I have now started posting blogs at www.practicalclassics.co.uk. I may post some here also.

We all piled into the Fiat (5 of us) and made our way to the RSSOC National Sporting weekend on Saturday. Although cold, it was not as wet as last year which was good. The threefold objective of meeting old friends, buying bits and seeing some action were all fulfilled:

We had a chat with John Mees from Bristol and caught up on the progress of his French property restoration project. When discussing the wiring I was able to inform him that at the turn of the 20th century there were about 500 domestic elctricity suppliers almost all of whom supplied a different voltage (some AC and some DC) and many with different plug and socket designs. He didn't know that.

Also chatted to SS1 experts Graham and Sylvia Morris (who sold the SS1 to Daniel 3 years ago). Like John, they were disposing of their spares at the autojumble, having recently disposed of their last SS1.

The bits purchased were a new rear side window rubber for the SE6a - newly manufactured and sold through Graham Walkers for £65, new pedal rubbers for the Coupe and new disk pads for the SS1.

The action was provided by the usual mix of Scimitars on the track. Unfortunately, one SS1 spun and did some serious damage. However, no one was hurt and the modular design of the car should mean it is back on the road without too much expense and delay.

The marqee exhibition area was as interesting as usual. This year it featured a concours winning Middlebridge, SE5a and the first ever SS1 (ex-motor show) that has just been re-discovered. There was also a SS1 1800Ti having its turbo gasket replaced "live" on video.

A thoroughly good day even though £25 for us all to get in seemed a bit steep (having already paid my membership fee). It also gave Ben plenty of driving practice. Written test on the 13th Sept.

Ben went to the London motor show a couple of weeks ago on business. He liked it so much he pursuaded me to go the following weekend (I haven't been since Reliant stopped attending). I was expecting an expensive day out but we saved a bit by buying tickets on-line and printing them out (£16 each). The car park was £10 for the day so not actually that expensive!

It was good to see the usual up-beat presentation from the motor industry. Alfa Romeo had a particularly stylish range on show (well, its what they do isn't it).
Also liked the Top Gear stand. No celebrities in attendance but it brought a smile to my face to see the trio's "Police cars" (photo to follow on gallery).

I was amazed how many electric and hybrid vehicles were on display. Not being a Londoner, I can only imagine that common sense is starting to prevail and people are starting to realise that it is viable transportation for the citydweller.

For us classic car enthusiasts, the outdoor arena was the place to be. It was here they were running a selection of classic supercars around the track. Nice to see and hear them in action - not so easy to photograph with my shutter delay! Managed to get some good photos after the event though.

Finally, there was the 'market' area where it was possible to buy all sorts of motoring paraphernalia. I didnt but was intrigued by an electrolysis system that added oxygen and hydrogen to the intake as you drove. At £400+, not sure if I would see my money back very fast.

So, a good day out and not really too expensive. May go again in a couple of years.

Just got back from a few days in Suffolk with the SE6a towing the Pennine Fiesta folding camper. It was supposed to be a week but by the time we had got ready and waited for a break in the clouds, it was5 days. It's always nice to drive the Scimitar but it was spoilt a bit as there was an obvious fuel problem. Thinking about it, I realised that most of the fuel was about a year old. After experiencing the effect of new fuel in the way the Bond started, I figured that was probably the problem. Unfortunately I couldn't do much to sort it out in a field full of campers so I took it to a local (recomended) garage. It cost me £130 to get my tank drained! There are some places where you get that service for free if you park it overnight. It did solve the problem though.

The SS1 alternator has been pronounced dead so it looks like the replacement 17ACR will have to become permanant. Those nice people at Autolec in Rugby have sourced an adaptor sleeve to use the old pulley in place of my bit of aluminium sheet.

Also had to do a bit of trimming on the petrol pipe after Daniel noticed petrol pouring over the engine. Nasty!