FROM THE BEAR

GRIZZLING

Gotta love the Italians! Even in church they get their coffee – or is this a church dedicated to the patron saint of the brown brew?

JUST DRINK IT

I was checking some details of changing flights at Heathrow airport recently (or, to be honest, desperately trying to work out what I could do in my 6 hour+ layover) when I chanced upon this note about duty free/tax free allowances.

“Although there are no limits on the amount of alcohol and tobacco you can bring in from the EU, a Customs Officer is more likely to ask about the purposes for which you hold the goods if you bring large quantities of them. This will most likely be the case if you appear at the airport with more than [among other things]: 110 litres of beer.”

Unless my maths is even worse than I thought it was, that’s better than 146 bottles, the old-fashioned 750 long necks. More than a dozen cases. Which airline is going to allow you to take that amount of “luggage”, and how are you going to transport it? The trolley that will hold that much brew has not yet been developed, I suspect…

IT’S ENOUGH…

…to give you the screaming abdabs, as a mate of mine used to say before he took his rifle and dog and retired to the hills behind Merimbula.

We now have bike shops closing in Queensland because the pathetic so called anti-bikie laws and the official harassment that goes with them is putting people off motorcycling. Folks, motorcycles are good for traffic, the environment and stress levels.

Is this the future for Queensland? No entry – for motorcyclists? (Photo Colin Whelan)

Can we get someone with an ounce of sense to set the authorities straight on this? How can they continue to damage a useful and enjoyable recreation without justification?

You think I’m blowing this up beyond its real effect? If the closure of shops is not enough, you might note that we are actually hearing of people who simply won’t go to Queensland on their bikes any more. That has to translate to a reduction in sales for petrol stations,motels, campgrounds – you name it.

And it’s all so pointless. We are not part of the problem; we are part of the solution to so many problems!

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Melburnian readers, beware. It seems that footpath parking is under attack once again. Apparently Cr Stephen Mayne in an ABC Radio interview recently said that the City of Melbourne was moving to get motorbikes off footpaths.

This should not have been unexpected.

Outsourcing the bike customising work to India led to some unexpected results

At a recent Future Melbourne Council meeting, late “amendments” were proposed for the Motorcycle plan, one of these being to “examine” every foot path in Melbourne and see if they are suitable for motorcycle parking. Why is this necessary? Because it seems that preventing motorcycle parking on the pavement is on the City of Melbourne’s agenda – again. Stephen Mayne’s interview seems to be further confirmation of this, according to Steve Bardsley.

When will they ever learn?

Peter ‘The Bear’
Thoeming

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