The forecast didn't look too promising for this morning, so after stuffing my face with a full cooked (some might say overcooked) brekkie, I donned waterproofs for the 120 mile stint to Keswick. It might be a little unfair to say the best thing about the hotel was seeing it disappearing in my mirrors but I shall definitely not be staying there again.
After missing my turn on the M6 roundabout, I blame TomTom (again!), I was soon on the M6. As I travelled further north, the traffic got lighter and lighter. Up till Preston it was still quite busy, at Lancaster it had thinned out about 50%. By the time I came to the Penrith turnoff though, there was barely anything else in sight. The weather had started off fairly decent but it soon clouded over and as I started the climb into the hills, the rains came. Nothing too heavy but the spray from the other vehicles added to the unpleasantness. Off the motorway and on the run down into Keswick, the sun started to make an appearance and although the roads were wet, as I rolled into town, the morning had turned out quite nice.
Parked up behind the Youth Hostel, I summoned Grizzly and he duly came to help with the luggage and to have a big man hug, of course. We are regularly in contact but we hadn't seen each other since the NEC bike show in November 2012. In the room, I rang Biggsy to check on his progress. As it turned out, he had just arrived and parked up near Bill's house.
Grizzly and I rode round and parked opposite the house. Bill's daughter Suzie came out to greet us. I'd met her very briefly at Heathrow last summer, when Dudley and I returned from the Wild West Tour. She's instantly recognisable as Bill's daughter, sharing much of his facial features AND as I later discovered, (we'd only known Bill with grey hair) the same ginger hair! It says so much about the man that I could count a Tottenham supporting ginger as one of my friends ;-)
Just around the corner were Biggsy and Bill's son Lewis. He neither looks like Dudley or sports ginger hair, so I'm guessing he takes after his mum. Man hugs and handshakes done, Lewis produced Dudley's favourite bandana. As this tour had meant so much to Dudley, in its planning, Lewis asked if we would mind taking this on the tour with us. Of course we shall.
Then it was around to Dudley's lockup where the Harley was sleeping. A friend had sorted the battery and given it a good polish. Dudley would have been proud. Grizzly rode it around the corner to the house, Biggsy was worried about getting arrested I think, for riding without a helmet. Either that or he was worried it might bite, as more than one Harley had done before where Dudley was concerned, this one included! (see the Reservoir Hogs Tour)
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| Dudley's pride and joy (one careful? owner!) |
We had about an hour to kill before the hearse was due, so we went off for a coffee. When we were on the Reservoir Hogs Tour in 2012, we took to buying lottery tickets amongst the four of us. As this was the first time we three had been together since, I suggested we buy a ticket for the £80m Euro Lottery draw on Friday. Maybe Dudley can use some of his charm and coerce those balls into the right order for his Wild Hog chums, eh?
As we returned to the house, there was already a large gathering of people. We were greeted by Claudia, Bill's widow, saying she knew us from the photographs. It's almost like being a celebrity! Formalities over with we fired up the bikes, as the hearse came up the road. Biggsy took the lead on Dudley's Harley and Grizzly and I slotted in behind. The mass of people walked behind the hearse as we made our way slowly the few hundred yards to the church. Sadly the road closure we had hoped for didn't happen and oncoming traffic spoilt our riding formation. Not to worry though, we did the job!
The pathway to the church doors was lined with scouts, forming a guard of honour. Keswick Scouts was another one of Dudley's great passions. Inside the church, there was barely a spare seat. I wouldn't be surprised if there were three hundred in there, testament to just how well loved this man was. I've said it before but Bill really was a bloody good bloke!
The service lasted around 45 minutes, then we all followed the coffin to the graveside for the committal, where our chum was laid to rest.
Following the burial, there was to be a dinner at a hotel in the town, to which the family had invited us Hogs. We were honoured to be taken into the family circle in this way. First though, we had to get the bikes back to the hostel and Bill's back in the garage. Grizzly and I left Biggsy, did a couple of laps of the Keswick one way system (DOH!) before parking up and getting ourselves out of our bike gear. The rain which had started just as we stood at the graveside, was now falling steadily. We caught up with Biggsy and entered the hotel. The formalities had already started, Lewis making a speech. Grizzly and I slotted on to the end of a table, Biggsy, as per usual, found himself sandwich between two ladies on the other table! A 3 course meal and some beers later and it was time to move on to the wake for the 'outer circle', a hundred yards or so up the road, in the George Inn. Handy for the lady next to me at the table, sorry, I didn't get her name, as she was staying at the pub.
Biggsy had to be back in Tetbury this evening, so unfortunately he could only stay at the pub for about an hour and as he was driving missed out on the beers, not to mention the buffet. Several more beers were downed by Grizzly and I along with a couple of plates full of buffet fare, before we took our leave. Kisses, cuddles, handshakes and man hugs abounded as we said farewell to the family. To say we had had a good day, doesn't sound right but the family had done Bill proud with the send off they had provided him and I think everyone had enjoyed saying farewell to their friend, in a way, that I'm sure Dudley would have thoroughly approved of.
It was still raining as we made our way back to the hostel and as we turn out the light it promises to be a noisy night. Rain, the river, snoring and farting!
Night Grizzly.
Night Woody......Oh Jeeezus man!
