Sunday 27 September 2015

Finishing the season on a high- Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September 2015


This is our last event of the season and what a great one it was. Oakley Motorcycle Club invited us and the Harts with the junior dragster to join them on their stand at Sywell Pistons and Props which we were delighted to accept their invitation.
 
The weather forecast was excellent and our drive that first morning was reminiscent of driving in the USA, chilly but clear blue skies. We set up camp and then enjoyed the rest of the day- old school drag racing, (complete with hilarious and speedy Taz racers in amazingly quick Fiats), World War 1 battle re-enactment in the skies complete with pyrotechnics, a vast array of classic, American, super cars and so on, all settled in groups of individual car clubs.

Set in the gorgeous art deco designed aerodrome buildings with many women in particular dressing in vintage style, the whole day was hugely enjoyable as well as relaxing. We chilled for some of the time at the OMC tent with several other members, mostly committee and as always our car attracted plenty of attention. Once the crowds had dispersed we took the car for a photo shoot next to a de Havilland WW1 plane and made a young lad's day by allowing him to sit firstly in our car and then he was allowed to sit in the plane. A sixties band was due to play in one of the hangars later that evening but it was getting really chilly so we decided it was time to drive home.


 
We returned the today and this time I wore my vintage stuff. At rthe OMC stand we found a different set of bikes and another group of OMC members, mostly non committee. Today we were treated to more of the same plus air displays from a spitfire, a seafire, dakota and other WW2 planes, the names of which I forget but nevertheless it was an impressive display. The drag racing continued to entertain the crowds and we also found time for a stroll around the vintage market and museum before settling at camp for the afternoon.
 


The drive home in the late afternoon sun and cool air was amazing and a fitting end to a fabulous season. Dave did take the car down the Embankment for a while in the evening but for me the season was already over and wah a high to finish on. Roll on next year!








Counting down to Winter - Wednesday 9th to Sunday 20th September 2015

The poor weather at the start of September made it look like summer was over but as sure as eggs is eggs, the children went back to school and the sun came out to give us some pretty good driving opportunities.

The first Wednesday of the month usually sees the Earl's Barton Classic Car Meet but this was postponed until the following Wednesday giving me my first (and last) trip out there this season. There was a pretty good turn out, an eclectic mix of cars including rather a lot of modern cars but if it gets people off the settee and out in their cars who cares? If someone wants to show off their pride and and joy on a Wednesday evening in a farmers field, then why not? My favourite vehicle for the evening was an immaculately restored VW splitty of which the owner was rightly proud. To be honest it made a change but for me, I won't be in a hurry to go again. Wednesday evening is usually my "night in" when Dave goes out and I really rather like that me time.


The weather forecast for the next day was superb so a trip out to Hunstanton for fish and chips was in order, £10 for fish and chips and £50 for petrol for the 180 mile round trip! The tide was out when we arrived so we were able to set up camp on the beach before fetching our lunch from the Shoreside Fish and Chip shop, the best we've had in Sunny Hunny so far. We walked it off with a long walk along the beach almost to  Heacham and back along the promenade, past the mostly unoccupied holiday homes which overlook the sea. For once, we could have worn "we are the youngest" T shirts until after 3pm when the families started to arrive with their children still in school uniform. What a lovely way to end the school day! As always, the public gardens were colourful and beautifully laid out, a credit to the town. Driving home, we were accompanied by the setting sun, an event in itself. North Norfolk is beautiful, especially driving through the wooded pines of the Sandringham Estate. Then you enter Cambridgeshire, which must be the most boring county in the country landscape wise; flat, arable land, yet still attractive in its own way. Then we drove into Northamptonshire, a much underrated county, through the beautiful Nene River Valley and its quintessentially English villages. Finally we were back in Bedfordshire, pretty as always but currently stinking of goodness knows what from the Biogen plant I presume.

Friday evening, we popped to Jack's Hill Cafe again this time via Stoke Bruernewhcih is at the opposite end of the Blisworth Tunnel and has much more to offer tourists with it's multiple locks, pubs, reataurants and museum. They were setting up for a WW2 re-enactment which would have been interesting to visit had we not been busy already this weekend.


We set off early on the following Sunday, enjoying the chilly but sunny morning air which the Hot Rod is so fond of, driving through a different part of Northants into Warwickshire and then left into the old Roman road Fosse Way, a dead straight road identifying the Roman influence. We took our usual cross country route to Shakespeare County Raceway in Long Marsden. It was a much more pleasant experience than with the usual bunpy ride in the Land Rover, towing the trailer and dragster. The annual NSRA Hot Rod Drags were in progress, an event we haven't been to for about 10 years, since Paul finished Tot Rodding. It was absolutely rammed with campers, tents and Hot Rods, proof that this event has gone from strength to strength.
The line of Hot Rods and race cars waiting to race was none too shabby either. It was interesting to see so many cars that don't usually come to race meetings. These are people who don't want to take their racing seriously and don't want to or can't afford to pay to be an MSA and race club member, keep their car, helmet and seat belts tagged and so on but still get the chance to have that racing buzz. We had a nice day chilling in the bleachers with Paul and Zoe on her birthday (They came in the mini) and the Stapletons watching the cars go down the track.


Afterwards, we headed up to our hotel at Walton Hall, parked up, covered the car and there it stayed for the next day and a half.  I'd booked it with Secret Escapes and for £190 for 2 nights including breakfast, one evening meal, a bottle of wine, posh afternoon tea in beautiful surroundings, it was excellent value for money and a nice way to spend Dave's birthday.
 This is my review on Trip Advisor:-
 Lovely surroundings, excellent staff
We stayed for two nights in the hotel requesting a quiet room which we were given. The room was comfortable and had a lovely view over the grounds. The decor is a little tired in places but the linen and the things that actually count were spot on. The design of the hotel is a bit odd as you have to go outside to get to the bar/ restaurant/ reception and the signage when you arrive is poor, directing you to the back car park which involves dragging your cases through the bar and upstairs unless you follow our mantra and never get your cases out until you have checked into a hotel! Every single member of staff was friendly, polite, professional and efficient, a credit to the company they work for. They struggled a little to cope in peak hours due to slight understaffing but maintained a professional and calm air throughout. We had one little problem that we brought to the staff's attention and they handled it quickly and efficiently to our satisfaction. (TIP: don't wait until you get home to complain about things on Trip Advisor- problems can generally be resolved at the time if only you tell people.)
It is important to realise that if you book a standard room you will be in the hotel. If you want to stay in the Hall you need to book a deluxe room. (My son and his girlfriend had a deluxe room the previous evening and thought it was fabulous.) The breakfast was very good both in terms of quantity and quality. The evening meals were nice but not special. The complimentary tea and coffee in the leisure centre and bar area was a nice touch. The pizza on the bar menu was very Italian and very good too.  I would recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to get away from it all for a couple of days and as a base for visiting Stratford upon Avon or the surrounding area. We spent the whole time just relaxing in the hotel, using the leisure facilities, walking the grounds and wandering up to the Hall to read the good selection of newspapers they had in the impressive and comfortable drawing room.


Tuesday morning, after packing up the car and posing it around the Estate for a photo shoot, we followed Paul and Zoe's advice and went to find Wellesbourne Mountfield airfield where there is a Vulcan on display. We got permission to drive the car underneath it for another photo opportunity. It looked really small underneath those giant wings, so imagine how tiny the mini looked when Paul and Zoe did the same on the Saturday.  After that it was just another couple of miles into Stratford upon Avon, a bit of power parking in the High Street, much to the delight of the snap happy tourists. How may photos are there of this car in the world? I wonder how many people have seen it in more than one place. Unfortunately we'd missed the window of opportunity to park the car outside Shakespeare's birthplace for a photo so I made do with a shot of the house  from inside the Christmas shop opposite. It tried to rain on and off on the way home. I was tired and confess I didn't enjoy the journey home. I was starting to get that end of season jaded feeling I think.

For the first time in five years we missed a race meeting at Santa Pod this weekend. We didn't feel the need to spectate at the National Finals, especially as the World Canoeing Championships were on at Lee Valley White Water Park in Waltham Abbey. We had a fantastic day watching the world's best male C2 canoeists and female K1 kayakers. It was exciting to watch and reminiscent of our previous visit at the 2012 Olympics, except this team GB didn't pick up any individual medals. We sat in the stands with a big group of French who had plenty to celebrate about  and Slovakians who didn't but made lots of noise any way.
GB were more successful in the team events, picking up a silver in the Women's kayak and a bronze in the men's C2 event. It was quite an art watching three boats at a time "dancing" in sequence through the gates, trying to get down in the fastest time without crashing into the gates or each other. The individual performances were encouraging and bode well for Rio next year. I'm glad we went in the Astra and not the Hot Rod as the queue to get out afterwards was crazy, so much so that we abandoned the car and walked into Waltham Abbey and had a couple of drinks before going home.

To complete an eventful weekend, we were up early again the next morning to enjoy another glorious day. Cruising down the deserted Clapham bypass we spotted a yellow mini coming in the opposite direction, not any old yellow mini but THE mini with Zoe, Paul and Rachel Harrison in it, a surreal moment which made my day. It's great to see them enjoying their car as much as we enjoy ours. Taking the scenic route once again and in honour of our destination we joined the A602 in Hitchin (Hertfordshire)  and followed it through Stevenage until we reached The A602 Car Club Autorama, an annual event held at Fairlands Park in Stevenage. It was a good turnout with over 400 cars, quite a few trade stands, music and a couple of live bands to keep us entertained.
Whilst I'm all in favour of diversity even I question the mindset of someone thinking that anyone wants to look at their 63 plate BMW people carrier on the showground! Happily, the majority of cars were Hot Rods, Americans or Classics. We had a nice day chilling by the car, chatting to friends and wandering around the showground. Janet and Andy were there with their car club, the Peterborough Pushrods and Pistons  club and the the Stapletons too, who joined us on a two car cruise back to Bedford, along the beautiful Embankment to Oakley Club where we met up with Zoe and Paul for a nice drink before coming home. A very satisfactory end to yet another good weekend.

Tuesday 8 September 2015

A chill in the air- 3rd to 6th September 2015



With some pretty cold weather this week, it hasn’t been a good time to take the car out. We did take it to Oakley Club on Thursday so that Dave could show Steve Easton how to drive it but unfortunately Dave had left the choke on (it's very technical, you have to blip the throttle to release it!) and so flooded the engine when he tried to start it. It refused to play ball and the car had to be ignominiously towed home.

After the rain had cleared and the roads dried on Saturday we took the car to Sharnbrook Hotel where it was to be used as a prop for Darren and Colleen Spencer’s wedding. They didn’t need a wedding car as the wedding and reception were in the same place and they had stayed there the night before but it was nice to have something for the photos. I thought the car was a perfect colour to show off Colleen’s beautiful white wedding dress.
Photo by Richard Spinas
When we came back later to collect the car, we got to talking to a group of Swedish FIA officials who had spotted the Supercars in the car par park for the car show the next day. I had a nice long chat with Lars Pettersson about a number of things while the others were having photos taken in the car. He told me he was commentating at Santa Pod. What he didn’t tell me was he is the Vice President of the FIA! It’s amazing the people you get to connect with when you have a beautiful Model A Phaeton to start a conversation.
 
 Friday and Saturday had been a really cold couple of days at Santa Pod where Zoe and I were really questioning why we go. The racing was good but there were a lot of stoppages. By 5 o’clock our faces were turning blue with the cold even though we were dressed for winter. However all was forgiven on the Sunday when we had a perfect day of drag racing for the European Finals race day. The sun shone, it was warm, there wasn’t a single accident or oil down and the racing was full of drama, not least with the Top Fuel event being won by the number 9 alternate car Jari Halinan who had failed to qualify the previous day. It's looking like Stuart Doigne has all but mathematically won the Super Comp championship and a very worthy winner he will be too. We took the Hot Rod with us and parked it in a prominent place in the crew car park where once again it was the centre of much attention. 
 
Photo courtesy of Martin Quince

  Martin Quince showed up when we were there that evening with his grandson. He’d been hoping to sit in Paul’s dragster but I think the Model A was a pretty good substitute for now.

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Somerset - twice in 5 days! 11th to 31st August 2015






We took the Astra on the Tuesday to Somerset to collect Paul’s race car gear box and after discussions with Zane and then Paul we decided to take the engine to be stripped down for a look see. So it was back to Shepton Mallett on Saturday, this time with the Land Rover which proved to be a little challenging partly because the weight of Paul’s small block Chevy made the steering light and the indicator and petrol gauge fuse kept blowing which made the motorway driving interesting especially as it was bumper to bumper coming home. The engine is actually in good shape and extremely well built, it just needs some minor work on it, then it will be dynoed and a new torque converter fitted. It means missing the rest of the racing season but hopefully everything will be in tip top shape for next season. (Should I start the sun dances now to guarantee good weather for next year’s race meetings?)

We did have a nice lunch stop on the way back at Stonehenge sitting on the bonnet of the Land Rover overlooking it and also took the public footpath to get a closer look saving ourselves £17.50 each and a queue for the bus with hordes of other visitors.
 

Sunday was just a quick ride out to AJ’s Diner in Wellingborough. Only a few cars turned up including Andy Sawyer and Pike but the diner and dancing area were very busy.

Monday, Zoe and I sat in the back of the Model A while Paul was in the front for our visit to Barry and Ness’s. It’s actually quite invigorating in the back. You feel like one of those dogs standing up in the back of a pick-up truck or hanging out of the window! We had a lovely evening and once again enjoyed looking at that amazing car collection.

Saturday was a boat trip with OMC on the Ouse on what turned out to be a beautiful, hot sunny day perfect for “messing about on the river” including the moment of high drama when we had a head on collision with a boat coming the other way. Later, we took notice of the incorrect weather forecast and left the car at home instead of taking it to Mick and Karen’s fabulous party.
 
Sunday morning saw us heading off to the Olde Watermill at Barton-le-Clay for a classic car rally in aid of the Pasque Charity there. Shirley and Paul joined us in the Morgan and Pike called in in his Anglia thinking it was a car boot sale and they even clobbered him for a fiver! Then to much excitement the latest acquisition arrived- Paul and Zoe in their little yellow 1981 mini which they bought the day before and drove home from Leeds. It’s a lovely little car and they really “get it” now having been waved at and cheered at by numerous admirers on the way. To see them both in the car on the way home grinning like Cheshire cats was priceless.

The weather wasn't great this week so the car only got one airing. On Saturday Dave took it over to Bletchley where the V8 Owners Club had organised a rolling road. Dave said it was interesting but didn't put the Model A on it as it was only to get a certificate to say how fast it was going not for any adjustments to be made and he finds the screaming of the engines a bit hair raising! When he got home we drove out to Cardington to see the canoe slalom and got home before the rain.

We were supposed to go to the Stars and Stripes event at Rockingham on Bank Holiday Monday but it chucked it down all morning. I felt bad not going when the organisers had gone to so much trouble and expense to put it on but with no side windows or heating it isn't wise to take the car out in the pouring rain especially as there was no respite in sight. Plenty of people did brave the weather though and they are planning to hold the event in july next year to coincide with American Independence Day which does seem a more appropriate date and hopefully the weather will be better.