Oily Hand's Life with MGs |
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I like video taken by others. Here's one of the 2014 Beamish Run. Many great cars. Numbum makes a brief appearance at 3.07
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We were expecting a quiet weekend this weekend with nothing planned. That changed midweek when we heard about this event and we just had to go to see it. The BGT was headed westwards to Shap. It was about 40 miles from home and we decided to miss the morning and see section 18 in the afternoon. Leaving home about 11am meant grabbing a bite to eat on the way and that wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. There are a few eating places on the A66 westbound but none had what we were looking for. As we entered Kirby Stephen we spotted a cafe and decided to try it. That was a good move and we left well satisfied having eaten a hot meat sandwich each and a tea & coffee. The cost of £12 was very reasonable. There was nobody about when we arrived and we wondered if we had the wrong place, but the marshals soon turned up and we helped them set up. Initially we were just going to watch but it was clear that more eyes would be needed so we signed on as marshals. The BGT was parked well away from the action. It was a surprise when we both got a small thank you pack for marshalling which contained a meal ticket, a pen and a lottery scratch card. Between us we won £15 on the scratch cards which paid for our food on the way across and the meal ticket took care of our plans for eating on the way home. Result! Test 18 was a fast test consisting of slalom up & down a hill on a loose shale type surface. It was also very very dusty. Thankfully there was a light breeze and we stayed upwind of the course and avoided most of the dust. I set up two video cameras & left them to run. Some super footage but problems with my editing software is giving me grief and I can't edit it. Hopefully I'll be able to post it later. In the meantime here are some of the stills I managed to get. After a good time on the test it was finally time to pack up and head for the finish where a good hot meal was waiting for us. A pudding was included in our meal tickets but we were both too stuffed to have one.
We spent some time chatting to competitors and other marshals and learnt a lot about this type of event. I could almost be tempted to give it a go. Having our grandchildren with us meant that the ZR was the charriot of choice for today, it being the only four seat MG in the stable. It was a warm day but with the sun roof and all the windows open we managed to keep quite cool. It was the usual start time of 10am at Yarm Station and we were there in the company of members of the Teesside Yesteryear Motor Club who were meeting for a run to Alston. After the usual chinwagging we set off for an interesting drive to Eden Camp. On the way we managed to lose some of our group so there were four of us moving on. We had an impromptu stop along the way for a condenser change on a misfiring Midget and eventually arrived at Eden Camp to find that the lost souls had gone direct and were there long before us. Once we got parked up it was time for a picnic before exploring this great museum. There is so much to see that we couldn't do it justice in the time available. It would probably take a week to take it all in. We had a great time apart from my feet which were feeling worse for wear trying to keep up with two ankle biters. It was almost closing time when we got back to the car to find that we were on our own. A leisurely drive home with a stop in Whitby for fish & chips rounded off a very enjoyable day.
For a while now we've carried our picnic chairs on the luggage rack of the TA wrapped in an old piece of plastic sheeting. It flaps about in the wind and generally looks a mess. I decided to see about getting a better cover made and had one custom made at a very reasonable price. Before After
This was the twelfth consecutive time we'd done this run. We've won 5 bronze awards, 4 silver, one gold and failed to finish once. What we will get this time is anybody's guess, but we don't care. The run, the cars and the company is what it's all about. We set off from home in light drizzle which turned to proper rain as we headed up the A167. I switched on the wipers and nothing happened!!!. Thankfully, Pam was able to operate them manually every now & then to keep the view reasonably clear. She was pleased when the rain stopped as her fingers were getting tired. Arriving early at Beamish gave us plenty of time to sign on and do the usual run up the hill to the toilets before getting away before our allotted time. The morning run was uneventful. As quite often happens we were amongst some slower cars & bikes which took some getting past on narrow twisty roads but we made reasonable progress. There was low cloud over the hilltops which reduced visibility and made things rather damp. We arrived at Bainbridge without trouble and picked up our quiz sheet and departure number. The departure number was a new system to try to alleviate the mad scramble on departure and it worked. Very little queuing and no motorcycles pushing up to the front. Brilliant!! After a liesurely lunch and a wander around looking at the cars and chatting to some interesting people, it was time to set off again. This is where the fun started. The exit point was at the high end of the green and had a steepish curb down to the road. We got the front wheels over the hump and came to a dead halt with the bottom of the TA firmly against the grass. Much pushing and shoving later with Pam out of the car we finally made it onto the road without damage. There was a guy there with a video camera who I think was making the official video of the run. I'll have to buy a copy to see if we're on it. The afternoon section was pretty good with quite a few people about to cheer us on. This made the poor weather more bearable. Even the long stretch between Tan Hill and Romaldkirk had some spectators on it. At the Romaldkirk checkpoint we were surprised to meet some friends who were there for other reasons and hadn't realised the run was on till they saw the cars. Unexpected things like that brighten up the day. We made it back to the Beamish Museum just after half past four and signed off. I didn't win any raffle prizes, drat! After drinking the last of the flasks it was time to head for home after a very enjoyable day. It was quite warm, sitting in Howards Cafe in Stokesley, as we did our usual job of signing on the entrants for this annual run. This year it was a bit different with this start in Stokesley and another at Bamburgh Castle, both finishing on the Palace Green in Durham. We were expecting 33 at Stokesley but by the time we were relieved of our post there were only 30 signed on. Two had phoned to say they weren't coming. I don't know what happened to the other. In glorious sunshine we were the first car flagged away at 10 o clock, the same time as the first car from Banburgh. The run was a great 87 miles, taking us through some lovely villages & towns and a good mix of super driving roads. The glorious weather helped quite a bit too. Once again my inability to manage modern technology meant that there wasn't as much video as I would have liked. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves, choosing to stop en route for sandwiches, rather than use the planned lunch stop. The scenery was a bit better. We arrived on the Palace Green to join the other cars in this beautiful space. The historic architecture made a great backdrop. After a cuppa, a cream scone and some serious chinwagging, it was finally time to say goodbye and head for home.
An email invitation to this event prompted us to see what it was like. The start was at the clubhouse with signing on between 9 & 10am and as the clubhouse is only a 15 minute drive from home we didn't have to be up too early. We arrived just after nine and parked up with the other early arrivals in the lovely grounds of this fine clubhouse. As number 16 our start time was 10.16 so we had plenty of time for meeting old and new friends. The run was 55 miles over some great roads and the weather was scorching. It was the first time this year that I was driving in shirt sleeves. I wish they had been short sleeves as I was roasting most of the day. Somebody in the club must have some serious influence with the weather gods! Old Numbum handled the day with ease, apart from a slight misfire when we stated up after stopping for a cuppa. The heat soak from the hot engine caused a bit of vapour lock in the carbs but it didn't last long. We arrived back at the clubhouse just after two and the barbeque was up & running for those who wanted to partake of a burger or sausage. After a bit more chinwagging it was time to head for the short trip home. All in all, a great day and our thanks go to all who made it happen. |
AuthorHi, I'm Owen and I've been having fun with MGs since 1970, starting with my 1937 MGTA. Since then I've had three Y types and a couple of Z Magnettes. I now have a 1971 MGB GT along with the TA and my wife and I are still having fun Archives
September 2020
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