Miscellany, October 2001

Hero’s Le Jog Land’s End to John o’Groats Trial for Historic and Classic cars on December 6/9, in conjunction with Classic and Sports Car, is already receiving entries. Oldest cars so far are a 12/50 Alvis and a Bentley 3/41A. Later cars from regular entrants include Porsche 356, MG-A and Austin-Healey.

Oh Joy! Oh Joy!The Brooklands Museum is arranging Christmas jollies which are to include an Oscar Night, a cabaret and jazz evening, and a New Year’s Spectacular, expected to draw 250 guests between November 30 and December 31. Prices range from £55 per person for a meal on Oscar night to £75 on New Year’s Eve. Rather different from a pre-war Boxing Day when I went to collect a Palmer Special test-car from Brooklands Aerodrome and waited all that pouring-wet day, but it never turned up! Only other chap was an equally miserable petrol-pump attendant, there in case “a gent wanted his aeroplane filled”, but none did…

The one-make club publications provide interesting glimpses of history; for instance the current issue of the Bullnose Morris Club’s magazine deals with Morris’s place in light motor transport in the later 1920s, with both bullnose and flat-radiator vans, salon-bus and 14-seater char-a-banc, and the 25/30cvvt truck which followed the Morris one-tonner. The Citroën CC’s Citroënian covers all models, from 2 and 3hp cars to the Xantias,with a rear-wheel drive register for earlier models like the attractive 5CV etc.

The VSCC hopes to be able to hold its relaxing driving tests at Madresfield, near Malvern, a one-time speed-trial course,on September 23.