The island has just seen the end of the TT fortnight.  The race circuit doesn't go past the office, but we can hear the roar of the motorbikes hammering out of Ramsey.  In fact the racing could have been a lot closer to us if the original route was still used.

The start of the TT, or, as it was known then, the Gordon Bennett Trial (yes, he of the expression), started just across the valley from us, in Port E Vullen - we can see the houses from the office.  The plaque pictured above marks the spot.  The Trial was originally for cars and was held on the Isle of Man because the Westminster government didn't want to close their roads for racing - there were no race tracks then.  Tynwald, always looking to bring people (and their spending money) to the island, didn't have such qualms, so the Trials came here.  They were successful.  People had a good time, engineers worked out how their cars could be improved (or not), and the Manx liked the novelty.

After a few years, races for motorbikes were included in the mix.  After a few more years, cars ceased to race on island roads but the bikes carried on, the narrow, twisty island roads ideal for testing their manoeuvrability.

Today the Isle of Man TT races attract racers and their fans from all over the world.

Even the weather was quite good this year.

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