Hi Harry,
Thank you for letting me know about your area's (South Shields, Scotland) varied culture. I never knew there were several native languages in such a small (by American standards) geographic area. Self-admittedly, we isolationists' yanks are woefully ignorant of other cultures...but enough self-flaggelation.
One question regarding Norman Fay bikes you built...who's idea was it to taper (flame-tip?) the seat-stay 'wrap-rounds and use square tubing for bridges? I find these features unique to NF bikes even though they were likely done either before or by others of which I am unaware. The square brake-bridge is also useful as it provides a flat footing for the rear brake caliper...nice touch.
As a complete aside, local news reported that Lance Armstrong won the local Nevada City (Criterium?) race this weekend...and that the thief who stole his time-trial bicycle during last year's AMGEN Tour of California (the Sacramento Prelude race) was sentenced to three years in prison. He had sold the partially-stripped bike (soon recovered) for $200 after he had installed some of the titanium-carbon components onto his Magna mountain bike! What lengths some folks will go to just to go a little faster.
Jack Romans
Sacramento, CA