04-Jun-2026
Purple Tern keeps running into problems these days...
At the end of last year, there was a posting hiatus because the website host suddenly turned ultra-flaky. Then we just got stupidly busy with the house, and there was no time to do anything. And just when you think you're on an even keel again, Nigel's computer -- which hosts the software that processes the photographs -- does a major nose-dive, and has to go into the mender's...
We got it back on Thursday 11, but of course, by then there was a pile of stuff that needed to be caught up with, and photographs just had to join the queue.
Upshot: Today is Monday 15 June, and I'm only just starting to work through the posting backlog. I'll date these entries according to the day they happened, but actually they're being written with a lot of hindsight...
Anyway, let's pick things up with TT week, which we were preparing for at the end of last month. It's fair to say that the weather was truly terrible... Endless postponements, and lots of races cancelled. Nothing anyone can do, but we felt terribly sorry for keen fans who'd spent lots of money to come to the Island, and were just not getting what they'd hoped for.
This -- taken on 1 June -- was sadly typical of the week. We had rain and mist aplenty...
Tuesday 2. We planned to go down to Braddan to see a race, but after the start had been delayed for the third time, we gave up. This is compensatory cake at 360
Luckily, the vegetation is thriving on the damp air
Wednesday 3. This is the funfair in the early morning, when all the punters were probably still in bed
We continued on our damp but pleasant way...
...getting pleasantly different views of things...
...and ending up at Coffee Corner (where they do nice cannoli)
Thursday 4. Red Arrows day. We'd already been out twice, and got wet twice. So we decided not to head down to the Prom to see the display, but to stay local, and enjoy the view from on high
Weather still not promising...
But a few others chose the same vantage-point...
...and our patience was rewarded
They gave us a great display
The folks on Manxman must have got a terrific view
So there we are. It's Thursday evening. And everything is hinging on tomorrow, Friday 5 (a public holiday on the Island). Good weather is forecast, but it's not going to last...