Reference books are fun!

The Second Mulled Toast

When as a student a long time ago
my books gave no theory glimmers,
why two-strokes ended in second place slow,
and four-stroke were always the winners.

Williams and Craig were heroes enough
whose singles thumped to Tornagrough,
such as black 7R or silver Manx,
on open megas they enthused the cranks.

Wallace and Bannister gave me the start
into an unsteady gas dynamic art,
where lambdas and betas meshed in toil
for thirty years consumed midnight oil.

With the parrot on Bush a mental penny
into slot in brain fell quite uncanny.
Lubrication of grey cells finally gave
an alternative way to follow a wave.

That student curiosity is sated today
and many would describe that as winning.
Is this then the end of the way?
No, learning is aye a beginning.

-Gordon Blair


Things the reader needs to know:

Peter Williams - Rode a black AJS 7R 350cc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Williams_(motorcyclist)
Joe Craig - Tamed a silver Manx Norton 600cc https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Craig

Tornagrough (pronounced as tawernagruff) is a bend on the Dundrod circuit where the Ulster Grand Prix is held.

Wallace - Gordon's Ph.D guide for Unsteady Gas Dynamics
Bannister - External Examiner for the dissertation
Lambdas - Wavelength of sounds
Betas - Sound Pressure Levels

Bush is a local colloquialism for the amber nectar produced at the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery at Bushmills Co. Antrim, a modicum of which has been known to ease the pain caused by trying to figure out who these people are!