Chat

Been out and about recently. Had a great pose at Michael Caines' Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel down at Lympstone. The cost of entry and posh food meant that it was a slightly different demographic to most car events. I was fortunate enough to meet Michael himself and he seems a very friendly, down to earth guy.

Had to get away from the car after a while as there was so much interest that if I'd stayed I'd never have got to hear the very interesting interviews (by Ben Collins, aka 'The Stig') with the likes of Rob Smedley (Michael Schumacher's race engineer) and former two times BTCC champion Jason Plato. Jason was unashamedly hoping to meet 'some high net worth individual' to sponsor his race team (not me then). Also heard some interesting scuttlebutt about current F1 drivers which I'll keep to myself for fear of defamation.

Food was good, as one would hope, and I have to say it was the friendliest event of it's type I've been to and more intimate than say, the Goodwood Revival. Sadly no racing but lots of lovely cars.

Oh, and the pith helmet was much admired (it's the sort of thing you have to wear if you're basically a pretty boring chap yourself).

The weekend was spent at the Crash Box and Classic Car Club's annual bash at Powderham Castle. Lots of interest in the car until I explained the price (my fault for ticking all the boxes when I ordered it - no regrets though).

Do you get much interest when travelling on the motorway? I seem to attract a camera wielding enthusiast about every 20- 25 miles. Yesterday I even got a round of applause from a van driver's mate. Tomorrow I'm off to PMC for my first service (1,250 miles in 6 months). It's 130 miles and nearly 3 hours from my home in Somerset so most of that will be spent on the motorway. I'm unsure what to wear as head gear. Should it be the pith helmet for fun or the ski one to minimise the noise? What do you use on long trips?