BBSA meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum

New House has been an active member of the BBSA (British Blind & Shutter Association) for years, and  a few days ago attended a meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum, near the NEC.

Topics covered included training and blind cord child safety. New standards came in last year, and New House's Halo cord trap is still one of the most elegant and strongest cord-tidy on the planet :

As the meeting was held at the National Motorcycle Museum, I couldn't wait to see some of the bikes. Fortunately David Jeffery of Tropical Blinds (a good customer of New House) enjoys racing motorbikes on track days, so it was great to go round the museum with him.

One of the earliest Norton's

What an amazing old motorcycle horn! :

Was this how motor bikes used to brake? I think the pads on my Claude Buttler peddlebike might be more effective than these old pads? ;

I loved the Vicker's Machine Gun on this war-time Norton, and it made us say all sorts of Jeremy Clarkson-style rubbish about middle-lane motorway hoggers that'd better beware if such a thing was fitted to our BMW's. (Just joking, as I'm sure everyone cruising in the middle lane might overtake someone eventually) :

   

I liked the colour of this bike :

This looked like some sort of Batmobike :

One of the engineering problems with motorbikes is how to disperse the engine heat without frying the rider? I'm not sure this all-copper bike has the answers, but it did look beautiful :

Other visitors to the National Motorcycle Museum that day who we followed round included Guy Martin, who I think knows a thing-or-two about bikes.