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NI Motorcycle Festival 2019

February 9, 2019February 9, 2019 by TomBoyNI

The NI Motorcycle Festival returns this weekend (8th – 10th February 2019) to the Eikon Centre, Lisburn. In it’s fourth year at the Eikon it is touting itself as Northern Irelands’ Biggest Motorcycle Show and it promises a weekend full of action and bikes.

So what has changed from last year and does it deliver on these promises?

In case you missed it here are my thoughts on the 2018 Show : https://tbni.blog/2018/02/07/ni-motorcycle-festival-2018-motorcyclefest-eikon-centre-lisburn/

Truth be told, very little has changed. It is still like a big showroom, with a load of stalls in the back.

As you can see in my previous 2018 review I tried my best to find the positives in the show and to be honest I really hate being negative about such things – especially things that involve bikes, a show – and Northern Ireland trying to bring itself on par with events and exhibitions, but sometimes – when there is negativity it just shines through in the truth.

I am not going to paint this one through rose tinted glasses – I hoped things would have improved but alas here it is – the NI Motorcycle Festival 2019 Review.

NI Motorcycle Festival 2019 : Kawasaki H2

2019 NI Motorcycle Festival : Eikon Centre, Lisburn : 8th – 10th February 2019

May 6, 2024January 28, 2019 by TomBoyNI

The 2019 NI Motorcycle Festival – Ireland’s Largest Motorcycle Festival – returns to the Eikon Centre, Lisburn from 8th – 10th February 2019.

With something for everyone the events, activities and attractions include :

exhibits from local dealerships covering a huge range of manufacturers
local accessory stores
local event information points
live displays and shows
and maybe even a bit of pit bike racing

So there is plenty to see and do, plenty to add to your wish list, or maybe even empty your wallet on the day.

Check out my Review and Gallery of the 2018 NI MotorcycleFest Here

Check out the Official 2019 NI MotorcycleFest Website Here – Site no longer exists.

Motorcycle Live 2018 : Birmingham NEC

November 27, 2018 by TomBoyNI

Motorcycle Live 2018 ran this year from 17th – 25th November, so now that is over I can post up a few photographs along with my thoughts on the show and what I saw this year without having to issue a spoiler.

This year saw 4 halls filled with the current (and upcoming) offerings of 40 manufacturers along with a chance to test ride numerous machines both on the road and on the ever popular Adventure course where you can test on the most popular adventure bikes on a well thought indoor track. It’s not taxing, not difficult at all, but it is fun.

The Live Arena was also present and what was previously a showcase for Arena Cross this year was taken over by Moto Cirque and what these guys can do on such a small stage really is spectacular. If you get that the chance to see their show in full, take it.

Other than that it is all about the bikes and I have composed a gallery of over 100 photos for your viewing pleasure but first I am going to point out a few of my highlights…

Gadget Show Live (2017) Cancelled?

September 10, 2016 by TomBoyNI

In what seems like devastating news for the UK Gadget fan Gadget Show Live appears to have been cancelled.

With relative Internet silence around the annual event, and the fact that at this time of year I normally pick up my tickets, get the flights and hotel booked and sort out a Christmas present at the same time I was looking to get that little bit of spending sorted.

However nothing. No talk of tickets, nothing on the NEC website, nothing from The Gadget Show, nothing on TV, nothing.

A little more internet digging and The Gadget Show Live website (http://www.gadgetshowlive.net redirects to http://www.upperstreetevents.net) has no reference to an upcoming Show. It is now advertising The Technology Showcase at Westfield, London (in October 2016).

Following on from this And my search turned to Social Media.

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/gadgetshowlive/ – again references Technology Showcase, it states ‘Brought to you by the organisers of The Gdget Show Live.

Gadget Show Live Faceebook Page has a distinct lack of any mention of the Gadget Show Live!

Motorcycle Live 2015 – Gallery

June 8, 2016 by TomBoyNI

With the imminent release of ticket sales for Motorcycle Live 2016 at the NEC Birmingham I thought I would upload my Gallery from 2015.

MCL 2016 will run from Saturday 19 November 2016 – Sunday 27 November 2016 at the NEC, Birmingham so get those dates in your diary now, and if you are travelling by air, get the tickets booked sooner rather than later to make use of the cheapest fares!

MCL is a show that I make an annual trip to from Northern Ireland, personally I think it is a great show with loads to see and do, which is hopefully reflected in the photos. In 2015 there was a demo from ArenaCross, which was outstanding given the space these guys were working with, enough that I came straight out of the show and booked tickets for the Belfast show.

Enjoy the Gallery…

Add iCloud Drive to your Home Screen on iOS9

September 21, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Putting iCloud Drive on your Home Screen iOS 9

If you use iOS9 and iCloud, it is really easy to have the icon for your iCloud Drive pop up on your home screen, just follow these simple steps and enjoy some easy App convenience.

Open Settings on your iPhone.
In Settings select iCloud.

3. If you are already logged in to your iCloud account you will see the account name and how much storage you have left. Select iCloud Drive to continue.

4. Flick on the Show in Home Screen option…

5. Job Done, check out your Home Screen, it is there!

2015 Airwaves Portrush : NI International Air Show – Gallery

September 13, 2015 by TomBoyNI

2015 marks the second year of Air Waves, the rebranded Northern Ireland International Air Show. 2014 was an excellent year for this show with quality aircraft and outstanding displays so this year has a lot to live up to. With in my opinion even more pressure on its shoulders because of a rather disappointing airshow earlier this year in Newcastle, Co. Down.

So Airwaves 2015 can you do it?

Yes you can. Everything was in favour of the airshow this year most importantly the weather, over the weekend we experienced a little wind on the Saturday but it settled itself, Sunday started off a little wet and grey but as you will see from the gallery as the day went on, the weather also started to thankfully behave itself!

2015 Adelaide Motorcycle Festival – Belfast

February 6, 2015 by TomBoyNI

It has been a year or two (2013 actually) since I have went near this show, but I ventured back today for a look with huge hopes that it had improved since my last visit.

Thankfully it has. I will address the 2 bad points firstly that I came away with today – firstly £12 entrance fee is just crazy. That is only slightly cheaper that the NEC’s Motorcycle Live which was simply outstanding. This show is more like a gathering of dealers, with a range of their bikes that they want to sell you. Nothing new, nothing revealed, just a load of nice and shiny bikes all in one place to tempt you out of a few hundred quid for the next 36 – 48 months, therefore I think it is a bit cheeky to be expected to pay such a high entrance fee to essentially enter a huge multi-manufacturer’s show room.

Secondly, on your way in you will pass by the ‘Jumble.’ Make sure you go in because there is simply some stunning vintage bikes and cars in here and a few interesting vendors. However Bad point 2 is also in here. Some of the vendors are just selling junk, and they genuinely don’t seem bothered.

My eye was taken by two quaint little signs, neither of which held any real world value, I just thought they would look rather cool in my garage. Heres’ how the conversation went….

2014 Airwaves Portrush : NI International Air Show – Gallery

September 16, 2014 by TomBoyNI

2014 marked the first year of the new look NI International Air Show (2014) which was rebranded to in my own personal opinion the rather cheesy ‘Air Waves’, what with it being an Air show and also beside the sea. (This section of the Northern Irish Coast being the only one with waves to mention with the exception of storms of course.) Now that I have my reservations of the name expressed I will move onto more important things, the show itself.

One word should suffice as an review, and be enough to ensure your attendance next year – ‘Excellent!’

The venue has relocated to the East Strand of Portrush over looking the Causeway Coast, and it worked really well!

The display line has now moved to the eastern side of the peninsula to bring the display line much, much closer to the crowd and have the Giant’s Causeway and Dunluce Castle as a backdrop. It also means spectators can now view from the beautiful Blue Flag beach and enjoy even more exhibition space. This map shows the main layout of the event;

I am too late to be writing reviews and the like for this event, however it is never too late for photos and I have included a pretty big selection of the images I captured on the day, which follow below, but I do think it is important to emphasise the main points :

1. The event was excellent.
2. The range of aircraft was fantastic.
3. The sight of the 2 Lancaster Bombers was simply outstanding.
4. The display from the Red Arrows was amazing! This was their 50th Anniversary display and although they are always worth watching, this display is something special!
5. The other aircraft were all amazing, and being a fan of helicopters I certainly was treated well!
6. The rest of the events organised for families, visitors and spectators were good and I have no doubt will improve as the years go on.

I am certainly looking forward to the show again next year!

Show hidden files Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and 10.8 Mountain Lion

October 21, 2013 by TomBoyNI

I have found that on ocassion you may need to see some of the hidden files and folders in OSX, mainly for troubleshooting. When enabled things can appear very messy and untidy so in my opinion it is best to make things visible, then when you are done, hide them again.

Good luck.

To enable hidden files/folders in finder windows:

– Open Finder

– Open the Utilities folder

– Open a terminal window

– Copy and paste the following line in:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

– Press return

– Now hold ‘alt’ on the keyboard and right click on the Finder icon

– Click on Relaunch

You will now see all the hidden files and folders. Once you are finished, perform the steps above however, replace the terminal command in step 4 with:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO

Check out the Official 2019 NI MotorcycleFest Website Here – Site no longer exists.

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