In 2015 I will have been an avid TT Fan for 68 years....This fact has been made possible thanks to my Dad who was a TT Fan from the late 1920s era. The war from 1939 until 1945 prevented him from having an unbroken sequence up to 1961 when a change in job and allied circumstances caused him to miss the TT yet again and he returned only in 1972, 1974 and then the late 1970s when Mike Hailwood made his come-back. I had been born in 1939 and was a war baby with chest problems. I actually contracted pneumonia in 1946 and had severe breathing problems. Our doctor, a family friend, came to see mee......My Dad asked him "What can we do to help Ians breathing ?"----- The doctor recommended sea air.......My Dad had a flash of inspiration "Er, would the Isle of Man be any good ?"-------"Certainly" said the doctor "Perfect, it's an island surrounded by sea" My Mum glared at my Dad because she knew that the TT was starting again after a long gap.."Right Lily, pack our bags"... The day arrived and Dad had persuaded his bother-in-law, his wife and son to come with my Mum and Dad and me. Fortunately my uncle had a big car in which we set out for Liverpool early in the morning.....It was not far on our journey that we realised it was very windy and on a stop of necessity on the moors my uncle lost his new fedora and it bowled down the road. He eventually recovered it from a barbed wire fence some way away from us.... We arrived in Liverpool and put the car into storage, making our way to the pier head by taxi. The ferry was rising up and down even at the quayside, and as we boarded, we were warned that it would be a "bit of a rough crossing" !! And so it was, the ferry rearing up and then crashing down......we lads spent much of the time walking the decks and then ending up in the engine room having tea with the crew. The girls decided that the best place would be in the downstairs lounge sitting or sprawling on the long chairs. My uncle ate pork pies ! We were very glad to dock in Douglas and almost kissed tthe ground as we disembarked ... a taxi was called and as we journeyed along the prom in heavy rain we wondered what was in store for us. We signed into our hotel (The Regal) and had our evening meal before collapsing on our beds for a good nights sleep. enter