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I have regs for the Crossley and the Riley events
and have emailed them to those already on my list.
If you would like to receive regulations for any of these events as they appear,
contact me (SAE would be appreciated) or
email me
Nigel Coulter (IR rep for 750MC), Brooklands
Centre, tel. 01428 606753.
These Inter Register Events are great fun, and not
fiercely competitive. They a marvellous opportunity to drive around countryside
you would normally bypass, to see other interesting marques, and in the case of
events like the Nightjar, to keep you fit. Last year 750MC members did pretty
well, winning the team prize at two events, so why not have a go?
Special Invitation – “Battle of Britain” Tour.
Invitation from FIAT Register
VSCC 'Battle of Britain' Touring Assembly - 23
Sept 2007
The Inter-Register clubs have had an invitation from Dick Patten of the FIAT
register to take part in his “Battle of Britain” touring assembly that he is
organising on behalf of the VSCC. It is on September 23rd, starts at Headcorn
Aerodrome and finishes at Shoreham airfield and museum near Tunbridge Wells. Any
car pre-1941 is eligible. I can supply regs or they can be obtained direct from
the VSCC.
“In September 1940, over the fields of Kent, the ‘Battle of Britain’ took place
when the RAF took on the might of the German Luftwaffe. This year’s Kent Tour
will be following a route which touches on part of the history and sites
associated with Sector C of No 11 Group. The route will be starting from
Headcorn Aerodrome, which although not associated with the Battle of Britain,
maintains a strong link with the past with its small aircraft museum. The tour
takes in a number of memorial sites which are not too well known, visits the RAF
Chapel at Biggin Hill, where a guided tour is promised, and finishes at the
small Shoreham Aircraft Museum where there is a ‘period’ tea room. There is no
official lunch stop organised, but the route instructions will indicate a number
of trusted pubs where snacks and meals can be obtained. Two of the pubs are
regular haunts of the local Riley and VSCC evening ‘noggin and natter’ meetings
and another is a well known pub once used by ‘The Few’.”
Click
here for
regs & entry form.
Brooklands Centre
Runnymede Walk
August 2007
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Pensioner Bev
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750 Motor Club HQ
Beaulieu Rally Report
1st July 2007
The 45th 750mc National Austin Seven
Rally took place again this year on 1st July in the grounds of the National
Motor Museum at Beaulieu.
My life had been made much easier this year with Mike Griffiths doing all the
entries, which are on an impressive Excel spreadsheet. Mike Davies organised the
trophies and Gordon Phillips had press-ganged his usual team of judges.
There were various memorable features of the rally. As many of you know, we’ve
had the wettest summer since Austin 7s were invented, which meant that I
received a worried phone call from the Beaulieu people on the Wednesday before
the rally to say that the usual rally field was waterlogged so please could we
hold our rally on the tarmac arena?
We worked out over the phone where we would site the marquee and where we would
put the numerous autojumblers. However, we couldn’t hold our usual driving
tests, even though Tony Chew had decently volunteered to organise. The weather
forecast for the weekend was dire, and I decided that this was going to be the
wettest and most miserable weekend of my entire life. From that moment on, I
started to look forward to it!
On Saturday afternoon, dressed in waterproofs, the usual setting up team of
Martin Eyre, Ian Mason-Smith, Dennis Nicholas, Tony Chew and daughter Penny, and
I gathered on the arena. We improvised with cones and marker boards, and soon
had the arena looking like a decent rally field. We erected the club’s Ezey-Up
signing in tent, which blew over and broke during the night!
Mark Winter and family arrived with his family and catering equipment. By 7pm,
the most fantastic BBQ meal was being dished up to a marquee full of happy
munching Austineers while the heavens opened outside. With some excellent guitar
accompaniment by Nick Salmon, it was a great evening.
Rally day would have dawned had it not been for big black clouds. However, these
dispersed and dozens of happy Seveners gathered and chatted on the arena. Being
so near the museum and cafes was a big plus point, and a lot of museum visitors
were able to look around our cars.
Ken Cooke had arranged an excellent display of Sevens through the ages. Inside
the marquee, th signing-in team did their efficient business while a group of
club stalwards manned the club stand. Our benefactors, RH Classic Car Insurance,
had a constant stream of owners seeking quotes for their ancient and moderns.
The trophies were presented by Lord M himself, although David Charles had to
help prop him up from time to time. The star car of the day was David and Eddie
Williams’ 3 cylinder aero-engine powered A7 Blackburn, which was driven around
the arena during the day. The car won the Cooke’s Cauldron trophy for being the
most interesting car.
I think the British prefer the challenge of lousy weather. Everyone this year
seemed happy, and Mike G and I had several thank you letters, which made it all
worthwhile.
In contrast, when it’s hot, people seem to grumble about unimportant things like
the quality of the ice creams.
Thanks to all of you who braved the elements and helped to make the rally a
success. The rally organising team look forward to seeing you again next year.
Happy Sevening!
By Ian Nelson, Rally Organiser
Brooklands Centre
An Asturian Adventure
16-26 June 2007
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We started our adventure on
Saturday, 16th
June., in the rain. However, that didn’t
deter us, we were too busy negotiating winding, country
lanes, avoiding major routes.
We were to meet up with the
rest of our party, 12 cars in all, ranging from a 1920’s
Rolls to a small Austin Box, at a pub in Seatown, set in
a stunning position alone on a cove on the Dorset
Coastal Path in front of the Golden Gap Pinnacle, a
signal station used by 17th century
smugglers.
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Although Geoff. had spent
many hours preparing our
Austin Seven
and had included about every spare (which limited the
amount of how many pairs of knickers, etc. I could
take!) we weren’t prepared for the ominous sound coming
from the back of our car as we approached our first
stop.
However, we were reassured
when the rest of our party put their heads together.
Most of them had done these trips before and encountered
many problems. Geoff. had decided a week before our
departure to change the wheel nuts as these had never
been replaced. Unfortunately, the new ones had been
badly manufactured so back on went the old ones. This
rectified and we were on our way again, through Lyme
Regis, Branscombe and many beautiful
Dorset villages, skirting
Exeter, down to Dawlish and finally to our Hotel ’Glen
Eagles’ in Torquay - the inspiration behind
Fawlty Towers fame! We had a lovely room overlooking
the bay and enjoyed a well earned, superb meal that
evening, exchanging ’horror’ stories with our fellow
travellers! It would have
been nice to have spent a week there
relaxing, but NO, next morning we were off again. We
followed the route through Brixham and then on to
Kingswear to take the chain ferry across the River Dart
to Dartmouth. Our lunch stop today was the Pilchard
public House on Burgh
Island - a 12th century pub. The
tide was out so we didn’t have to use the tractor on
stilts. After lunch we carried on for the 15 mile run
into Plymouth to board the ferry. (Brittany Ferries) to
Santander.
After finding our cabin and making a reservation in the
excellent restaurant, we relaxed for the night, knowing
our little Austin was also tucked up for the night in
the company of many other classic cars, hundreds of
Harley Davidsons and even lorries and coaches.
We arrived in
Santander
at 12.30 p.m. local time. My navigation skills were at
once tested! After letting through some of our party -
yes, we were diverted! Thankfully, we met a couple of
other cars at our first stop for petrol. One was the
Rolls with sat.nav., so we cheated and snuck in behind
them for a reasonably long drive to our Hotel. We stuck
on the main coastal motorway but it wasn’t nearly as
intimidating to use as those in the U.K. - a lot quieter
and slower traffic. This enabled us to get used to the
Spanish roads. We needn’t have worried - everyone was
so courteous and tooted and waved. They are fascinated
with our cars.
We finally arrived at the
Hotel Halcon Palace
at Cofino
for a three night stay. It was beautiful with amazing
views of the mountains from our bedroom window.
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We were given a champage
reception on our arrival and received excellent service
throughout our stay. We just did short trips for the
next two days - one to the
Mirador del
Fito then dropping down to the coast at
La Isla.
Here we stopped in the village for refreshment and were
soon joined by others from our party in their M.G’s. A
lorry driver stopped to take photographs and was talking
to us enthusiastically. Apparently, he wanted to buy us
all a drink and thankfully there was a German chap
sitting quietly in the corner who translated for us.
Very little English is spoken in this region and,
although we did have a phrase book, that didn’t always
work. But, we did have a lot of laughs, trying out our
Spanish. From there we moved on along the coast to
Ribadesella, a fishing port, popular with
holiday makers. Returning to our hotel, we again had to
make the climb up to the Mirador. By the time we
reached the top, we were seriously boiling up. That
meant a half-hour stop to let the car cool down - that
was helped by an almighty thunder storm. Again many
photographs were taken by a coach party of German
tourists.
Today,
Thursday, 21st
June, we head for the heart of the Cordillera
Cantabrica mountain range for 140 mile journey to our
next Hotel. We decide to stay with Robin (our
organizer) in his Morris Cowley Bullnose as he’s had
experience with some of the roads we were to encounter.
Thankfully, we were one of the first away this morning
and hadn’t gone far when our Austin spluttered and came
to a halt by the side of the road. It wasn’t long
before others from our party were passing and came to
our aid. By this time Robin had returned after
realizing we weren’t behind them. They are a pretty
knowledgable lot and it wasn’t long before water in the
petrol tank was detected. That meant draining the tank
completely. It was quite an amusing sight to see our
car being rocked backwards and forwards to remove the
last dregs of the contaminated fuel. This is on film to
be shown at a future club meeting. Luckily, we always
carried a spare can of petrol. Off we set again and,
after what felt like hours, driving through the Picos
mountains, we eventually had a coffee stop. We had such
a long way to go and Robin wanted to press on so we
didn’t really have an option. After passing
Pola de Lena
we started our climb over the pass (4,000 ft.) with
plenty of hairpin bends along the way. The scenery was
magnificent and we had to make one or two stops while
our car cooled down. I think by this time, my blood
pressure was pretty high too!! I was secretly relieved
when we started our descent only to hear over dinner
that night that, on a previous trip, one couples’ brakes
failed as they were coming down in their Austin Seven!
Anyway, once down Robin said we would stop for
refreshment. Of course, it was Siesta time and
everywhere was very quiet. Finally, Robin stopped but
there didn’t appear to be anywhere open so we asked an
old chap who was interested in our cars if there was
somewhere to eat - you’re never quite sure whether they
understand, or not. However, he beckoned Robin to go
with him while we waited. After a while, back he came
with a banana each and some cherries from his sister’s
house. How Kind! We still had quite a long way to go
and, although I was following my map, Robin appeared to
know where he was going - or did he? There are quite a
lot of new roads being built and are generally good
(thanks to E.U. funding) There are exceptions though
and you sometimes find that the road doesn’t go anywhere
without any warning. Such was the case this afternoon
and we had to backtrack many miles, eventually arriving
at the Hotel with two minutes to spare before dinner.
Everyone was anxious, thinking that we had broken down
again.
Our Hotel for the next
three nights was in the
village of
Soto
(Hotel Las Luinas).
Quite different from the previous one but very nice.
The food was typically Spanish and masses of it - don’t
know whether they had heard that the English have big
appetites. Here again, the village was fascinated with
our cars. After a long day in the car the day before,
we abandoned it and walked to the beach instead. We
ordered lunch in the only place en route. It was rather
a long time coming when suddenly the chap came rushing
in - he’d been to buy the bread (el pan).
The next day we drove a
short way to
Cudillero - another small fishing place. We
had lunch in a very picturesque setting and, as we were
in the Cider (Sidra) area and all the locals around us
were drinking it, we thought we should too. The waiter
holds aloft the crystal-like bottle of cider and pours
it from arms length into a glass without looking. This
is not done just for show but to create bubbles in the
cider which are an essential part of the drinking
process. A leisurely sip is not accepted - Austurian
drinkers usually down it in one! Wine, maybe but we
couldn’t do the cider justice. The port boasts fine
architecture. The oldest buildings are a 13th
century Romanesque chapel - the
Capilla de Humilladero
and the gothic
Iglesia de an Pedro dating from the 16th
century.
Today,
Sunday, 24th
June, we have at least 100 miles to cover
with plenty of sightseeing en route. We arrive at our
Hotel (Playa de la
Franca) in plenty of time to enjoy the
beautiful beach and setting.
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Sadly, only here for one
night before we head back to
Santander
to catch our ferry home.
Monday,
25th June
- Today we have about 50 miles to cover. En route we
stop off at
Santillana
del Mar.
It’s a medieval town with stone paved streets and has
been one of Cantabria’s best known cultural and tourist
centres for decades. Finally, we are back in
Santander
and on the ferry. Not such a pleasant crossing - it was
pretty rough in the Bay of Biscay. Our first newspaper
for over a week reports on all the bad weather in
England. However, we’re lucky again and, as we arrive
in Plymouth, the sun is almost shining. After saying
our goodbyes to the rest of our party, we head towards
Dartmoor and stop at Three Bridges for lunch. We
continue on our way for a B & B stop in
Shaftsbury as
it was a little too far to expect our little Austin
Seven to do the trip in one hit.
Wednesday,
27th June -
We arrive home safely after
driving nearly 1,000 incredible miles without
encountering any real problems.
Would we do it again? Ask
me again in a few months!
June Theobald, Brooklands Centre
Brooklands Centre
The Cobham Austin 7 Trial
29th April 2007
Wendy Coulter
4th place in 'Sports & Specials', Class 3
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Stella Pearce
2nd place in Sports & Specials Class 4 |
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Bob Thompson
8th place - Sports & Specials Class 3 |
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Click here for video and
here for Judy's write-up.
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Cliff
Bradshaw in a 1928 Chummy won The Roger Boore Trophy for
best original specification production car.
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Don Skelton
in a 1930 Sports won The Mike Featherstonhaugh Trophy
for best newcomer to the Cobham Trial.
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Paul Noakes
in a 1934 RP Box won 1st prize in Production/Saloons
Tourers Class 2.
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Eddie
Williams in a 1928 Chummy Special won two trophies: The
Tony Jones Memorial Trophy for best car in SWB
sports/specials Class 3, and The Radiator Trophy for
overall winner.
Click
here for
full table of results.
Inter-Register
Easter Egg Hunt
7th April 2007
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Brooklands Centre
Windsor Museum
March 2007
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Brooklands Centre
New Year's Day
Mon 1st January 2007
We were lucky to
enjoy a bright day with blue skies on New Year's Day.
A few of us went to Brooklands Museum where there was an
array of classic, vintage and veteran cars. Then some
of us moved on to the Barley Mow pub in West Horsley
where more interesting cars had congregated. In fact,
there was a small bemused crowd staring at an unusual sight
in the pub car park - a Cyclecar being loaded into the
back of
a Renault Kangoo and then driven away!
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Claire
Norman - Brooklands Centre
Brooklands Centre
Christmas Meal
Weds 20th December 2006
The Christmas
meal at a French Brasserie in Great Bookham was a lovely
evening enjoyed by all, and 'screaming' balloons added to
the party atmosphere later on in the evening! The
raffle produced some interesting prizes, and we were
relieved delighted to see that the 'Bum Care Kit'
had been thrown back in the raffle by last year's recipient.
Well done Graham Currie for being the lucky recipient this
year! Robin was also delighted with his caterpillar
which will keep his garden gnomes company. He welcomes
any unwanted garden gnomes.
The following
annual club trophies were awarded as follows:
John Oliver
Trophy - Jim Robinson
Out & About
- Graham Currie
Club Member of
the Year - Claire Norman
Newcomer -
Nigel Curtis
Many thanks to
Robin for organising such a great evening.
Claire
Norman - Brooklands Centre
Inter-Register
End of Season Review
2006
I last reported
on events up to the STD Driving Tests at Hungerford 30th July. Since then the
following events have taken place.
Crossley Treasure Hunt – Sunday 1st October – North Yorks
No 750MC or Austin 7 entries in this event.
Riley
Navigational Rally – Saturday 4th November - Worcs
Again, no 750MC entries but Tom Pellow of the Pre War A7
Club, the sole Austin 7 entrant, gained fourth place. Rileys
were first and second and an Alvis was third. The team
positions were 1st Riley, 2nd Alvis, 3rd Humber, 4th STD and
5th PWA7C
ATDC Nightjar
Rally – Saturday 18th November – Surrey/Hants
Out of a fairly low entry of 18 pre-war cars there were
three 750MC entries: Alan and Helen Baker in their 1933 box
were batting for 750MC after their brilliant success in the
Humber Rally at Evesham in July, Ian Nelson and Paul Winter
were in Ian’s Pearl, and Wendy Coulter and her pal Susan
Sorber were in the Coulter’s 1933 Box. Alan was 7th overall
but won the best A7 and the distance award. He and Helen
would have won convincingly had they not done too many clues
and had the two highest scoring ones docked from their
total. Ian and Paul came 9th closely followed by Wendy and
Sue who also won the ladies team prize. 750MC came second in
the team stakes after Humber whose team members came 1st,
2nd, and 4th (that was me in my 12/25 with John Tarring
navigating and two more youthful folk in the back to do the
running).
The Nightjar is a unique event, combining road navigation
with orienteering on foot – at night in dark countryside!
There are 12 map references given, six are for the precise
position of a codeboard sited by the road-side and six are
for the positions of marshals who, once found give you an
orienteering exercise to do. The unmanned codeboards are
worth 30 points each, finding a marshal gains you 20 points
with a further 20, 30 or 40 points for finding the codeboard
depending on the difficulty of the exercise. If you find the
codeboard and return with the answer to the marshal within
20 minutes you get bonus points – one point for every minute
less than 20 taken. Only nine points are to be visited,
anymore than nine and the highest scoring locations are not
counted. Alan Baker and Helen fell foul of this – they
visited eleven locations, did really well but their best two
were wasted. They came seventh.
The orienteering exercises vary – some are a series of
straightforward bearings and distances, others are ulips or
s series of physical features, steps, posts etc to follow.
This year one was a tulip for about 40 metres where a tool
box was found. Inside were further instructions - a map
reference. This meant going back to the car park and
following a different path to get to the required location.
In this case a great deal of physical effort was needed to
climb 150 steps to a view point where the codeboard was at a
triangulation point. It is therefore wise to have somebody
young and/or fit in the crew to run back with the answer.
Another puzzle this year was a number of squiggly lines, a
number at the source and a letter at the other end of the
line. The letters in order spelled “SLUICE”. A map on the
notice board in the car park showed where this sluice was.
The codeboard was up a tree nearby. Usually there is a decoy
board for the unwary, highly visible but not at the proper
point.
Newcomers to the event thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and
it is amazing how quickly four and a half hours speeds by!
The evening finished with a fish & chip supper at the Hook
village hall after which the results and awards were given.
Everyone was away about midnight for the drive home.
We look forward to the 32nd Nightjar next year!
The end-of-year Inter-Register Shield results
It looks as if the Riley Register has won the Inter-Register
Shield for 2006, Alvis second with Humber a very close
third. 750MC came fourth having competed in just three of
the eight events.
Looking at the above results it is clear that for the three
events that there was a 750MC presence, 750MC were the
winning team in two and second in the third. A force to be
reckoned with! If 750MC folk had entered the other five
events, who knows, we could have seen the 750 name on the
Inter Register Shield! It has been shown that even a nominal
presence at events can yield valuable points towards the
Inter-Register Shield.
The Inter-Register Shield is awarded each year to the marque
gaining highest points from the year’s events. For each
event the placings of the highest placed 3 cars from each
Club are summed, the lowest total for a team of 3 being the
winning team for the event.
Click here for Inter-Register events 2007. I will
circulate the regs for all of next year’s events as soon as
I receive them. I currently circulate by email or post to a
few club members so if you would like to be included on the
circulation please
email me.
Nigel Coulter –
750MC Inter-Register rep.
If you would like to know more about Inter-Register events, please
email Nigel
Brooklands Centre
Brooklands
Cemetary Tour
Sunday 8th October 2006
On Sunday 8th October, a large group of us had a lovely
Sunday roast dinner at the Royal Oak Pub in Pirbright, then
we tootled off in our Austins to Brookwood Cemetary in
Pirbright, where we were given a tour by the author John
Clarke. The Cemetary hosts the world’s first funeral line,
is the largest cemetary in the UK, has the oldest Muslim
cemetery, has a beautiful orthodox church, a unique
Zoroastrian1 burial ground and is shortly to be a World
Heritage Site.
Brookwood Cemetery is the largest privately owned burial
ground in Britain and remains the largest Cemetery in the
UK, and is probably the biggest in Western Europe. An
unusual feature of Brookwood Cemetery was that it had its
own private railway running through the grounds. The main
reason for this was that the Cemetery was over 25 miles from
central London, and the only convenient method of
transporting coffins and mourners was by the London & South
Western Railway. The funeral trains began to operate in
1854, see our website www.750motorclubbrooklands.org.uk for
a fascinating article on the world’s first funeral line.
The Saint Edward Brotherhood was established at Brookwood
Cemetary to prepare and care for the Church in which the
sacred relics of Saint Edward the Martyr (King of England in
975) were to be enshrined. A small monastic community chants
the services of the Church daily at the Shrine. The Rabbi
spent much time with us explaining all about the church
which was fascinating. This small church is very pretty and
serene with icons covering the walls and a faint hint of
incense wafting through the building.
After the tour had finished I gave our tour guide John
Clarke a cheque but instead of accepting this payment for
his services, he asked me to make the cheque payable to the
Orthodox Church as they are trying to raise money for a new
roof next year as their current one is leaking. I’m sure the
group will be delighted when they learn this. (Claire will
also ask the Committee if we can send a small token to John
to show our gratitude for his time with us).
The group thoroughly enjoyed this rather unusual tour and
Stephen Lloyd was especially tickled when he asked John
jokingly how to reserve a plot in the cemetery. John thought
Stephen was being serious and gave him the telephone number
to call!
As the cemetery is vast, a two hour guided tour only covered
the railway, the church and some important graves. I will
arrange for John to show us round the military cemeteries
next year at Brookwood, so keep an eye out for this event on
next year’s calendar at www.750motorclubbrooklands.org.uk
Many thanks to Judith Weeks and Judy Norman for having us
all back at The Weeks afterwards for tea and splendid cakes.
Claire
Norman - Brooklands Centre
Brooklands Centre
The
Alternative Autumn Amble - Italy!
September 2006
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Molly enjoying a beer
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Thursday 7th
We set off in our normal rush, to meet Nod and Judy at Robins at the arranged
time of 10.15 am. On arrival we found that Robin was still at his office, so we
transferred our luggage into Nods car and continued on our way to Gatwick
Airport. Due to extra security we arrived in plenty of time, ‘checked in’ and
awaited our flight, which departed on time. On arrival at Milan (Linate) airport
the first thing that hit us was the heat and humidity of the weather when we
stepped off the plane. As cars were being hired for the rest of our holiday, we
all made our way to the allotted rental area, deposited our luggage in the
appropriate cars, and set off for Tremezzo which was situated half way up the
western shore of Lake Como. This journey took rather longer than anticipated and
after an argument with a paving stone, which really made a mess of the hubcap,
we finally reached our hotel at approximately 7.45pm. After ‘checking in’ we
hurriedly dumped our luggage and went down for our evening meal, which we had on
the terrace overlooking the lake. During this time, we were lucky to see a
splendid sight of the eclipse of the moon. As exercise had been in short supply,
some of us went for an evening stroll before retiring. Sleep, of course, does
not come easily in a strange bed and we were further hindered by the most noisy
and spectacular thunderstorm, which Jane and Brian managed to sleep through!
(Although I hasten to add, not together!)
Friday 8th
It had been suggested by our illustrious leader that we forsake the cars and
take to the water ferries on Lake Como for the day, to which everyone readily
agreed. The first ferry departed at 10.00 am and we headed for Bellagio,
(favoured by Sir Winston Churchill). Here we were able to take partake in liquid
refreshments and had time to take a quick look around, before boarding another
ferry to Cernobbio for a typical Italian lunch. It was here that Judy decided to
‘try out’ the Gents, being completely unaware that she was doing so until a male
member of our group caught her in the act! The meal was lovely and it was
recommended by our waitress that we pay a visit to the local Gelateria (ice
cream shop), which she said, was the ‘best in town’. She was right; the ice
cream was absolutely delicious. From Cernobbio we caught another ferry to Como.
where some of us decided to take the Furnicular up the mountains, with the
expectations of seeing a spectacular view of Lake Como, only to be disappointed
due to the amount of greenery, The others took a general look around the shops
and shore of the lake, before boarding another ferry to take us back to Tremezzo.
During the evening meal, we were once again entertained by some spectacular
lightening over the lake. This was followed by an evening stroll and then an
hour of madness on the dance floor. Bob became the singer, and Robin (along with
others) became the backing group. Somehow or other, us handful of Brits managed
to ‘liven up’ the evening for the French folk that had been sitting around all
evening and we found ourselves singing and dancing together and having a great
time. I understand from others in our group that we did make quite a lot of
noise, but it was rather fun.
Saturday 9th
Woke once again to beautiful weather, breakfasted and set off in our cars for a
trip to Lake Maggiore. This journey was pleasant and involved crossing into
Switzerland. It was decided to luncheon at a Ristaurante in Lugano.
Unfortunately, although the food was acceptable, the waiters left a lot to be
desired! We found that generally the Italians are lovely friendly people but
these two waiters couldn’t even crack a smile! We continued on our way, reaching
Lake Maggiore at such a late time in the afternoon that it was decided that
there would not be time to visit Stressa and Baveno by ferry as was originally
planned, so we had a quick drink and ice cream before returning to our cars for
the return journey. After our evening meal, some of us, once again, went for our
evening stroll and was entertained by the most spectacular firework display
coming from a barge in the centre of the lake. The reflections in the water made
the whole display doubly spectacular!
Sunday 10th
Having spent most of Saturday in the car, some of us decided against travelling
to our next hotel in Fasano del Garda via Verona, and opted for the country
mountainous route instead. This turned out to be quite different from our
expectations. The first part of the journey took us through the foot of the
mountains, which was very flat and industrial, into Sondrio, where we stopped
for coffee in Garibaldi Square. Nod decided to use their facilities, thought he
was flushing the loo after use, only to find that he had pulled the emergency
switch instead. Fortunately he was fully clothed by the time the young lady went
to his rescue! We continued on our journey much refreshed, climbing all the way
up the mountain range to a place called Aprica where we stopped for a typical
Italian lunch. We then continued climbing through the Italian Alps, where the
architecture was very Swiss in appearance before winding our way down. These
roads were, for the most part, single track, full of hairpin bends with a sheer
drop to one side and not many barriers. If that wasn’t enough to contend with,
we also had crazy Italian motor cyclists (hundreds of them) racing at brake neck
speeds, defying death and coming from all directions. The whole experience of
this beautiful scenic route was actually quite frightening, and I for one, was
very pleased to arrive safely at our hotel by Lake Garda. The rest of the
evening was spent over an evening meal and a walk to the local bar, where much
hilarity took place.
Monday 11th
Once again, some of us decided to rebel (sorry Robin) and stay in Fasano for a
leisurely day. The weather was beautiful and we simply took our time strolling
along the road studying the beautiful Italian buildings the clear waters of the
lake and we just generally ‘chilled out’. We strolled around the Botanical
Gardens in Fasano (where Pam managed to get a good soaking from one of the
sculptures set in the grounds), admired the trees, plants, shrubs and the use of
natural materials that had been used in many places to make sculptures, bridges
etc.We then partook of a leisurely meal on the water front, decided that taking
a ferry across the lake was too much like hard work so fed the fish and ducks
instead before returning to our hotel. Roland and Roger decided to swim whilst
the remainder of our group rested on the sun beds. This nice relaxing way stayed
with us through to the end of the evening, before retiring to our beds.
Tuesday 12th
The flight out of Milan (Linate) airport left at 16.40. Thinking this would give
us plenty of time to do a little sightseeing on the way, we stopped for morning
coffee at a lovely little spot called Salo. From there we travelled to Sirmione
for lunch. This, although very nice, was very touristy and time did not allow
for us to eat, so we made our way to Milan on the motorway (autostrado). Never
again. It was one of the most scariest rides I have ever had. The lorry drivers
left an awful lot to be desired and if they saw a gap of just a couple of feet,
in they swerved. I found it to be most unnerving and was glad that we were in a
modern car and not an Austin Seven! The weather for the flight home was
extremely clear, allowing us to see land most of the way. Apart from Jane
developing a cold, Mollie being pestered by a tramp, the Noakes getting confused
in the toilets, Betty having trouble with food spillage down her clothes, Bob’s
badly dented hubcap, Stephen nearly losing Joyce to a French man, Brian leaving
an almost full bottle of Whisky at the first hotel and Richard putting too much
faith into his new Satnav, I think I can safely say that we all had a smashing
time. Thanks Robin.
Click
here to read my
poem!
Jean Smith - Brooklands Centre
Inter-Register
Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register Driving Tests
30th July 2006
What a super event! Rather a low entry, only one A7 – Tom Pellow who is
the Inter-Register rep from the Pre-War A7 Club. I was pleased to be in the
winning Humber team. There was a splendid 30 mile round trip to the pub
for lunch where you had to identify the locations of photographs. ( It was
much easier if you took your own photos on the way round!). The driving
tests included the usual width and parking tests, a blindfold judgement test and
a “Miss the squeaky chickens” test.
Overall 750MC are lying fourth in the Inter-Register Shield behind Riley, Alvis,
and Humber. Attendance at the remaining Inter-Register events could well
improve this. The Nightjar is usually well attended by 750MC folk so why
not join them and have a bit of mildly competitive fun?
Nigel Coulter –
750MC Inter-Register rep.
If you would like to know more about Inter-Register events, please
email Nigel
Inter-Register
Ripley Event and Gymkhana
22nd July 2006
Although strictly not an Inter-Register event everyone was invited. Jim
Robinson in his Pearl, and son-in-law Alan Larby in his recently acquired Ruby
took part in the gymkhana – in the rain! Also taking part but not in their
Austins were Bev Keable in the Morris Cowley, Ian Nelson in his Austin Somerset
convertible, and Judy Norman passengering Jacqui Crouch in Jacqui’s Morris Minor
rag-topped jelly mould.
Results: |
.JPG)
.jpg "Three old tramps (Bev, Len & Martin)")
.jpg "Bev with holiday reading")
.jpg "Geoff tinkering with an audience")
.jpg "Trying to keep up with the Robinsons")
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