I left the Isle of Man with mixed emotions...I had witnessed some great racing in an adrenaline-charged atmosphere and met old friends and made new ones. On the other side of the spectrum Shaun Harris is fighting for his life and we lost Marc Ramsbotham and two spectators in one incident and a fan died in an accident on Richmond Hill. Hilary Musson and her friend Janice are badly injured and in Nobles, and what was a superbly orgainised festival has ended in somewhat of a disaster.

I arrived home to the usual comments from neighbours who see only the headlines and it makes it seem that I am spectator in ancient Rome, there to see blood.

Each year it has been the same yet we all go to the Island for two weeks of intensive motorcycling fun.

Forget the ferries, somehow they all get sorted and while I chewed my finger nails for nearly two weeks, I still managed to get off the Island without having to take up offers of longer stay.

Forget the calls of "rip off", you are not paying for some things and yet paying for others, it all balances out though I did find ice cream at Ł3.50 and fish-and-chips at Ł9.00 a bit steep. You could get some tasty baps for Ł1.50 and well worth it, and Okells beer is always a good investment while you are in the salty Manx air..

All the many new expensive books and DVDs I saw on sale will find their way eventually to e-bay and amazon, yet the so-called "official merchandise" was value for money for once....

John McGuinness was King of the Island again but now has a number of pretenders in waiting.

Long may this celebration of all things good continue and I now look forward to another tankard when I get to my 70th Anniversay at the TT in 2017.