Thought for the day: MGsdon'tleak oil; they mark their places.
Dontcha love the front of this car? If I were more clever, I'd doctor the picture to make it look even more like a smiling face. No matter. When Smarticus and I went to the British Car Fayre in our town last weekend, we saw plenty of real smiling faces. And plenty of extraordinary British cars, too.
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of owning a British car, but want to know what it's like: Next big rainstorm, wait 'til dark, roll down all the windows, leave off lights and heater and wipers, and go for a drive. Stop at every intersection and throw out a twenty dollar bill. It's not exactly the same, but it's real close. [Mike Nash]
We evidently have plenty of anglophiles and UK ex-pats living in our area, because this annual car show, sponsored in part by the loverly Taste of Britain always draws a fine array of vehicles and visitors. Lots of Triumphs, Rolls Royces, MGs, Morgans, Austin Healies, Astin Martins, Lotuses, Minis, Range Rovers, Deloreans, Jaguars, motorcycles, and more. A bunch of drool-worthy vehicles. Alas, we didn't stay as long this year as we have in years past, because it was too bloody H-O-T!
But the Queen looked cool as a proverbial cucumber. I, on the other hand, felt like I was having a heat stroke. (Such a wimp!)
One street was pretty well lined with Minis. Some of them are reeeeally... mini. You hear the one about the trouble with bucket seats is we don't all have the same size buckets? Well, I know some people who'd have a hard time fitting their impressive buckets into some of these Minis. Pulling them out of one of these cars would sound like a champagne cork popping.
There were quite a few Land Rovers, too. These two cracked me up. One for Dad... and one for Junior.
Hey, you never can tell when you might have an opportunity to go on safari in Atlanta. Heck, everyone knows the traffic here is like a jungle, and some of the drivers are real... beasts.
Aye, and there were bonnie brogues to be heard, and evidence of a wee bit of Scottish humor.
(The patch on that hat says Gleneagle, Scotland.)
Check out this 1933 Rolls Royce. Its owner had a good sense of humor, too. Know how I could tell? By what I saw sitting in the back seat...
Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon? Evi-doggone-dently!
How about this one? Anybody see the movie featuring this car?
Bond, James Bond...
Wouldn't this hood ornament be absolutely perfect for our rat rod? I mean, Smarticus and I do practice a certain amount of smart assiness from time to time.
Because of the heat, I didn't take a whole lot of pictures, so how's about if I share a few from past years:
Alas, there was no bagpiper there this year. Not that it's my favorite (or favourite) instrument, but I missed seeing... and hearing... him.
A fun touch of whimsy.
It'd be a hard call, but this was definitely one of my favourite cars at the show. In the proper colour, too...
But I do love the British racing green, too.
They don't call these the dog days of summer for nothing.
Until next time, take care of yourselves, old beans. And each other.
Thought for the day: For those of you who have never had the pleasure of owning a British car, but want to know what it's like: Next big rainstorm, wait until dark, roll down all the windows, leave off lights and heater and wipers and go for a drive. Stop at every intersection and throw out a twenty dollar bill. It's not exactly the same, but it's real close. [Mike Nash]
a small sampling of some of the Morgans at the show
I've never owned a British-made car, but I must confess, quite a few of them make me salivate a teensy bit. Like the 1953 MGTD (preferably a convertible... in green) and just about ANY of the Morgans. This past Saturday was our town's annual British Car Fayre, so there were plenty of snazzy Brit cars available for me to ogle to my heart's content.
For the first time, the car show was also accompanied by a boot sale, and the weather was perfect. Cooler than it's been for a while, and overcast. Kinda like Brit weather, eh? Since I've already posted plenty of pictures from some of the other British Car Fayres we've attended, I'll only share a few this time around. That way, I can save plenty of room for the OTHER spiffy event we attended that day.
1910 Silver Ghost (Rolls Royce)
Not sure, but I think there were even more cars at the show this year than in the past, and quite a few of them were Rolls Royces. This one from 1910 was probably my favorite, though. Talk about classy!
It was a tough choice, but I think this was my favorite Morgan. The Trikings (3-wheelers) are pretty cool, too, but THIS car is king.
an amphibious Lotus!
THIS car is where the water part of this post's title comes into play. It was made to look like the Lotus Esprit submarine from the 1977 James Bond flick The Spy Who Loved Me. But it doesn't just look like the car from the movie... it actually moves in the water! A designer from Wales made it, and it is now owned by a Georgia fella, who launched it in U.S. waters for the first time at our local Lake Lanier.
Okay, ready to head to our next destination? As you can probably guess, it involves airborne vehicles... some very special airborne vehicles. Some real beauties.
You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck. [WWII military pilot]
Along with the impressive array of planes on display, both on the ground and in the air, there were also a number of WWII veterans and re-enactors there, as well. This properly-garbed re-enactor is standing inside of a WWII field tent, which contains authentic items from that time.
And this WWII vet is standing beside the same kind of plane he served on as a bombardier. It was an absolute delight and honor to speak with him.
And here's another vet, along with a re-enactor who did a dandy job impersonating General MacArthur. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but the vet was wearing a bright red smooch mark on his cheek.
Of the WWII vets who were there, this was the only original Tuskeegee airman present. It was a real honor to talk with him, too. At the rate we're losing our WWII vets, it's important to listen to their stories and thank them now, while we can. Also present at the show were representatives from a group with the Atlanta Historical Society, who have already taped hundreds of WWII vets telling their stories, and hope to get as many more recordings as they can, thus saving those stories for posterity. A noble project, don't you think?
Now, a handful of pictures of some things that caught my fancy:
Since I started out with some British cars, I figured I'd include a plane flown by the RAF, too. This one, called a Bulldog, was built by Scottish Aviation. Not for WWII, though. This was flown by the RAF from 1974-2001.
A male pilot is a confused soul who talks about women when he's flying, and about flying when he's with a woman.
A lot of the nosecone art on WWII planes features various pin-up girls. Here are some I found kinda cool. These particular images were on teeshirts.
I'm glad that quote up there about pilots specifies male pilots, because there were quite a few female pilots during WWII, too.
Here's a couple of them. Unfortunately, it's just a photo of a photo... I didn't see any female WWII vets at the airfield.
But WWII WASP humor was on display at a reenactor's tent.
We weren't sure if we'd have enough time to do both of these events justice in a single day. But with a positive attitude and lots of walking, we really COULD do it. And it was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed making the trip with us.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
Thought for the day: MGsdon'tleak oil; they mark their places.
Dontcha love the front of this car? If I were more clever, I'd doctor the picture to make it look even more like a smiling face. No matter. When Smarticus and I went to the British Car Fayre in our town last weekend, we saw plenty of real smiling faces. And plenty of extraordinary British cars, too.
For those of you who have never had the pleasure of owning a British car, but want to know what it's like: Next big rainstorm, wait 'til dark, roll down all the windows, leave off lights and heater and wipers, and go for a drive. Stop at every intersection and throw out a twenty dollar bill. It's not exactly the same, but it's real close. [Mike Nash]
We evidently have plenty of anglophiles and UK ex-pats living in our area, because this annual car show, sponsored in part by the loverly Taste of Britain always draws a fine array of vehicles and visitors. Lots of Triumphs, Rolls Royces, MGs, Morgans, Austin Healies, Astin Martins, Lotuses, Minis, Range Rovers, Bentleys, Jaguars, motorcycles, and more. A bunch of drool-worthy vehicles. But not a single Delorean! Can you believe that?
Nope, not a single one; there were three! Sitting side by side by side, they were quite a sight to behold. (But if I can't have it in red, I don't want one...)
One street was pretty well lined with Minis. Some of them are reeeeally... mini. You hear the one about the trouble with bucket seats is we don't all have the same size buckets? Well, I know some people who'd have a hard time fitting their impressive buckets into some of these Minis. Pulling them out of one of these cars would sound like a champagne cork popping.
But, if a fella can't fit into a small car, there are always other ways around it. Right, Mr. Bean?
There were quite a few Land Rovers, too. These two cracked me up. One for Dad... and one for Junior.
Hey, you never can tell when you might have an opportunity to go on safari in Atlanta. Heck, everyone knows the traffic here is like a jungle, and some of the drivers are real... beasts.
Much to my surprise, there were even a couple Fords in the show. Huh, how 'bout that? It seems some of them are made in Britain, too? For sure, we've never seen a Ford commercial in the U.S. that comes even close to being as funny as this British one:
Anyone who's familiar with a Lotus will recognize that this one stands out from the pack. Its front end reminded us of a Prowler.
And son of a gun...
Doggone if we didn't know its owner! Actually, we knew his now-deceased parents better, but we recognized the Montgomery name, and then recognized him, so of course, had to stop and chat for a bit.
In case you can't read it, the writing on Smarticus' shirt says: I've been a bad boy. Send me to my GARAGE. (HA! Isn't that perfect? A big thanks and a tip of the hat to our Tennessee pals Kati and Cliff.)
Aye, and there were bonnie brogues to be heard, and evidence of a wee bit of Scottish humor.
(The patch on that hat says Gleneagle, Scotland.)
Check out this 1933 Rolls Royce. Its owner had a good sense of humor, too. Know how I could tell? By what I saw sitting in the back seat...
Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?
Evi-doggone-dently!
A GT6 pulled alongside a Rolls Royce at a traffic light. "Do you have a car phone?" its driver asked the man in the Rolls. "Of course I do!" came the haughty reply. "Do you have a fax machine?" The Rolls owner sniffed. "I have that, too." "Do you have a double bed in the back?" the GT6 driver wanted to know. With an annoyed frown, the Rolls driver sped away, and that very afternoon, had his mechanic install a double bed in the back of his car. A week later, the Rolls driver spotted the GT6 at the side of the road with its back windows fogged up and steam pouring out. He pulled over, got out of his car, strutted up to it, and and pounded on its rear window. "I say!" he yelled. "I want you to know I had a double bed installed!" The GT6 driver rolled his window down and frowned. "Bloody hell!" he said. "You got me out of the shower to tell me that?"
How about this one? Anybody see the movie featuring this car?
Bond, James Bond...
Wouldn't this hood ornament be absolutely perfect for our rat rod? I mean, Smarticus and I do practice a certain amount of smart assiness from time to time.
I took lots more pictures, but rather than bore you with them, let's take a brief look at another part of this car show. A surprising part. At least, I don't remember seeing it at the show in past years...
How about that? Who knew Georgia had a Winston Churchill Society? Not I! So in honor of the great man, I'll leave you with a smattering of some of his many famous quotes:
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile — hoping it will eat him last.
From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
Bessie Braddock- Sir, you are drunk. Churchill- Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober.
Nancy Astor- Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison. Churchill- If I were your husband, I would take it.
Never never never give up.
Everyone has his day, and some days last longer than others.
****************
I hope you have a smashing day... and may it last all weekend.
Until next time, take care of yourselves, old beans. And each other.
