Drive it Day 2014

Today was FHBVC drive it day, a day when you are supposed to drive your classic or sports car. As mine is currently having some remedial work I borrowed a mileage accumulation Lotus Evora from work. Over the weekend we put in some very quick miles on the Evora, firstly to a couple of garden centre's on Friday afternoon, then Saturday visited our friends in Halesworth who own an early and late Elan, so had to give them a run out too. Then it was a quick run to St Ives to hand over Birthday presents and late Easter egg to Toni, the daughter, we could not get in Bella Italia so we had to have fast food with Toni.
Today we accompanied friends on a run round Norfolk, starting from Wymondham, we used some lovely roads and passed through pretty villages to Castle Acre for a coffee stop.

 

We then headed towards Watton for a very good lunch at the Waggon and Horses at Griston.

Good day, good company, and thoroughly enjoyed driving the very comfortable, smooth, powerful auto Evora, the paddle shift takes some getting used to. My MGTF is going to feel like a slow thing when I hand back the Evora tomorrow.

Easter 2014

Easter 2014, time for Dad to visit, he arrived Thursday, train from York to Huntingdon, then he rode from Huntingdon, via St Ives, then along the cycleway alongside the busway to Cambridge, coming off at Milton he then rode to Ely to catch a train to Norwich, then biked from Norwich to Harleston, all this at age 79! Fair to say he had a few snoozes on the sofa on Thursday night. Friday morning we went for a walk around Harleston, in the afternoon it was a walk around the old gravel quarries, now used for fishing and leisure. Bit windy and overcast.

Saturday was spent wandering round Norwich, with a light lunch in a small bistro, before a bit of shopping thrown in for Gill.

Sunday was spent looking at more manly things, Dad and I took a trip out to the Norwich Aviation Museum at Horsham St Faith, near the airport. Quite an interesting museum, with a good history of the Norfolk Airbases in the second world war.

Plenty of more modern fighters and bombers on display.

Hawker Hunter

Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star

Gloster Meteor F8

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2

English Electric Lighting

Avro Vulcan B2

Cessna and Fokker F27 Friendship

A better day weather wise, we moved on for a quick look at the Bure Valley Railway, a 15 inch gauge railway on the trackbed of the old Wroxham to Aylsham, East Norfolk Railway (Later GER)

15 inch loco built in the workshop at Aylsham.

Aylsham Workshop.

Not a great deal to see here as it is very much a commercial organisation aimed at the holiday makers unlike some preserved operations.

On the Monday we all went to Bressingham, Gill spent time in the garden centre and the gardens, whilst dad and I visited the museums. This is mainly railway orientated, a few traction engines and rollers, with a bit of a Dads Army museum thrown in, but still interesting.

Postal Sorting Office

Traction Engines and road roller.

GNR  Henry Oakley.

Beckton Gasworks loco.

GER  Tank Loco.

Penryhn Quarry Loco.

Railway through the gardens.

Would not turn round!

We followed this up with a visit to Billingford Windmill, which dad had read was open for Easter Monday, we waited to have a tour up the 5 floors to stand right up in the cap. Interesting little tour with a knowledgable chap who knew his mill well.

Billingford Windmill.

Transfer gears from Sail Shaft to central shaft under cap.

Mill Stone floor. grain fed in through wooden trough.

Mill stone governors and flour shutes, fixed stone just visible
above beams.

Billingford Windmill.

So that was it for Easter, I think we managed to keep dad amused. He left this morning, just the short bike ride to Norwich, then train all the way to York.