STN Interview Series: A Biography Workshop

[jwhite518]

ST.N mach 1, I missed those days. But these days are pretty good too.

Interesting that Hondagirrl said that she hears a Boston accent through you. I always hear a British one. In my mind that's the most prominent thing about you, and I always see posts by you and Ant through that "oh, he's the English one" filter. So let me go ahead and ask you a bunch of questions about what it's like being an English motorcyclist.

Have you ever been to the Isle of Man TT? Ridden on Mad Sunday? (Or whatever day it is when they let everybody out on the course.) That would be a dream for me, I'd really like to do that.

What's the riding like there? Do you ride in the city as well as the country? I really have no idea of how dense the area is - are there large unpopulated areas in between the big cities? Is it flat and straight or hilly and curvy?

About the weather. My image of England is that it's always cold and wet. How do you deal with that? Do you gear up and ride anyway, or do you wait until a nice day?

[Cpl Punishment]

I think everyone over the Pond hears a British accent when Stewie talks. All I hear are strangled vowels. Bostonians strangle vowels better than anybody in the known universe, including the Welsh. And we have extra vowels and fewer consonants.

I will not take offence in any way that you have just called me English, you dung laden piece of gobshite.

Have I been to the Isle of Man? Yes. But never to the TT. And I've never taken a bike over there. Still-no speed limits, varied roads and an island that insists it is still about 1290 can't be all bad.

Riding over here is good. I understand that the US and Canada are just huge and Britain is just a tiny island in comparison-a mere 800 miles long, but this place offers such variety! The weather changes constantly-which is why we talk about lillte else here-and it has proper seasons-Spring, Summer, Autumn (Not Fall!) and Winter. However, the oldf climate change is bewginning to erode the differences between them-summer is cooler and wetter, winter is warmer and, well, wetter. Less snow and ice. The terrain is also very varied, with low pasdtureland, wetland, moor, weald, mountain etc, etc. The UK really must be one of the most diverse and beautifuil places in the world.

The South East of England, where I'm living right now (and which belonged to my people until the Saxon break out in the 6th century at Anderida-when are the English going home? Why do we have to wait so loooong?), is the most expensive and crowded bit of the island. Still, there are some very fine biking roads to be had. Going West, there are the winderful roads of Wales, North is the Lake District, the Pennies, the Dales, York Moors, etc, and at the top is Scotland. Northern Ireland and Eire have stupendous roads too. And the continent (by that I mean Yorp) is minutes away.

It's not all cold and wet here. Everywhere-even Scotland if you're brave, is rideable throughout the year (unless snowed in, then cars can't move either). Just wear the right gear. My bike isn't even faired and I use it year round.

Please don't ask me about-y'know.

(PS next reply may take a while as the youngest is pestering to use the computer for homework).

[stefrrr]

This just in:

Stewie's voice on Family Guy is not a British accent. Or a Boston accent. Or any accent for that matter. It's a fake bastardization of any spoken dialect on this planet.

Officials are investigating whether or not Stewie is in fact an alien from another galaxy.

And now... back to your regularly scheduled show.

[stefrrr]

Today's Headlines:

Chinese Authorities Execute 10 Million Recalled Toys

Spain Vows Eternal Vigilance In War On Bulls

Rhino, Tickbird Stuck In Dead-End Symbiotic Relationship

And our feature story after the interview:
Everything is Great in Iraf.

[jwhite518]

I sense a bit of tribal resentment towards the English, or the Saxons, or whoever. Can't you guys just, like, get over it? That stuff was so 1300 and stuff. And I'm not supposed to call you English? What then? British?  How about giving us dumb Yanks a primer on what the hell the difference is.

Now...I see from your stats that you spend some time in PO. I usually keep away, but if I was a regular I'd know more about you---liberal/conservative/whatever. Tell us about that - what do you like about PO, and why do you spend time there? It seems to be focused mainly on American politics and society. Do you keep that close touch with our foibles? I mean, it can't hardly be top story on the BBC when some rabid anti-gay conservative leader gets caught playing footsie in the men's room.

[Cpl Punishment]

Right. the difference. The English are a mish mash of races and cultures, formed over the last few centuries. A bit like the Americans really. The english spend a lot of time whining about immigration (much like some Americans, if PO is to be believed), handily forgetting they're a bunch of immigrants too. The Celts-who were driven to the fringes of this land-Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and bits of the North of England-have continually suffered under English rule. I'm sure you can think of a few examples! Which is, in part, why Celts remain hostile to them. In part, this is mockery of a more powerful nation by smaller ones and friendly enough, in part it is real. The Celts much prefer to fight each other and the presence of the Englich is just plain annoying. And they smell bad.

British is a good name. The Welsh call themselves Cymro or British-except the English have also co-opted the term British. They're not British. The legend goes that Britain is named after its first king, Prydain. Then there's a lot of nonsense about Brutus of Troy. Fact is, we've been here since humankind colonised this bit of ground. Aboriginal, see.

PO-I like PO for the very reason I dislike it. It is incredibly parochial-post something non-American and you'll be pretty much ignored. Each thread degenerates into name calling. I've been largely avoiding it for a week or two, except responding to an interesting post by Black Ice today on Somalia.

My stance is sort of pragmatic socialist. I used to be much more left wing.  

[jwhite518]

Right. the difference. The English are a mish mash of races and cultures, formed over the last few centuries. A bit like the Americans really. The english spend a lot of time whining about immigration (much like some Americans, if PO is to be believed), handily forgetting they're a bunch of immigrants too. The Celts-who were driven to the fringes of this land-Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and bits of the North of England-have continually suffered under English rule. I'm sure you can think of a few examples! Which is, in part, why Celts remain hostile to them. In part, this is mockery of a more powerful nation by smaller ones and friendly enough, in part it is real. The Celts much prefer to fight each other and the presence of the Englich is just plain annoying. And they smell bad.

That explains a lot about Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

Have you ever been to the US?

Tell us an interesting biking story.  

[Cpl Punishment]

I have been to China, Singapore (wher I was born), Honk Kong, Italy, France, Libya, Egypt, India etc but i have never been to the US. May be someday.

An interesting biking story? With my son Huw playing Hey Joe as loud as possible 3 feet away? I can barely think, let alone remember. I shall trawl through my memories. I've been biking, on and off, since about 1971.

Most long journeys have memorable encounters. But, this is short journey.

It was in 1971. I had been drinking in the Angel in Aberystwyth. the pub that exists in every town. The one where the bikers and druggies and trippers hang out. I hadn't drunk much-a couple of pints, I guess. I was riding back home to Trawscoed along the straight above Nanteos. I saw a little old woman from the back. She was walking slowly east along the straight, under the trees on the left. The nearest  hamlet was at least two miles away, so I stopped to see if she wanted a lift on the bike of the bike. She walked up alongside me. i couldn't see her face and she didn't seem to look at me. It was when she walked through the handlebar of the bike that I realised that she might not be interested in a lift of any kind. I rode home, spine a bit tingly.

That do?

[jwhite518]

Wow, that was what I'd call a spirited riding session. Very cool story. Nothing like that has ever happened to me, but I did take some good psychedelics when I was young.

Let's move into the personal realm. How old are you? Family background? Current household - wife/kids, etc. We want to know where your kids go to school so we can stalk them. (Ant asked me to ask you that.)  What is your profession? Can you introduce me to Ringo Starr?

[Cpl Punishment]

Wow, that was what I'd call a spirited riding session. Very cool story. Nothing like that has ever happened to me, but I did take some good psychedelics when I was young]

No psychedelics involved.

[Let's move into the personal realm. How old are you? Family background? Current household - wife/kids, etc. We want to know where your kids go to school so we can stalk them. (Ant asked me to ask you that.)  What is your profession? Can you introduce me to Ringo Starr?

Ant-really. If you must-the local secondary, the sixth form college, and Brighton Uni. I have three sons-20, 17 and 15. And they all have red hair and brown eyes. Which is very Celtic. All play instruments, with varying degrees of skill.


Family background. I'm what used to be called upper middle class over here. And still is, I spose. But being a second son, I got none of the land or money. I come from what the Brits call an ancient line (here, having so loudly been rude about the English, I will admit to nbot being pure Welsh). I can trace my family back to about the 8th century with certainty and possibly to the 5th. However, come the defeat of the Welsh by the English in 1283 and the bloody repression of the rebellious Welsh aristos in the next few years (one of my ancestors was spitted on a birch tree and roasted alive over a fire in Carmarthen Market Square. He was 14), the womenfolk felt it prudent to marry the new masters-so we married into the Greays of Ruthin, and the Plantagenets themselves. On my mother's side, there is Saxon and more Norman-the De Warrenes. Anyway, apart from a bit of excitement during the Tudor era, we gradually became yeoman, until our luck improved in the 18th and 19th centuries, going downhill at the end of the last one.  

History is kind of important to peoples who used to be something and aren't anything more than a whimper!  

I went to Stowe School http://www.stowe.co.uk/, then Nottingham University (I turned down a place at Cambridge because I thought it was elitist-course it was-but still a stupid thing to do), then postgrad at Aston, then Cardiff, then St Georges Medical School, then Brighton, then the Tavistock Clinic and back to Brighton again. My first career was as a research scientist in pathological mycology. My second is as a social worker-now strictly in forensic mental health. I do the odd bit of lecturing on mental disorder and violence.

I think I've given away my age in previous posts. I'm old-53. it seems old to me, anyway. Don't feel old though.

I could name someone Ringo Starr and introduce you to him (or her) but I'm not sure that's quite what you want...

[Ant]

We want to know where your kids go to school so we can stalk them. (Ant asked me to ask you that.)  

Hey now, thats not true! I asked for more specifics than that  

[jwhite518]

That family history is very impressive. Thank you for sharing it. My mother is our family genealogist, and she's pleased as punch that she found someone from 1805. I suppose that's one of the big differences between we 'Murkins and the people who live in the rest of the world. We have no history. Heck, in California we have no buildings older than 100 years. Everything has either toppled from an earthquake, or been demolished in the name of progress. But I really mean the roots that go very deeply. One tribe was dominated by another tribe centuries ago, and the resentment is still there. And we go invade and think we can turn the tide with a few bombs and dollars. Oh wait, this isn't PO, sorry.

OK we've established that you're solidly a baby boomer. That means you probably listened to British blues-rock when you were coming up - Zep, Cream, etc. Please tell us that you rode a cafe Triumph to the local clubs to hear Jeff Beck when you were a young man. Trace the history of pop music through the motorcycles you've owned over the years. A combination moto-music life story.

Then tell us if you mourned Diana when she died.

[Cpl Punishment]

The easy one first. Diana was a damaged, imbecilic, manipulative and devious floozy. Which doesn't mean that her death was not a tragedy for her and her loved ones but I did feel very nauseous about the outpourings of grief here and abroad.

Bikes and bands. I've seen Free, Black Sabbath (who were supporting Free), David Bowie's first outing as Ziggy Stardust and a couple more after, the Rolling Stones a few times (the greatest pub rock band of them all-crap in a stadium, but in a small venue-wow), Capt Beefheart, The Smiths, and others, too.

I think i went to see Curved Air on my beaten up old Panther. I had a set of clip ons, rear sets and ally tank for my 750 Atlas but usually rode it stock. Went to Womad on that, where I saw Susie and the Banshees. Used to take sidecar outfits to festivals-they didn't fall over in the mud and could carry useful amounts. Mainly Glastonbury in the 70's to mid 80's. And The Hood, the Elephant and many others. Love a good festival me, and the UK is the world capital of pop and folk festivals.

I did take a cafe raced Norton to the very last Stonehenge Free Festival. That was something else. Guns and knives on display, besides adverts for lines of coke and hot knives. Various chapters of Angels (I used to know a few Angels and usually felt okay around them-not that week though). A stall was burned down. a man was murdered, as I recall. Witches screamed out spells from the tops of burial mounds. And Hawkwind played for hours. On the Friday, I left for Glastonbury and was given a chequered flag start by a bunch of hippies.

[jwhite518]

Right then, that sounds just jolly. (did my accent fool you?)

I think our time is up now, I'd like to thank you for staying up late for this, and now I'll open it up to the floor. I'm getting mad PMs from people who want to ask you something, hope you've got another hour to spare. Thanks again, Cpl, it's been fun.

Jerry

[bizarro]

Hawkwind...... Was Lemmy in the band at the time you saw them?

[panther289]

  Hello JW, Cpl, I'm  first time listener long time caller. I would like to ask the good Cpl. the advise you would give to someone interested  in a month long tour of  Great Britain and Ireland. I've been contemplating a motorcycle tour there in the next 3 years. Main interests are in off the beaten path historical sites. Seeing the normal sites (Parliament, Big Ben, and such) will be on the journey, but are there certain areas  that you find fascinating on a personal/ historical/ unique/ unusual  level?. And any advise to the layman American on a safety level? I usually travel solo on long trips and wonder is this acceptable/ safe through out Britain and Ireland? Thanks again for this insightful interview, Panther  

[Cpl Punishment]

Hawkwind...... Was Lemmy in the band at the time you saw them?

I'm really not sure about the last Stonehenge gig. I was in a fairly altered state of mind at the time and it was two hours before I realised that the band making such an awful racket was Hawkwind. Asking me to recognise Lemmy too would have been asking too much.

[Cpl Punishment]

  Hello JW, Cpl, I'm  first time listener long time caller. I would like to ask the good Cpl. the advise you would give to someone interested  in a month long tour of  Great Britain and Ireland. I've been contemplating a motorcycle tour there in the next 3 years. Main interests are in off the beaten path historical sites. Seeing the normal sites (Parliament, Big Ben, and such) will be on the journey, but are there certain areas  that you find fascinating on a personal/ historical/ unique/ unusual  level?. And any advise to the layman American on a safety level? I usually travel solo on long trips and wonder is this acceptable/ safe through out Britain and Ireland? Thanks again for this insightful interview, Panther  

A month long tour of Britain solo would be a bit short, as the place is so packed with stuff to see, but is perfectly safe and do-able, so long as you realise that we drive on the right side of the road-that is, the left side of the road, which, as I've explained is actually the right side.

The police tend to be friendly and helpful-if stopped, be polite. Sam,e everywhere. If you go to the UK and Yorp part of STN there will plenty of people wanting to help you. London-ie the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, the big museums-is probably best done on foot-find somewhere to park your bike and take a train in. The underground/ tube system (ie subway) is easy to negotiate and tourist friendly. To "do" London properly would take months.

Other parts of the country worth seeing? A lot. Dorset, Wales, the Lake District and Cumbria, Derby Dales, Yorkshire Moors, Scotland-tto much to do in a month.

If yopu want historical sites, we do have one or two. For big feck-off castles-Dover in Kent, Windsor near London and Caerphilly in South Wales. Also worth seeing are Bamburgh, Caernavon, Harlech, Beaumaris, and many more. Most of the concentrations of castles are in Wales, because of the rebelliousness of the Welsh. The one Disney copied is Castell Coch near Cardiff. Cardiff Castle is also worth a look-like Castell Coch, it was remodelled by the then richest man in the world, the Marquis of Bute, in the 19th century. They are both very over the top. There are still a number of Roman fortresses left, for example Anderida (modern day Pevensey). These things were huge and built in red and white to act as a warning to Saxon pirates. A search of UK castles should bring up quite a few-there's hundreds here.

For prehistoric sites-they are everywhere. The most easily accessible are Stonehenge, the Long Barrow, Avebury (the best in my view) and Silbury Hill-all close together. There are some stunning sites in the far North of Scotland and on the Orkneys.

Big houses-we have a few of them as well! The 18th CT has loads of neoclassical architecture. One of the finest is Stowe (see link above)-the main building is about a mile long. Worth a look are towns like Bath.

Churches and cathedrals? Spoilt for choice. Canterbury, Lincoln, Durham, Gloucester, Bath Abbey, St Davids-the list is endless.

Battle sites? Not much for a few hundred years. The last civil war (we've had quite a lot) has a few-Naseby, Edghill etc but not much to see. Same for the earlier ones-Bosworth for example.

Museums-depends what you're interested in . For tanks and warplanes-the Imperial War Museum at Duxford is brilliant. The national motorcycle museum was gutted by fire but is reopen.

There are some excellent fossil places too. And seaside? Stunning beaches in several places-I think the best are from the Gower (Gwyr) to St Davids in Wales.

You could sort of theme your journey-eg a literary one. The farm that Wuthering Heights was based upon. Dracula landing at Whitby (I was in Whitby Museum a couple of years ago when a young American student came in and asked the curator if she could see Dracula's ship. He was very polite and kind and said the museum didn't actually have it, seeing that it didn't really exist and showed her a model of a boat that it would have looked like). That sort of thing.

If I were you, I'd post in the Europe section of STN. Get people's opinions of what to do, get offers of beds to stay in, and plan your route around mainland Britain that way. Of course, a tourist map of Britain would be a good starting point.

Touring solo is completely safe and people will stop and help if you break down. Places to avoid are places off the tourist track, like inner cities, but even there you should be okay.

PM me if you want.

[panther289]

Thank you Cpl.. There is such rich history, that I will be altering the plans to sections. It seems there will be a lot of googling to do. I appreciate your insight and thank you for sharing this and all the information in this interview. Panther

[chornbe]

Today I'll be interviewing ST.N Forum Member Scott-STS. Call-in and write-in questions are welcome, but please hold those questions until the end of the main interview. I'll announce when the reader-questions may begin. Thanks. Let's get things rolling.

Scott-sts, a lot of people prefer to keep much of their private life off-forum and not open up too much of the curtain. I can certainly respect that. If I ask a question that crosses a line, please accept my apologies and simply tell me so.

First off, I presume your real name is Scott based on your screen name. Is that accurate? Is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself that might not be gleaned from your postings, such as your marital status, vocation, area you live in?

Thanks.