Chain male

I know it plays on your mind every single day: Why, oh why, do the Cradley Heathens speedway team have a hammer as their emblem? Easy. Cradley is in the heart of the English Black Country and from the early days of the industrial revolution metalworking, especially casting and forging, and in particular chain and nail making, played a big part in the local economy.

In fact, just up the road at Netherton was Noah Hingley's foundry where, incidentally, they made the chains and anchors for the Titanic. This film shows the men at Hingley's smashing the daylights out of hot metal with slick, almost choreographed precision. And remember, every one of those links has been manhandled and hammered.

If you really can't hack the full eight minutes (though you'd be mad to miss it) skip to 7m 30s to see some synchronised rivet hammering. No really, it's... riveting. Ommer it, me babbies! MP

Worth Getting Wet Socks For

Directed by Men's File's Nick Clements.

Woffy's the Man

A slightly belated congratulations to Scunthorpe lad Tai Woffinden who last Sunday was awarded the Motor Cycle News Man of the Year award to clutter his cabinet alongside the World Championship silverware he brought home last season. The annual MCN gong has been given out since 1958 and Woffy, who races for Wolverhampton Wolves in the British Elite League, is the first speedway rider to get his moniker on the trophy that bristles with names such as John Surtees, Mike Hailwood, Barry Sheene and Joey Dunlop. MP

If you've not seen the youngster in action, treat yourself:

Parallel universe

Meanwhile in deepest Lancashire, 1953. On the run back from the Ormskirk and District Club's time and observation trial, Johnny Postlethwaite and his mates stop off for a bottle of dandelion and burdock at Beaker's cafe.

The Trip Out

The ingredients look great for this English event. Black Tibetans, MAGNUM 500! All they need is The Stags. G

The Trip Out

Mud Fun

BRrrr December. It's hovering around 5°C. Thursday is grim all day. For Friday, Co Built Anthony has organized a group of 5 riders (me, GI, Guy S, Chippy and himself) to ride enduro on the Marlborough Downs, following ancient bridleways, byways and sections of the historic Ridgeway. The most optimistic man in UK motorcycling has promised sun. And he delivers. It's glorious. We meet up 7 miles north of Marlborough. Chippy was on the road at 4:30am to buy a garish 1988 Suzuki RM250 on the way. Gary 5:30. The rest of us live closer.
Anthony's KTM 450EXC that I'm going to borrow has seen action in Africa, and a week at the hands of Travis - I'm not sure which is more grueling? It doesn't want to start. Fault finding requires partial disassembly with molegrips. Anthony goes into Paris-Dakar mode and it's soon brought back to life.
Seemingly easy tracks prove to be very skiddy where the ground is chalk. I crash 4 times. More daunting deeply rutted cesspools are hairy but fun. These photos show open country but most of tracks were more like covered rabbit runs through ancient woodland that would eject us in yet another picturesque Wiltshire village for 2 minutes of tarmac before Anthony would lead us into a farmyard and onto the next. What a blissful day.
Last week I wasn't sure if my dicky back could take the punishment, but after a day's country rutting I feel like I've been given a rejuvenating all-limb going-over by an Swedish Amazon masseur (including a light whipping of hawthorn sticks). BP

Look, Signal, Manoeuvre

I can't believe I've not seen this before. It's one of those hugely patronising public information films and probably had the opposite effect of the one intended by its makers in 1965. Come on, we'd be the one on the Triumph Tiger Cub hammering round the woods, surely? A great bit of social history - the newsagent's is straight from my youth. Click full screen and select a higher definition - the quality is pretty good. Anybody else spot goody-goody Tom's blunder at about 5m 30s? MP