A short season

Little did I know when I drafted my post about Studley that this was likely to be the first and last road trip of the year. At that time, our diary was full of car events and road trips. However, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that and here we are 7 weeks into lockdown and no end in sight while the country, and indeed the world, tries to eradicate Covid 19 disease.

One by one, our events have been crossed out of the diary:

5th April NSRA Drive Out around Northamptonshire
18th April MK Classic Tour which included a lap of Millbrook  proving ground
25th April Sally and Jason Woolner's 10th anniversary party in Yaxley
1st May Pre 49 weekend to Derbyshire (rescheduled for next year)
Others have been postponed even though we are not there yet including
NSRA Fun Run
Holmfirth Motor Festival
and of course all the Santa Pod fixtures, which we had planned to miss this anyway but weren't expecting 30000 other people to join us too! Other things we had planned, like the Changing of the Guard have gone too. We are left with the Supernats in August and Isle of Man in September but we won't be too disappointed if they don't go ahead. We have written the year off and are making the most of it at home. Dave has been doing some work on his van, I have sorned the Beetle and the Astra just gets a weekly trip out to the supermarket.

The Phaeton has had two trips out from the shed though- one on my birthday when Dave washed and polished it to chauffeur me down the garden for my 60th birthday meal, which was a lot of fun and then on VE Day, 8th May to commemorate the 75th anniversary, it was parked in our front garden where we enjoyed a nice afternoon tea and received a number of appreciative comments from people walking by.

Warwickshire in January

Studley Castle

Studley Castle Spa

Our first road trip of the year, only 10 days in was to Warner’s Studley Castle in Warwickshire, just over an hour and a half away in the Astra, to celebrate our 30^th Wedding Anniversary. My latest Trip Advisor review:

The new jewel in Warner's crown!

Review of Studley Castle Hotel

Our 3 day weekend break was superb. The hotel and grounds are impressive and the money spent on it has taken into consideration everything a Warner's customer may want. The staff were mostly young, local people and all were polite, hardworking and friendly. Our stables room was quiet and comfortable, near to the luxurious Spa which we made full use of. There were plenty of excellent activities - Pilates, cycle spin, quizzes, a cosy little cinema all of which I took part in plus archery, shooting, boules and table tennis which I didn't do. The dining/ entertainments room is well designed to give a clear view of the stage and we were well looked after by the entertainments team, who performed songs from the 60's up to today's music; Madness by Badness who really got the audience going and a funny comedian (the two words don't always go together!). The food was excellent: a combination of buffet style and cooking to order at a cooking station. In theory a nice touch was the a la carte restaurant which we could use once and was included in the price but on reflection I wish we hadn't. The tables were too close together in a regimented style and the lighting bright so it felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. The food and ambience in the main area was nicer (unless you are in a big group when you can take advantage of the fabulous private dining room). The age range was wider than we normally see at Warner's and none the worse for that. It now puts us in the middle age group instead of the youngest. There was plenty to keep the younger people happy but the traditional clientele were still well catered for. We will be back!

We usually explore the area but this time just relaxed and enjoyed the facilities on offer. 

Meanwhile Paul was just a few miles down the road at the NEC Autosport International. He was ferrying Emma Walsh from Made in Chelsea in the two seater dragster all weekend, doing burnouts in the Live Action Arena. It seemed to be well received and gave yet more kudos to the sport of drag racing.

 Photo by Callum Pudge

Late season antics

Every year the last few months of my road trip blog get forgotten and then I have to do it from memory in the New Year!

Greenlight Nationals Santa Pod
 

Saturday 17th and Sunday18th August 2019

 

Following on from Zoe's successful bid to get her licence, Paul and Zoe had an excellent weekend at the Green Light Nationals doing exhibition runs. Zoe lowered her PB down to 9.17 @ 142mph and made massive progress.   

Hythe, Kent

 Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd August 2019

Some time ago I read about the bi-annual Venetian Fete. For some reason I thought it was on the Regent's Canal in London but even when I realised it was in Hythe, Kent I thought it might be worth a look. Although I booked it months previously, we were lucky to have fabulous weather for our two day trip in the Astra.  The Venetian Fete was on the Royal Military Canal (built about 1800 to help keep Napoleon out of England). It was a nice event aimed mostly at Kentish locals and had a good family atmosphere about it. We enjoyed it and the fireworks (as well as our fish and chips) but have been spoilt by the much bigger and more spectacular Bedford River Festival. The next day we enjoyed a walking tour around Hythe with a knowledgeable guide - even visiting the rather macabre ossuary at St Leonard's Church. Hythe is a lovely, genteel seaside town spoilt only by the M25 which separates us from it.

 Bank Holiday Weekend 

24th - 26th August 2019

Another weekend in this fabulous county we live in. Twinwood Festival, Hot Rod Hop, back to Twinwood Festival, evening at the RSPB for the always brilliant Pantaloons- playing an hilarious version of "Sense and Sensibility" (with me invited on stage to play the miniscule part of Mrs Dashwood!) and on Bank Holiday Monday we popped across the border to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire for a classic car show with Shirley, Paul, Janet and Andy. Phew what a scorcher!

Hot Rod Hop

 

 Twinwood Festival 

 
Knebworth Classic Car Show

A602's Autorama and Great Yarmouth

Saturday 31st August and Sunday 1st September 2019

We went along to the A602's Autorama on Saturday, chilled in the morning and then went on the short cruise through Stevenage to a local pub for lunch. Nipper was in the front of the Phaeton with Dave, while Maria and I were blown to bits on the return journey down the A1!

 

Next day we decided to take advantage of the continued good weather and headed off for Gt Yarmouth in the Hot Rod and had the most expensive fish and chips in the world- £65 for diesel, £220 for the fuel doctor, £90 for petrol and £12.50 for the fish and chips! Unfortunately Dave filled the Phaeton up with diesel and so we broke down shortly after on the A47. We finally arrived at the Seafront and were glad we made the effort. Once again Yarmouth Council had organised a great event, supported by Joyland Diner and i think the Kings Lynn Pirates. We got the last available parking space on the prom and enjoyed walking and looking at the cars. We took advantage of the and booked a night in the Palm Court. Luckily the car started again the next morning but our luck didn't hold out. Soon after we'd topped up the petrol we broke down on our return journey home and it took us until 5 pm to get home via 3 break down recovery trucks!

Eurofinals Santa Pod

Thursday 5th-8th September 2019

 

What can I say? Zoe was out there in front of 30,000 spectators doing what most of them would like to do but instead have to settle for watching the racing. In her first competitive race weekend, she qualified in a more than respectable 13th out of 30, did a PB of 8.94 seconds over the quarter mile and went out in round one of eliminations with a teeny red light of 0.0055 against the eventual event winner and national championship contender, Ben Newsome. I am so impressed with this girl for getting out there and doing it.  Meanwhile Paul was driving the two-seater dragster all weekend, taking 18 passengers for a thrill ride, including his Auntie Janet. Last but by no means least our friend and pit comrade, Andy Harrison got to the final of Super Gas and was narrowly beaten by seasoned racer Collin Morrice.

Cricket St Thomas, Somerset 

Friday 13th- Monday 16th September 2019

Some things are written in the stars. I tried to book a last minute break at a Warner hotel to celebrate Dave's 65th birthday, but all the hotels were fully booked. A couple of hours later, Dave checked again and one room had opened up due to a cancellation, at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset. It was only when we arrived that we remembered this is the place we brought Les,11 years ago, almost to the day. Les could be difficult at times but on this holiday he was an absolute pleasure to be around and we all loved the weekend. Les shared Dave's birthday until he passed away in May of this year. All weekend we were reminded of him and so it felt like Les shared Dave's special birthday with him after all!
This trip was in the Astra and we spent much of the time at the hotel but also ventured out to the coast, taking Lyme Regis and Beer in. We also had a nice trip on the West Somerset Steam Railway from Bishops Lydeard to Minehead and joined in the 40's weekend fun.

National Finals Santa Pod
 
 Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September

Well that was a first- leaving a Santa Pod race meeting on a Saturday afternoon. Zoe and Team Paul Brown Motorsport withdrew from National Finals as the dragster had been sold! Meanwhile, Paul was enjoying taking passengers for a thrill ride at 170 mph in the two-seater dragster. The new owner Chloe Wilkins will debut the car in Pro ET next season. Rumour has it, the dragster will be pink when it returns to the track.

Custom Car Magazine - article by me!

My article and photos about the American Theme Night and Yarmouth Wheels Festival was published in Custom Car in September as follows:

American Independence Day and Great Yarmouth – it’s not often you see that in one phrase!

We started our long weekend at our local sports and social club in Oakley, Bedfordshire for our annual American Theme Night. Always held on the first Thursday of July, this time it fell on the 4^th July - Independence Day, so the boat was well and truly pushed out for the occasion. Over 100 Hot Rods, American cars and Santa Pod’s Roaring Rat turned up as well as 529 motorbikes (The event was organised by Oakley Motorbike Club and Dave Brown). The Blues Brothers came along and put on a great show and what with the sunshine, the funfair for the kids, the beer and the barbeque on the go, the only thing that was missing was fireworks!  

Next morning saw us begin our 250 mile round trip to Great Yarmouth in our Model A Phaeton, an easy journey and a fun run with sister in law Shirley in her ’32 Model B. Our cars were given a final bit of spit and polish before being displayed in the NSRA Marquee at Joyland Diner for the weekend as part of the Great Yarmouth Wheels Festival. Suffice to say the 18 cars supplied by NSRA members went down a storm with the general public and we too had a fabulous weekend, on Sunday especially. All sorts of cars were parked along the prom; there were sideshows; music; trade stalls and a great atmosphere, all right next to the beach. Oh and fireworks too! 

And that was it for the season. The Hot Rod and Beetle are packed away for the winter, the dragster and trailer are gone and the Land Rover will be up for sale next week. Next season will be different. We won't be going to Santa Pod even though Paul will hopefully be driving the two seater dragster again. We already have trips planned - NSRA pre 49 weekend to The Peak District, Isle of Man, Holmfirth. We intend to focus on events we haven't been to before. The Fun Run is returning to Rutland so in all likelihood we will only be going on the Sunday. Bring it all on!