Bank Holiday outings

Had my father down from York for his bank holiday weekend visit, in an effort to keep him occupied we tend to go on outings to various steam orientated places or museums. The first place we went on Saturday was Leiston Longshop Museum at Leiston, Suffolk. The museum is in the remains of the early works of Richard Garrett Engineering, maker of Steam Engines, Traction Engines, Steam lorries and general engineers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Garrett_%26_Sons
This is only a small museum but the visit was interesting, Richard Garrett and family where very entrepreneurial, the company ran from 1778 to closure in 1981 with a whole range of products from small agricultural tools to large steam and diesel engines and in the companies final guise manufactured engineering machines, laundry machines and plastic manufacturing equipment.


The long shop was the first example in the UK of a "Flow" production
line inspired by a meeting with Henry Ford at a trade show, sub assemblies
been produced on an upstairs gallery, then lowered and assembled
in a flow line below.



View from Long Shop gallery.

"Sirapite" Leiston works unusual shunting engine.

After spending some time at the museum we went for a radioactive lunch at Sizewell beach cafe just yards from Sizewell "A" and "B" Nuclear reactors.

Grey day at Sizewell. De-commissioned Sizewell "A" in foreground,
Sizewell "B" in round dome behond. Plenty of beach fisherman
catching fish, probably due to cooling water raising the temperature of the sea.

Sunday we all went to Gressenhall Workhouse and Farm Museum which was holding a war weekend, so a lot of military vehicles on show, both ladies and gents all dressed up in 1930's uniforms and civvies.
Another interesting museum, telling the story of the Workhouse and inhabitants, interesting tales of Norfolk village life, and with the farm showing early farming methods.

Village shop.

Supposedly the oldest working car in Norfolk - Panhard Et Levesor.

Farm equipment from local farms.

Playing soldiers.

Pretty realistic outpost.

Real rat down on the farm.

Front of the workhouse.

Monday it was back to steam related stuff with a visit to Forncett Industrial Steam Museum, this was a bank holiday remember, and it was shut! Fortunately the owners wife was about and as we had made a special journey, although not that far, she opened up for father and I with a short guided tour.
An interesting history to the place, the owners father had built the Wells and Walsingham Light Railway so the son decided to restore a small industrial steam engine in his garden shed as a hobby, the hobby grew and the garden shed is now the museum, once his interest was known he was offered further engines, these getting bigger and bigger and the museum was literally built around the engines.

Its shut dad!

Vickers Armstrong engine used as standy for raising London's Tower Bridge.

Woolf Compound beam engine from a Yorkshire waterworks.




Robey Tandem mill engine from Sleaford Maltings, used to power mill grinders and equipment.

 


















Good to have the personal tour and hear some of the stories of how the engines where donated and put together on site with just a handfull of friends and family. Just a pity it was not a steam up day which is generally on the first Sunday of each month. Every engine is worked in sequence on steam up days and all powered by steam from an industrial boiler, some museums use compressed air to drive their machines.

After the museum we had a tour of the area in the TR7. We where actually looking for a herb farm but took a wrong turn down this chaps drive!

Rather nice pad, Rainthorpe Hall, beat a hasty retreat in case he set the
gamekeepers on us.

After lunch on Monday we then went on a bike ride, now dad is 76, me 55, dad still rides everywhere and left me standing, gasping for breath and with akey legs after at least a 15 mile ride.

Alburgh Church.

So that was it, a lovely weekend over, dad cycled from Harleston to Thetford train station on Tuesday morning, around 30 miles! I could hardly sit down at work!

Stonham Barns Car show.

Another weekend, another show, this time at Stonham Barns, this show nearer to Ipswich is worth attending and has grown over the last couple of years. Another nice day, enjoyed good roof down motoring to the event for a 9-30 start, the same as most shows nowadays due to H & S requirements, then time to set up the gazebo and club stand and off on the bacon buttie hunt.
Quite sunny and warm today, we had a couple of casualties at the show early on, both Pauline and Sue stung by wasps but OK after antihistamines and spray. Lots of the little buggers flying around, there is an orchard near which may have attracted them.
Quite a large auto jumble in the showground to look at as well as cars, and outside the showground is the Stonham shopping complex and a large car boot sale.
Lots of interesting cars to view this year, as the show is nearer to Ipswich we see some cars not usually seen at Norfolk shows.

Usual Club Stand photo, looks like flag is going to fall down, it did.

Rare AC Aceca.

Paul got in the ring with his Vittesse engined Herald.

As did Alan in his Stag.

Peerless GT, produced around TR3 components.

Another rare Japanese classic, Honda S800.

Bit of a red theme here, another rare car, Fiat 124 Spyder.

Now we are getting real rare, think the one on the left is a Singer Bantam
Nine and the one on the right is a 1934 Singer Nine Le Mans.

More red, Lancia Fulvia S.

Suffolk Landrover Club had a course laid out in the wood, with ditches, humps, and rough ground where for a small fee for charity you could have a passenger ride in a Landie. I used to work at Marshalls of Cambridge, military vehicles division where we converted many 101 series Forward Control Landrovers into Ambulances, Rapier missile control units, Blindfire Radar units, etc so I coughed up and was driven round the course in the 101. Then off course gill had to have a go too.

Landrover 101 Forward control, not the original Rover V8 engine in this,
apparently many are modified with Isuzu engines. Gill in the passenger seat.

Up she goes.

Down she comes with a bang.

Another good day out in the sun, getting near the end of the season now, so not many shows to go.

Norfolk Motor Show

Another new show on the agenda for this year This one is the Norfolk Motor Show, a mixture of classic cars, some 200 shown on the Sunday, and lots of modern motors shown by Norfolk's main car dealers. Some of our members attended on the Saturday, a windy and blustery day, and a few more members on Sunday, which was the better day for attendance and weather. Quite a large event, using part of the Norwich Showground, bacon butties where good, best value for a while.
A few pics of cars that caught my eye.

Riley.

Opel Manta GTE.

Vauxhall Victor.

Rare to see a Japanese classic, Toyota Cresta.

Genuine Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, not the one owned by Chris Evans.
But used in the film, powered by Ford V6.

Gill and I had a good look around all the new cars, the new Mazda MX5 looked massive compared to its predecessors, seems to be a general trend with new cars. The new Mini 4 wheel drives I thought where ugly boxes, same as the new Cooper. I quite liked the look of the Toyota GT86.
Also had a look in some Fiat motor-homes which where quite impressive but wow, are they expensive!

Gill fancies a Vauxhall Cascada to replace her Astra Bertone Cabriolet,
she is not getting one.

I rather fancied a Lambo. Nor I one of these.

Nice Albion bus.

Lots of Austin 7's.

Alvis TD21.

Another interesting show with lots to see and do and a good day out in the sun, another show this coming weekend.

Helmingham Festival

Its been a while since I posted anything here although we have been quite busy at weekends, we had our normal treasure hunt a few weeks ago, which sadly was not well attended. We usually do this for charity and invite other clubs such as Norfolk Stag Owners and TR Register, but as Club Triumph are MSA affiliated I was not allowed to advertise or run the Event under the Club Triumph name without a MSA certificate and the relevant charge to the MSA.  I flatly refuse to do this for a fun, non competitive, local event, so no money to charity this year as with only a few friends attending I could not really charge. We wont be doing another while Club Triumph insist on this.
Had a couple of hot weekends where we had started decorating, so had to finish this, which curtailed driving the TR.
Oh, and I changed the axle again one weekend, still only marginal improvement in noise.
Finally got out this weekend to Helmingham Hall Festival of Classics, Gill and I had a break from this last year as we where on the narrowboat. The event was packed this year, lots of the general public attending.

Packed Helmingham.

Helmingham has a lot of top end Classics and moderns on show, they pay extra admission to park in a concours area in front of the hall, like a mini Goodwood, they have their own club bar and eating area.

Some of the cars in front of the hall follows.

Jenson Interceptor 111

Aston Martin DB5

Jaguar XJ220.

Hall and Moat.

Bentley's and Roller's.

Us poorer souls had to park in the Club area, quite a few clubs this year with an amount of muscle cars, plenty of Viper, TVR's, Porsche, Jags, Lotus, Mustangs,and the usual Pistonheads.com bunch with all sorts of modern muscle.

TVR Tasmins.

Lotus Esprit.

And on the Wedge theme, TR7 in amongst the 6's.

   

Jaguar E types.

Stag Pickup, why would you do this?

Down the driveway to the hall there was the usual drive for those who had contributed, this year to EACH, the children's hospice supported by Kate Middleton. Faster, more modern cars in the morning, and the more prestige in the afternoon.

Rolls on a more sedate run down the drive.

No excuse for showing the Interceptor again.

Another nice summers day and a good show. Usual enjoyable trip there and back in the TR7 with the roof down, and good company from our Norfolk CT members.