BOCEA Christmas Lunch

Sunday 5 December was the Christmas Lunch of the East Anglian Section of the Bristol Owners Club and 16 owners from across the region gathered at a country house hotel near Bury St. Edmunds.

A break in the wintry weather encouraged 2 other cars to join me in front of Ravenwood Hall; a 1962 407 and a 1982 412. We were honoured by the presence of the 412 as this was the first time in 25 years that it had been out in the winter!

Unfortunately it was also the first time that the heater was required and needless to say after 25 years of inactivity it didn’t work. The patient ministrations of Messrs Dixon and Risebrow failed to elicit any warmth and so a chilly journey home was to be endured by its occupants – at least they’d had a good lunch first.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Geoffrey Burgon and 411 S2

While we were on holiday in the Malverns recently we received the sad news that Geoffrey Burgon had passed away. Geoffrey was the renowned composer of some of the most memorable music for television drama of recent decades.

Geoffrey, who had owned many Bristols since the 1970s, was my keeper from 1994 to 1997 before Neil took me on in 2003. Neil never had the pleasure of meeting Geoffrey but they did briefly correspond by email when Neil was making contact with all my previous keepers.

Geoffrey, who also had a penchant for Lancias, gave up his Flaminia GT to acquire me. He said he remembered me fondly and said I had always been very well behaved!

We also recieved the sad news that Roger Bradford had suddenly passed away at the Goodwood Revival. We first met Roger at the 2009 Bristol Owners Club concours at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire. We had parked next to him and a 411 S4 which he was trying to sell and Neil spent ages talking to him about the differences between the 410 and the 411.

By a remarkable coincidence Neil met Roger again when Neil was trying to find a late Citroen XM in good condition. He found an immaculate example for sale in Cambridge that was one of the last imported into the country. Neil arranged to view the car but when he pulled up the first thing he saw was a Britannia in the middle of a barn full of Citroens and other assorted cars. He was even more surprised when Roger emerged and tried to sell him the Bristol.

Neil managed to resist the Britannia and didn’t buy that particular XM but managed to find another one that he went on to buy. He kept in touch with Roger, meeting him for the last time at a Citroen Owners Club concours in Gaydon.

Bristol Owners Club Concours 2010

Saturday 18^th September

It’s the day of the concours, and predictably Neil is out before breakfast wiping the dew off my bodywork. I tried to tell him it would be easier to move me into the sun but I think he’s obsessed with microfibre cloths and polish. Latest in the armoury is a product called Lucas Slick Mist – a spray wax that he uses to freshen up my paintwork in-between washes. It leaves me with a high gloss shine and, presumably for no other reason than it’s American, smelling of bubblegum.

One of the things I love most about Bristol events is seeing other cars on the road. As we made our way from the hotel to the Airbus site we joined up with several other cars making the same journey. We were waved through the entrance and lined up in the car park that had been reserved for us at the top of the site. This was near where Concorde G-BOAF is displayed. This remarkable airplane, which made its maiden flight in April 1979, was used to prove the enhancements made after the tragic crash at Gonesse. G-BOAF was the last Concorde to remain flying and the last to fly supersonically. She made her final journey home to Filton on 26 November 2003.

My favourite story of the day was relayed to me by Neil after a conversation he had with a volunteer in the Concorde exhibition. When operating on the Miami service, British Airways had to lodge Concorde’s flight plan with the Pentagon. This was so they could instruct their spy planes operating over Cuba to move out of the way. I love the idea of American pilots in pressure suits and oxygen masks having to make way for a supersonic airplane at the edge of space full of Brits in shirtsleeves sipping Champagne.

I didn’t count them myself, but I have heard estimates ranging from 160 to 235 cars present. Whatever the final number, this was without doubt the largest gathering of Bristol cars ever with models from all eras represented. There was a strong showing too from the factory with Fighters, Blenheims and used cars on show. Neil was very taken by a dark blue Beaufighter and was overheard asking the price. I made sure I behaved myself for the rest of our holiday just in case he was tempted.

Bristols to Bristol

Friday 17^th September.

It’s 6.30 in the morning and Neil and I are at the Port of Harwich ready to greet the Bristol cars disembarking from the ferry as part of the Bristols to Bristol run. I am parked on the side of a roundabout and get a great view of cars heading away from the port and out onto the A120. It doesn’t take long for the 5 Bristols to appear as well as a bonus assortment of other classic cars amongst the moderns.

We follow along the A120, A137 and onto the A14 towards Cambridge and on to Oxfordshire where a lunch stop has been arranged at the Merry Miller in Cothill. We arrive at 10:30 to be greeted in the car park by John Howden-Richards. As we are too early for the pub to open, John invites us back to his place where coffee is taken in the garden while admiring his collection of Bristol ephemera. This is housed in a summerhouse with a collection of pictures, books and a well stocked bar! I can imagine many a pleasant evening spent reminiscing about all things Bristol.

Back to the pub, where we meet up with the rest of the cars making their way to Bristol. For those on-route from the continent, English beer and Scottish whisky are popular choices (for non-drivers only of course) to accompany the food on offer before we all make our way to Bristol where the car park at the Filton Holiday Inn resembles a concours in its own right.

Neil gives me a quick polish before getting ready for the black tie dinner at the splendid Council House in the centre of Bristol. This is in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Bristol Aeroplane Company around which this weekend’s events are organised. This extraordinary enterprise diversified into the building of buses, boats, satellites, missiles, mobile phones and prefabricated buildings, as well as the cars we have all grown to love.

At the dinner Teb Marius, European Secretary, was presented with a commemorative plaque crafted in Bristol Blue glass in recognition of his organisation of the whole trip. I would like to extend my thanks to Teb and to John, but also to Geoff Hawkins Chairman of the club, Geoffrey Herdman President of the club and Turplin Dixon Events Coordinator for their planning and organisation.

Summer BBQ

There was another great turnout at the Bristol Owners’ Club East Anglian summer Barbeque. 10 cars (9 Bristols and an Aston Martin – Bristol used to make some bodies for AM) lined up under the sunny East Anglian sky. Oldest first: 401, 405, 407, AM DB5, 409, 2 x 410, 411, 603, Britannia.

Further convinced that the various models look right in certain colours, Richard Kemp’s newly painted Britannia looked stunning in Sherwood Green even though it was yet to receive its final polish. The colour had the effect of softening the sometimes controversial styling.

Styled in-house by Dudley Hobbs and built at Filton, the 603 and its derivatives can look awkward and oddly proportioned from some angles. The subtle re-working of the tail on the Britannia helps pull the whole composition together into a much more attractive whole.

Thanks again to the Challacombe’s for hosting the event, to everyone for bringing food and raffle prizes, and also for raising a staggering £350 for the Lymphoma Association.

Rougham Airfield Wings and Wheels

Look at the photo, and beyond me and the car in front, is a Rolls-Royce Griffon Engine; a 37 litre V12 as fitted to the Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft. This stationary engine and propeller formed a twin display with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; a 27 litre V12 as fitted to the Spitfire. When both were running at full power the noise was tremendous and the ground shook with the power of 64 litres consuming 2 gallons of fuel every minute.

My fuel consumption isn’t quite that bad, but on the journey to Rougham Neil stopped at the local Shell garage for some of my favourite V-Power fuel. I noticed they were still flying banners for their new standard petrol, FuelSave, which was launched recently. Shell are claiming the equivalent of ‘up to’ an extra litre per tank (a 2% saving on their figures) due to using new detergents and a new ‘efficiency improver’ that shell claims ‘lubricates where normal engine oils can’t’. Shell will have terabytes of statistics to back up their claims and I’m sure there must be some improvement in fuel efficiency, but I‘m skeptical about the extent of their claims for 2 reasons.

Firstly, their claims for saving an extra 1 litre of fuel per tank are based on a minimum fill of 50 litres. Now, if you have a Shell Drivers’ Club card, you will know that the bonus vouchers you receive are based on a fill of 30 litres. The question is, why don’t they have a standard fill? The cynic would suggest they could only claim savings of an extra litre of fuel per tank if they stretched their definition of a tank by 60%.

Secondly, the new FuelSave campaign coincided with the start of the school summer holidays. Now, because I don’t drive with Neil every day, I asked his Citroen XM (only a 3.0 V6) who is happy on Shell’s standard fuel and therefore has been consuming FuelSave unleaded by default, whether his average fuel consumption had improved; and it had – by 1.5 miles per gallon (actually a 5% increase). Now, back to the school holiday connection; traffic is clearer, no jams and commute times have been cut by a third -  a recipe for decreasing fuel consumption if ever I heard one. The question is, how much of this is attributable to Fuelsave and how much to a sudden lack of traffic?

So, has this all been a cynical exercise by Shell’s marketing department? We’ll see what happens to the XM’s fuel consumption when the schools go back. I wonder when the FuelSave campaign is due to end …?

Classic Cars and Wheels

This was my first time at this show, held at Stonham Barns near Stowmarket, so I was unsure of what to expect. What I found was a well organised show with a wide variety of vehicles from all eras. I think the title of the show is a bit awkward – perhaps the organisers felt that just calling it a Classic Vehicle Show was a bit obvious?

Anyway, the award for question of the day went to the gentleman who asked whether it was true that you could only buy a Bristol if you were a member of the club! If he had known anything of the history of the relationship between the club and the manufacturer then I could have forgiven him for thinking the opposite was true.