I just received an email from my dad with pics I've been hunting for ever since I got a glimpse of them at a family get together. Not the kinda thing to normally prompt a post on a bikers blog, but... ...but to say I'm proud of these pics is an understatement.

Mac on his BSA between 1927 and 1930

This is my uncle Mac - my grandma Nora's brother, who lived with her in Staffordshire in the 70s. I remember him very well as I grew up visiting her home. He was always in the shed. I actually assumed he lived in the garden somewhere, as I don't think I ever saw him in the house, even though we often slept and ate there as a family. He had calloused hands, a gravelly voice and always wore a flat cap (...at least in my head he did, anyway). But it gets better than that...

Nora MacDonald and Veda Blezzard on Mac's bike

Nora (at the front, natch) was a force to be reckoned with. As my grandma I remember she smoked 40 a day, drank like a fish, had a ram-rod straight back and took no nonsense from anyone. As a young woman she was pretty out-there (I'm told), and this pic seems to be evidence of that. I'm guessing it's a fairly outlandish photo of a lady, for the late 1920s. (...although Mac was clearly smart enough to put the centre stand down) Mac obviously loved cars and bikes, and made the most of his passions.

My uncle Tony also played a big part in my love of bikes... As a twelve year old I was blown away by the looks and sound of his bright red & black GPz900R, which to me was the coolest machine on earth.

I bought my own at the age of 20, in silver, and then went backwards in time with more bikes from the green machine; owning a '79 Z1R and late 70s z650. ...I prefer to forget my GT550, but it was matt black with open pipes.