Aston Martin Rust Oration

My charming American colleague has just suggested that Wedgwood should produce a Dave and Nick commerorative plate to put next to her Charles and Camilla one…

And so the work begins….as if it ever bloody stopped.

We’ve got a coalition – and they do genuinly seem to like each other. In fact i had to look closely at the photo on No 10’s website to check they weren’t holding hamds…

I am staggered by the reactions of some people to the Icelandic volcano affair.

As a professional traveller and tourist I never go anywhere without thinking about, and planning for, unforeseen issues that could affect my trip – from having my rail ticket from Moscow to Krakow stolen (back in the communist days) and having to buy another through black market channels with the US dollars I had strapped under my shirt, to dealing with poilitcal upheavals in central African states and knowing how to use the Consular system for help and advice.

The hysterically weeping people on the TV news saying how much they hated a few days extra stuck in a  hotel or waiting in an airport because of the disruption to their flights and those demanding compensation should frankly never be allowed to travel.

A volcano is an act of nature – I remember the BA 747 on its way to New Zealand in 1982 that lost power in all four engines after flying through a cloud of volcanic ash – personally I would have rather spent six days in an airport waiting lounge than risk that happening to my flight. And the airlines being forced to pay passengers hotel and food bills is also unfair – it wasn’t their fault!

If people want to travel, they need to be aware that these things happen.

Travelling is an adventure. It’s exciting. It’s educational. It’s often frustrating and surprising. But it is also a very great privilege.

Interesting debate between the three leaders – I am beginning to not need them to put his name on the bottom of the screen to recognise Nick Clegg…

I have minutely scrutinised each party manifesto, and none of them say they are going to reinstate the tax-free status for classic cars made after 1973!

Spent a happy four days on the farm fettling bits to bolt back on.

I used the parts washer to clean up the oil filters and fitted those (although I’ve used the brackets from the wrong car so will have to change those next time.

I rubbed down the scabby old fuel filler flaps – which took ages, and primed them ready to paint.

I fitted the cut-out switch in the boot and the cable from the battery to starter motor.

And then plunged headlong intio the horror that was the wiring loom.

The only way I could untangle it all was to separate it into branches and wrap each branch up with a label identifying which part of the car it fed. Many of the sticky labels we had put on during the dismantling process had come off, so working out which wires feed which lights is going to be fun!

The back of the car is pretty well done now, and i have a choice. I can either put the orignal back end on, with the three light cluster, or i can put the slightly later back end on from the othe car. This has the four light cluster which I prefer the look of.

Essentially I am building ROJ from the ground up. It was a modified car before, and many of the parts I am using are from other cars anyway – so rather than building it as it came from the factory, I am taking a leaf out of the Sultan of Brunei’s book, and building the car to my specifications.

The last few hours on Easter Monday I spent in the barn rubbing down the fourlight rear end which I will fit next month.

Imagine the perfect Easter holiday…

One week skiing in St Anton – followed by a nice long weekend playing with my car. Excellent!

Here are a few photos of Angus showing me how to ski:

this is......how...

..to...

...do...

...it...

...!..

Not knowing if I have any Irish blood in me didn’t stop me going to the St Paddy’s day bash at the King’s Fund (and yes that is OJ I’m drinking – what can I say, I’m a light weight!)

Rummaging through the family archives threw up some motoring relating relics: 

 My mother during the war with what we think is a Tickford bodied MG

My father proving I’m not the only poseur in the family! He’s the skinny looking Lt on the bonnet.

An early pride and joy – Jaguar XK140

Family barge in Teheran – a Dodge of some sort - wasn’t I cute….

 My mother and sister in West Africa

 Father and sister

 My two sisters

 Another barge in Teheran – Opel Kapitan

 The Dodge’s ‘evil eye’

Not a car but a Lockheed Constellation – the first plane I ever flew in – aged 6 months! Apparantly there was a special cot attached to the bulkhead in the first class compartment – I bet I didn’t get any bubbly.

My grandfather and friends in Rio in the late twenties  early thirties

 And finally – how I miss that little Clubman… sniff.

These have to the most beautiful (non-female-human) structures in the world!

Icebergs

To get rid of the Japanese knotweed they are introducing a little bug from Asia called a psyllid…

Psyllid, BANG and the knotweed is gone…!