Brits Ride with Pride

Thought for the day:  MGs don't leak 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.

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                          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.

A Praiseworthy Personality

Thought for the day:  Cities are not people. But like people, cities have their own personalities... [Neil Gaimon]

Do you think that's true? Does your town... or another town you know... have a distinct personality? Has it remained fairly constant over the years?

The smallish town where we live in Georgia re-branded itself a few years ago, so now its motto is a place to imagine. Kinda nice, even if I don't know exactly what the heck it's supposed to mean. Nonetheless, we've been here since 1971, and it's always been a great place to live, whether I imagined it or not.

        Our town has a bunch of beautiful old homes with sprawling wrap-around porches...

Gorgeous, aren't they? Not that we live in one of them. Then again, we don't have to pay to keep one of those high-ceiling beauties warm in the winter or cool in the middle of summer's sizzle, either. Our modest ranch house suits us just fine.

Downtown has a mixture of quaint shops, old businesses, and restaurants. The shop with the dark green awning is Taste of Britain, a veritable treasure trove of British teas, foods, and collectibles. The owners also host an annual British Fayre car show, accompanied by some great music. Even a wandering bagpiper! Across the street is the old historic train depot, which was transformed into a popular restaurant about a decade ago. Considering how small the downtown area is, there are quite a few restaurants, including an outstanding pub, two Italian eateries, and a Cuban American restaurant boasting the best mojitas in all of greater Atlanta.

Our little town has lots of things going for it, like lots of street festivals, a couple other car shows, a community theater, home tours, carriage rides, and some pretty interesting community art projects. Like earlier this year...  many of the trees throughout the city were painted ... blue.

And in another project, the town was yarn bombed. Colorful crocheted and knitted pieces decorated trees, fences, signs, and light posts. These pictures of yarn-bombed trees are especially for you, Elephant's Child. I hope you like them...

                                     Oh, wait! Wait! I have to show you our frogs, too!

Pretty neat, huh? Whimsical. Yeah, whimsical. I guess that's why I like them so much. So, yeah, I'd have to say our town definitely has a personality. It's ever-changing, but it's never-boring. And in spite of its diversity, if it were represented by a flavor, it wouldn't be mojitas. Nope, not at all. It'd be sweet tea.

On Friday, we're gonna take a look at my old home town... Baltimore. Trust me, it has personality... and spice... out the wazoo. Happy Fourth of July, y'all! I hope you have a bang up time.

[Ooops, didja know a pre-scheduled post will only go live at the proper time if ya remember to set the darned time right? 12:34]

                                  Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

If our town had a scent, it would be magnolias.