Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

STILL in the UK! Eight months served and just four to go then Bridget and I will be free to wander again. However we have no firm plans for a specific run of the type we have done in the past, but will be partaking in a number of MG Car Club events. The club have just announced that we will be running up to four holiday tours in Europe next year with Bridget acting as Tour Leader. The first will be around France, Provence in particular, during May. This will be followed by two tours in Italy and the final one visiting the Bavarian Castles of Germany. This will give us something to do for the summer, but we want to do something for the more adventurous enthusiast during the winter of 2015. So, if you have followed Bridget's adventures on here in the past and thought to yourselves, "I would like to try that", then this could be your chance. We are seeking...
Read More
Finale

Finale

Firstly my apologies for the delay in posting this 'end of run' blog. After nine months away from home there are so many things that demand attention that I quite forgot that, according to this page, I was still in deepest France. I spent three very pleasent days in Blaymont with my cousin and her husband and did absolutely nothing to the car other than a cursory check of the oil and water levels. The steering still felt secure so I assumed the kingpin was holding up. There are several different routes from Blaymont back to the UK and I surveyed the different ferries available before deciding that I would drive all the way up to Calais and use either EuroTunnel or a ferry. Bridget and I set off for Le Mans using minor roads rather than the main highways. The weather was dry and for the most part sunny, but I didn't drop the hood. Bridget was rather laden down with too many...
Read More
Home Run – 1st Leg

Home Run – 1st Leg

The run home has not started particularly well. Transmediterranea Acciona, the ferry company operating the original ferry service between Cadiz and the Canary Islands, is an un-principled operator with no concern for its customers. In full knowledge of the detrimental effect that sea water has on the bodywork of automobiles they insist on placing their customers cars on the open deck of their ferries. Bridget has a glazed coating of crystallised salt thanks to Transmediterranea. To anyone thinking of taking a ferry to the Canaries I would strongly recommend the alternative company that operates. We arrived in Cadiz and disembarked at 12:30 on Monday. From there we drove the eighty miles to Seville, my first overnight of the run. Bridget and I visited Seville on our first ever run together in 2006 and I was scathing in my summing up of the city. Although I only had a few hours to explore I have to say my previous comments were both...
Read More
Back To The Future

Back To The Future

Sorry for my prolonged absence. It has been so long that I couldn’t remember what my last post covered and had to go on site to see. Anyway, we have had an eventful few days in France and another of those “Bridget should never have made it” moments, followed by Moss Europe digging us out of the clag again! They must be fed-up with us by now, but they continue assisting. After the wonderful run through the Selvio Pass and a couple of nights at Terisimo we continued in the general direction of France. My regulars will know the high esteem that I hold France in, and I suddenly had an unaccountable urge (possibly connected to a surfeit of wine) to visit my cousin in Blaymont, Lot and Garonne. Although they had other family already there, they were, of course, delighted to be honoured with a visit. A number of times I was unable to ignore an aweful banging when I started...
Read More
First 1,000 Miles

First 1,000 Miles

The planning was over, the route confirmed, all the paperwork was completed and even following a late health scare for Chris, from which he was given the all clear 4 days before the departure, our African Odyssey adventure was beginning. The weather forecast for Sunday 11th September was atrocious but the God’s changed their minds and although the winds were gusting at up to 45 miles per hour the sun managed to shine for much of the day. MG’s started gathering in the Abingdon Town square a little before midday and before the official flag eventually dropped at around 3:30pm there were at least 30 MG’s of differing vintage. Both Chris and I were kept busy chatting, not just to the many club supports, but also to interested passers-by. One particular senior lady approached on her mobility scooter and asked if she could escort us! Her scooter was capable of 8 mph and she had lived in North Africa for many years...
Read More