highland lassie

Ahem...given that you omitted to mention the fact that I have typed them up and posted them for the past two years, I'm all outta favours.... Generally I don't get a copy unless some kind soul delivers one to me, but if I do get a copy, then I'll post them. If I'm in a good mood.

We've had an astonishing amount of last minute cancellations for this year's SSDT, mostly due to injury (you're a careless lot!!), which means that over the past fortnight every rider who contacted us to stay on the late reserve list has got an entry. That's great, but we've had a further four withdrawals today! If you were on the reserve list, and still fancy a shot at the trial at this late stage, get in touch with me and we'll get a place sorted for you - they'll be allocated on a first come, first served basis and you'll need to contact me by email if you're keen - I'm on the road now, so telephone and fax aren't options! The email address is ssdtoffice@ssdt.wanadoo.co.uk.

We agreed on something!

AVG free edition. Used nothing but that for years and it's been fantastic. AVG

It's hard to believe that in less than a fortnight thousands of us will converge on Fort William for the 2007 Scottish Six Days Trial...it really is that time of year already! Before you pack your bags and take to the road, here's a few snippets and reminders from the organising committee : The Cavalcade To give the annual Sunday parade a little more pizzazz and spectator involvement, CJB Photographic are getting involved to make things a little different this year. When riders collect their machines in the Parc Ferme they'll be asked to form up in groups representing their nationality, then each group will be led in the parade by a nominated competitor from their country. There will be a commentator on the high street to provide names for as many riders as possible, adding to the huge spectator interest in the parade that is now such a focal point of the SSDT week. All riders are invited to bring along flags or other national items to make this the most colourful parade yet! Prior to the main parade there will be a display of cycle trials at the east end of the pedestrian precinct. By all accounts this was an event not to be missed last year, so expect more of the same this year - be there by 1.30pm to catch it! The Parc Ferme The Parc Ferme will be situated in the West End Car Park as usual and will be open for traders to access from 6pm on Thursday night, but prior to that nobody can have access - that's one of the conditions that are to be met if we are to be granted the use of the car park, so we'd like to ask all traders to respect the Council's wishes. After that Rab will be on hand to direct proceedings in and around the Parc Ferme, so everybody's welcome then! This year we'll be selling a limited number of SSDT mugs through Bruce Johnston at Offroad Scotland, so if you fancy what could become a collector's item, get yourself down to see Bruce before they're all gone! Registration There's always a few folk that turn up to registration without the paperwork they need, so here's a quick reminder of the things you need to have if you're going to be able to register your entry : Your valid ACU registration card or license (SACU, MCUI or International) Your completed signing on form Any fees to be collected - if that's the case you'll have been told as much on your entry confirmation letter Most important of all as far as registration is concerned is to turn up on time. Registration closes at 12.30pm and anybody who hasn't turned up by then will have their entry reallocated to any riders who may be waiting for a place. If you turn up late then your entry will be gone, so if you think there's a chance you won't make it on time, then please make sure that you contact us at the Ben Nevis Hotel (01397 702331) before 12.30pm to let us know - that way we can hold your place for you until you arrive. We can't over-emphasise how important this is - once your place is gone, it's gone! Start permissions Surprisingly we've had very few start permissions through for international riders this year. These must be faxed across to the SSDT office by Monday 30th April - if you can't be sure that your FMN have done this for you, please take a copy of the permission with you when you register your entry. Any riders who have not supplied a start permission and confirmation of repatriation insurance will be required to pay an additional

This one's worth a quick scan... SSDT Newcomer's Guide

Please note that no traders will be allowed into the West End Car Park before 6pm on Thursday 3rd May. This year the local council have asked us to ensure that no vans, trucks or stalls go into the car park earlier than 6pm on Thursday. This is one of the conditions that are to be met if we are to be given the use of the car park for the week, so we'd ask you all to respect their request and refrain from parking any trade vehicles in the car park until then. After that, the famous Rab will be on duty to direct operations - just one of his many talents! Looking forward to seeing you all there again - keep your fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Bugger that! You lot take so long to tootle round on Thursday that I don't get out of the office before breakfast on Friday! Starting elsewhere and finishing at the Milton sounds a good choice - we're not done until well after 11pm most nights anyhow, so it will be all the more entertaining to start my nights drinking when you lot are already half-pished (or cross-eyed, in Andy's case). Almost looking forward to it now!

For the less intelligent amongst us, it means that the thumb is reinforced with man-made leather. It really is a brilliant offer - very generous of these boys at XC-Ting. Yer a crowd of spoilt brats, so you are!

Gizza - you are such a pessimist! Bosis and Lenzi have indeed withdrawn their entries - I don't know why, and if I did, it wouldn't be my place to announce it here or anywhere else - but there will definitely be a Montesa truck in the Parc Ferme!

Absolutely and utterly not. It's a brilliant weekend, followed by a brilliant week, and it's worth every last penny. The atmosphere is fantastic - it's really something you can't put into words, so don't let anything put you off. You'll love it.

Not had one of them for the past three years!

I wasn't going to reply to this topic, partly because I've already made my point elsewhere, but mainly because there's no way I'm getting drawn into any debate about specific riders. However, there's one thing I would like to say on the subject. As mentioned in the Rappers forum, we have 50 places for the club to allocate at their discretion - that doesn't just cover those riders who have ridden for many years. These fifty places also have to cover any assistance given to sponsors, committee members, regular observers....the list goes on. I've just checked up on the entries this year and it's worth noting that we had 69 entrants who have ridden more than ten times- that's the figure AFTER excluding all the fly boys who pretend they've ridden for fifteen years in the hope of landing a club place! Even if we chose to give all fifty places to the long-standing riders, we wouldn't have nearly enough. Our only other option would be to extend the number of places allocated by the club and cut the number available to the rest of the world - and I'll leave you to contemplate the uproar that would cause. That's my final word on the subject - it's starting to get boring now.

As you know, the deadline for paying entry fees passed last Friday. We've now had a final listing of all payments received from our bank, which means that it's time to reallocate all the unpaid places and then get the numbers organised. However, there's a couple of problems, and that's where we need a bit of help from you guys! Firstly there are a staggering 31 unpaid places - it's usual to have a lot of riders who can't make it, but normally some of them bother to let us know beforehand! Tonight and tomorrow morning will be spent phoning and emailling those riders to find out whether they've actually paid or not so that we can get their payments sorted out or their places reallocated. If you know of anybody who isn't turning up, it would be great if you could email us at ssdtoffice@ssdt.wanadoo.co.uk to tell us - we may already know, but if we don't it will save us a heck of a lot of wasted time. The second problem is that there are two payments into our bank account which don't have rider names on them - that means we don't have a clue who they're from, and if we can't find out by tomorrow, their places will be reallocated and their money returned. Both payments have been received by international transfer - the first was received on 15/01 and the only reference given is a number beginning 00714... If that looks familiar to anybody, please give me a call with the rest of the reference so that we know it's your payment and your place will be safe. The second payment was received on 02/02 and the only reference begins with the name Natasha - again, if you think this could be yours, get in touch with the rest of the reference straight away so that we don't end up reallocating your place. Thanks in advance for your help - if we can get to the bottom of this tomorrow then the numbers will be drawn up on Saturday and published either Saturday night or Sunday morning. If we don't get very far then it won't be done until the following weekend - we're as keen to get the job done as you are, so all assistance will be much appreciated!

Although, to be fair, he did his best to make up for it last year!

It's practically guaranteed that Thursday won't be changing from last year, so you can plan your day round that!

In his spare time?! It's easy to cancel - just log into your Paypal, choose the History option for your account, then use the dropdown menu to show all simple transactions from 01/01/2006. You'll see your subscription creation around early February 2006. Click on the Details link beside that, then you'll get a cancel subscription box at the bottom of the screen. Click that and it's done - easy peasy!

Never mind the forecast - look out your window!

Tell you what, it's lucky we're all perfect.

That's probably my cue to explain what happens after Friday, to avoid hundreds of telephone calls this weekend! As folk have until close of play on Friday to get their fees paid, I won't be going to the bank for a breakdown of payments made until the start of next week. Once I've got that there's a fair bit of work involved in identifying who has made each payment to give a definitive list of those who have paid and those who haven't, so it will probably be at least Wednesday/Thursday before I know how many places there are to reallocate. At that point the remaining places will be allocated from the reserve listing and those who are drawn will get a phone call (in the first instance) or an email (if the phone call doesn't work!) confirming that they've got a place. That means that anyone getting a place should know by the end of next week - probably sooner, but that's work-dependent, so I'm giving myself a bit of leeway! After that it's a matter of allocating the numbers and getting the entry packs sent out. The plan at the moment is to get that done either towards the end of next week or over the weekend of 17/18 Feb - it'll be dependent on how quickly I can sort out all the bank payments, so I'll give you a better idea nearer the time. The moral of the story is don't expect your reserve place and/or numbers on Saturday just because entries close on Friday, cos it ain't gonna happen!

Just a quick reminder for those of you who have a SSDT entry - the payment deadline is Friday of this week. No payment, no entry, so don't leave it to the last minute!

Big John's right - the majority of riders have never observed the event, in fact there's only a handful who have. Not being a rider myself, I can't really give an opinion on how good you need to be, but if you're considering it then it's worth having a look at the Newcomers Guide on the SSDT website : SSDT : Guide for Newcomers

That'll be it sorted then!!!

Nothing's confirmed on the Lagnaha front at the moment...unless K has better sources than me!

Question is, is your electrical system going to support all these tellies and computers on at all corners of the house?!