Visit to Scotland - Day 4 - BTCC Knockhill

Our final full day in Scotland was spent at the wonderful Knockhill racing circuit watching the Boy's of the British Touring Car do battle in their vehicles.

The AMD crew fettle their Audis

The circuit is on the edges of the highlands giving is a wonderful fast circuit with a lot of height variation as well as a lovely view across the Forth with its three bridges.

The racing was great and I wont give you a blow by blow account instead I will give you an idea of our day.

We were VIP's with the AMD team and spent most of our day in the TOCA tent which is built around their bus which houses the offices of the organisers so we got to see the naughty boys going to see the headmaster with books down the back of their trousers and there were quite a few of them.

The wife outside the TOCA tent.

For the first race we decided to go and stand trackside as the early rain had cleared. Despite the sun it was still rather cold but we enjoyed watching the cars and soaking up the wonderfull atmosphere and noise of these racing cars.

Breakfast having been consumed back at the TOCA facility and we were ready for race 2 and our grid walk.

Looking at the cars assembling on the grid and getting right into the action is a major attraction of the VIP experience.

Action as the team go to work on their car before the race

The cars assemble and the team's go to work with the wheels being changed on the front wheel drive cars where the fronts are swapped with the rears.

There is the hiss of compressed air as the cars go up on their jacks and the rattling of the wheel nut guns as wheels come off and are the refitted. The bang of the airlines then sounds as the car's come back down onto their wheels ready for the off.

The siren sounds and the VIP's are herded off the grid so the race can begin.

End of the race and the winners get their prizes.

After watching battle we gathered infront of the podium to watch the winners get their cup's and spray the champagne, much of which I got as second place was Ashley Sutton who knows me and aimed a good spray right at me!

We got back in time for our final cake and coffee and then we decided to spend watching the last race from on top of the hill behind the pits.

Good action

We enjoyed our day and we certainly hope to go

back again in a couple of years perhaps as part of a much longer holiday.

Justice League

This can honestly be called DC's Avengers Assemble but in the end any group will have an origin story and they are going to be rather similar although having a baddie with a horned helmet who teleports in via a beam of light is pushing that a bit far :-)

The team do have some parallels but I will forgive that as this film stands on its own as a great one, despite what some critics have said about it. The characters have their own reasons to be in the League and there is far less of the inter team problems that Avengers had which I like better.

The film has some great action and good set pieces with a team of actors that are very good and they all look right as their superhero personas.

Several other characters who were part of the comic book league are hinted at in the initial part of the film and that makes me feel excited for further movies.

So have DC matched Marvel yet? Not quite but they are easily better than many of the early Marvel offerings and not very far off the Avengers. Lets hope the naysayers do not kill this resurgence before we get more from the DC Universe as they have some of the best Superheroes in the comic world.

Please go see it, you will not be disappointed, oh and stay till the very end as there are two post credit scenes to enjoy and the second is the most important.

Thor Ragnarok

The Marvel Universe is getting bigger by the film and this is easily one of the best so far with lots of good action and a lighter feel to it even though there remains some darkness to the tale.

In the opening scene (featured in the trailer) we are treated to Thor telling us about his recent history whilst suspended in a cage above pools of lava. This sets the tone for the film when you discover who he is talking to.

Humor is front and center in this film and even the Hulk gets in on the act especially in a scene where Thor gets to see a lot more green than he would like!

The film is, for once, not Earth based with our home planet only being featured for a short time in the film where our hero gets to meet a rather special new friend.

The cast really deliver in this film with Hemsworth showing why he is so popular and Hiddleston reveling in the uide of the God of Mischief once more. My favourite however is Carl Urban who plays his part as a man who gets caught up in the whirlwind that envelopes Valhalla whilst trying to stay alive. He is certainly the most human character in the film.

So is the film worth seeing? Yes it is, I would give it 5 stars easily and put it on the You Have To See This One list without hesitation. Roll on Infinity Wars, I cant wait