My most fun Japanese bike

I bought one of these "Thumper" XT500 Yamahas in the mid 70s when they first came out.A 500cc single,very simple,just an engine with a wheel at each end.
I used it for roaming around the country lanes and the blat of the big single cylinder engine doing its stuff was always a pleasure,the speed quite adequate for any type of road.The only fly in the ointment was the too small a tank so one was perpetually looking for petrol stations. I ran it for a year or two then changed it for an SR 500.Same engine but in road bike form.Big mistake ,the SR was without character and not a patch on the XT and as a road bike not as good as the old Velocette Venom I used to own in the sixties,neither one thing or the other.I sold it and went over to rather boring multis. Many years later I again got the urge for a bit of single riding and bought a 500cc Indian Enfield Bullet...Least said the better.

SR500

Sunday apparel for the discerning gentleman

SMILE

THE ROSES IN MY YARD TODAY

EH?

REDRESSING

RANGE ROVERS DADDY

Silent Films

Corinne Griffith 1928 I am posting this clip mainly cos I like the dubbed on music,mind you Corinne Griffith is fearfully attractive

Charlie dresses up

my secret friend

Cover to "My secret friend" The story of a unicorn written by my friend Tilley.She is still on page two,lets hope there are illustrations up to the standard of the cover.

SUMSING TURBO

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO....................

A PROPER ROAD SIGN.

Why dont they make them like this these days?

MORE TREES

computer doodle

MAKING WHOOPEE

GET TO KNOW YOUR HIGHWAY CODE

How it was when I took my test,how it you were supposed to change down,brake, steer and give your handsignal all at the same time without running down a policeman was never fully explained.

I passed mainly because a man fell off a bus in front of me and I did a proper emergency stop without killing him. Got every thing else wrong though...

TREE AND MAN OR MAN AND TREE

Oil on hardboard

Hoffnung

From mill to pile

Trumps Mill Virginia Waters where I was born in the 30s Some of the rooms you could ride a bike in so my sister told me.I was too young to remember and we left when I was four.

Next owners improvements

As it is now, I assume the bit on the left is nearly original, last price quoted £2ooooooo. Maybe we should have stayed.

Zeal Pyefleet Marsh

Wacom tablet ................when the marshes were devoid of power boats

BANK HOLIDAY

STOURHEAD GARDENS

Yesterday really did seem like summer,and on a bank

holiday too.What is happening to the world?

TIPARILLO FOR THE MUSIC LOVER

THE RIGHT HON ?

JP

TIME FOR SABLON

ELLIE

In my yard this morning.

HEM LINEAR

Not quite up to Russian Policewomen standard but there you go.
photo by Rene Maltete

NEWER CORN

NEW CORN

EARLY CARTOON

One of my first cartoons,published by the Daily Express in 1955 during a national rail strike. Due to me messing about I gave up cartooning after about five years and did dispatch riding which was more fun then gravitated into a very bad antique dealer with a shop (The Saturday Shop) in the Portobello Market.

THE BLOG AUTHOR

Bottom left hand corner.Taken in the mid 30s. I dont remember this photo being taken but I do remember the tent,the smell of grass inside,the diffused light and being told it was the latest and best tent as it had a flysheet.My crazy parents let us sleep in it out in the garden during the battle of Britain and waking up to the sound of dogfights overhead.

Sarah and Tilley

DISCOVERY

Go here http://yetanotherbloomingblog.blogspot.com/ for a lovely blog but dont forget to come back.

RENE MALTETE CLASSICS

HOW IT WAS

Not a traffic light or road marking in sight,just plain common sense....See how they all wore hats and did they all walk like that? No sound track to this one so you'll just have to hum along to it.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

A SUMMER IN WALES

Are we going to have one this year? Film/Mamiya 7

IN FLIGHT

EXPOSED

Is this what your naughty MP has been spending your money on?

Why so small?

Rene Maltete

TRENET

Been with this all my life,first a scratchy old 78 then an LP then a tape then a CD then YouTube...I dont have one of those little machines with wires to your ears that you walk around with...

RUSSIAN POLICEWOMEN

well thats one thing the Russians do better than us.

COMMENT

SUNDAY STEINBURG

MUCH ADO ABOUT PLENTY

For "house" read gravy train.

A visit to RHS Rosemore Gardens ..Devon

Olympus Digital c~8080