park overnight so as to tend to the roast in shifts.

Shortly before 8am on Saturday morning, my phone rang - it was my pal whose son the chef was overseeing the roast. "It's off". "What?" "The roast. It's off. I know you think I'm joking, I wish I was joking, but I'm not."

Turned out that the motor which constantly and steadily rotated the pig above the charcoal had seized some time around 4am. The son had rung his dad in a panic, explaining that if he didn't manage to get it sorted within about 10 minutes then the whole thing would be destroyed. It couldn't be turned by hand, so my pal suggested opening it up to try and access the motor. The son, befuddled by the late hour, did what he would never normally do and opened the actual oven, not the hatch to access the motor. The massive release of heat reached the gazebo, which promptly melted and collapsed, laminating the pig and ruining the lot in a matter of seconds. After a few more seconds, it burst into flames - spectacularly, as you might imagine given the amount of fat rendered out of an entire pig. Two fire appliances and the police were in attendance and there was a lot of explaining to do.

So having already sold a lot of tickets to a lot of bikers who were due to start arriving by the busload from the rally from around midday, things weren't looking good. Most of our club were camping at the rally site and I was the only one at home. We discussed cancelling the whole thing, but I said I would try to see if anyone in a local sports club or similar might have a large barbecue grill that we could borrow for the day. About 90 minutes later, I got hold of the treasurer of Ballymoney rugby club who had one and was happy for me to go and collect it from his home, some 12 miles from me. So then I had to find a trailer ...
get the barbecue ...
beg and buy enough burgers and sausages from various retailers to feed 400 hungry bikers ...

find somewhere that hadn't run out of charcoal and buy up all they had left ...
get it all to Joey's bar, set up and lit before midday ...
cook all the food ...
feed all the bikers ...
apologise to Linda Dunlop for the patch of melted tarmac in the car park ...
collect all the money.

And I failed.

It was about twenty past twelve before it was lit.

Once I'd got the stuff there, others in the club were able to meet me and take over the cooking. We fed everyone, and with many retellings of why there was no hog roast turned out people were even more keen to put their hands in their pockets. So much for bikers being bad to the bone, eh? We raised nearly £6000 that day for our adopted charity. And I'm NEVER doing it again!

Phil th Barrow · 14th May 2020, 16:21

Andy....

What a brilliant story that was. And In my eyes you defiantly did not fail. Th bit about laminating th pig was particularly funny. Keep up th good work and as you say it was well appreciated...

My short history in th biking world is as follows. I know its not everyones cup of T so ill make it short..

Visited IOM for th TT and Manx Grand prix 26 times. (yes I still get lost in th Glen Hellen section) were Joey was th master. But make it up just after up to Sarah's, Creg willy's and on to Cronk ye Yoddy... as you do.. I can talk a good race me......

North west 200 4 times. Love IT... Must do Skerries at some point.

Involved with a racing team many years ago at th Manx. MY Jobs. Timing and drilling anything that hadn't got a hole in it and putting different coloured tape on th radiator to control temperature's (no thermostat) Remember kids weight is your enemy..

So next time im over we would like to meet up with you. On th way back from NW200 (when its not cancelled) I normally stop at Ricco's for there wonderful salmon. So if you free ill get dinner....

Fotoe. Me on th "white charger"(Wankle Rotary Norton 588) in 1992 just after it had won th Blue Ribband...

andymc · 14th May 2020, 20:16

You would probably enjoy the Armoy Road Races, just a few miles up the road from me. They were started up just over 10 years ago to commemorate the Armoy Armada, i.e. Joey & Jim Dunlop and a couple of other lads Along with this year's NW200 and so many other sporting events, they've been cancelled for 2020 so it'll be the end of July 2021 before they return.

I'm not a racer myself - my preference has always been for the chopper style, cruising along in laid-back relaxed style on three wheels. Been all over Ireland countless times, several trips to Scotland and a few through England.

Phil th Barrow · 15th May 2020, 08:15

Andy... I like all bikes (except that Hesketh in th Birmingham motor museum that asnt grown on me yet!!!) We seem to have hijacked some ones thread so ill pm you latter after th roofer guy as been.. :-)

andymc · 15th May 2020, 10:45

Yup, good point. Nice to have a bit of escapism from the 'rona though. Can't wait to get back out on my machine, it was mothballed for several years but after a gearbox upgrade I hope to have it back on the road later this summer, so long as I can get an MOT appointment for it.

marinabrian · 16th May 2020, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by andymc

Yup, good point. Nice to have a bit of escapism from the 'rona though. Can't wait to get back out on my machine, it was mothballed for several years but after a gearbox upgrade I hope to have it back on the road later this summer, so long as I can get an MOT appointment for it.

Mmm, XUD diesel trike

Get the chip fat out, and hoon around smelling like a chip pan fire

Brian

andymc · 16th May 2020, 13:06

Just a takeaway! Funny how anyone who followed me always ended up hungry ...

14th May 2020, 12:11	#51
andymc Posted a thing or two Wedgewood Connie SE / Black Club SE Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ballymoney Posts: 1,459 Thanks: 542 Thanked 583 Times in 365 Posts	Nice one Phil! That bar isn't too far away, and is still in the ownership of the Dunlop family. It's at Ballymoney railway station and was bought by the late great Joey Dunlop, of motorcycle road racing fame and one of the original Armoy Armada. Here's a little story connected to the place - some 10 or more years ago, I was involved in organising a charity hog roast timed to coincide with an annual motorbike rally which was always very well attended. Joey's widow Linda - someone for whom the term "great lady" could have been invented - gave us permission to hold the event outside the bar, which involved setting up the rotisserie the evening before so that the whole pig would be slowly cooked over some 14 hours. As it was due to rain heavily overnight, we set up a gazebo above it so that any rain falling on it wouldn't alter the temperature and potentially spoil the meat. We left at around 9.30pm to return to the bike rally, with the son of one of our members (who was a rising star among Irish chefs at this point) plus his girlfriend and a couple of colleagues all camping in the car park overnight so as to tend to the roast in shifts. Shortly before 8am on Saturday morning, my phone rang - it was my pal whose son the chef was overseeing the roast. "It's off". "What?" "The roast. It's off. I know you think I'm joking, I wish I was joking, but I'm not." Turned out that the motor which constantly and steadily rotated the pig above the charcoal had seized some time around 4am. The son had rung his dad in a panic, explaining that if he didn't manage to get it sorted within about 10 minutes then the whole thing would be destroyed. It couldn't be turned by hand, so my pal suggested opening it up to try and access the motor. The son, befuddled by the late hour, did what he would never normally do and opened the actual oven, not the hatch to access the motor. The massive release of heat reached the gazebo, which promptly melted and collapsed, laminating the pig and ruining the lot in a matter of seconds. After a few more seconds, it burst into flames - spectacularly, as you might imagine given the amount of fat rendered out of an entire pig. Two fire appliances and the police were in attendance and there was a lot of explaining to do. So having already sold a lot of tickets to a lot of bikers who were due to start arriving by the busload from the rally from around midday, things weren't looking good. Most of our club were camping at the rally site and I was the only one at home. We discussed cancelling the whole thing, but I said I would try to see if anyone in a local sports club or similar might have a large barbecue grill that we could borrow for the day. About 90 minutes later, I got hold of the treasurer of Ballymoney rugby club who had one and was happy for me to go and collect it from his home, some 12 miles from me. So then I had to find a trailer ... get the barbecue ... beg and buy enough burgers and sausages from various retailers to feed 400 hungry bikers ... find somewhere that hadn't run out of charcoal and buy up all they had left ... get it all to Joey's bar, set up and lit before midday ... cook all the food ... feed all the bikers ... apologise to Linda Dunlop for the patch of melted tarmac in the car park ... collect all the money. And I failed. It was about twenty past twelve before it was lit. Once I'd got the stuff there, others in the club were able to meet me and take over the cooking. We fed everyone, and with many retellings of why there was no hog roast turned out people were even more keen to put their hands in their pockets. So much for bikers being bad to the bone, eh? We raised nearly £6000 that day for our adopted charity. And I'm NEVER doing it again! __________________ My blood brother is an immigrant A beautiful immigrant My blood brother's Freddie Mercury A Nigerian mother of three

14th May 2020, 16:21	#52
Phil th Barrow Gets stuck in " NOW SOLD" :-( Rover 75 Conni Auto SE Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stoke Posts: 896 Thanks: 424 Thanked 214 Times in 163 Posts	Andy.... What a brilliant story that was. And In my eyes you defiantly did not fail. Th bit about laminating th pig was particularly funny. Keep up th good work and as you say it was well appreciated... My short history in th biking world is as follows. I know its not everyones cup of T so ill make it short.. Visited IOM for th TT and Manx Grand prix 26 times. (yes I still get lost in th Glen Hellen section) were Joey was th master. But make it up just after up to Sarah's, Creg willy's and on to Cronk ye Yoddy... as you do.. I can talk a good race me...... North west 200 4 times. Love IT... Must do Skerries at some point. Involved with a racing team many years ago at th Manx. MY Jobs. Timing and drilling anything that hadn't got a hole in it and putting different coloured tape on th radiator to control temperature's (no thermostat) Remember kids weight is your enemy.. So next time im over we would like to meet up with you. On th way back from NW200 (when its not cancelled) I normally stop at Ricco's for there wonderful salmon. So if you free ill get dinner.... Fotoe. Me on th "white charger"(Wankle Rotary Norton 588) in 1992 just after it had won th Blue Ribband... __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Last edited by Phil th Barrow; 14th May 2020 at 16:40..

14th May 2020, 20:16	#53
andymc Posted a thing or two Wedgewood Connie SE / Black Club SE Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ballymoney Posts: 1,459 Thanks: 542 Thanked 583 Times in 365 Posts	You would probably enjoy the Armoy Road Races, just a few miles up the road from me. They were started up just over 10 years ago to commemorate the Armoy Armada, i.e. Joey & Jim Dunlop and a couple of other lads Along with this year's NW200 and so many other sporting events, they've been cancelled for 2020 so it'll be the end of July 2021 before they return. I'm not a racer myself - my preference has always been for the chopper style, cruising along in laid-back relaxed style on three wheels. Been all over Ireland countless times, several trips to Scotland and a few through England. __________________ My blood brother is an immigrant A beautiful immigrant My blood brother's Freddie Mercury A Nigerian mother of three

15th May 2020, 08:15	#54
Phil th Barrow Gets stuck in " NOW SOLD" :-( Rover 75 Conni Auto SE Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Stoke Posts: 896 Thanks: 424 Thanked 214 Times in 163 Posts	Andy... I like all bikes (except that Hesketh in th Birmingham motor museum that asnt grown on me yet!!!) We seem to have hijacked some ones thread so ill pm you latter after th roofer guy as been.. :-) __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

15th May 2020, 10:45	#55
andymc Posted a thing or two Wedgewood Connie SE / Black Club SE Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ballymoney Posts: 1,459 Thanks: 542 Thanked 583 Times in 365 Posts	Yup, good point. Nice to have a bit of escapism from the 'rona though. Can't wait to get back out on my machine, it was mothballed for several years but after a gearbox upgrade I hope to have it back on the road later this summer, so long as I can get an MOT appointment for it. __________________ My blood brother is an immigrant A beautiful immigrant My blood brother's Freddie Mercury A Nigerian mother of three

16th May 2020, 13:06	#57
andymc Posted a thing or two Wedgewood Connie SE / Black Club SE Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Ballymoney Posts: 1,459 Thanks: 542 Thanked 583 Times in 365 Posts	Just a takeaway! Funny how anyone who followed me always ended up hungry ... __________________ My blood brother is an immigrant A beautiful immigrant My blood brother's Freddie Mercury A Nigerian mother of three